Daily Martyrology for June 2

In 177, the martyrs of Lyons and Vienne, whose fate is described in a letter preserved in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius. Lyons was terminus of a trade route to the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Christians there had close ties with the church in Asia Minor. At Lyons, they were at first ostracized, then accused of treason and cannibalism. A number were arrested and tortured and executed. Throughout their ordeal, these martyrs showed remarkable charity for their persecutors.

In 304, at Rome, Saints Marcellinus and Peter. They were arrested and then beheaded for their faith. They are commemorated in the first Eucharistic Prayer. Constantine built a church over their tomb, and his mother, St. Helena, was buried there.

In 1451, at Castelnuovo, in Italy, Blessed Herculanus of Piegaro. He entered the Observant Franciscans in Sarteano. After going to the Holy Land when the Franciscans were granted custody of the holy places, he returned to Tuscany. After some years as a hermit, he was sent out to preach, which he did very effectively.

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Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.