Saint of the Day – 13 December – St Antiochus (2nd Century) Martyr of Sulci, Sardinia, Italy. Died by being beaten to death in the first quarter of the 2nd Century on Sulci, Sardinia. Patronages – of miners, of the following places in Italy: Atzara, the Diocese of Iglesias, the City of Ozieri, the Diocese of Ozieri, Palmas Arborea, the City of Sant’Antioco, the Island of Sant’Antioco, in Sardinia. Also known as – Antiochus of Plumbaria, Antioco…
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “Near Sardinia, on the Island of Solta, the Martyrdom of St Antiochus, under the Emperor Adrian.”
On the Feast Day of Saint Lucy, Sardinia also commemorates another Martyr, Saint Antiochus. He is linked to the region’s mines, where the Romans also forced many Christians to work during the persecutions.
Among them is Antiochus, who was exiled to the splendid Island which bears his name (now connected to the mainland by a bridge).
Antiochus was an Physician who, in the first half of the 2nd Century, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, travelled through Galatia and Cappadocia, caring, not only for the bodies but also for the souls, of those he encountered. The conversions he inspired led to his arrest and exile in Sardinia.
Even as a prisoner, his Christian witness was so strong that it opened the heart of the Soldier Cyriacus, his jailer, to faith in Christ.
This infuriated the imperial authorities, who sentenced him to death. Before dying, however, Antiochus invoked God’s protection over Sardinia and its people, who still venerate him today.
The Church in the Island’s capital Sant’Antioco, named after Antiochus, was dedicated to him in the 5th Century. His Tomb is in the Crypt beneath ithis Church.
Additional Feast Days in Italy:
13 November (Dioceses of Iglesias and Ozieri, Italy)
16 July (Island of Sant’Antioco)
1 August (Island of Sant’Antioco)
15th day after Easter (Island of Sant’Antioco)
2nd Sunday after Easter (Palmas Arborea, Italy)
AnaStpaul 