Priscus of Nocera

Priscus of Nocera
Born	3rd century
Died	3rd century
Honored in	Catholic ChurchOld Catholic Church
Feast	May 9th
Patronage	Nocera Inferiore and Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno.

Priscus of Nocera (Nuceria Alfaterna, 3rd century – Nuceria Alfaterna, 3rd century) was the first bishop of Nocera, patron of the city of Nocera Inferiore and of the diocese. His anniversary is May 9th, celebrated in Nocera with special celebrations.

Biography

Priscus certainly lived before the 5th century. In fact, he is mentioned by Paolino di Nola, who recalls how his cult was practiced in 405 in Nola, as well as in Nuceria Alfaterna. The testimony of the saint from Nolan is precious because it represents an *ante quem* term to date the life of the saint.

Ponzio Anicio Meropio Paolino, "Fonte sacrata dies illuxerat illa beati
natalem Prisci referens, quem te Nola celebrat
quamvis ille alia nucerinus Episcopus
Urbe sederit.
" [Carme XIX], Carme XIX (in italiano), 515-518

Giovanni Antonio Remondini (1751), book III, "Della nolana Ecclesiastica storia" [Of the Nolan Ecclesiastical History], Splendea quel dì nella città di Nola
festivo a Prisco che pastor già resse
là dei pagani e picentin Nocera.
(in italiano), Naples (Italy), II

Hagiography

Reading the Martyrology of Adonis of Vienne, some authors have identified Priscus as one of the seventy-two disciples of Jesus, precisely the one in whose house the Last Supper took place. This hypothesis would date the arrival of a Priscus in Nuceria Alfaterna in the 1st century directly from Jerusalem. However, there are ten saints who bear this name and this reconstruction is identical to that used for the archdiocese of Capua, where the first bishop was named Priscus.

Another hypothesis that would bring Priscus to the 1st century is the legend of his death which occurred around 68. This circumstance is reported in the Martyrology attributed to Sofronio Eusebio Girolamo: there we read that on 12 October 68 under Nero a Felice da Nola and a Felice from Nuceria and a Costanza (or a Costantio) again from Nocera (identified with the holy martyrs of Noceria Felice and Costanza) were martyred, while a Priscus had been martyred on 16 September.

Oral tradition has also preserved the place where this sacrifice would have taken place: below the current church of Purità, in the current city of Pagani, in the open countryside of the Nucera area in Roman times.

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The sarcophagus of Priscus in the Cathedral (3rd century).

Miracles

The Roman fountain, believed to be a gift from the pontiff to the bishop.

Popular tradition ascribes many miracles to the saint.

Accused of heresy for having celebrated mass at dawn in solitude, he was taken while still wearing cassocks and forced to go to Rome to clear his name in front of the Pope. Having nothing to offer as a gift to the pontiff, he convinced some geese to follow him to Lazio to make a gift to Peter's successor.

File:FontanaRomanaVescovado.jpg

The Roman fountain, believed to be a gift from the pontiff to the bishop.

Angels appeared in front of the Pope who totally exonerated him. Impressed by this miracle, the pontiff gave Priscus a large marble fountain which the saint transported to Nocera with the sole aid of two "vaccherelle" (cows). Furthermore, to satisfy the needs of his thirsty companions, the saint made a doe appear out of nowhere who quenched their thirst with her own milk, heating them with burning embers that she had kept under her tunic.

Close to death, he decided to lie down in the same tomb that welcomed his sisters, asking their skeletons to move to make room for him, a wish which was granted.

Finally, the miracle of the separation of the split mountain, a pass (probably Roman work) located on the border between the municipalities of Nocera Inferiore and Castel San Giorgio, as reported in the first volume of the historical novel by Andrea Calenda di Tavani, entitled: ''Ramondello Orsino, storia napoletana del Trecento''.

Cult

He was initially buried in a tuff tomb in one of the necropolises of Nuceria Alfaterna; his body, the object of growing popular attention, which later became devotion, was moved just west of the ancient city, to an area that would take the name of Vescovado, initially to a Benedictine abbey. With the restoration of the diocese in 1386 the abbey church was elevated to the rank of cathedral.

