Episcopate and ministry
Valerius was born at Caesaraugusta, the Roman city now known as Zaragoza, in the course of the fourth-century Church of Hispania. He served as its bishop for approximately twenty-five years, from about 290 until his death around 315.
He is recorded as a participant in the Council of Elvira (the synod held at Elvira, near Granada), which met around 306.
His most enduring association is with his deacon, Vincent of Saragossa. Valerius ordained Vincent and entrusted him with the preaching of the diocese; on account of the bishop's speech impediment, Vincent spoke on his behalf in the exercise of their common ministry.
Arrest, trial, and exile
When Diocletian's persecution reached Spain, Valerius and Vincent were seized and taken to Valencia, where they were tried before the governor Dacian and shut up together in the prison of the city, described in the tradition as especially dark and squalid.
Offered release on condition that they surrender and burn the Scriptures, both refused; Vincent, speaking for his bishop, declared that they would suffer everything for their faith and heed neither threats nor promises.
Vincent was subjected to severe torture and died a martyr, while the aged Valerius was condemned to exile. Later accounts place his banishment at a location called Enetum, near Barbastro, where he is said to have died around 315. For enduring imprisonment and exile without dying under torture, he is venerated as a confessor.
Relics and shrines
In 1050 remains believed to be those of Valerius were translated to Roda de Isabena. After the Christian conquest of Zaragoza by Alfonso the Battler in 1118, these relics were carried back to the city in successive shipments over the following decades.
A chapel dedicated to the saint stands in the Cathedral of the Savior (La Seo) in Zaragoza. Its baroque wooden portal, from the seventeenth century, depicts Valerius together with Vincent and Saint Lawrence, and it houses a reliquary bust donated by Pope Benedict XIII in 1397.
Valerius came to be honoured as the patron saint of Zaragoza.
Commemoration and customs
This profile follows the anchor record in commemorating Valerius on January 28. In the Western tradition his feast is kept on January 22, the day associated with his deacon Vincent, though one source notes the date as January 29.
Since 1992, his civic feast at Zaragoza has been marked by the eating of the roscon de San Valero, a ring-shaped sweet bread decorated with candied fruit that represents the saint's crown; more than 150,000 are customarily consumed in the Plaza del Pilar during the celebrations.
No dedicated OrthodoxWiki article exists for the saint, and he does not appear among the saints listed for January 28 in the OCA Synaxarion; he is venerated principally within the Western, pre-schism tradition.
