Among the Saints who in Catholic devotion are invoked with special confidence, because they have proved
themselves efficacious in adversity and difficulties, there is a group venerated under the collective
name of Fourteen Holy Helpers (in German – Vierzehnheiligen). They are:
St. George, Martyr, April 23;
St. Blase, Bishop and Martyr, February 3;
St. Pantaleon, Martyr, July 27;
St. Vitus (Guy), Martyr, June 15;
St. Erasmus (Elmo), Bishop and Martyr, June 2;
St. Christopher, Martyr, July 25;
St. Dionysius (Denis), Bishop and Martyr, October 9;
St. Cyriacus, Martyr, August 8;
St. Achatius, Martyr, May 8;
St. Eustachius (Eustace), Martyr, September 20;
St. Aegidius (Giles), Abbot, September 1;
St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr, November 25;
St. Margaret, Virgin and Martyr, July 20;
St. Barbara, Virgin and Martyr, December 4.
The traditional Feast of All the Holy Helpers is August 8.
The reason why these Saints are invoked as a group is said to have been an epidemic which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1349. It was called the Plague or "Black Death", and among its symptoms were the turning black of the tongue, parching of the throat, violent headache, fever, and boils on the abdomen. The malady attacked its victims suddenly, bereft them of reason, and caused death in a few hours, so that many died without the last Sacraments. Fear caused many attacks and disrupted social and family ties. To all appearances, the disease was incurable.
During this period of general affliction the people in pious confidence turned toward Heaven, and had recourse to the intercession of the Saints, praying to be spared an attack, or to be cured when stricken. Among the Saints invoked since the earliest times of the Church as special patrons in certain diseases were: St. Christopher and St. Aegidius against the plague, St. Dionysius against headache, St. Blase against ills of the throat, St. Erasmus against those of the abdomen, St. Barbara against fever, St. Vitus against epilepsy. St. Pantaleon was the patron of physicians, St. Cyriacus was had recourse to in temptations, especially in those at the hour of death; St. Achatius was invoked in death agony; Sts. Christopher, Barbara, and Catherine were appealed to for protection against a sudden and unprovided death; the aid of St. Aegidius was implored for making a good confession; St. Eustachius was patron in all kinds of difficulties, and, because peculiar circumstances separated him for a time from his family, he was invoked also in family troubles. Domestic animals, too, being attacked by the plague, Sts. George, Erasmus, Pantaleon, and Vitus were invoked for their protection. It appears from the invocation of these Saints, so widespread in olden times during the plague and other epidemics, that their being grouped as the Fourteen Holy Helpers originated in a vision involving them all.
The Fourteen Saints venerated as the Holy Helpers are represented with the symbols of their martyrdom, or with the insignia of their state of life; also, as a group of children. The latter representation is accounted for as follows:
The Abbey of Langheim, in the diocese of Bamberg, Bavaria, owned a farm on which the monks kept their flocks.
The sheep were tended by shepherds, who led them along the hillsides, where they grazed quietly during the day,
and were driven home in the evening.
On the evening of September 22, 1445, a young shepherd, Herman Leicht, who was gathering his flock for the homeward drive, heard what seemed to him to be the cry of a child, and looking about, saw a child sitting in a field nearby. Surprised, and wondering how the child came there, he was about to approach, when it disappeared. Feeling rather disturbed, the boy returned to his flock. After reaching it, he turned to look back to the place where he had seen the apparition. There the child sat again, this time in a circle of light, and between two burning candles. Terrified at this second apparition, he made the sign of the Cross. The child smiled, as if to encourage him, and he was about to approach it again, when it vanished a second time. Greatly perplexed, he drove his flock home and informed his parents of the occurrence. But they called the apparition a delusion and told him not to mention it to anyone. Nevertheless, feeling uneasy, and desiring an explanation, he went to the monastery and related his experience to one of the Fathers, who advised him to ask the child, if it ever appeared to him again, what it wanted.
