Saint Apollinaris

Apollinaris was the first bishop of Ravenna, on Italy's Adriatic coast. A later tradition says he came from Antioch and was a disciple of Saint Peter, who sent him to Ravenna; historians generally place him in the second century. His preaching won many converts, and he is said to have healed the sick, but he was repeatedly beaten, imprisoned and exiled by the pagan authorities.

Tradition says he endured persecution for many years and died as a result of his sufferings at Classe, the port of Ravenna, which is why the Church honors him as a martyr. Already in the fifth century Saint Peter Chrysologus, one of his successors, praised him as a glorious martyr. In the sixth century the great Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe was built over his tomb, and its apse mosaic shows him standing among sheep in a green paradise, praying for his flock.

Ravenna celebrates its patron on July 23 with solemn Masses in the basilicas of Sant'Apollinare in Classe and Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, both UNESCO World Heritage sites. He is also venerated in Remagen, Germany, where a pilgrimage church on the Rhine is dedicated to him.