Celso de Vercelli

Who they were

Born, according to tradition, in 610 to a noble Vercelli family, Celso was educated at the monastery founded by the city's first bishop, Saint Eusebius, near the cathedral. He was ordained a priest and later elected bishop of Vercelli during the turbulent barbarian invasions, notably the Lombards, firmly defending the apostolic faith against the Arianism the conquerors professed.

His episcopate fell between those of Saint Emilian II and Saint Theodore. A funerary epitaph by the deacon Gratian praised him as an example of doctrinal integrity and purity of life. His veneration flourished in the church of Vercelli until the Eusebian rite was suppressed in the later sixteenth century, after which his memory dropped from the diocesan liturgical calendar.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

Bishop of Vercelli during the Lombard invasions, defended the orthodox faith against Arianism; his veneration was celebrated in the Eusebian rite until it was suppressed in the sixteenth century.