Mammes of Caesarea
Saint Mammes of Caesarea | |
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Zaragoza ). |
Saint Mammes of Caesarea (Mamas, Mammas, Mammet, Mema; Greek: Μάμας; French: Mammès; Italian: Mamante; Spanish: Mamés; Portuguese: Mamede) was a child-martyr of the 3rd century, who was martyred at Caesarea.[1] His parents, Theodotus and Rufina, were also martyred.[2]
Life
Born in prison to parents who had been jailed for being Christians, Mammes became an orphan when his parents were executed.[3] After their death, Mammes was raised by a rich widow named Ammia, who died when Mammes was 15 years old.
According to legend, Mammes was tortured for his faith by the governor of Caesarea and was then sent before the
then liberated him and ordered him to hide on a mountain near Caesarea.Mammes was later thrown to the lions, but he managed to make the beasts docile by preaching to them. Afterward, a lion remained with him as a companion. Accompanied by the lion, he visited Duke Alexander, who sentenced him to death.
Veneration
The center of his cult was situated at Caesarea and later shifted to Langres when his relics were brought there.[4] The
of the diocese.Lebanon
Saint Mammes is also a popular saint in Lebanon with many churches and convents named in his honor. He is the patron saint of Deir Mimas in Lebanon. Grand festivities are organized each year when the town celebrates the feast of Saint Mamas on September 15. The town has both an orthodox monastery, which overlooks the Litani valley of Deirmimas, and a Melkite catholic church, located inside the village, named after Saint Mammes.
Mammes is also honored in Kfarhata, which is adjacent to
, which was built in the 16th century.Another Maronite Lebanese monastery called Dayr Mar Mamas is being restored by the town's folks of the rural village of Bechaaleh (also spelled Bechealeh) located in the district of Batroun in the north of Lebanon.
Cyprus
In
St. Mamas Monastery is the third most important place of worship for the Greek Orthodox in Cyprus after
Greece
There are numerous churches dedicated to Mammes of Caesarea in Greece and there are even villages in Greece named Agios Mamas (Άγιος Μάμας in Greek) after him in Chalkidiki, Crete and Laconia.
Spain (San Mamés)
Pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela diffused his cult into Spain.
A statue depicting Mammes and a lion can be found in the Casa de la Misericordia in Bilbao, which was once the convent of San Mamés and whose current chapel holds an alleged piece of bone from his cranium.[6] The home stadium used by Athletic Bilbao is called San Mamés Stadium, and players of that club are called the "lions of San Mamés".
His head is said to rest in the parish church of Santa María Magdalena in Zaragoza.
An alternative legend states that he was devoured by lions.[citation needed]
At Tábara, also in Spain, he is venerated alongside Saint Blaise.[7]
Italy (San Mamete)
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In some regions of Italy, particularly
Portugal (São Mamede)
The
.Notes
- ^ Vailhé, Siméon. "Caesarea." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 26 Feb. 2013
- ^ Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Sts. Rufina." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 26 Feb. 2013
- ^ "Martyr Rufina of Caesarea, in Cappadocia", Orthodox Church in America
- ^ a b Cousin, Jean the Elder, "St. Mammes and Duke Alexander", Web Gallery of Art
- ^ "Saint Mamas". nostos.com. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ «Que Ellos se dediquen a jugar, que San Mamés les protegerá», El Correo Digital. Canal Athletic, March 1, 2009. (es)
- ^ "Tabara". Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
- ^ The rite is described in Franca Pirovano, "San Mamètt e ’l pan di fioeu", in F.P. Momenti di folklore in Brianza, Palermo, Sellerio, 1985, pp. 47-48.
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