Nicodemus of Mammola

Saint Nicodemus of Mammola, also called Nicodemus of Cirò, was born around the year 900 in Calabria, likely at Ypsicron, present-day Cirò. His parents, Theophanus and Pandia, entrusted his spiritual formation to a priest named Galato, and from an early age Nicodemus felt drawn to the hidden life of prayer and penance. Seeking the company of the ascetics of the Mercurion in the cliffs of the Pollino, he was at first turned away by the austere abbot Saint Fantinus, who doubted his strength for such mortifications. Yet Nicodemus persevered, and in time was received, growing in holiness among monks renowned throughout the region. Desiring greater solitude, he later withdrew to Mount Cellerano in Locride, where his sanctity drew others and a new monastic community formed around him. When Muslim raids threatened the area, he moved first to Gerace and then to Mammola, where a monastery would later flourish. He died in 990, and miracles were soon reported at his tomb. Venerated especially in Calabria, he is the patron of Mammola. His feast day is March 12.