Righteous
Righteous Laurence of Siponto
ок. 491 — †ок. 545
Hierarch Laurence of Siponto — Bishop of the city of Siponto in Apulia (5th-6th century), traditionally the founder of the renowned shrine of Archangel Michael on Monte Gargano following three miraculous apparitions of the Archangel (c. 490-493); the reliability of certain details of the tradition is questioned by modern scholarship, which notes the absence of historical evidence about him before the 11th century.
Hierarch Laurence (Lorenzo Maiorano), according to a tradition traceable to a 9th-century vita, was a relative of Emperor Zeno and was appointed bishop of the city of Siponto in Apulia (southern Italy) around 491, arriving with the relics of Sts. Agatha and Stephen.
He is credited with founding the famous shrine of Archangel Michael on Monte Gargano: according to tradition, a local herdsman found a missing bull in a cave, and Laurence, after three days of fasting and prayer, received a revelation from the Archangel Michael himself that the cave needed no consecration, since it had already been consecrated by him (c. 490-493). A second apparition (492) promised victory to the city, besieged by the Germanic forces of Odoacer. According to tradition, the hierarch also persuaded the Ostrogothic leader Totila to spare Siponto in 546.
He reposed on February 7, around 545, after nearly half a century as bishop.
His feast is kept on February 7 (separate from the feast of the apparition of Archangel Michael at Gargano, kept on May 8).
IMPORTANT SCHOLARLY NOTE: modern historical scholarship (notably English Wikipedia) notes the absence of reliable historical evidence for the existence of Bishop Laurence before the 11th century — all signs of his veneration date from the mid-11th century onward, making the life largely hagiographic tradition rather than documented history.