Benedict ( la, Benedictus, it, Benedetto) was

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

from c. 685 to c. 732. He is honoured as a saint in 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 ...

Life

Benedict was archbishop of Milan from c. 685 to c. 732. Among the few information about his life, it is known that he wrote the

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

for Caedwalla, the

king of Wessex This is a list of monarchs of Wessex until AD 886. For later monarchs, see the List of English monarchs. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure. The names are give ...

who was buried in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Benedict returned in Rome at the time of Pope Constantine where he opposed the claim of the bishop of Pavia, Armentarius, that Pavia were immediately subject to Rome. Benedict reminded to the Pope that Pavia historically was under the

Metropolitan See Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

of Milan and that the bishop of Pavia was used to be consecrated by the one of Milan. The pope however ruled in favour of Armentarius, perhaps due to a privilege granted at the times of

Evodius Saint Evodius or Euodias (died circa 69) was an Early Christian bishop of Antioch, succeeding Saint Peter. He is regarded as one of the first identifiable Christians, and venerated as a saint. Biography Little is known of the life of Evodius. ...

or because Pavia was the capital of the

Kingdom of the Lombards The Kingdom of the Lombards ( la, Regnum Langobardorum; it, Regno dei Longobardi; lmo, Regn di Lombard) also known as the Lombard Kingdom; later the Kingdom of (all) Italy ( la, Regnum totius Italiae), was an early medieval state established ...

. To Benedict was due the construction of a church and a monastery in Milan, of which no trace remains. He probably was influential in settling the

Schism of the Three Chapters The Schism of the Three Chapters was a schism that affected Chalcedonian Christianity in Northern Italy lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time. It was part of a larger Three-Chapter ...

. Paul the Deacon, about fifty years after his death, remember him as a saint venerated all over Italy. The day of his death was between 9 and 11 March 732. A poetry written about ten years after his death, ''De laudibus Mediolani'', praises him and informs us that he was buried in the

Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio (official name: ''Basilica romana minore collegiata abbaziale prepositurale di Sant'Ambrogio'') is a church in the center of Milan, northern Italy. History One of the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built by ...

. His feast day is 11 March in the Roman Rite and 6 September in the

Ambrosian Rite The Ambrosian Rite is a Catholic Western liturgical rite, named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century, which differs from the Roman Rite. It is used by some five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese ...

. A late tradition, with no historical basis, associates Benedict with the Milan's family of the Crespi.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict Of Milan, Archbishop Medieval Italian saints Archbishops of Milan 7th-century archbishops 8th-century archbishops 732 deaths 8th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown