Hierarch Sabinus, Bishop of Catania

Saint Sabinus, Bishop of Catania in Sicily, lived in the eighth century and was the sixteenth bishop of the ancient city of Catania, ranked between Saints James and Leo II. Chosen for the see for his great virtue and wisdom, he later found the cares of church administration a hindrance to prayer and withdrew into the wilderness to devote himself entirely to God. There he embraced strict fasting and vigil, and was granted the gifts of wonderworking and clairvoyance: healing the sick, casting out demons, and foretelling future events. By his example he turned many to the service of Christ. In his final years he retired to a monastery on the slopes of Mount Etna. He reposed in peace around the year 760, and his body was returned to his native Catania. He is commemorated October 15 (O.S.) / October 28 (N.S.), venerated together with other hierarchs of the ancient Sicilian Church, including Saint Leo of Catania.