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Saint Zeno of Verona
Statue of Saint Zeno from the Basilica of San Zeno
Bishop, Martyr
Born	300, Mauretania
Died	April 12, 371, Verona
Major shrine	Basilica di San Zeno, Verona
Feast	April 12; May 21 (translation of relics)
Attributes	fish, fishing rod, or a bishop holding a fishing rod, or with a fish hanging from his crozier.
Patronage	Fishermen, anglers, newborn babies, Verona

Zeno of Verona, Italian: Zenone da Verona (about 300 – 371 or 380) was either an early Christian Bishop of Verona or martyr. He is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.

Life and historicity

According to a Veronese author named Coronato, a notary of the seventh century, Zeno was a native of North Africa, from Mauretania.¹ There is no clear historical evidence for this¹, and it is unknown why Zeno would have left North Africa, unless, as Antonio Borrelli posits, Zeno moved at the time when persecutions of Christians stopped and thus there was more freedom of movement across the Roman Empire, or that he was the son of an African official working in Northern Italy, a consequence of Constantine's bureaucratic reforms.¹ Another theory is that Zeno was a follower of Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, who accompanied his master when the latter visited Verona in 340.¹

The style of the 90 or so Sermones, attributed to Zeno, has also been considered evidence of his African origins due to its literary style, since Christian African writers of the time frequently used neologisms and wordplay.¹ Many of the Sermones concern Old Testament exegesis and “have a definite anti-Semitic element in them”.²

Staying in the city, Zeno entered the monastic life, living as a monk until around 362, when he was elected successor to the see of Verona after the death of Bishop Gricinus (Cricinus, Cricino).¹

Zeno had “received a good classical education”³, and as bishop baptized many people, won converts back from Arianism, lived a life of poverty, trained priests to work in the diocese, set up a convent for women, and reformed how the Agape feast was celebrated, and forbade funeral masses being accompanied by attendees' load groans and wailing.⁴ Zeno’s other reforms included instructions concerning adult baptism (which occurred by complete immersion) and issuing medals to people newly baptized to the Catholic faith.⁵

Zeno's episcopate lasted for about ten years, and the date of his death is sometimes given as April 12, 372.¹

Zeno is described as a confessor of the faith in early martyrologies.⁶ St. Gregory the Great calls him a martyr in his Dialogues; Saint Ambrose, a contemporary of Zeno, does not.⁷ Ambrose speaks of Zeno's “happy death”, although as a confessor, Zeno may have suffered persecution (but not execution) during the reigns of Constantius II and Julian the Apostate.⁸ There is an entry in the Roman Martyrology for the Bishop of Verona who was martyred by Roman Emperor Gallenius, on April 12, 371. There are problems with this date, however, as Gallenius' rule ended in 268.

The first evidence for his existence is found in a letter written by Saint Ambrose to Bishop Syagrius of Verona in which Ambrose refers to the holiness of Zeno.¹ Later, Bishop St. Petronius of Verona (r. 412-429) would write of Zeno’s virtues and also confirm the existence of a cult dedicated to Saint Zeno.¹

A document written between 781 and 810, called the Rhytmus Pipinianus, Carmen Pipinianum, or Versus de Verona, an elegy of the city in verse, states that Zeno was the eighth bishop of Verona.¹

Veneration

San Zeno Altarpiece. Zeno is on the far right.

Zeno’s liturgical feast day is celebrated on April 12, but in the diocese of Verona, it is also celebrated on May 21, in honor of the translation of his relics on May 21, 807.¹ Tradition states that Zeno built the first basilica in Verona, situated in the area probably occupied by the present-day cathedral.¹ It was rebuilt in the times of Theodoric the Great and in 804 it was said to have been damaged by “infidels,” perhaps by the Hungarians or Eurasian Avars.¹ The basilica was rebuilt by Bishop Rotaldus and was consecrated on December 8, 806; two local hermits, Benignus and Carus, were assigned the task of translating Zeno’s relics to a new marble crypt.¹ Pepin the Hunchback, son of Charlemagne, was also present at the ceremony, as were the Bishops of Cremona and Salzburg, as well as an immense crowd of townspeople.¹

The church was damaged again during the end of the 9th century by Hungarians, though the relics of Zeno remained safe.¹ The basilica would be rebuilt again –and made much larger and stronger. Financial support was provided by Otto I, and was re-consecrated in 967, a ceremony presided over by the Bishop Raterius of Verona.¹

Legends and iconography

The Adige flowing through Verona.

Zeno is the patron saint of fishermen and anglers, the city of Verona, newborn babies as well as children learning to speak and walk. Some 30 churches or chapels have been built in his name.

The bronze doorways of the Basilica in Verona includes, besides stories from the Bible, depicts the miracles of Saint Zeno. These depictions were drawn from stories, including those recorded by the notary Coronato.¹

According to legend he was stolen at birth and briefly replaced by a demonic changeling. One story relates that Saint Zeno, one day fishing on the banks of the Adige, which he did in order to feed himself (rather than as recreation), saw a peasant crossing the river in a horse and cart. The horses began to get strangely skittish. Zeno, believing this to be the work of the devil, made the sign of the cross, and the horses calmed down.¹ Zeno was often said to combat the devil, and is sometimes depicted treading on a demon.¹ Another story relates that he exorcised a demon from the body of the daughter of Gallienus (though Zeno probably did not live during the reign of Gallienus). The story relates that Gallienus, grateful, allowed Zeno and other Christians freedom of worship in the empire.¹

St. Gregory the Great, at the end of the 6th century, relates a miracle associated with the divine intercession of Zeno.¹ In 485, the Adige over flooded its banks, inundating the Verona around 485. The water reached the church dedicated to Saint Zeno, but water did not enter it –even though the door was wide open. The church was donated to Theodelinda, an alleged eyewitness to the miracle and wife of king Authari.¹

He most often represented with fishing-related items such as a fish, fishing rod, or a bishop holding a fishing rod, or with a fish hanging from his crozier. "Local tradition says the bishop was fond of fishing in the nearby river Adige," writes Alban Butler, "but it is more likely that originally it was a symbol of his success in bringing people to baptism."⁹

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Category:Saint Zeno

References

External links

• Patron Saint index
• The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints as reprinted by Eternal Word Television Network
• Latin Opera Omnia
• (Italian) San Zeno (Zenone) di Verona
• (German) "Zeno of Verona - Following the footsteps of a saint in Europe": Article series with photographic documentation and maps

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 5 October 2008, at 18:34.

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