Victor of Fausania

Victor of Fausania (Vittore) was the first historical bishop of the diocese of Gallura in Sardinia, from 599 to 601, and reposed in the year 601. He is venerated in the Western Church.

The place Fausania, or Phausiana, was tied to the history of Olbia, destroyed by the Vandals around 455. The survivors settled in the countryside nearby, by the river Pasana, from which the settlement is thought to have taken its name. That they had bishops earlier is known from the letter of Pope Gregory the Great of June 594, which says that the custom of ordaining a bishop had long lapsed because of the hardness of the times. The pope urged Januarius, archbishop of Cagliari, to provide a new pastor. Victor was chosen; he labored for the conversion of pagans and defended his community from the injustices of the Byzantine governors. In a letter of October 600 the pope asks the governor of Sardinia, Spesindeus, to support his zeal in converting and baptizing many barbarians and provincials of Sardinia.

Victor appears as a pastor zealous for the good of his flock and a caring father. A rural church dedicated to him stands near Olbia, restored in the 17th and 19th centuries. His feast (santu Ittàru, in the Gallurese dialect) is kept on the Sunday before 15 May, in a picturesque gathering.