SS. SIMPLICIUS, CONSTANTINUS AND VICTORINUS, MARTYRS - 26 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 26th of August

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

SS. SIMPLICIUS, CONSTANTINUS AND VICTORINUS, MARTYRS 

Saint Simplicius and his entire family, natives of Bourgogne, were baptised by Saint Januarius. Gaudentia, the wife of Simplicius, became a nun and withdrew to a monastery, while Simplicius and his two sons Constantius and Victorinus began to preach the Gospel. 

THE PREFECT WAS ORDERED TO ARREST ALL CHRISTIANS

Pontius, the prefect in Gaul, was ordered to arrest all Christians; Simplicius and his two sons were arrested and led in front of the court, where they preached the Trinity and the Absolution. They were flogged and sent to Rome in order to be condemned to death. This happened c. A.D. 159.

According to legend, during the journey, the saints cured a child of blindness. At Rome, they wished to visit the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, but the guards prohibited this. 

THE SAINTS CURED A CHILD OF BLINDNESS

In the presence of the emperor, the three saints refused to abjure their faith, and were tossed into a chamber filled with snakes and scorpions, but they emerged unharmed due to the intercession of an angel. They were then condemned to be torn apart by four maddened heifers, but these beasts refused to move. Finally, on August 26, 159, they were beheaded at Celano, at a spot called Aureum fontem ("Golden Springs"), identified by the writer of the Passio as the future site of the church of San Giovanni Vecchio in Celano.

AFTER THEIR DEATH, AN EARTHQUAKE SHOOK THE TOWN

After the death of the three saints, an earthquake shook the town and one of the executioners was converted to Christianity, with the deacon named Florentius, a witness to the event, writing down and passing down the news of their deaths.

(Information from Wikipedia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplicius,_Constantius_and_Victorinus)