ROMEO (REMEDIO), St. — Eponym of a famous sanctuary in the Val di Non, whose cult, confirmed on 24 July 1907 by Pius X, has no secure traces earlier than the 11th century. On 7 March 1795 Mass and the Office of St R. had already been granted for the diocese of Brixen.
The legend that makes him an hermit of the 5th century, already a rich nobleman of Tyrolean origin, was written by Fra Bartolomeo da Trento (1244–51) and does not appear to be based on ancient documents (BHL, 7142–45). As for the name of R., it seems to be nothing more than a corruption of the name Remigius; in fact even the dates of the feast of St R. (15 Jan., dies natalis, and 10 Oct., translation), are those proper to St Remigius of Reims. In any case the figure of St R. remains, despite the long series of often overly polemical writings, an enigma.