Honoratus of Fondi

Venerable Honoratus of Fondi was an abbot in the town of Fondi in Italy and is its protector. He was born around the middle of the fifth century in Samnium and died in the year 530. His commemoration is on 16 January, and at Fondi his feast is kept solemnly on 10 October.

According to the Dialogues of Saint Pope Gregory the Great, Honoratus was the son of Venantius, a settler. In 522 he moved to Fondi and founded a monastery there. He devoted himself to clearing and reclaiming the land and became the spiritual and moral guide of the inhabitants of the area. He departed to the Lord in 530.

His body, together with those of Paternus and Libertinus, lay for a long time buried in the monastery he had built. In 1215 it was moved to the cathedral of Fondi. It was then carried to Montecassino, and only the head remained at Fondi, kept in a silver reliquary bust.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates him on 16 January. In some Benedictine monasteries his day is 30 April. At Fondi, where he is the main patron of the town, the feast is held on 10 October, with a great crowd from neighbouring municipalities, who also visit the fair held on the occasion.

He lived before the separation of the Churches, and so he is venerated as a saint of the undivided Church.