Benignus

ON ST. BENIGNUS, ARCHDEACON OF BENEVENTO, MARTYR,

from the Catalogue of the Saints of Benevento by Mario de Vipera.

Benignus, Archdeacon of Benevento, Martyr (St.)

[1] Benignus, Archdeacon of Benevento, having been adorned with the palm of martyrdom for his confession of the Catholic faith at Benevento by the Arians, in the time of King Odoacer, who was also an Arian and then ruled Italy, departed to the Lord with his Bishop Sophius: The Acts of St. Benignus are unknown: although this rests on no testimony of ancient authors, yet ancient tradition supports it. His ashes are preserved in the most august church of St. Sophia, as is found in a manuscript codex written in Lombard script existing there, relics. in which the names of the Saints are noted, whose bodies and relics are entombed there, which teaches nothing else except that the Martyr fell at Benevento for the defense of the Catholic faith. This codex is today preserved not at Benevento in the aforesaid church, but at Rome in the Vatican Library, on this occasion: not many years ago, when Cardinal Ascanio Colonna, Commendatory of the Church of St. Sophia, had arranged for it to be transported to Rome with certain other codices, also ancient manuscripts, extracted from the same archive, upon his death they came into the possession of the Duke of Altemps: and when he too had died, Pope Paul V, having knowledge of them, lest they perish, brought them to be preserved in the Vatican Library. This we have taken care to note here for the future memory of the matter.