Rainerius

Rainerius was the birth name of Pope Paschal II.

Saint Rainerius Scene from the life of Saint Rainerius. Detail from a fresco. Born c. 1117AD Died c. 1160AD Venerated in Roman Catholic ChurchMajor shrinePisa Feast June 17 Attributesbearded hermit in a hairshirt holding a rosary; young pilgrim in a hairshirt carrying a banner with the Pisan cross; being raised up by devils; dying in a hairshirt. PatronagePisa; travelers Saints Portal

Saint Rainerius (Raynerius, Rainerius, Rainier, Rainieri, Ranieri, Raniero, Regnier) (c. 1117 – c. 1160) is the patron saint of Pisa.

Born Rainerius Scacceri to a prosperous merchant of Pisa (his parents were named Gandulfo Scacceri and Mingarda Buzzaccherini), he was a traveling minstrel as a youth. Upon meeting a holy man during his travels, however, he was so impressed that he became a devoted Christian. He set himself up as a merchant in order to pay for his fare to the Holy Land.

However, he soon resolved to give up all of his wealth and live in complete poverty. When he reached the Holy Land, he lived as a hermit and beggar there. He visited all of the holy shrines. In 1153, he returned to Pisa and entered the monastery of Saint Andrew. He subsequently entered the monastery of San Vito, dedicated to Saint Vitus. He achieved fame and became a preacher, and was considered a saint in his lifetime. He was buried immediately in Pisa cathedral upon his death. A Pisan canon named Benincasa wrote a life of the saint in 1162.

Veneration

With the growth of Pisan influence, his cult spread in the Mediterranean, and his name is shared by several princes of Monaco: Rainier I, Rainier II, Rainier III.

In 1632, the Archbishop of Pisa, the local clergy, and the Pisan magistrates elected Ranierius as the main patron saint of the city and diocese. In 1689, his body was translated to the great altar of the Duomo.

His feast day is June 17. The Duomo of Pisa, in the Piazza dei Miracoli, contains the bones of Rainerius.