Sts. Marcellinus and Peter

St. Marcellinus and St. Peter were Roman martyrs who died during the persecution of Diocletian, around the year 304. Marcellinus was a priest and Peter an exorcist of the Roman clergy; according to their traditional acts they encouraged and converted others even while imprisoned, and were led out to a secluded spot and beheaded, their bodies hidden so that Christians could not honor them.

Their cult became widespread and highly honored in Rome. Pope St. Damasus, who as a boy heard the account from their executioner, composed a poetic epitaph for their tomb, and the emperor Constantine built a basilica over their burial place on the Via Labicana, where his mother St. Helena was also interred. Their names were inserted into the Roman Canon of the Mass, the ancient list of martyrs commemorated in the Eucharistic Prayer, where they are remembered to this day.