Although
not much is known about these two early martyrs, we do know that
Marcellinus was a priest in Rome and Peter was an exorcist who worked in
close association with him. They were both renowned for their zeal and
piety and attracted many followers to Christ.
About the year 304,
during the persecution of Diocletian, the two holy men were arrested
for the practice of their faith. Whilst in prison, and awaiting
sentencing, Marcellinus and Peter not only confirmed and helped
strengthen the faith of the other Christians imprisoned with them, but
they also made new converts, including their jailer and his wife and
daughter, who later became martyrs themselves.
In the hopes that
the Christians might not know of their execution and that their example
of courage and faith be forgotten, a secret order was passed by the
judge. Marcellinus, Peter and the other Christians were one day led into
a thicket in the woods several miles out of Rome, called Silva Nigra,
where they were beheaded in secret after cheerfully clearing away the
thorns and briars to prepare their own burial places.
Some time
after, a pious lady named Lucilla was shown by divine revelation the
place of the holy martyrs death and burial, and she and another devout
lady by the name of Firmina took the bodies and interned them in the
Catacombs where they could be duly venerated. Pope Damascus himself
assures us that, as a child, he learned all these particulars from the
mouth of the executioner himself, who was also later converted.
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Sts. Marcellinus and Peter
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