Nearly a year later, June 28, 1446, the eve of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul,
the child again appeared to the boy in the same place as before and about sunset;
but this time it was surrounded by thirteen other children, all in a halo of glory.
He boldly approached the group and asked the child he had formerly seen in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, what it desired. The child replied: We are the Fourteen Helpers,
and desire that a chapel be built for us. Be thou our servant, and we shall serve thee.
Then the group of children disappeared, and the shepherd boy was filled with heavenly consolation.
The following Sunday, after he had driven his flock to the pasture, it seemed to him that he saw two lighted candles descending from the sky to the place where he had seen the apparition. A woman who was passing by at the time declared that she also saw them. The boy hastened to the monastery and told about the two apparitions. The Abbot, Frederic IV, and the rest of the community, were not inclined to believe in the apparition, and ascribed it to the boy's visionary fancy. But when, in the course of time, several extraordinary favors were granted to people who prayed at the place of the apparition, the monks built a chapel there. It was begun in 1447, and finished and dedicated next year under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The bishop granted an indulgence for the day of the anniversary of the dedication, the Papal Nuncio, Cardinal Joannes, granted another, and Pope Nicholas V a third. These indulgences, and a number of other spiritual privileges granted to the chapel, attracted a great many visitors, so that it became a place of pious pilgrimage. Elector Frederic III, in fulfillment of a vow made when beset with difficulties, visited the chapel in 1485. Emperor Ferdinand also visited it and left, as a votive offering, his gold pectoral chain on the altar.
Devotion to the Fourteen Holy Helpers continued to spread. In 1743, a magnificent church, to replace the old chapel, was begun, and completed in 1772 (by the famous architect, Balthasar Neumann – image below). Churches and altars in honor of these Saints are found in Italy, Austria, Tyrol, Hungary, Bohemia, Switzerland, other countries of Europe, and even in America. Wherever and whenever invoked, these Saints have proved themselves willing helpers in all difficulties, vicissitudes, and trials of their faithful clients.
Before proceeding to relate the lives of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, we deem it opportune to define the term usually applied to the narrative of the lives of the Saints.
The histories of the Saints are called Legends. This word is derived from the Latin legendum, and signifies something that is to be read – a passage the reading of which is prescribed. (This is, of course, contrary to the more modern use of the term, by which it implies an unverified story or myth, handed down from ancient times.) The legends of the Saints are the lives of the holy Martyrs and Confessors of the Faith. Some of them occur in the Roman Breviary which the Catholic clergy is obliged to read every day (and thus – "legenda" – "to be read", "prescribed reading".)
Joseph von Görres, an illustrious champion of the Church during the first half of the 19th century, writes as follows concerning legends:
The histories of the lives of the Saints were gathered from the earliest times.
A collection of such histories is found in The Golden Legend. The Passionales, too,
containing the life of a Saint for every day in the year, belong to this sort of literature.
In Germany these histories were at first translation from the Latin; later, they were written in the native idiom,
and, in style, were of a charming simplicity. At that time, when the upper classes did not yet judge
themselves too highly cultivated to share in the Faith, and not too privileged to join in the sentiments
and affections of the people, and were therefore more in harmony with the lower ranks of society,
these legends were in general circulation among all classes: among the wealthy in manuscript,
among the poor orally and in the form in which they had become acquainted with them in church and elsewhere.
In early times the science of criticism was unknown; therefore little care was exercised
in separating the poetic additions from the authentic legends, especially as the Church had not yet spoken on the subject.
Faith was yet of that robust sort which is not affected by miraculous occurrences.
Nearly all of Europe then still accepted the adage now only current in Spain, 'It is better sometimes to
believe what can not be established as truth, than to lose a single truth by want of faith.'
But later the science of criticism became the norm. The Church established canonical rules,
according to which a strict investigation of all the facts submitted to Her judgment was to be made,
and rejected everything that could not stand the most rigid examination.
