Placidus (martyr)

Infobox Saint
name=Saint Placidus
birth_date=3rd century AD
death_date=4th century AD
feast_day=October 5
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church


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caption="Saint Placidus the Martyr," by Pietro Perugino
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titles=Martyr
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Saint Placidus (Placitus), along with Saints Eutychius (Euticius), Victorinus and their sister Flavia, Donatus, Firmatus the deacon, Faustus, and thirty others, have been venerated as Christian martyrs. They were said to be martyred either by pirates at Messina or under the Emperor Diocletian.

In their "Acts," this Placidus was confused with the saint of the same name, a follower of St. Benedict (see Saint Placidus). Thus, the legend of this unknown Sicilian martyr has him go to Italy in 541, and found a monastery at Messina, of which he was abbot, and where he was martyred with thirty companions.

Their feast day, though not included in the Tridentine Calendar, was later inserted into the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, and was celebrated on October 5, until 1969. ["Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 141] Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast of "St Placidus and His Companions, Martyrs" on October 5. [See the General Roman Calendar as in 1954, the General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII, and the General Roman Calendar of 1962.]

References

Gallery

External links

* [http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=641 Catholic Online: "Saint Flavia"]