Defendens of Thebes ( it, San Defendente di Tebe) is venerated as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Venerated as a soldier-saint, Defendens was, according to

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

tradition, a member of the

Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum) figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt—"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men"—who converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together in 286, acc ...

, and thus martyred at

Agaunum Agaunum was an outpost in Roman Switzerland, predecessor of the modern city of Saint-Maurice in the canton of Valais, southwestern Switzerland. It was used by the Roman Empire for the collection of the '' Quadragesima Galliarum''. In Christian tr ...

. Particular veneration for Defendens was widespread in

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

; evidence for this cult dates from as early as 1328. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

was celebrated in the cities of

Chivasso Chivasso (; pms, Civass) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin. Chivasso has a population of about 27,000. It is situated on the left bank of the Po river, near the inf ...

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

, and Lodi on January 2, and

oratories Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

, altars, and confraternities were dedicated to him. He also enjoyed veneration in

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

; the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' states that “several saints belong in a particular way to Marseilles: the soldier St. Victor, martyr under

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

; the soldier St. Defendens and his companions, martyrs at the same time...” But as Antonio Borrelli writes, some scholars believe that the Defendens venerated in Italy is different from the martyr who was a member of the Theban Legion.

Veneration

There is an oratory dedicated to him at

Solto Collina Solto Collina (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Bergamo. Solto Collina borders the following municipalities: ...

. There is also a church dedicated to him at

Clusone Clusone (Bergamasque: ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. Located in the Val Seriana, it received the honorary title of city on 15 May 1957 with a presidential decree which ratified a Napoleon's promise ...

, the church of San Defendente, and another at

Invorio Invorio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. Invorio borders the following municipalities: Ameno, Arona, Bolzano Novarese, ...

. Until 1476 his relics, according to the 1578 ''Martyrologium Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae'' of

Pietro Galesino Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II C ...

, were kept in the church of Santa Croce in Casale Monferrato, which suggested that his martyrdom may have taken place in that region.Cited in Giuseppe Cappelletti
''Le chiese d'Italia della loro origine sino ai nostri giorni''
21 vols (Venice: 1844–70), XIV: ''Stati Sardi: Torino e le sue chiese suffraganee'' (1858), p. 565. The painter

Defendente Ferrari Defendente Ferrari (c. 1480/1485 – c. 1540) was an Italian painter active in Piedmont. His work marks the transition from late Gothic traditions to Renaissance art in the region. Life and work Ferrari was born at Chivasso, near Turin. ...

, born at Chivasso, where Defendens was venerated, carries the baptismal name of this martyr.

Gallery

Image:Martinolio Madonna col Bambino Boccioleto Ronchi.jpg, Cristoforo Martinolio, "il Rocca", ''Madonna Enthroned with the Infant Christ and St Peter , Saint Paul, St John the Baptist, St Defendens'' (far right). Image:SGiorgio8.jpg, Saint Defendens, attributed to the "Maestro del 1388". Chiesa di San Giorgio in Lemine. Image:SoltoCollina oratorio SanDefendente.JPG, Oratorio di San Defendente,

. Image:Clusone defendente defendes 06.jpg, Image of Saint Defendens. Church of San Defendente at

References

External links

*{{in lang, it}
San Defendente di Tebe
3rd-century Christian martyrs 286 deaths Year of birth unknown it:Defendente