Saint Fortunatus of Spoleto (died ) was a

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

near

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

sometime between the 4th and 5th centuries. He is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

within 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 ...

.Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome
/ref> Little historical detail regarding Fortunatus survives, but he may have been a native of

Montefalco Montefalco is a historic small hill town in Umbria, Italy, with a population of 5,581 in August 2017. It has been settled since pre-Roman times, and retains many of its historic buildings. From 1446 to 1861 it was part of the Papal States. Montef ...

, a hill town near Spoleto in

.San Fortunato di Spoleto
/ref> He became noted after his death for his charity and love for the poor. A legend told of him states that one day, while plowing a field, Fortunatus found two coins of apparently little value. He placed them in his pocket. That evening, upon meeting a poor man upon the road, Fortunatus decided to give the man the two coins. The sunlight suddenly illuminated the two coins, making them shine like gold. Not wishing to be tempted by

avarice Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as undes ...

, Fortunatus quickly gave the small treasure to the poor man and hurried away. After his death, Fortunatus became the focus of a local cult, and the Convent of San Fortunato near Montefalco was dedicated to him.

References

External links

Booklet on the Life of San Fortunato of Montefalco (also of Spoleto) 1954

San Fortunato di Spoleto
*Commons: Convento di San Fortunato with frescoes by Gozzoli {{authority control Saints from Roman Italy 400 deaths People from the Province of Perugia 4th-century Christian saints 5th-century Christian saints People from Spoleto Year of birth unknown