Feast Day June 2
St. Erasmus was a Bishop of one of the cities in the Patriarchate of Antioch in Syria. During the time of the persecution of Diocletian, he fled to Lebanon where he lived as a hermit. When discovered, he was tortured but liberated by an angel and was led to Italy. He was taken prisoner again and tortured under Maximian but again miraculously escaped. he died in 303. Some sources say he died in peace but other sources claim he suffered a martyr’s death. His assistance is sought for diseases of the stomach.
St. Erasmus is represented as a Bishop and in his hand he bears a windlass, the insrument of his torture. He is the patron of widows and orphans. In Italy he is known as St. Elmo and is the patron of sailors.
There is an altar to St. Erasmus in St. Peter’s basilica in Rome.