Eustasius of Aosta

Eustasius of Aosta (about 388 - about 454) was, according to tradition, the first bishop of the ancient see of Augusta Pretoria, now Aosta. His name points to an eastern origin; Pope Benedict XVI thought him a Sardinian. According to Saint Ambrose, the people of Aosta asked Bishop Eusebius of Vercelli, after the year 400, for a bishop of their own, and Eustasius was sent. He seems to be the bishop met in 388 by Victricius of Rouen and the one who took part in 393 in a provincial synod at Milan.

No details of his ministry survive. In 451 he was probably too old to travel to the synod of Milan, so he sent as his representative the presbyter Gratus, who succeeded him. The cult of Gratus, later a saint, overshadowed the first bishop, so that for a long time he was not commemorated in the diocese. His veneration is still only local, with a commemoration on 25 February in the Western calendar (new style). He is a saint of the undivided Church.