 During the persecution of Diocletian there is a reference to a person named Januarius, who together with Proculus his deacon and two laymen was imprisoned and beheaded at Pozzuoli in 305.He is said to have been the first bishop of Benevento before becoming Bishop of Naples.The See of Benevento was elevated in status to an archdiocese on 26 May 969, during a synod held at the Vatican Basilica by Pope John XIII.