The archaeological research that has taken place inside the Cathedral of Nocera Inferiore has once again made entirely visible the place in which the saint's remains were buried together with those of his two sisters Marzia and Marina, also venerated as saints. The strigilated sarcophagus refers to examples from the 3rd-4th century. The osteological data are pertinent to an elderly and large man.

In addition to the diocese of Nocerina, the cult of San Prisco is also reserved for Sant'Agnello, a municipality on the Sorrento coast where in 1827 a church dedicated to Saints Prisco and Agnello of Naples was consecrated.

Some relics of the sisters of San Prisco are also preserved in a chapel in the crypt of the Salerno cathedral. They were placed there in the Middle Ages by Bishop Alfano I.

The patronal feast is on May 9th.

Diocesan Museum of San Prisco

The Museum of the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno was recently dedicated to Saint Prisco.

Bibliography

Historical sources

• Gennaro Orlando (1884). Storia di Nocera de' Pagani [History of Nocera de' Pagani] (in italiano). 1. Naples (NA): Tocco. Search this book on
• Mario Vassalluzzo (1994). In Cammino, ed. S. Prisco e successori nella plurimillenaria Chiesa Nocerina [S. Prisco and successors in the thousand-year-old Nocerina Church] (in italiano). In Cammino. Search this book on
• Roberto Farruggio (2007). Editrice Gaia, ed. Sulle orme dello spirito santo. Nel bimillenariocammino della chiesa priscana [In the footsteps of the holy spirit. In the two thousand year journey of the Priscan church] (in italiano). Editrice Gaia. ISBN 9788889821121. Search this book on
• Agostino Russo; Egidio Valcaccia; Alessandra Cacace; Franco Gargiulo (2012). Franco Gargiulo, ed. Il restauro della statua di San Prisco vescovo cenni storici sulla vita del santo [The restoration of the statue of San Prisco bishop historical notes on the life of the saint] (in italiano). N. Longobardi. ISBN 9788880903994. Search this book on
• Gennaro Zurolo (2013). Vita di San Prisco. Primo Vescovo della città di Nocera (alla luce di documenti inediti del XVI secolo) [Life of Saint Priscus. First Bishop of the city of Nocera (in light of unpublished documents from the 16th century)] (in italiano). Angri (SA): Onlus PanacèA. Search this book on
• Antonio Braca; Vincenzo Piccolo (2023). La Cattedrale di San Prisco in Nocera Inferiore [The Cathedral of San Prisco in Nocera Inferiore] (in italiano). ISBN 9788894503616. Search this book on

Historical novels

• Andrea Calenda di Tavani (1886). Valdemaro Vecchi, ed. Ramondello Orsino, storia napoletana del Trecento [Ramondello Orsino, Neapolitan history of the fourteenth century]. I. Trani (BT). Search this book on

External links

• Staff of DIOCESI DI NOCERA INFERIORE-SARNO; Don Roberto Farruggio (2007). "San Prisco" [Saint Prisco]. DIOCESI DI NOCERA INFERIORE-SARNO (in italiano). Retrieved February 27, 2024.
• Staff of Santi, beati e testimoni; Raffaele Ferrentino. "San Prisco di Nocera Vescovo-16 settembre" [San Prisco of Nocera Bishop-16 September]. Santi, beati e testimoni (in italiano). Retrieved February 27, 2024.
• Staff of storienapoli.it; Roberto Iossa. "SAN PRISCO-PATRONO DI NOCERA INFERIORE" [SAINT PRISCO-PATRON OF NOCERA INFERIORE]. storienapoli.it (in italiano). Retrieved March 1, 2024.
• Staff of SANPRISCO.NET; Domenico Palmiero. "SAN PRISCO VESCOVO E MARTIRE" [SAINT PRISCO BISHOP AND MARTYR]. SANPRISCO.NET (in italiano). Retrieved March 1, 2024.

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