Saint Himerius (Imerio, Imier) of Bosto is venerated as a

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

and

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 ...

. He is venerated in the province of

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

jointly with Gemolus (Gemolo), who was martyred with him. (Some scholars believe that the two figures are the same man.) A tradition from the eleventh century holds that Himerius and Gemolus were Nordic companions of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

who was traveling ''

Ad Limina Apostolorum A quinquennial visit ''ad limina'', or simply an ''ad limina'' visit, is the required visit of Catholic residential diocesan bishops and certain prelates with territorial jurisdiction (such as territorial abbots) to the ''thresholds of the'' om ...

''–that is, on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to the sepulchers of St. Peter and

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

at Rome, i.e., to the Basilica of St. Peter and to the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. Himerius and Gemolus were killed during an assault on the bishop's entourage at

Valganna Valganna is a ''comune'' (municipality) within the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km northwest of Milan and about 13 km north of Varese. The name Valganna is a compound of valley and Ganna, which is ...

by a band of men from

Uboldo Uboldo ( lmo, Ubold or ''Ambold'' ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 20 km northwest of Milan and about 25 km southeast of Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= ...

Seprio Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity, and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages, before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287. It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern ''comune'' of Castelsepri ...

. Gemolus was buried at Ganna–where an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

dedicated to him arose in 1095, built by Atto (Attone), Ardericus (Arderico), Inghizo (Inghizone) with the permission of

Arnulf III, Archbishop of Milan Arnulf III (Italian: ''Arnolfo di Porta Argentea'' or ''di Porta Orientale'' Landolfo Iuniore, ''Historia''. He makes Arnulf descended from a family of local captains.) (died 1097) was the Archbishop of Milan from his election on 6 December 1093 to ...

. Himerius, who escaped, eventually succumbed to his wounds at Varese, where he was buried in the church of San Michele at Bosto. The church was later named after him.

Another version of their story

A further elaboration states that Himerius and Gemolus pursued their attackers, and that Gemolus was in fact the bishop's nephew. Camped for the night at

, the bishop was robbed of his horse and other valuables by a band of brigands from Uboldo. Gemolus and Himerius pursued the brigands and caught up with them. Gemolus demanded the booty back in the name of God and the Apostles Peter and Paul. The brigands refused and cut his head off. They attacked Himerius, who escaped, but later died.Passio di San Gemolo
/ref> Gemolus survived the decapitation and, in the tradition of the

cephalophores A cephalophore (from the Greek for "head-carrier") is a saint who is generally depicted carrying their own severed head. In Christian art, this was usually meant to signify that the subject in question had been martyred by beheading. Depicting the ...

, collected his own head, climbed on horseback, and reunited with his uncle the bishop on a small mountain before he finally died. The bishop buried him on that spot and erected a small church dedicated to

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

and protector of cemeteries.

Veneration

Gemolo's

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

were determined to be authentic by a commission set up in 1941, which was headed by Cardinal

Ildefonso Schuster Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster OSB (, ; 18 January 1880 – 30 August 1954), born Alfredo Ludovico Schuster, was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and professed member from the Benedictines who served as the Archbishop of Milan from 1929 until his d ...

. The saints are mentioned in two historical sources: the ''Liber Notitiae Sanctorum Mediolani'', a manuscript of the 13th century, attributed to Goffredo da Bussero and conserved in the archiepiscopal archives of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

; and the Gospel of the Passion, which is guarded in the archives of the Abbey of Ganna. Rocks stained red with a particular algae found near the Abbey of Ganna were identified with the drops of Gemolus' blood in popular tradition. This led the monks to construct a second oratory some distance from the road in the 14th century to accommodate veneration of this particular natural phenomenon.

Notes

External links

Sant' Imerio di Bosto

San Gemolo
* San Gemolo at the

Italian Wikipedia The Italian Wikipedia ( it, Wikipedia in italiano) is the Italian-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was created on May 11, 2001 and first edited on June 11, 2001. As of , , it has articles and more than registered accounts. It is t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Himerius Of Bosto Medieval Italian saints Cephalophores 11th-century Christian saints