Saints Marcellinus and Peter

Life story

Marcellinus was a priest and Peter an exorcist of the Roman Church. Both were beheaded during the persecution under the emperor Diocletian; tradition places this around 304.

The best evidence for them is the Latin epitaph composed by Pope Damasus, which says he heard their story from their executioner himself. This is recorded from the fourth century, though the details of the story are of the legendary kind. A much later Passio adds the jailer Artemius and his family, and two women, Lucilla and Firmina, who found the bodies through a revelation; these cannot be treated as secure history.

They were buried in a catacomb on the Via Labicana. The Liber Pontificalis says the emperor Constantine had a basilica built in their honour, and a fourth-century wall painting in the catacomb shows them beside Christ and Saints Peter and Paul. In the 820s their remains were taken to Germany and are now kept at Seligenstadt; sources describe the details of the move differently.

Their names are in the Roman Canon. The feast is on 2 June.

Works and witness

• The priest Marcellinus and the exorcist Peter were beheaded under Diocletian
• Pope Damasus wrote the epitaph for their tomb
• Constantine built a basilica at the catacomb on the Via Labicana
• Their remains were taken to Seligenstadt in Germany in the 820s

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent), Early Roman Christian Cemeteries; Canon of the Mass (newadvent.org/cathen/03510a.htm)
• Franciscan Media, Saints Marcellinus and Peter (franciscanmedia.org)
• Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent), Pope St. Marcellinus (newadvent.org/cathen/09637d.htm)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.