Gaudentius of Novara

Saint Gaudentius was bishop of Novara at the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth and is considered the first bishop of the city. According to some sources he was born in 327 at Ivrea and died on 22 January 418 at Novara. He is commemorated on 22 January.

Tradition says he was born into a pagan family at Ivrea and was converted to Christianity by Saint Eusebius of Vercelli. According to some sources, Eusebius ordained him a priest and sent him to Novara to help a Christian priest named Laurence (Laurentius). Eusebius was exiled after the synod of Milan in 355, and according to some sources Gaudentius accompanied him into exile. Eusebius sent him back to Novara, where Laurence had been killed. In his mission Gaudentius had a new ally, Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan. Simplician, Ambrose's successor, consecrated him bishop of Novara in 398. Gaudentius preached and ordained many new clergy. A miracle reported of his death says that his head continued to speak after the saint had died, so that the clergy could record and repeat his sermons.

The Basilica of San Gaudenzio in Novara, like many other churches in the region, bears his name. In icons he is shown holding a model of a church.