St. Gaudentius of Brescia

Biography

St. Gaudentius (d. c. 410) became bishop of Brescia, in northern Italy, around 387, succeeding St. Philastrius. At the time of his predecessor's death he was on pilgrimage in the East, and the people of Brescia bound themselves by oath to accept no other bishop. With the backing of St. Ambrose of Milan and other bishops, they compelled him to return, and Ambrose consecrated him. In the sermon he preached on that occasion, Gaudentius apologized for his youth and unworthiness. On his travels he had obtained relics of saints, including the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, from the nieces of St. Basil the Great in Caesarea of Cappadocia. He built a church in Brescia to house them, which he called the 'Assembly of the Saints.' In 405 he was part of a delegation sent by Pope Innocent I and the Western emperor to Constantinople to plead for St. John Chrysostom, who had been unjustly exiled. The envoys were mistreated and sent back without being heard, and Chrysostom later wrote to thank Gaudentius. Twenty-one of his sermons and treatises survive, including a series of Easter sermons on the sacraments and the Paschal mystery. He died around 410 and was buried in Brescia.

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