Hierarch Zenobius of Florence

St. Zenobius was born around 337 in Florence into a noble pagan family. Baptized together with his parents while still young under the influence of the local bishop Felix, he devoted himself to the study of theology and was later ordained to the priesthood. He was a close friend of Sts. Ambrose of Milan and Hilary of Poitiers, together with whom he fought against the Arian heresy then spreading in the Western Church. For a time he accompanied Pope Damasus I in Rome, where he earned a high reputation as a preacher and scholar of Scripture. Upon his return to Florence he was made bishop of the city — effectively the first historically attested bishop of the Florentine see. He became renowned for numerous miracles of healing and, according to tradition, even raisings from the dead performed through his prayers. He died around 417 and is venerated as the heavenly patron of Florence.