Santo Ippolito was martyred for his
Catholic faith in the year 258 A.D at
Ostia, near Rome during the
persecution of Valerian, Emperor of
Rome.
The modern village of San Ippolito
was originally called Napoli Piccola or
“Little Naples” because of its natural
resemblance to the modern city of
Naples. It is a small town near
Cosenza in Calabria, Italy.
In the early nineteenth century, a
terrible earthquake devastated San
Ippolito. Almost the entire population
and prominent buildings were
destroyed, except for the church of
Santo Ippolito. When survivors saw
that not one stone of the church had
been touched they accepted this as a
heavenly sign and changed the name
of the city to that of Santo Ippolito.
They vowed to pay the saint special
honors annually on his feast day of
August 13th if he would pray for them
and deliver them from other
catastrophes. The people kept their
promise, and every year in the month
of August they celebrate the Santo
Ippolito Festival for three days
throughout their town.
The St. Ippolito Festival is held at:
Cornelius Cyprian Catholic Church
1320 Catholic Church Road