Dalmatius of Pedona

Saint Dalmatius of Pedona (also called Dalmatius of Pavia) was, according to tradition, a priest and preacher in northern Italy, who died in 254 or in 304 and is counted a hieromartyr. He is venerated especially at Pedona (now Borgo San Dalmazzo), and his commemoration is on 5 December. He is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church; our sources mention no Orthodox veneration.

There is no certain information about the century in which he lived or the manner of his death. He may have been simply a local preacher of northern Italy. His Life was composed in the seventh or eighth century, probably by a Lombard monk of the monastery of Pedona, on the basis of oral tradition. One source places the monastery of Pedona in Lombardy.

According to this Life, Dalmatius was born in the town of Forum Germarzorum (now San Damiano Macra) and became a cleric and preacher at Pedona. In the tenth century, when the surroundings of Pedona were devastated by Muslim raids, his relics were carried to Quargnento. The inscription on the tomb says that the saint's body was placed there by Audax, bishop of Asti.

In France, according to a tradition of the ninth century, Saint Dalmatius died a martyr. Later legends say that he evangelized many cities of Piedmont, Emilia and Gaul and was killed for the faith, in 254 or 304. The Roman Martyrology, relying on erroneous lists of bishops, considers him a bishop of Pavia.