Then Art devoted itself to that legendary lore, which the Church, declaring it outside of Her domain,
permitted to be embellished at will. Thus poetic legends were multiplied, their authors being more or less convinced
that the reader would be able to distinguish truth from poetical embellishment. The common people continued to make
little distinction and did not permit criticism to influence their ancient beliefs. They regarded these legends as
they regard the pictures of the Saints; not as portraits of the persons depicted – for in the very next church the
same Saint might be represented in a quite different manner – but as illustrations, more or less apt, whose object
was to attract the attention by their artistic character and thus to draw the mind to the contemplation of their
original, and by it to God, and thereby serve the purpose of edification.
If we are not devoid of all sentiments of piety, the history of the combats and victories of the Saints and Martyrs, and the narrative of the miracles wrought through their intercession before and after their death, will always be a source of joy and consolation to us, and will tend to animate us with similar fortitude and love of virtue.
The legends of the Fourteen Holy Helpers are replete with the most glorious examples of heroic firmness
and invincible courage in the profession of the Faith, which ought to incite us to imitate their fidelity in the
performance of the Christian and social duties. If they, with the aid of God’s grace, achieved such victories,
why should not we, by the same aid, be able to accomplish the little desired of us? God rewarded His victorious
champions with eternal bliss; the same crown is prepared for us, if we but render ourselves worthy of it.
God placed the seal of miracles on the intrepid confession of His servants; and a mind imbued with the spirit of
faith sees nothing extraordinary therein, because our divine Savior Himself said, Amen, amen I say to you,
he that believeth in Me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do
(John 14: 12).
In all the miraculous events wrought in and by the Saints appears only the victorious omnipotent power of Jesus Christ,
and the living faith in which His servants operated in virtue of this power. To obliterate the miracles that appear
in the lives of the Saints, or even to enfeeble their import by the manner of relating them, would rob these legends
of their intrinsic value. If our age is no longer robust enough to acknowledge the effects of divine omnipotence and grace,
it does not follow that they must be disavowed or denied.
(The following are the Legends of those Fourteen Holy Helpers whose feast days occur during the months of July and August:)
St. Margaret was the daughter of a pagan priest at Antioch. She lost her mother in infancy and was
placed in the care of a nurse in the country, who was a Christian, and whose first care was to have her little
charge baptized and to give the child a Christian education. Margaret grew up a modest, pious virgin, and when
she returned to her father, he was charmed with the grace and virtue of his daughter. He regretted only one thing;
she took no part in the worship of the idols. When she told him the reason he was greatly displeased, for she stated
that she was a Christian, and that nothing would separate her from the love of Christ. Her father tried every means
to change her mind, and when all his endeavors failed he became enraged and drove her forth from his house.
Margaret returned to her nurse and became her servant, doing all kinds of menial work, and at the same time
perfecting herself in virtue.
About this time Emperor Diocletian began to persecute the Christians. One day Alybrius,
the prefect of the city, saw Margaret, and fell in love with her. He sent a messenger to ask her in marriage.
The pious virgin was filled with consternation at the proposal and replied to the messenger:
I cannot be espoused to your master, because I am the spouse of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I am promised to Him,
and to Him I wish to belong.
When the prefect heard this, he became furious with rage, and gave orders to
have the virgin brought to him by force. When she appeared before him, he addressed her:
What is your name and condition?
She replied: I am called Margaret, and belong to a noble family.
I adore Christ and serve Him.
The prefect now advised her to abandon the worship of a crucified God.
Margaret asked him, How do you know that we worship a crucified God?
The prefect replied:
From the books of the Christians.
Margaret continued: Why did you not read on? The books of the
Christians would have told you that the Crucified God rose on the third day, and that He ascended into Heaven.
Is it love of truth to believe in the abasement of Christ and to reject His glorification,
when both are related in the selfsame book?
