Brief
Historic
Summary
on
the
martyr
St
Lino.
(Immediate
successor
to
St
Peter).
Introduction:
Volterra-
monumental
town:
Etruscan,
Roman,
Mediaeval.
It
was
defined
as
'A
casket
of
treasures',
by
the
Danish
scientist
Steensen
Niels
(Stenone),
who
stayed
there
to
complete
lnteresting
mineralogical
and
crystallographic
studies.
It
is
the
ancient
Velathri
Volaterrae,
the
origins
of
which,
according
to
Strabone,
date
back
to
the
development
of
the
Villanovan
culture
of
the
Neolithic
period
(9th
and
lOth
centuries
BC).
It
was
the
most
northern
of
the
twelve
Etruscan
'Lucomoniae',
and
the
most
important
strategic
base
of
the
Etruscan
cultural
system,
which
stretched
from
the
0mbrone
(river)
to
Luni,
and
from
Bisenzio
Prateze
to
the
Tyrrhenian
Sea,
including
the
trading
ports
of
Populonia
and
Vada.
In
the
year
90
BC,
Volterra
became
a
remarkable
Roman
town
with
the
'Lex
Julia
Municipalis',
a
'Grave,
Firmum
Honestum
Municipium'
as
Cicero
stated
in
the
senate.
Lino,
son
of
Herculanus
and
his
wife
Claudia,
was
born
in
Volterra
in
the
year
18
AC.
In
40
AD
he
moved
to
Rome
to
finies
his
studies;
finding
accommodation
in
the
houes
of
the
patrician,
Quinto
Fabio.
Having
been
converted
to
Christianity,
in
45
AD
he
stayed
In
Rome
as
a
priest,
to
direct
and
look
after
the
converted.
When
St
Peter
visited
the
Oŕent,
Lino
was
designated
h́s
vicar.
On
the
return
of
St
Peter,
Lino
travelled
evangelising
Retia
and
GauI,
and
convert́ng
the
tribune
Onesio
in
Besancon,
capital
of
the
Sequani.
Volterra
was
perhapes
the
first
town
that
embraced
the
new
falth
of
Its
fellow
citizen,
Lino.
Returning
to
Rome
he
worked
to
assiet
St
Paul
who
was
Imprisoned
there.
when
St
Paul
wrote
to
his
disciple
Timothy
(second
letter)
he
greeted
him
on
behaIf
of
Lino
and
Claudia
who
were
among
the
few
people
who
had
not
abandoned
him.
Meanwhile,
in
Rome,
Lino
baptised
Nazario,
son
of
an
officer
in
the
Imperiail
troop,
and
directed
him
to
propagate
Christianity
In
Milan.
St
Peter
gave
direction
that
on
his
death
Lino
should
be
elected
Pope.
In
this,
capacity,
he
took
care
of
the
universal
organization
cf
the
developing
Christian
church,
regularising
the
ecclesiastical
discipline
with
the
lnstructions,
prescription
and
rules
that
have
come
down
to
Us.
For
example:
the
Bishops
Consecration',
The
obligation
for
women
to
go
to
church
with
covered
heads,
the
'Pallio
lnstitution'.
(symbol
of
the
papal
jurisdiction).
Lino
governed
the
church
in
the
bloodiest
period
of
the
Christian
persecution,
during
the
time
of
the
Emperors
Nero,
Galba,
Otho,
Vitellius
and
Vespasian,
consecrating
twelve
bishops
and
eighteen
presbytery
deacons.
Lino
was
beheaded
by
order
of
the
consu1,
Satumino,
a
member
of
the
imperlai
court,
and
his
tomb
lies
in
the
Vatican
catacombs
next
to
St
Peter’s.
Beside
St
Paul,
some
other
saints
spoke
favourably
of
St
Lino:
Eusebio
from
Cesarea;
Ottato,
bishop
of
Milevi;
Gerolamo,
Agostino,
and
St
ireneo.
The
great
Dante
Alighieri
in
the
'Divina
Comedia',
remembers
him
in
the
twenty
seventh
canto
of
the
’Paradise',
and
the
historian
Piero
Bargellinl
defines
him,
'One
of
the
highest
glories
of
the
ancient
Etruscan
town,
that
gave
birth
to
the
second
vicar
of
Christ'.
Cardinal
Raffaello
Carlo
Rossi,
prefect
of
the
Concistoria
of
the
Roman
Curia,
founded
the
'Pia
Unione
Missionaria
St
Lino’,
when
he
was
bishop
of
Volterra
during
the
years
1920-1924.
Some
churches
were
dedicated
in
honour
of
St
Lino:
a
chapel
in
St
Nazario,
Milan;
the
parish
of
Prima
Valle
in
Rome;
in
Calavino
(Trentino)
and
in
Besancon
(France).
In
Volterra,
the
bishop’s
Seminar
is
dedlcated
to
St
Lino,
whilst
statues,
paintings
and
bas-reliefs
that
go
back
to
ancient
centuries
aḍrn
the
town
where
his
name
has
also
been
dedicated
to
a
street
and
city
schools.
In
Rome
one
can
see
and
appreclate
a
mosaic
that
depicte
all
the
popes
from
St
Lino
to
the
present
John
Paul,
in
the
basilica
of
'San
Paolo
Fuori
Le
Mura'.
Some
fragments
of
the
Saint's
bones
are
kept
In
a
reliquary
In
the
apostolic
secretarial
offices
in
Rome.
Others,
were
given
by
Urban
VIII
(Barberini),
1623
-
1644,
on
the
completion
of
the
Vatican
basilica
in
Volterra,
and
are
kept
In
a
precious
silver
bust
placed
on
the
high
altar
of
the
cathedral
On
the
25th
and
26th
of
August,
1857,
Pius
IX,
1846
-1878,
on
the
occasion
of
his
visit
to
Volterra,
decIared
Lino
the
main
patron
Saint
of
the
town,
and
the
ancient
diocese.
John
Paul
II,
duŕng
his
pastoral
visit
on
the
23rd
of
September,1989,
(day
of
St
Llno's
feast)
covered
on
foot
the
streets
of
Volterra,
and
prayed
in
the
church
dedicated
to
the
patron,
built
over
the
foundations
of
the
house
where
the
Saint
was
born.
The
solemn
words
of
Pope
John
Paul
were
memorable:
'Today
we
want
to
venerate
in
a
special
way
St
Lino.
This
bishop
of
Rome
who
was
the
first
after
the
apostle
Peter
and
patron
of
your
diocese.
Today
,it
is
a
great
honour
as
a
far
successor
of
St
Peter
to
celebrate
the
Eucharist
with
you.
I
want
to
venerate
with
you
the
martyr
St
Lino
with
particular
emotion'.
lt
can
be
emphasised
that
there
are
few
far
reaching
historical
documents
about
any
other
Pope
of
the
first
century
AD,
that
compare
with
those
of
San
Lino.
Dr.
Mario
Canessa