Felician of Foligno

Saint Felician of Foligno was born around the year 160 in Forum Flaminii, along the Via Flaminia in what is now San Giovanni Profiamma, into a Christian family. Formed in faith as a spiritual disciple of Pope Eleuterus, he devoted himself to preaching the Gospel throughout central Italy, bringing Christ’s light to places such as Foligno, Spello, Bevagna, Assisi, Perugia, Norcia, Trevi, and Spoleto. Around 204, Pope Victor I consecrated him as bishop of Foligno, and tradition remembers him as the first bishop to receive the pallium as a sign of his office. His long episcopate—more than fifty years—helped root the young Church in the region, and he is also remembered for ordaining Valentine of Terni to the priesthood. In extreme old age, during the persecution under Decius, Felician was arrested for refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods. After imprisonment, torture, and scourging, he died near Foligno while being taken to Rome for execution. Venerated as the patron saint of Foligno, his feast day is January 24.