At this reproof the prefect became angry and ordered the tender virgin to be cruelly scourged, placed on the rack, and torn with iron combs. Then she was cast into prison. There Margaret fervently thanked God for the victory she had achieved and implored His help for the combat yet in store for her. Suddenly there appeared to her the arch-enemy of mankind in the shape of a furious dragon, threatening to swallow her. The brave virgin feared him not, but made the sign of the cross, and the monster vanished. Then her desolate prison cell became suffused with heavenly light, and her heart was filled with divine consolation. At the same time her terrible wounds were suddenly healed, and not the least scar was left.
Next day Margaret was again brought before the prefect. Surprised at her complete recovery from the effects of his cruelty, he remarked that no doubt it was due to the power of the pagan gods, and exhorted her to show her gratitude to them by sacrificing to the idols. Margaret maintained that she had been healed by the power of Christ alone and declared that she despised the heathen gods. At this, the rage of Alybrius knew no bounds. He ordered lighted torches to be applied to Margaret's body, and then had her cast into icy water to intensify her torture. But scarcely had this been done when a violent earthquake occurred. Her bonds were severed and she rose unscathed from the water, without a mark of the burns caused by the flaming torches. On witnessing this miracle, a great number of spectators were converted to the Faith. Finally the prefect ordered Margaret to be beheaded. Her glorious martyrdom and death occurred about the year 275.
The history of the Virgin Martyr St. Margaret teaches us that we can and ought to serve God even in youth.
In the Old Law God commanded all the firstborn and the first-fruits to be offered to Him. Thou shalt not delay to pay
thy tithes and first-fruits. Thou shalt give the firstborn of thy sons to Me
(Ex. 22: 29).
Certainly our whole life ought to be dedicated to the service of God; but from the above command we
are to understand that God especially desires our service during the early years of our life. They are our first-fruits.
St. Augustine calls the years of youth the blossoms, the most beautiful flowers of life, and St. Thomas Aquinas writes:
What the young give to God in their early years, they give of the bloom, of the full vigor and beauty of life.
Youth is the age beset with countless temptations. Safety is found only in the service of God, by obedience,
humility, and docility. This is not so difficult as it appears, and Our Lord Himself invites you to His service, saying:
My son, give Me thy heart
(Prov. 23: 26), and: Taste and see that the Lord is sweet
(Ps. 33: 9).
We beseech Thee, O Lord, grant us Thy favor through the intercession of Thy blessed Virgin and Martyr Margaret, who pleased Thee by the merit of her purity and by the confession of Thy might. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ... Amen.
An ancient tradition concerning St. Christopher relates: He was born in the land of Canaan,
and was called Reprobus, that is Reprobate, for he was a barbarous heathen. In stature and
strength he was a giant. Thinking no one his like in bodily vigor, he resolved to go forth in search of
the mightiest master and serve him. In his wanderings, he met with a king who was praised as the most
valorous man on earth. To him he offered his services and was accepted. The king was proud of his giant
and kept him near his person. One day a minstrel visited the king's castle, and among the ballads he sung
before the court was one on the power of Satan. At the mention of this name the king blessed himself,
making the sign of the cross. Reprobus, wondering, asked him why he did that. The king replied:
When I make this sign, Satan has no power over me.
Reprobus rejoined: So thou fearest the power Satan?
Then he is mightier than thou, and I shall seek and serve him.
Setting forth to seek Satan, he came into the wilderness. One dark night he met a band of wild fellows
riding through the forest. It was Satan and his escort. Reprobus bravely accosted him, saying he wished to serve him.
He was accepted. But soon he was convinced that his new master was not the mightiest on earth. For one day,
whilst approaching a crucifix by the wayside, Satan quickly took to flight, and Reprobus asked him for the reason.
Satan replied: That is the image of my greatest enemy, who conquered me on the cross. From Him I always flee.
When Reprobus heard this, he left the devil, and went in search of Christ.
In his wanderings he one day came to a hut hidden in the forest. At its door sat a venerable old man.
