Roman Martyrology

"In the Dachau prison camp near Munich, Germany, we remember Marian Konopiński, priest and martyr, a Polish national who, patiently enduring the cruel torture inflicted by his tormentors, gave his life for Christ the Lord. (1 January)"

"In Rome, deposition of Saint Telesphorus, pope, who, according to the testimony of Saint Irenaeus, seventh bishop consecrated by the Apostles, received glorious martyrdom. (2 January)"

"Memorial of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr, who, while still a girl in Rome, offered the supreme witness of faith and consecrated the virtue of chastity with martyrdom; in fact, she overcame both her young age and the tyranny of the tyrant and thus gained great admiration among the people, obtaining even greater glory with God. On this day, we celebrate the deposition of her mortal remains. (21 January)"

"Memorial of St. Agatha, virgin and martyr, who, while still young, in Catania, Sicily, during the raging persecution, preserved the purity of her body and the integrity of her faith in martyrdom, offering her testimony for Christ the Lord. (5 February)"

"In Alexandria, Egypt, remembrance of St. Apollonia, who, after numerous and horrible tortures inflicted by her persecutors because she refused to utter sacrilegious words, preferred to be burned at the stake rather than renounce her Christian faith. (9 February)"

"In the city of Xilinxian, in the province of Guangxi in China, remembrance of St. Agnes Cao Kuiying, martyr, who, already married to a violent man, after his death devoted herself to teaching Christian doctrine on behalf of the bishop, and for this reason, after being thrown into prison and enduring terrible torments, always trusting in God, she then went to the eternal banquet. (1 March)"

"In Oberkaufungen in Hesse, Germany, Saint Cunigonde: she brought many benefits to the Church together with her husband Saint Henry the Emperor, and after his death, she herself migrated to the Lord in the convent where she had retired as a nun, making Christ her inheritance. Her body was laid to rest with full honours next to the remains of Saint Henry in Bamberg. (3 March)"

"Memorial of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicity, arrested with other young catechumens in Carthage under Emperor Septimius Severus; one of whom – Perpetua – was a woman of about twenty, wife of an influential man and mother of an infant; the other – Felicity – was a slave who, even in the terrible pains of premature labour (and according to the law could not be tortured while still pregnant), rejoiced at being thrown to the beasts. Both went from their prison cell to the amphitheatre with joy and serenity on their faces, as if they were already in paradise. (7 March)"

"In Mauthausen, Austria, we remember B. Marcello Callo, martyr, who, a young native of Rennes, comforted his fellow prisoners, exhausted by the gruelling labour of the work camps, with his great passion for Christ, and for this reason met his death in the extermination camp of Mauthausen. (19 March)"

"In Prague, Bohemia, we remember St. John of Nepomuk, priest and martyr, who, in order to defend the Church from King Wenceslaus IV, after enduring numerous insults and suffering all kinds of torture, was finally thrown into the Vltava River, thus completing his martyrdom for Christ. (20 March)"

"In Fiobbio di Albino, near Bergamo, Italy, commemoration of Blessed Pierina Morosini, virgin and martyr, who at the age of twenty-six, while returning home from the factory where she worked, was killed by blows to the head with stones for defending her chastity, which she had consecrated to God, from a young attacker. (6 April)"

"In Rome, memory of St. Domitilla, martyr, who, daughter of the sister of the consul Flavius Clemens, was accused of impiety during the persecution of Domitian because she had witnessed to Christ, and was therefore deported with other companions to the island of Ponza, where she had to endure a long martyrdom. (7 May)"

"In Orgosolo, Sardinia, commemoration of Blessed Antonia Mesina, virgin and martyr, devoted to prayer and works of charity, who at the age of sixteen defended her chastity until death. (17 May)"

"In Lyon, France, we remember the holy martyrs Pothinus, bishop, and Blandina of Lyon, together with forty-six companions, whose numerous and arduous trials, endured during the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, are attested to in the letter addressed by the Church of Lyon to the churches of Asia and Phrygia. Of these, Bishop Potinus, aged ninety, perished shortly after being imprisoned; some died like him in prison, while others were led into the arena in front of thousands of spectators: those who were found to be Roman citizens were beheaded, while the others were fed to the wild beasts; Finally, Blandina, her throat cut after suffering endless and increasingly cruel tortures, was finally able to join in glory those companions whom she had previously exhorted to attain the palm of martyrdom. (2 June)"

"In Seville, Spain, commemoration of the Saints Justa and Rufina, virgins, who, arrested by the governor Diogenian, had to endure various tortures before consummating their martyrdom by bearing witness to Christ: Giusta perished during her imprisonment, subjected to torture, while Rufina died by beheading. (17 July)"

"In Antioch in Pisidia (Asia Minor), commemoration of St. Marina (or Margaret), who is said to have consecrated her body to Christ in virginity and martyrdom. (20 July)"

"Memorial of SS. Sixtus II, pope, and companions. Martyrs. While Pope Sixtus was celebrating Mass and explaining divine law to his brothers, some soldiers arrived and immediately arrested and beheaded him, in accordance with the edict of Emperor Valerian, on the sixth day of August. Four deacons were also martyred with him and were buried with the pontiff in Rome, in the Cemetery of St. Callixtus on the Appian Way. On that day, Saints Agapitus and Felicissimus, his deacons, were also martyred in the Cemetery of Pretestato, where they were also buried. (7 August)"

"In Gondar, Ethiopia, commemoration of the Blessed Agatangelo de Vindocino (Francis) Nourry and Cassiano da Nantes (Gundisalvo) Vaz Lopez-Netto, priests of the Capuchin Friars Minor and martyrs, who, in Syria, Egypt and Ethiopia, attempted to reconcile separated Christians with the Catholic Church; were stoned to death after being hanged with their own Franciscan cords. (7 August)"

"Feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, who, desiring to be a companion of Pope Sixtus even in martyrdom, as St. Leo the Great recalls, having been ordered to hand over the treasures of the Church, he showed the foolish tyrant the poor whom he had fed and clothed with the alms he had collected; three days after Sixtus' martyrdom, he was burned on the gridiron for his faith in Christ, and in honour of his triumph, the instruments of his torture also migrated to heaven. His body was buried in Rome at Verano, in the cemetery that would take his name. (10 August)"

"In Otranto in Puglia, remembrance of the approximately eight hundred BB. martyrs, who received the crown of martyrdom by being beheaded by the Ottoman Turks who had conquered the city: they ordered them to abandon the Christian faith, but the ‘Idruntini’, exhorted by Blessed Antonio Primaldo, an elderly weaver, to persevere in the faith of Christ, achieved the glorious palm. (14 August)"

"In Rome, in the cemetery of Callisto on the Via Appia, memory of St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr, who, as tradition has it, achieved this double palm for the love of Christ, and to whose name the ancient church of Trastevere is dedicated. (22 November)"

"Memorial of St. Lucy, virgin and martyr, who, while she lived, kept the lamp lit for her coming Bridegroom, and once she was put to death for Christ, she deserved to be married to Him, thus possessing the Light that never goes out. (13 December)"

"For centuries, the names contained in the Roman Martyrology have been the main, if not the only, source of Italian names."

"Martirologio romano, translation into Italian by Istituto San Clemente I Papa e Martire (Stefano Calvi), vatican.va."