Benignus and Carus

Benignus and Carus (Benigno e Caro) were two hermits who lived in the Lake Garda area near Verona between the 8th and the 9th century, and are venerated as saints in the Western Church. They are commemorated together on 26 July, their common day of birth into heaven.

According to tradition they were two Augustinian hermits who lived in a cave at 800 meters height on the slopes of Monte Baldo, in prayer and meditation, in work and works of charity. They had a reputation for holiness and the inhabitants of the neighboring villages often visited them for advice and prayers. They are tied above all to the translation of the remains of Saint Zeno. According to one version, in 807, once the basilica of San Zeno at Verona was built, Bishop Ratold ordered the body of the patron placed there, and Benignus and Carus were the only ones to accept the task. A more fanciful account, handed down by Girolamo dalla Corte, says that Pepin the Short decided on the translation, but no one could lift the body from the ground, so an old fortuneteller suggested calling Benignus and Carus; the devil tried to lead them astray.

Other anecdotes are told: once they were accused of having as a lover a woman named Olivetta, who regularly visited their cave to do household chores. A deacon summoned them to the bishop to exculpate themselves; they decided to bring him turnips as a gift, and when the deacon remarked that the season for turnips was past, they sowed some that very evening and the next morning gathered two turnips weighing 1 kg 600 g each. On the way a terrible downpour caught them and they came before the bishop soaking wet; having obtained leave to dry themselves, they hung their clothes on a ray of light entering from a window; seeing this and hearing the deacon's story of the turnips, the bishop promptly acquitted them. At their death, on a 26 July, the bishop declared them worthy of veneration and had them buried with honor under the altar of the parish church of Santo Stefano at Malcesine. In 1314 Bishop Teobaldo Fabri moved the relics to a new chapel built in the parish church at Malcesine. The cult is local, limited to Malcesine and neighboring communes; on Monte Baldo there is also the hermitage of Saints Benignus and Carus.