Saint of the Day: Sts. Faustinus and Jovita

Martyrs (d. ca. 120)

Their story

+ These brothers were born in the region of Lombardy, Italy.

+ Tradition relates that Jovtia, a priest, and Faustinus, a deacon, were fearless in preaching the Gospel and condemned to death by the Emperor Hadrian.

+ After suffering extreme torture, the two were beheaded in Brescia, Italy, around the year 120.

+ Because of the fantastic legends surrounding the lives of these two martyrs, their commemoration was removed from the liturgical calendar in the reforms of 1969, although their names are still included in the Roman Martyrology (the Church’s official list of saints).

For prayer and reflection

“Holy men shed their glorious blood for the Lord; they loved Christ in their life, they imitated him in their death, and therefore were crowned in triumph.”—Entrance Antiphon for the Mass of the Common of Several Martyrs

Spiritual bonus

Today the Church honors a group of martyrs who were murdered in Antioch, Syria, during the persecution of the emperor Theophilus. Murdered for their defense of the tradition of venerating sacred images, the group of seven martyrs includes the deacon and hymn-writer Joseph; the names of the other martyrs have been lost to history.

Prayer

May the sight of the great number of your holy Martyrs gladden us, O Lord, making our faith stronger and bringing us consolation by the prayers of them all. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For Several Martyrs Outside the Easter Season)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.