Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum | |
---|---|
Martyrs | |
Born | 3rd century Persia |
Died | 270 Nymphae Catabassi, near Rome |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Major shrine | Rome, Prüm Abbey |
Feast | 19 January |
Saints Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
Their story relates how the family's assistance to Christians exposed them to persecution. They were seized and delivered to the judge Muscianus or Marcianus, who, unable to persuade them to abjure their faith, condemned them to various tortures. Despite the torture, the saints refused to abjure.[3] Marius and his two sons were thus beheaded on the Via Cornelia, and their bodies were burnt. Martha meanwhile was killed at a place called in Nimpha or Nymphae Catabassi (later called Santa Ninfa),[4] thirteen miles from Rome. Tradition states that Martha was cast into a well.
Veneration
According to tradition, a Roman lady named Felicitas secured the half-consumed remains of the father and sons and also the mother's body from the well, and had the sacred
The
The martyrs are inscribed in the current Roman Martyrology on 19 January.[5] Their feast or commemoration was included on that date in the General Roman Calendar from the 9th century to 1969, when they were excluded because nothing is known with certainty about them except their names, their place of burial (the cemetery Ad Nymphas on the Via Cornelia), and the day of their burial (19 or 20 January).[6]
References
- ^ Form of the names in the Roman Martyrology. In some sources, Marius is called "Maris" and Audifax is placed last.
- ^ a b c d Santi Mario, Marta, Abaco e Audiface
- ^ Clugnet, Léon. "Sts. Maris, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 16 January 2023 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Father Alban Butler: Saints Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum Archived 2006-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Martyrologium Romanum, Typis Vaticanis, 2004, p. 106
- ^ Calendarium Romanum, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1969, p. 113
- Sources
- Holweck, F. G., A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder, 1924.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sts. Maris, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.