Orontius of Lecce [SEP] canonization status
Orontius of Lecce
Saint Orontius of Lecce () is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, along with two other figures associated with his legend, Fortunatus and Justus. He is called the first bishop of Lecce.
Legend.
A twelfth-century manuscript records one version of Orontius’ legend. Justus was a disciple of Saint Paul who on his way to Rome when he was shipwrecked at Salento, on the beach of San Cataldo. He converted two citizens of Rudiae (present-day Lecce)
and preached to the population in the locality of Lecce in the time of Nero, despite harassment by imperial officials. They returned to Corinth, where St. Paul consecrated Orontius the first Bishop of Lecce, and the party returned to Lecce to continue their evangelization.
The first bishop whose date is known is Petrus (not "Innocentius") (496). In the pontificate of St. Gregory the Great (590–604), the names of three bishops who filled the episcopal chair are known: Andreas (590), Joannes