Dionysius of Augsburg

Who they were

Dionysius probably lived in the 3rd or 4th century; according to the Acts of Saint Afra, he was her uncle, and was baptised and ordained bishop of Augsburg by Narcissus, bishop of Girona. During the persecution of Diocletian he was martyred, according to tradition either burned at the stake or beheaded, though the details are legendary, and some sources confuse him with Zosimus, the first bishop of Augsburg.

Relics discovered at the church of Sant'Ulrico in Augsburg in the early 12th century were considered to be his; by order of Pope Alexander IV they were solemnly translated on 26 February 1258, the day on which he has been commemorated ever since.

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 Augsburg, said to have been martyred under Diocletian; his relics, found at the church of Sant'Ulrico, were solemnly translated in 1258; feast 26 February.