Sant'Adiutore

Who they were

Adiutore was a bishop venerated in Campania, attested by the Hieronymian Martyrology and the ninth-century Marble Calendar of Naples. The legend in the Acta Sanctorum describing him as one of twelve African bishops who fled the Vandals is now rejected; he is considered instead a local pastor, the first evangeliser of the region.

His veneration is rooted above all at Cava dei Tirreni, where he is honoured as patron and first bishop, with a feast on 15 May. He is documented there from the ninth century, with churches dedicated to him at Cava (1064) and Giffoni (1096) and a hill named for him at Eboli (1200). At Benevento his relics were placed under the high altar in 1687 by Cardinal Orsini, later Pope Benedict XIII. The title of martyr sometimes given to him is not documented.

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 venerated in Campania since the early Middle Ages, honoured as first bishop and patron of Cava dei Tirreni with a feast on 15 May.

Connected on this site

• Benedict XIII Servant of God
  “At Benevento his relics were placed under the high altar in 1687 by Cardinal Orsini, later Pope Benedict XIII.” — this site's research