Gaudentius of Évora

Gaudentius of Évora was, according to tradition, a nobleman of Évora in Portugal who lived in the first centuries of Christianity and worked to convert his fellow citizens. Persecuted, he chose exile in the Bregaglia valley, where he preached to idolaters and Arians. He was finally struck down with an axe in a pine wood near Vicosoprano. The cult of his relics was approved in the 16th century. He is commemorated on 2 August, in the Western calendar (new style). A saint venerated in the West, of the undivided Church; his exact time is not known.