Saints of the Day : 2 June
Wall painting (4th century) from the catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter on the Via Labicana, “Christ with the book of the Gospels is seated between Peter and Paul. Below, the Lamb is standing in the centre on a hill, from which flow out the four symbolic rivers of Scripture. To the sides are the most venerated Martyrs, with their names: Gorgonius, Peter, Marcellinus, Tiburtius, all acclaiming the Lamb.” (Christian Catacombs of Rome – Website)
Marcellinus and Peter were martyred around 304 AD during the brutal Diocletian Persecution.
- The Background: According to historical accounts, Peter was a fearless exorcist thrown into a Roman dungeon. His unwavering peace under the threat of death so struck his jailer, Artemius, that Artemius and his entire household converted.
- The Partnership: Peter called upon the priest Marcellinus to secretly come to the prison and baptize the new converts. Both were soon caught, roughly treated, and sentenced to death by the magistrate.
Execution and Burial
To prevent Christians from gathering at their burial site and turning it into a place of worship, the Roman executioner took them deep into a thick, secluded forest known as the Silva Nigra (“Black Forest”).
The Inscription:
They were forced to dig their own graves before being beheaded.
Later, the executioner himself converted to Christianity. He told his story to a young boy named Damasus.
That boy grew up to become Pope St. Damasus I (366–384 AD), and he personally wrote a famous Latin metric epitaph to mark their recovered tombs.
Translated into English, the inscription reads:
“When I was a boy, your executioner made known to me thy triumphs, O Marcellinus, and thine also, O Peter.
The mad butcher gave him this commandment—that he should sever your necks in the midst of the thickets in order that no one should be able to recognize your grave,
and he told how you prepared your sepulchre with eager hands.
Afterwards you lay hid in a white cave, and then Lucilla was caused to know by your goodness that it pleased you rather to lay your sacred limbs here.”
The Roman magistrate had deliberately ordered their execution to take place in the dense thickets of the Silva Nigra, specifically so the Christian community would never find their bodies to venerate them.
However, a Christian woman named Lucilla, having been divinely prompted to discover the hidden graves, translated their remains into the catacombs where the monumental inscription was ultimately placed
Following their martyrdom, the forest’s name was permanently changed from the Silva Nigra (Black Forest) to the Silva Candida (White Forest).
Sources:
The Pontifical North American College
Wikipedia Churches of Rome
Christian Catacombs of Rome