Reprobus addressed him, and in the course of the conversation that ensued the old man told him that he was a hermit,
and had left the world to serve Christ, the Lord of Heaven and earth. Thou art my man,
cried Reprobus;
Christ is He whom I seek, for He is the strongest and the mightiest. Tell me where I can find Him.
The hermit then began instructing the giant about God and the Redeemer, and concluded by saying:
He who would serve Christ must offer himself entirely to Him, and do and suffer everything for His sake.
His reward for this will be immense and will last forever.
Reprobus now asked the hermit to allow him to remain,
and to continue to instruct him. The hermit consented. When Reprobus was fully instructed, he baptized him.
After his baptism, a great change came over the giant. No longer proud of his great size and strength,
he became meek and humble, and asked the hermit to assign to him some task by which he might serve God, his master.
The hermit led him to a broad and swift river nearby, and said: Here build thyself a hut, and when wanderers wish
to cross the river, carry them over for the love of Christ.
For there was no bridge across the river.
Henceforth, day and night, whenever he was called, Reprobus faithfully performed the task assigned to him.
One night he heard a child calling to be carried across the river. Quickly he rose, placed the child on his stout shoulder,
took his staff and walked into the mighty current. Arrived in midstream, the water rose higher and higher,
and the child became heavier and heavier. O child,
he cried, how heavy thou art! It seems I bear the weight of
the world on my shoulder.
And the child replied, Right thou art. Thou bearest not only the world, but the Creator
of Heaven and earth. I am Jesus Christ, thy King and Lord, and henceforth thou shalt be called Christopher,
that is, Christ-bearer. Arrived on yonder shore, plant thy staff in the ground, and in token of My power and might,
tomorrow it shall bear leaves and blossoms.
The Child disappeared. On reaching the other shore, Christopher struck his staff into the ground, and behold, it budded forth leaves and blossoms. Then, kneeling, he promised the Lord to serve Him ever faithfully. He kept his promise, and thenceforth became a zealous preacher of the Gospel, converting many to the Faith. On his missionary peregrinations he came also to Lycia, where, after his first sermon, eighteen thousand heathens requested baptism. When Emperor Decius heard of this, he sent a company of four hundred soldiers to capture Christopher. To these he preached so convincingly, that they all asked for baptism. Decius became enraged thereat and had him cast into prison. There he first treated him with great kindness, and surrounded him with every luxury to tempt him to sin, but in vain. Then he ordered him to be tortured in the most cruel manner, until he should deny the Faith. He was scourged, placed on plates of hot iron, boiling oil was poured over him and fire was lit under him. When all these torments did not accomplish their purpose, the soldiers were ordered to shoot him with arrows. This, too, having no effect, he was beheaded on July 25, 254.
Two great Saints refer to the wonderful achievements of St. Christopher. St. Ambrose mentions that this Saint converted forty-eight thousand souls to Christ. St. Vincent Ferrer declares that when the plague devastated Valencia, its destructive course was stayed through the intercession of St. Christopher.
The legend of St. Christopher conveys a wholesome truth. We ought all to be Christ-bearers,
by preserving in our hearts faith, hope, and charity, and by receiving Our Lord worthily in Holy Communion.
He alone is worthy of our service. In the service that we owe to men, we ought to serve God by doing His will.
We cannot divide our heart, for Our Lord Himself says, No man can serve two masters
(Matt. 6: 24).
If you serve the world, it deceives you, for it cannot give you what it promises. If you serve sin, Satan is your master.
He, too, deceives his servants, and leads them to perdition. Christ on the Cross conquered these two tyrants,
and with His help you also can vanquish them. Therefore, give yourself to Him with all your heart,
and you shall find peace in this world, and eternal bliss in the next. St. Augustine learned this truth by sad experience,
and therefore exclaims: Thou has created us for Thee, O Lord, and our heart is restless till it rests in Thee.
Grant us, almighty God, that whilst we celebrate the memory of Thy blessed Martyr St. Christopher, through his intercession the love of Thy name may be increased in us. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ... Amen.
