Sant'Equizio diacono

Who they were

Saints Palerio, bishop of Telese, and Equizio, deacon, are tied to the uncertain origins of the diocese of Telese and its first bishops. The one certain record is a twelfth-century inscription, consecrated by Bishop William of Avellino in 1167, recounting a miraculous discovery and burial of their bodies at San Martino Valle Caudina. When the ruined church of San Palerio was later quarried for building stone, their relics and this inscription were rediscovered in 1712.

After examination at Benevento, Cardinal Orsini, later Pope Benedict XIII, had the relics placed under the high altar of the church of San Giovanni Battista in 1713. Their feasts, fixed by the Congregation of Rites in 1795 for the dioceses of Benevento and Telese-Cerreto, are kept on 16 June for Palerio and 18 June for Equizio.

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

Deacon linked with Saint Palerio, first bishop of Telese, whose relics were rediscovered in 1712 through a twelfth-century inscription and enshrined at San Martino Valle Caudina.

Connected on this site

• Benedict XIII Servant of God
  “After examination at Benevento, Cardinal Orsini, later Pope Benedict XIII, had the relics placed under the high altar of the church of San Giovanni Battista in 1713.” — this site's research