Saint Novatus is an early Christian saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

. His feast day is June 20.

Novatus and his brother, the martyr Timotheus, were the sons of Saint Pudens

Saint Pudens

Saint Pudens was an early Christian saint and martyr. 100px| left| thumb| Russian [[icon]].He is mentioned as a layman of the Roman Church in 2 Timothy 4:21. According to tradition, he lodged Saint Peter and was baptised by him, and was martyred under Nero...

 and Claudia Rufina

Claudia Rufina

Claudia Rufina was a woman of British descent who lived in Rome circa 90 AD and was known to the poet Martial. Martial refers to her in Epigrams XI:53, describing her as "caeruleis [...] Britannis edita" , and praising her for her beauty, education and fertility.She is...

 and the brothers of Saints Pudentiana

Pudentiana

Pudentiana is a traditional Christian saint of the 2nd century. She is sometimes called Potentiana and is often coupled with her sister, Praxedes....

 and Praxedes

Praxedes

Saint Praxedes is a traditional Christian saint of the 2nd century. She is sometimes called Praxedis or Praxed.-Biography:Little is known for about Praxedes, and not all accounts agree. According to Jacobus de Voragine's The Golden Legend, Praxedes was the sister of Saint Pudentiana; their brothers...

. His paternal grandfather was Quintus Cornelius Pudens

Quintus Cornelius Pudens

Quintus Cornelius Pudens was a Roman senator and early Christian.Cornelius was husband to Priscilla. Priscilla and Cornelius were among the first converted by St. Peter in Rome, and hosted the apostle in their house. Quintus was father to Saint Pudens and grandfather of Saints Novatus, Timotheus,...

, the Roman senator, who with his wife, Priscilla

Priscilla (Christian)

Priscilla and Aquila were a first century Christian missionary couple described in the New Testament and traditionally listed among the Seventy Disciples. They lived, worked, and traveled with the Apostle Paul, becoming his honored, much-loved friends and coworkers in Christ Jesus...

, was among St. Peter's earliest converts in Rome and in whose house the Apostle dwelt while in that city. A portion of the structure of the modern church of Santa Pudenziana

Santa Pudenziana

The basilica of Santa Pudenziana is a 4th century church in Rome, dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, sister of Saint Praxedis and daughter of Saint Pudens. It is the national church of the Philippines....

 (Via Urbana) is thought to be part of the senatorial palace or of the baths

Bathing

Bathing is the washing or cleansing of the body in a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution. It may be practised for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity....

 built by Novatus.

According to the 5th-century church historian Philostorgius

Philostorgius

Philostorgius was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries. Anomoeanism questioned the Trinitarian account of the relationship between God the Father and Christ and was considered a heresy by the Orthodox Church, which adopted the term "homoousia" in the Nicene Creed. Very little...

, Novatus was of Phrygian descent.

The city of Novato, California

Novato, California

Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Novato is located about north-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 30 feet above sea level . The 2010 U.S. Census estimated the city population to be about 51,904. Novato is about ...

, is named after a local Miwok

Miwok

Miwok can refer to any one of four linguistically related groups of Native Americans, native to Northern California, who spoke one of the Miwokan languages in the Utian family...

leader who had probably been given the name of Saint Novatus at his baptism.