- Geminianus
Infobox Saint
name= Saint Geminianus
birth_date=
death_date=fourth century
feast_day=January 31
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church
imagesize= 225px
caption= "Saint Geminianus", from pentaptych bySimone Martini (c.1284-1344) now atFitzwilliam Museum , Cambridge.
birth_place=
death_place=
titles=
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
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attributes=bishop holding a mirror in which the Mary is reflected; a bishop holding a model of the town of San Gimignano; a man calming a storm at sea; or a man exorcising the daughter of the Byzantine emperorJovian .
patronage=
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
issues=Saint Geminianus (also known as Saint Geminian, or Saint Gimignano) was a fourth century
Deacon , and laterBishop of Modena . He is mentioned in the year 390 when he sent a delegate named Teodulo to participate in a council called bySaint Ambrose inMilan . From his name, it has been deduced that Geminianus probably belonged to the caste of Roman senators. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/39175 San Geminiano di Modena ] ]Nothing more is directly known about him, and all the information we have about him comes from much later biographies. It is said that when
Saint Athanasius was entering exile inFrance , he passed through Modena and was received kindly by Geminianus.Saint John Chrysostom later received the same hospitality. Saint Geminianus opposedArianism andJovinianism . He probably died onJanuary 31 ,397 .Veneration
Traces of his veneration have always been present in Modena. As early as the fifth century a church had been erected over his tomb, contiguous with the present
cathedral and outside the center of the original Roman town. In the earlyMiddle Ages , moreover, Modena is often mentioned as Civitas Geminiana.The "Relatio translationis S. Giminiani", a manuscript of the twelfth century, describes the translation and recognition of the body of Saint Geminianus on April 30, 1106 and October 7, 1106, respectively, in the presence of
Paschal II ,Matilde di Canossa , and all of the "Modenesi". [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/39175 San Geminiano di Modena ] ] A second recognition of therelics was made byLucius III , on July 12, 1184, while on his way toVerona . [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/39175 San Geminiano di Modena ] ]The people of Modena believe his miraculous intercession saved them from the invading
Huns , when he conjured up dense fog that hid the city.Geminianusis rarely appears in art, but when shown is typically depicted as a bishop holding a mirror in which the Mary is reflected; a bishop holding a model of the town of San Gimignano; a man calming a storm at sea; or a man exorcising the daughter of the Byzantine emperor
Jovian .The saint is also venerated in
Tuscany , especially at his namesake town ofSan Gimignano , and inPontremoli , where the cathedral is dedicated to him.Notes
External links
* [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/39175 San Geminiano di Modena]
* [http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/g/geminianus.shtml Geminianus von Modena]
* [http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienG/Geminianus.htm Geminianus]
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