Fortunatus of Casei
Saint Fortunatus of Casei () is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Tradition makes him a member of the Theban Legion, and thus martyred at Agaunum. However, his relics were situated in the catacombs of Saint Callixtus in Rome until 1746, when Cardinal Guadagni, Roman vicar to Benedict XIV, re-exhumed and displayed Fortunatus’ relics in the collegiate church of Santa Maria in Via Lata in Rome. It is unclear how the relics of Fortunatus reached Rome from the saint's supposed place of death in the Swiss Alps.

From Santa Maria in Via Lata, Fortunatus’ relics were translated to Casei Gerola in 1765, as a gift to the church there from the Holy See. Casei Gerola, in the province of Pavia, was an important village of the diocese of Tortona, which had close ties to the papacy. His relics were kept in an urn; Fortunatus’ skull was crushed, indicating the cause of death to be a fatal blow to the head.

Another source states that he was venerated in the catacombs of Saint Priscilla in Rome until 1600, when some of his relics were translated to Turbigo, although his relics were also claimed by Casei from 1700 onwards. There may have been two saints with the same name of Fortunatus. Some of his relics are also claimed by the parish of Lonate Pozzolo.

He was proclaimed patron saint of Pantelleria after he is believed to have aided the island through miraculous intervention during an earthquake in 1831 and a seaquake in 1891. A procession in honor of the saint is held on October 16; a statue of the saint is carried on a boat.
Q43115
saint
Concept
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Catholic Church
Concept
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Theban Legion
ORG
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Agaunum
LOC
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relics
Concept
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catacombs
LOC
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Saint Callixtus
PER
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Rome
LOC
None
Cardinal Guadagni
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Benedict XIV
PER
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collegiate church
Concept
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Santa Maria in Via Lata
LOC
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Swiss Alps
LOC
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translated
UNK
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Casei Gerola
LOC
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Holy See
LOC
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Pavia
LOC
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diocese of Tortona
LOC
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urn
Concept
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Saint Priscilla
ORG
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Turbigo
LOC
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Lonate Pozzolo
LOC
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patron saint
Concept
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Pantelleria
LOC
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earthquake
Concept
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seaquake
Concept
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Fortunatus of Casei
PER
1746-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1746
DATE
1765-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1765
DATE
1600-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1600
DATE
1700-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1700
DATE
1831-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1831
DATE
1891-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1891
DATE
+16^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
16
NUMBER
canonization status
located in the administrative territorial entity
located in the administrative territorial entity
subclass of