Saint Quirinus of Sescia

Infobox Saint
name= Saint Quirinus of Sescia
birth_date=
death_date=309 AD
feast_day= June 4
venerated_in= Roman Catholic Church


imagesize= 250px
caption= Quirinus of Sescia. Statue in Halsteren.
birth_place=
death_place=Savaria (present-day Szombathely)
titles= Bishop and martyr
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=episcopal attire
patronage=Sisak, Croatia
major_shrine= San Sebastiano fuori le mura, Rome
suppressed_date=
issues=

Saint Quirinus ( _hr. Kvirin) (d. 309 AD) is venerated as an early bishop of Sescia, now Sisak in Croatia. He is mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55800 San Quirino di Siscia ] ]

A "Passio", considered unreliable [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55800 San Quirino di Siscia ] ] , states that Quirinus was killed during the persecutions of Diocletian after being arrested in 309. Quirinus had attempted to flee but was imprisoned. He managed to convert his jailer, named Marcellus, to Christianity. After three days, the governor of Pannonia Prima, Amantius, ordered him taken to Savaria (present-day Szombathely, Hungary), where after attempting to make Quirinus abjure his faith, threw the bishop into the Sava River with a millstone around his neck. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55800 San Quirino di Siscia ] ] A variant of the legend states that he was "almost" killed during Diocletian's persecution of Christians: the authorities tied him to a millstone and threw him into a river, but he freed himself from the weight, escaped and continued to preach his faith. Saint Florian, another saint associated with Pannonia, was also said to have been executed by drowning with a stone tied around his neck.

The "Acts" of the martyrdom of the saint are still in existence (Thierry Ruinart, "Acta martyrum", Ratisbon, 522), also a hymn in his honour by Prudentius (loc. cit., 524).

Veneration

Local Christians of Savara recovered his body and buried it near the gate known as the “Scarabateus.” [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55800 San Quirino di Siscia ] ]

Upon the incursion of the barbarians into Pannonia at the end of the fourth century and at the beginning of the fifth, his relics were taken to Rome and deposited in a mausoleum or vaulted chamber named Platonica, behind the apse of the Basilica of San Sebastiano fuori le mura on the Appian Way (De Waal, "Die Apostelgruft ad Catacumbas an der via Appia", Rome, 1894). [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55800 San Quirino di Siscia ] ] The "Platonica" was a construction at the rear of the basilica that was long believed to have been the temporary resting place for Peter and Paul, but was in fact a tomb for Quirinus.

His cult became popular, as attested by the "Itineraries" of the 7th century. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55800 San Quirino di Siscia ] ]

Some sources state that his relics were translated to various locations, including Milan, Aquileia, and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55800 San Quirino di Siscia ] ] His relics may have also been carried to Tivoli, explaining the existence of a cult to Saint Quirinus of Tivoli, who may or may not be the same saint. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55850 San Quirino di Tivoli ] ]

A church is dedicated to him at Jesenovik.

His feast is observed on June 4.

References

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12615a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia]
*it icon [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/55800 San Quirino di Sescia]