Calimerius of Milan

Saint Calimerius of Milan was an early bishop of Milan, who died in the year 280 and is honoured as a saint in the Catholic and the Orthodox Church. He is remembered on 31 July.

The only thing known for certain about him is that he was a bishop whose relics were kept after his death in the basilica of Saint Calimerius in Milan. He was probably not a contemporary and disciple of Pope Telesphorus (second century), as is often stated, but lived in the third century, with an episcopate of 270-280. The marble plaque inside the cathedral of Milan states that his episcopate lasted from 139 to 192, but these dates, because of disputes with Rome, may have been falsified in the eleventh century to make the diocese appear more ancient than it was.

According to one version of his legend, he was born to a noble Roman family, entered military service and reached the rank of officer when he was converted to Christianity by Saints Faustinus and Jovita. According to another legend, he was born in Greece and educated at Rome, a disciple of Pope Telesphorus. He succeeded Saint Castricianus, was ordained priest by him and served at the Basilica Fausta (now the church of Saints Vitalis and Agricola). At the death of Castricianus he was elected bishop. According to his legend, when he became bishop of Milan he preached in the region and was killed in the persecutions of Christians by Commodus or Hadrian, by being flung headfirst into a well.

His relics were exhumed in the eighth century by Bishop Tommaso Grassi of Milan. The urn with the relics was found submerged in water, perhaps because of the many underground channels that ran under the city. The fact that they were found thus led to the legend that Calimerius was flung into a well. In the eleventh century the Datiana Historia, written by an anonymous author, says that Calimerius was flung into a well as revenge for having baptized so many pagans. The same source adds the detail that he was a Greek raised in Rome and a disciple of Telesphorus, which is historically doubtful. The crypt of San Calimero is considered miraculous.