Saint Pamphilus of Sulmona ( it, Panfilo di Sulmona) (d. early 8th century) was bishop of Sulmona and 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 ...

. Pamphilus was born in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

, probably around the middle of the 7th century. He was the son of a pagan who repudiated him when he converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. He was elected bishop of

Sulmona Sulmona ( nap, label= Abruzzese, Sulmóne; la, Sulmo; grc, Σουλμῶν, Soulmôn) is a city and ''comune'' of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is located in the Valle Peligna, a plain once occupied by a lake that disappeared in ...

in 682. He is traditionally described as a person of a very generous and kindly spirit who was much concerned with the evangelisation of the invading

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 and ...

. He died at

Corfinio Corfinio is a ''comune'' (municipality) and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. In the Middle Ages, Roman ''Corfinium'' was known as Valva, and was the seat of a bishopric. This name is preserved in the name of the uni ...

, of which he was also bishop, probably shortly after 700. He is the patron saint of the cities of

Spoltore Spoltore (locally ''Spuldórë'') is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy, with a population of c. 17,000. image:Spoltore cstorico giorno 01.jpg, left, 220px, View of Spoltore. Personality * Giuseppangelo ...

and

Scerni Scerni ( Abruzzese: ') is a town of 3,645 inhabitants of the province of Chieti is part of the Middle Vastese. Total area is , and population density is 89 inhab/km2. The county has borders with Atessa, Gissi, Monteodorisio and Pollutri. Scer ...

, where there are churches dedicated to him, including Sulmona Cathedral. His feast is April 28.

References

San Panfilo di Sulmona
7th-century births 7th-century Italian bishops 8th-century Christian saints 8th-century deaths Bishops in Abruzzo Italian Roman Catholic saints {{italy-RC-bishop-stub