St. Maurice

St. Maurice (died c. 287, by traditional dating) was, according to the account preserved by Bishop Eucherius of Lyon, the commander of the Theban Legion, a body of Roman soldiers recruited in Egypt who were Christians to a man. Serving in the army of the emperor Maximian in Gaul, the legion was ordered to take part in pagan sacrifices and, by some accounts, to persecute local Christians, and refused as one body to obey commands contrary to their faith.

When they would not yield, the emperor is said to have had the legion punished by decimation and, when they still stood firm under the leadership of Maurice and his officers, ordered them all put to the sword near Agaunum in the Alps — the place now called Saint-Maurice in Switzerland, where a great abbey was later built over their tomb. Though modern historians debate the numbers and details, the cult is ancient and the site of veneration continuous. Maurice became one of the most honored military saints of Christendom, patron of soldiers, infantry, and armies.