after boldly preaching and converting numerous pagans to Christianity. Finally, according to this version of his death, his abdomen was slit open and his intestines wound around a windlass. This version may have developed from interpreting an icon that showed him with a windlass, signifying his patronage of sailors. Veneration and patronage Erasmus may have become the patron of sailors because he is said to have continued preaching even after a thunderbolt struck the ground beside him. This prompted sailors, who were in danger from sudden storms and lightning, to claim his prayers. The electrical discharges at the mastheads of ships were read as a sign of his protection and came to be called "Saint Elmo's Fire". Pope Gregory the Great recorded in the 6th century that the relics of Erasmus were preserved in the cathedral of Formia. When the old Formiae was razed by the Saracens in 842, the cult of Erasmus was moved to Gaeta. He is currently the patron of Gaeta, Santeramo in Colle and Formia. There is an altar to Erasmus in the north transept of St. Peter's Basilica. A copy of Nicolas Poussin's Martyrdom of St Erasmus serves as the altarpiece. Besides his patronage of mariners, Erasmus is invoked against colic in children, abdominal pain, intestinal ailments and diseases, cramps and the pain of women in labour, as well as cattle pests. Gallery See also St. Elmo Hall, a name for some chapter houses of Delta Phi fraternity St. Elmo's fire, a meteorological phenomenon named after the saint List of early Christian saints Saint Erasmus of Formia, patron saint archive Blessed Peter González, patron of Spanish and Portuguese mariners is also invoked as "San Telmo" or "San Elmo". References External links The Golden Legend (Saint Erasmus) – e-text adapted from Wynken de Worde's edition of 1527. Saint of the Day, June 2: Erasmus of Formia at SaintPatrickDC.org 3rd-century births 303 deaths Fourteen Holy Helpers 4th-century Christian martyrs 4th-century Romans Angelic visionaries Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian