Saint Donatus of Muenstereifel

Saint Donatus
Statue of Saint Donatus of Muenstereifel at the Kloster Maria Hilf (Bornheim) ()
Martyr
Born	ca. 140 Rome
Died	173?
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Bad Münstereifel, Germany
Feast	August 7; June 30
Attributes	Roman armor; lighning bolt; martyr's palm; grapevine
Patronage	lightning; fire; storms; bakers; Budapest;

Saint Donatus of Muenstereifel is a catacomb saint whose relics are found in the Jesuit church in Bad Muenstereifel. He is widely venerated in the Rhine valley region of Germany and the Low Countries, and he is a patron saint of Buda and of protection against lightning. His relics were translated to Muenster Eifel in the 17th century from the Catacombs of Rome, where he had been originally buried.

Saint Donatus is said to be a 2nd-century Roman soldier and martyr. His parents were named Faustus and Flaminia. When Faustus was deathly ill, his wife Flaminia sought the intercession of Saint Gervasius, who assured her that her husband would recover and beget a son. This came to pass, and Flaminia named the boy Donatus, which means "gift". She educated him in the Christian faith. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the famed 12th Legion "Fulminatrix", i.e., the "Thundering Legion". He rapidly rose through the ranks and soon became a personal bodyguard to the emperor, Marcus Aurelius.

In the year 173 the 12th Legion was engaged in the Marcomannic Wars in Moravia along the Danube frontier. According to the contemporary writer Dio Cassius, part of the legion was surrounded and nearly overwhelmed when it was miraculously saved by a divine thunderstorm. Cassius attributed the thunderstorm to the invocation of Mercurius by Aurelius' Egyptian sorcerer, Arnuphis, but Tertullian and other Christian writers ascribed the miracle to the prayers of the many Christians in that Legion. Later legend credited Donatus as the leader of the Christians' prayers. After the miracle, Donatus gave thanks to God, and he was martyred by the emperor.