St. Pantaleon was physician to Emperor Maximin and a Christian, but he fell through temptation,
which is sometimes more dangerous than the most severe trials by the fiercest torments. This temptation was
the bad example of the impious, idolatrous courtiers with whom the young physician associated. He was seduced
by them and abandoned the Faith. But the grace of God called him, and he obeyed.
Hermolaus, a zealous priest, by prudent exhortation awakened Pantaleon's conscience to a sense of his guilt, and brought him back into the fold of the Church. Henceforth he devoted himself ardently to the advancement of the spiritual and temporal welfare of his fellow-citizens. First of all he sought to convert his father, who was still a heathen, and had the consolation to see him die a Christian. He divided the ample fortune which he inherited amongst the poor and the sick. As a physician, he was intent on healing his patients both by physical and by spiritual means. Christians he confirmed in the practice and confession of the Faith, and the heathens he sought to convert. Many suffering from incurable diseases were restored to health by his prayer and the invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus. His presence was everywhere fraught with blessings and consolation.
St. Pantaleon yearned to prove his fidelity to the Faith by shedding his blood for it,
and the opportunity came to him when his heathen associates in the healing art denounced him to the
emperor as a zealous propagator of Christianity. He was brought up before the emperor's tribunal and
ordered to sacrifice to the idols. He replied: The God Whom I adore is Jesus Christ. He created
Heaven and earth, He raised the dead to life, made the blind see and healed the sick, all through the
power of His word. Your idols are dead, they cannot do anything. Order a sick person to be brought here,
one declared incurable. Your priests shall invoke their idols for him and I shall call on the only true God,
and we shall see who is able to help him.
The proposal was accepted. A man sick with the palsy was brought,
who could neither walk nor stand without help. The heathen priests prayed for him, but in vain.
Then Pantaleon prayed, took the sick man by the hand, and said: In the Name of Jesus, the Son of God,
I command thee to rise and be well.
And the palsied man rose, restored to perfect health.
By this miracle a great number of those present were converted. But the emperor and the idolatrous priests were all the more enraged. Maximin now attempted to gain Pantaleon by blandishments and promises to deny the Faith, but without success. Then he had recourse to threats, and as they too availed nothing, he proceeded to have them put into execution. The brave confessor of the Faith was tortured in every conceivable manner. Finally he was nailed to a tree, and then beheaded. The priest Hermolaus and the brothers Hermippos and Hermocrates suffered death with him, in the year 308.
Happy are they who, whatever may be their station or calling in life, are intent on bringing those
with whom they come into contact under the influence of religion. But, alas, too many do just the reverse.
They permit themselves to be led astray by bad example, and set aside the claims of the Church as too severe
and too exacting. How do you act in this regard? A proverb says: Tell me in whose company you are found,
and I will tell you who you are.
Bad company insensibly undermines faith and morals, overcomes the fear
of evil and the aversion to it, and weakens the will. He that loveth danger shall perish in it
(Ecclus. 3: 27).
As soon as St. Pantaleon came to a sense of his apostasy, he repented and returned to the practice of the Faith.
He did this despite the knowledge that he thereby incurred hatred and persecution. The true Christian will ever
follow the dictates of conscience and please God, whether he thereby incur the displeasure of men or not.
If, to please men, we become remiss in the service of God, we show that we fear and love Him less than men.
What a lamentable folly! Of whom have we to expect greater benefits or to fear greater evils – from God or man?
Do not act thus unwisely; rather imitate St. Pantaleon, and live for God and His service.
Almighty God, grant us through the intercession of Thy blessed Martyr Pantaleon to be delivered and preserved from all ills of the body, and from evil thoughts and influences in spirit. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ... Amen.
Emperor Maximin, in token of his gratitude to Diocletian, who had ceded the western half of his empire to him,
ordered the building of that magnificent structure in Rome, whose ruins are still known as the "Baths of Diocletian".
