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| St. Stephen of Nicaea (Feast Day - July 5) |
There is a special tie between Saint Paul and the Church in Reggio Calabria since the latter originated from the preaching of the Apostle, who landed in Reggio from Syracuse during his journey from Ceasarea to Rome in 61 A.D., and stayed for a day as the Acts of the Apostles (28:13) states: "And from there, following the coast, we reached Regium."
While Saint Paul was the first to preach the gospel and to start the first Christian community in Reggio, it was Saint Stephen from Nicaea who was named its first bishop and left by the Apostle as bishop when he went to Pozzuoli. It is believed Stephen was martyred during the persecution of Nero.