1190 - 1272

As a young man, Fazzio, of Verona, Italy, patiently endured years of malicious treatment to which he was subjected by those envious of his skill as a goldsmith. In an effort to bring a peaceful end to this conflict, he withdrew to Cremona, where he donated his earnings to the relief of the poor and the assistance of churches. When he later returned to Verona in the hope of a reconciliation with his persecutors, he was falsely accused and jailed. Subsequently he was vindicated and released. Returning to Cremona, he founded a confraternity in honor of the Holy Spirit, dedicated to corporal works of mercy. A man of prayer, Fazzio frequented the churches and embarked on many pilgrimages, journeying to Rome and to the Spanish shrine of Compostela. To this latter church he donated a silver chalice, which was thereafter kept in the sacristy. When a fire destroyed the sacristy, Fazzio’s chalice was discovered afterward resting unharmed upon the church’s altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, having been inexplicably transported there, and thus escaping the flames.