St. Venantius is the patron saint of the Italian town of Camerino.

He was an early Christian martyr put to death during the reign of the emperor Decius (249-251 AD). Venantius was martyred with ten other Christians, but before he was killed, Venantius was scourged, burned badly by being torched and hung upside-down over a fire, and was thrown to hungry lions. Venantius, however, remained untouched throughout the entire ordeal. Some legends say that he was tossed off a cliff, Venantius apparently survived that as well, and crawled to the town of Camerino to escape his persecutors.

Finally, his torturers found that the only way they could kill Venantius was to crucify him. They crucified him upside down.

Despite his gruesome story, Venantius became a popular saint in the town of Camerino. A basilica named after him was built in Camerino in the fifth century. Locals began to pray to Venantius for cures from anything from leprosy to peptic ulcers.

Venantius became Camerino’s patron saint: his face began to be stamped on their coins, and the residents of Camerino risked their lives during the sacking of Camerino by Sicilians in 1259 to save his relics.

Venantius is still a beloved local saint and an excellent reminder of who saints are to us and to all the Church: local men and women—our neighbors, small nobodies from our towns and villages, whose witness of love and faith leave marks on the places they lived for centuries to come.

St. Venantius of Camerino, brave martyr of the early church—pray for us!