January 8

Saint Severinus of Noricum

Roman Martyrology

Stood by the people of the Danube frontier as Roman rule collapsed

Severinus appeared in Noricum, a Roman province along the Danube in today’s Austria, soon after Attila’s death in 453. Roman rule there was collapsing, and Germanic peoples raided the frontier towns. He never said where he came from, though his Latin marked him as a Roman.

Most of what we know comes from a Life written about thirty years after his death by Eugippius, one of his monks. Severinus gathered food and clothing for starving towns, ransomed captives and bargained with the Rugian kings to protect the people. He founded small monasteries, notably at Favianis (Mautern). Eugippius says he went barefoot even in winter, and the Life also tells of prophecies and miracles.

He died at Favianis on 8 January 482. When the Romans left the region a few years later, they took his body with them to Italy. He is remembered as a monk who stayed to care for ordinary people in a frightening time.

Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Isaiah 58:6–7 · BSB

A prayer

God of compassion, in a time of war and hunger you sent your servant Severinus to feed the hungry, free captives and give hope to frightened towns. When the world around us feels unsafe, give us the courage to stay close to those in need and to serve them with practical love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.