Saint Elena of Laurino
Also known as
- Eliena
- Helen
- Heliena
- 20 April (Roman Martyrology)
- 22 May (Laurino, Italy)
- 29 June the date of a pilgrimage to her cave hermitage
- 18 August on some calendars
Profile
Born to a poor family, as a young woman Elena felt a call to religious life. She was hounded by slander from the local people, fled from her home town and became a hermitess in a cave in nearby Pruno, Italy. Though she felt shunned by the local people, her faith led her to a ministry to the sick, and a life as an anchoress.
Born
- 530 in her cave in Pruno, Italy of natural causes
- she had been dead for a while, and only her bones were recovered for burial in nearby Paestum, Italy
- relics given to Margherita, wife of King Charles II of Anjou who then gave them to Saint Elzeario da Sabrano who had them enshrined under the main altar in the cathedral of Ariano-Irpino, Italy in a black wooden urn in the early 14th century
- relics re-discovered and re-enshrined in 1622
- relics donated to and enshrined in an urn in the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Laurino, Italy in 1882
MLA Citation
- “Saint Elena of Laurino“. CatholicSaints.Info. 19 April 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <>