Saints Marcellinus and Peter were Italian saints of the 3rd century. Marcellinus was a priest and Peter was an exorcist who were beheaded and died as martyrs in the year 304 AD during the Diocletian Persecutions. Pope Damasus - I said that when he was a child, he heard their story directly from those who killed them.

Pope Damasus - I said that magistrate Severus, the executioner, told the two saints to clear the place of their execution which was a thicket overgrown with thorns, brambles and briers. The two saints happily cleared the spot chosen for their death which was far away from the road, about three miles from Rome. Severus beheaded and buried them there itself so that their bodies could not be located by the Christians.

There were two women named Lucilla and Firmina who were assisted by divine revelation to find the bodies. They located the bodies and accorded them a decent burial on the Via Labicana near the body of St. Tiburtius. The Via Labicana is in modern-day known as the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter.

According to a legendary account of their martyrdom, the two Romans saw their imprisonment as just one more opportunity to evangelize and managed to convert their jailer Artemius. His wife Secunda and daughter Paulina were also converted. Artemius was beheaded; Secunda and Paulina were buried alive under a pile of stones.

Relics associated with Marcellinus and Peter were translated to Seligenstadt in Germany in the 9th century. They were further translated to Strasburg, Michlenstad and afterwards to Malinheim.

The names of Marcellinus and Peter were embedded into the Roman Canon. They are read in the First Eucharistic Prayer during Mass until today.

Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Ada
2. Saint Blandina
3. Saint Erasmus
4. Saint Eugene
5. Saint Pothinus

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