Severinus of Noricum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saint Severinus of Noricum |
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Severin von Noricum (c.1470)
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| Born | c. 410 Southern Italy or Africa, Western Roman Empire |
| Died | 8 January 482 Favianae, Noricum, Kingdom of Odoacer (today by Mautern an der Donau) |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 8 January |
Saint Severinus of Noricum (born around 410 – died January 8, 482) was a very important religious leader. He is often called the "Apostle to Noricum" because he helped spread Christianity in that area. People believe he was born in either Southern Italy or the Roman province of Africa. Severinus never talked much about his early life. He first appeared along the Danube River in Noricum after the death of Attila in 453. He did mention that he had experience with monks living in the desert in the East.
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Who Was Saint Severinus?
We don't know much about where Severinus came from. Most of what we know about him comes from a book written in 511 by a person named Eugippius, called Commemoratorium vitae s. Severini.
Severinus was a Roman from a good family who chose to live a simple life as a hermit in the East. He lived a very strict and disciplined life. He is first mentioned traveling along the Danube River in Noricum and Bavaria. He spent his time teaching about Christianity, finding food for people who were starving, helping to free people who had been captured, and setting up monasteries in places like Passau and Favianae.
Helping People in a Changing World
During a time when the Western Roman Empire was collapsing, Severinus used his great skills to help the people living on the borders. He provided religious and practical support. He also helped organize their defense against invaders. He set up places for refugees, helped people move to safer areas, and made sure food was given out to those who needed it.
His hard work earned him a lot of respect, even from the Germanic leader Odoacer. Eugippius wrote that Severinus predicted Odoacer would become king of Rome. However, Severinus also warned that Odoacer would rule for no more than fourteen years. According to Eugippius, Gibuld of the Alamanni often attacked Passau. Severinus asked him to free his Roman prisoners. Gibuld was so impressed by Severinus that he agreed to free seventy of them.
Severinus also supposedly predicted that Asturis (a Roman camp near modern-day Klosterneuburg) would be destroyed by the Huns. When the people didn't listen to his warning, he moved to Comagena for safety.
He created centers for people who had lost their homes because of invasions. He also started monasteries to help bring back spiritual life and keep learning alive in the troubled region.
His Final Days
Severinus died in his monastery cell in Favianae while singing Psalm 150. Six years after he died, his monks were forced to leave their abbey. His body was taken to Italy, first to Castel dell'Ovo in Naples. Later, it was buried in a Benedictine monastery in Naples, which was renamed the Abbey of San Severino in his honor.
Severinus is considered the patron saint of Austria and Bavaria.
Stories About His Life
Paul the Deacon, who wrote in the 8th century, mentioned the monastery Severinus founded near Vienna in his book History of the Lombards:
In these lands of Noricum at that time was the monastery of the blessed Severinus. He was full of holiness and self-control, and was already famous for his many good deeds. He lived in these places until the end of his life. Now, however, Neapolis holds his remains.
The main story of Severinus's life, called the Vita, was written by Eugippius. Besides Eugippius's work, the only other old source that mentions Saint Severinus is the Vita beati Antonii by Magnus Felix Ennodius, who was a bishop.
In his book History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon wrote that a lady from Naples invited Severinus's followers to bring his body to her home in 488. This home was called castellum Lucullanum. This estate was turned into a monastery before 500 to keep the saint's remains, and Eugippius became the leader there. This estate was also known as the place where the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was sent after he lost his power. This makes some people think that the Neapolitan woman, Barbaria, who received the relics, might have been Augustulus's mother.
Martin Luther mentioned Saint Severinus in his Ninety-five Theses. He wondered if all souls in purgatory truly want to be freed, noting that it was said not to be the case for saints like Severinus and Paschalis.
See also
