APOLLINARIS OF MONTE CASSINO, ST.

Benedictine abbot; d. Nov. 27, 828. Having been given as an oblate to Monte Cassino by his parents when he was still very young, he was ordained deacon and priest under Abbot Gisulfus, whom he succeeded (817–828). During his reign, the monastery received many endowments. He was famous for the sanctity of his life, and he is said to have crossed the Liri River dryshod. His remains were interred first near the church of St. John and were transferred by Abbot Desiderius (victor iii) to the same church and honored with an epitaph in verse. In 1592 the relics of Apollinaris were placed under an altar in the chapel dedicated to him, decorated with paintings by Luca Giordano. The relics survived the destruction of World War II and were replaced in the same chapel after its restoration.

Feast: Nov. 27.

Bibliography: Bibliotheca hagiographica latina antiquae et mediae aetatis (Brussels 1898–1901) 1:622. desiderius, Dialogi 1.1–2. g. falco, "Lineamenti di storia cassinese …," Casinensia (Monte Cassino 1929) 2:510. Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores 30.2:1118. Chronicon Casinense 1.19–21, Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores 7: 594–596. peter the deacon, De ortu et obitu iustorum Casinensium, ch. 26 in Patrologia Latina (Paris 1878–90) 173:1081–90. l. tosti, Storia della badia di Montecassino, 4 v. (Rome 1880–90) 1:46. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige (Metten 1933–38) 3:363–365.

[a. lentini]