Geminianus

Saint Geminianus
Saint Geminianus, from pentaptych by Simone Martini (c.1284-1344) now at Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Died	fourth century
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church
Feast	31 January
Attributes	bishop holding a mirror in which the Virgin Mary is reflected; a bishop holding a model of the town of San Gimignano; a man calming a storm at sea; or a man exorcising the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Jovian.

Saint Geminianus (also known as Saint Geminian, or Saint Gimignano) was a fourth-century deacon who became Bishop of Modena. He is mentioned in the year 390, when he participated in a council called by Saint Ambrose in Milan. From his name, it has been deduced that Geminianus probably belonged to the caste of Roman senators.^[1]

Nothing more is directly known about him, and all information regarding his life comes from much later biographies. It is said that when Saint Athanasius was entering exile in France, he passed through Modena and was received kindly by Geminianus. Saint John Chrysostom later received the same hospitality. Saint Geminianus opposed Arianism and Jovinianism. He probably died on 31 January 397.