The Christians imprisoned for the Faith were compelled to labor under cruel overseers at this building.
A zealous Christian Roman, touched with pity at this moving spectacle, resolved to employ his means in
improving the condition of these poor victims of persecution. Among the deacons of the Roman Church at
that time was one by the name of Cyriacus, who was distinguished by his zeal in the performance of all good works.
Him, with two companions, Largus and Smaragdus, the pious Roman selected for the execution of his plan.
Cyriacus devoted himself to the work with great ardor. One day, whilst visiting the laborers to distribute
food amongst them, he observed a decrepit old man, who was so feeble that he was unable to perform his severe task.
Filled with pity, Cyriacus offered to take his place. The aged prisoner consenting, the merciful deacon thenceforth
worked hard at the building. But after some time he was discovered, and cast into prison. There he again found
opportunity to exercise his zeal. Some blind men who had great confidence in the power of his prayer,
came to ask for help in their affliction, and he restored their sight. He and his companions spent three
years in prison, and during that time he healed many sick and converted a great number of heathens from the
darkness of paganism.
The Emperor Diocletian's little daughter became possessed by an evil spirit, and no one was able to deliver her from it. To the idolatrous priests who were called, the evil spirit declared that he would leave the girl only when commanded to do so by Cyriacus, the deacon. He was hastily summoned, and prayed and made the sign of the cross over the girl, and the evil spirit departed. The emperor loved his daughter, therefore he was grateful to the holy deacon, and presented him with a house, where he and his companions might serve their God unmolested by their enemies.
About this time the daughter of the Persian King Sapor was attacked by a similar malady, and when he heard what Cyriacus had done for Diocletian's daughter, he wrote to the emperor, asking him to send the Christian deacon. It was done, and Cyriacus, on foot, set out for Persia. Arrived at his destination, he prayed over the girl and the evil spirit left her. On hearing of this miracle, four hundred and twenty heathens were converted to the Faith. These the Saint instructed and baptized, and then set out on his homeward journey.
Returned to Rome, he continued his life of prayer and good works. But when Diocletian soon afterward left for the East, his co-emperor Maximin seized the opportunity to give vent to his hatred for the Christians, and renewed their persecution. One of the first victims was Cyriacus. He was loaded with chains and brought before the judge, who first tried blandishments and promises to induce him to renounce Christ and to sacrifice to the idols, but in vain. Then the confessor of Christ was stretched on the rack, his limbs torn from their sockets, and he was beaten with clubs. His companions shared the same tortures. Finally, when the emperor and the judge were convinced that nothing would shake the constancy of the holy Martyrs, they were beheaded. They gained the crown of glory on March 16, 303.
In the life of St. Cyriacus two virtues shine forth in a special manner; his love of God and his
charity toward his fellow-men. His love of God impelled him to sacrifice all, even his life, for His sake,
thereby fulfilling the commandment: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul,
and with thy whole mind
(Matt. 22: 37). A greater love of God no man can have than giving his life for Him.
St. Cyriacus also fulfilled the other commandment, of which Our Lord declared, And the second is like to this:
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself
(Matt. 22: 39). He helped his fellow-Christians to bear their burdens,
relieved them in their sufferings, assisted and encouraged them by word and deed, and edified them by his example.
His sole aim was to do good to all men, mindful of the words of the Royal Prophet: Blessed is he that understandeth
concerning the needy and the poor
(Ps. 40: 2). He was so imbued with the virtue of charity,
that he was disposed even to sacrifice his life for the relief and assistance of others. How shall we justify our
unfeeling hardness of heart, by which we seek every trifling pretense to exempt us from the duty of aiding the unfortunate?
Remember the threat of the apostle, Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy
(James 2: 13).
O God, Who rejoices us by the remembrance of Thy blessed Martyrs Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus; grant, we beseech Thee, that we, by celebrating their memory, may imitate their fortitude in suffering. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ... Amen.
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