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| St. Rufinus of Assisi (Feast Day - July 30) |
According to tradition, Rufinus of Assisi (Rufino in Italian), who is the patron saint of Assisi, Italy, was the first Bishop of Assisi. He was responsible for converting Assisi to Christianity, but at what date is disputed. He is said to have died as a martyr at Costano, where a church was dedicated to him in 1038, and whence, according to Petrus Damiani, his relics were translated to Assisi in the 8th century. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia he is likely the same saint denoted under 11 August in the Roman Martyrology as Episcopus Marsorum (Bishop of the Marche).
His remains were put to rest in a Roman sarcophagus. The front is sculpted in low relief with the myth of Selene and Endymion. It is now located under the main altar of the Cathedral of San Rufino, which is the third church to have been erected over his remains.
