ST HELIODORUS OF ALTINO
St Heliodorus of Altino (Feast day: July 3rd) was born in Dalmatia. He later moved to Auileia and became the bishop of Altino. St Heliodorus accompanied Bl Jerome on his journeys, helped translate the Vulgate, and fought against arianism.
LOCATION
St. Heliodorus’ relics are in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello—one of the islands in the Venetian lagoons.
If you plan on making a trip to Venice and wish to venerate the relics of the saints—especially on some of the islands—then I recommend planning at least 2 days. It takes a while for the boats to get from one island to another, so plan at least one day to visit some of the ‘lagoons’.
You can get a pass to visit Murano (St. Donatus), Burano (St. Barbara the Great Martyr), and Tortello (St. Heliodorus, Sts. Fusca and Maura) at one of the departure points. I don’t recommend visiting any more islands in a given day because there simply isn’t enough time to see them all.
Tortello itself is small, with very few people living there. It used to be a city of importance and it is why there are Basilicas on the island, but that changed when Venice came to prominence. If you walk along the main road along the canal, it will take you to the Church.
The Church is in the back left corner (look at the map and the picture of the Churches above). When you enter, St. Heliodorus’ relics will be at the far end and below the altar. His relics are easy to find because his name is engraved on the sarcophagus.
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