Emiliano d'Irlanda

Who they were

Emiliano was an Irish bishop who went on pilgrimage to Rome to venerate the tombs of the Apostles, and fell ill and died near Faenza on the way home, around the year 780 and before the Lombard conquest of the city in 740 (a detail used to date him). Little else is known of his life.

Evidence of his veneration predates any record of his life: a church dedicated to him already existed at Faenza in the twelfth century, and his relics, after being moved from outside the city, were eventually translated to the cathedral. His tomb was said to have produced numerous miracles when it was rediscovered. His feast, 6 November, was made obligatory for the whole city of Faenza in 1512.

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

Irish bishop who died near Faenza on pilgrimage to Rome; his rediscovered tomb was reported to have produced many miracles; feast 6 November, of precept in Faenza.