Saint Benedict ("The Moor"; 1526 – April 4, 1589) was an Italian saint. He was born to Christopher and Diana Manasseri, Africans (Ethiopians) who were taken to San Fratello (also known as San Fradello or San Philadelphio), a small town near Messina, Sicily, as slaves and later were converted to Christianity. Benedict was a Moor, the Italian "il Moro" for "the Black" has been interpreted as referring to a Moorish heritage. Benedict was also called from his origin Æthiops or Niger (both simply meaning black and not referring to the modern-day countries.)