Valerian

Holy Martyr Valerian of Forlì is, according to medieval traditions, a patron saint of the city of Forlì in Italy.

According to one tradition, he was a soldier in Roman times and died a martyr in his city, probably at the place called San Valeriano (today San Varano), together with eighty companions, the martyrs of Forlì. It is said that, though a soldier, he refused to fight, both so as not to endanger the innocent and because he renounced violence, and that he converted his fellow soldiers. Another tradition, connected with the church of Santa Maria del Voto, attributes miracles and exorcisms to a hermit and preacher of Roman times of the same name.

On 4 May 1848, in the cathedral of Santa Croce at Forlì, his bones were moved from the chapel of the Madonna del Fuoco to the main altar. He is depicted on the ancient seal of the city and on that of the bishop of Forlì. He is remembered locally on 22 November but does not appear in the official Roman Martyrology; in 1967 the Sacred Congregation of Rites removed his feast of 4 May from the liturgical calendar, because of confusion about the historical identity of Valerian. He is honoured as a saint of the undivided Church, locally, without synodal canonization.