MATERNO, saint. — He was already bishop of Cologne in 313, when Constantine invited him to participate in the Roman Synod to settle the Donatist controversy; in 314 he was again at the Council of Arles for the same reason. He was already dead by 344, because in that year his successor Eufrata governed the Church of Cologne. Around the ninth century, a highly legendary biography of M. was written, presenting him as a disciple of s. Pietro, who supposedly sent him directly to Cologne. He is commemorated on 14 September.
BIBL.: Eusebio, Hist. eccl., X, 5; s. Ottato, De schismate Donatistarum, 1; Tillemont, VI, pp. 26, 701 ff.; Acta SS. Septembris, IV, Paris 1868, pp. 354–400; Martyr. Romanum, p. 396. Agostino Amore