Our Father among the Saints Constantius, Bishop of Aquino
Life
Saint Constantius was a sixth-century bishop of Aquino in central Italy, remembered for the gift of prophecy and for the miracles attributed to him. He lived during the lifetime of Saint Benedict of Nursia, and the principal account of his life comes from Pope Gregory the Great, who set down his deeds in the Dialogues.
The most enduring tradition concerning Constantius is a prophecy he made about the future of his own see. Foretelling that Aquino would be served only by humble successors before its episcopal line failed altogether, he linked his own death to the decline of the city under invasion and plague.
Timeline 4 moments
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6th centuryBishop of AquinoConstantius serves as bishop of Aquino during the lifetime of Saint Benedict of Nursia.
c. 570DeathBy some accounts Constantius dies around 570, during the pontificate of Pope John III.
c. 593Recorded by Gregory the GreatPope Gregory the Great sets down Constantius's prophecy and miracles in the Dialogues.
10 December 1742Translation of relicsBishop Spadea translates the saint's relics to the new cathedral dedicated to him.
Contributions & Legacy
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Episcopate and Prophecy
As bishop of Aquino, Constantius was held in regard for prophetic insight and for wonders recorded by Gregory the Great in the Dialogues (Book 3, chapter 8). According to that account, Constantius foretold on his deathbed that he would be succeeded by a muleteer and then by a washerman, after which Aquino would have no further bishops. The prediction was understood to be fulfilled in his immediate successors: Andrew, a deacon who had earlier worked with mules, became bishop, and after him Jovinus, a former washerman. Some accounts place his death around the year 570, during the pontificate of Pope John III (561-573).
The Lombard Invasion and the End of the See
Aquino was overrun by the Lombards, who killed many of its inhabitants, while a severe plague carried off many more. The devastation left no-one fit to serve as bishop after Constantius's two successors, and the see was left without a shepherd, which tradition took as the completion of his prophecy that Aquino would have no more bishops. The bishop Victor of Capua is also recorded as having dedicated a lectionary to Constantius.
Relics & Shrines
The relics of Saint Constantius were found in the old cathedral of Saint Peter at Aquino and were translated on 10 December 1742 by Bishop Spadea to a new cathedral dedicated to the saint. That cathedral was destroyed in May 1944 and afterward rebuilt, being rededicated in October 1963; it honors both Saint Constantius and Saint Thomas Aquinas, who was born nearby. Constantius is named as a co-patron, together with Thomas Aquinas, of Aquino and of the Diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo.
