St. Maximus of Turin

St. Maximus of Turin was the first known bishop of Turin in northern Italy, governing that Church around the turn of the fifth century, in the troubled years when the barbarian peoples were breaking into Italy and the old Roman order was crumbling. A learned and eloquent preacher, he shepherded his flock through these dangers, exhorting them to faith and courage amid invasion and upheaval.

He is remembered above all for a large body of surviving sermons, over a hundred in number, which form one of the richest witnesses to the preaching, liturgy, and Christian life of northern Italy in his age. In them he expounds the feasts and seasons of the Church year, the mysteries of Christ, the lives of the martyrs, and the moral duties of his people, and he labors to root out the lingering superstitions of paganism among the country folk. He took part in the Church councils of his region. He died about 420, and is venerated as a saint, his memory kept on 25 June.