Calimero di Milano – Wikipedia

San Calimero , in latino Calimerius (… – Milan, 280), was bishop of Milan from 270 to 280. It is revered as a saint by the Catholic Church and from the Orthodox church.

The sources are not agreeing on its origins: some legends consider him a noble family Roman who, after a military career with the degree of officer, was first converted and baptized by the saints Faustino and Giovita and, after a life in the service of his faith, ordained bishop of Milan; Other versions indicate him as Greek, who grew up in Rome and educated to the Christian faith by the Pope Telesforo: who fled Milan after the latter was killed by his persecutors, he was welcomed by the Castrian bishop among the members of the Milanese clergy and destined for the Basilica “Fausta “. Upon the death of the latter it was the same Milanese to acclaim him bishop and, to his refusal to submit to their will, to chain him until the moment of episcopal consecration.

Both of these versions leave rise to countless perplexities being the first excessively scar and generic and considering him the second contemporary of Telesforo and Adriano, who lived a century before his bishop’s consecration.

Minority part of historiography, perhaps influenced by this legend, believes more likely that he had been bishop of Milan from 139 to 192, basing his belief on a marble slab placed in the cathedral containing the chronology of the Milanese bishops: in reality this element does not seem probe Since the epigraph in question dates back to the 19th century and does nothing but collect a medieval tradition.
However, there is an explanation for this retrodation of Calimero’s life: in the 11th century, in fact, the Milanese, disagreed with the Roman headquarters at the time of the struggle for investitudes, retrodaled the history of their diocese to demonstrate a “equal seniority” with that of Rome. In this way the lives of many holy bishops (such as anatolone, Caio and Calimero himself) were placed prior to their real existence and greatly expanded to cover the gap of over a century that had been created in this way.

The two biographical versions, however, agreed in the description of his martyrdom, which would be followed by the death sentence imposed on him by the emperor Adriano for having gone in strong collision, in persecuting the enemies of Christianity, with influential characters linked to the imperial court.

Acernimo persecutor of the pagan religion, proponent of the forced baptism of non -Christian, it seems to have been pierced with a spear by some of them while he was in a cemetery in Milan and, as a counterpoint for his baptizing activity, was thrown into a well site in what the pagans considered the sacred area to the god Belenos.

However, even his martyrdom is not certainly at all, having been reported for the first time only in the eighth century and not making any mention in his writings holy.

What however it is sure ^{[ is it to whom? ]} It is that Calimero was much loved by the citizens of Milan, so much so that, immediately after his death, a basilica was built to honor him who, renovated over the centuries, is still present and hosts the saint’s bones in his crypt.

In the eighth century the Bishop Tomaso, during a reconnaissance to the latter, found his skeleton immersed in the water: in the crypt, a well was excavated to make it flow out and in a short time, the belief that its waters were miraculous spread.

In the past, on the occasion of the San Calimero holiday, which took place on 31 July, these were distributed to the sick and, during the drought periods, a bottle of water of the well was consecrated during mass and later overturned on the churchyard, for propitiate the advent of bad weather.

His emblems are pastoral and palm.

In addition to the aforementioned Basilica, among other sacred places dedicated to the saint we can mention the church of San Calimero a Pasturo (LC) and the sanctuary of the Madonna di San Calimero in Bolladello di Cairate (VA).

Maybe it was he who wrote the Letter from Barnaba .