Domninus of Avrillé

Who they were

Donnino (Domninus) is venerated as a child martyr at Avrillé. According to tradition he was of Jewish origin, converted to Christianity, and was put to death at the age of ten on the order of the prefect Riziovarus, tortured with hot nails and beheaded; his veneration was already rooted at Avrillé, in the Vendée, before the Norman invasions.

To save his relics from Norman raiders, Abbot Godoleno of Nouaillé had them translated first to Mazerolles, in the diocese of Vienne, then to Manglieu near Puy-de-Dôme; in the Middle Ages they were further divided, part going to the cathedral of Puy-en-Velay and part to Chandieu (Champdieu). His feast is kept on 21 July in the diocese of Luçon and on 16 July in Poitou and at Puy-en-Velay.

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

Child martyr venerated at Avrillé, said in tradition to have been put to death at the age of ten under the prefect Riziovarus; feast 16 July in Poitou, 21 July in the diocese of Luçon.