Saint Venantius Fortunatus

Venantius Fortunatus was born around 530 near Treviso, Italy, and studied in Ravenna. After his eyes were healed, he believed through the intercession of Saint Martin, he traveled to Martin's tomb at Tours in thanksgiving and settled in Gaul. In Poitiers he became a friend and adviser of Saint Radegund and her nuns, and when a relic of the True Cross arrived there in 569 he wrote the hymns "Vexilla Regis" and "Pange lingua gloriosi proelium certaminis." He was ordained a priest and, around 600, became bishop of Poitiers, dying in the early 7th century.

His hymns are still sung in the Church's liturgy during Lent and Holy Week, especially on Good Friday. He also wrote poems and lives of the saints of Gaul.