Saint Gratus of Aosta

Saint Gratus
Saint Gratus, with the head of Saint John the Baptist
Died	c. AD 470
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine	Aosta
Feast	September 7
Attributes	episcopal garb; head of Saint John the Baptist; bunch of grapes; bishop with lightning flashing near him
Patronage	Aosta; vineyards; invoked against fear of insects; against dangerous animals, against fire, against hail, against lightning, against rain, against storms

Saint Gratus of Aosta (Italian: San Grato di Aosta, French: Saint Grat d'Aoste) (d. September 7, c. AD 470) is the patron saint of Aosta. He is known to have signed the acts of the synod of Milan in AD 451 as a priest. Gratus represented the bishop of Aosta, Eustasius, at this council, signing the letter that the assembly sent to Pope Leo I the Great in order to affirm its condemnation of the heresy of Eutyches.

It is thought that both Gratus and Eustasius were of Greek origin and that they received their education and ecclesiastical formation from the type of monastic foundation in Italy established by Eusebius of Vercelli, which was modeled on that of the Eastern cenobites.

Gratus became bishop of Aosta sometime after 451, and presided over the translation of various relics in the city around 470, including those of Saint Innocent, one of the martyrs of the Theban Legion. The bishops of Agaunum and Sion were present at this translation.

The year of his death is not known, but the day is: his tomb in the parochial church of Saint-Christophe bears an inscription that reads Hic requiescit in pace S. M. GRATUS EPS D P SUB D. VII ID. SEPTEMB.

His feast day is September 7. The diffusion of Gratus' cult occurred in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when his relics were translated from the Paleochristian St. Laurence church (in Aosta) to the collegiate church of Sant'Orso. Some of his relics lie there still, in a gold and silver reliquary.