Martyrs (d. second century)

Their story

+ According to various ancient traditions, Gavin (or Gabinus) was a soldier during the persecution of Diocletian who was charged with guarding the priest Protus and the deacon Januarius.

+ A twelfth-century account of his life relates that Gavin was converted by the witness of these two faith-filled witnesses and they were martyred together in Sardinia in the second century.

+ Saint Gavin is said to have later appeared in a vision to a deeply religious nobleman who, at the martyr’s request, recovered Gavin’s relics and built a chapel in his honor. Today, the relics of Saint Gavin and his companions are enshrined in the Basilica of San Gabino in Porto Torres, Sardinia.

For prayer and reflection

“As gold in the furnace, he proved them,

and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.

In the time of their judgment they shall shine

and dart about as sparks through stubble.”—Wisdom 3:6-7

Spiritual bonus

On this day the Church also celebrates the memory of Saints Chrysanthus and Daria, a husband and wife who were martyred in Rome around the year 283. While the ancient account of their martyrdom was once dismissed as mere legend, recent scientific research supports the stories surrounding their death and their relics were authenticated in 2008.

Prayer

May the prayer of the blessed Martyrs Gavin and his companions, being pleasing to you, O Lord, commend us, we pray, and confirm us in the profession of your truth. 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)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.