Feast of Sant’Agazio Martire

Sant'Agazio Martire, ora pro nobis

May 8th is the Feast of Sant’Agazio (St. Achatius), Centurion and Martyr. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, he is the patron saint of soldiers and invoked against migraine headaches. Glorious Sant’Agazio is also the patron saint of Squillace and Guardavalle in Provincia di Catanzaro in Calabria.

According to tradition, Sant’Agazio was a Cappadocian Greek soldier in the Roman imperial army. Rising to the rank of centurion, during a battle a voice from the heavens said to him, "Call on the God of the Christians!" Doing as he was told, after the fray he converted, was baptized and began evangelizing his cohorts. 

Exposed as a Christian by his superiors, the steadfast warrior for Christ was arrested. Refusing to apostatize, Sant’Agazio was brutally tortured and marched back to Byzantium in chains, converting his fellow prisoners along the way. Beaten and scourged, he was condemned and beheaded in 311. 

After vanquishing Emperor Maxininus at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan, which granted religious tolerance throughout the Empire. Converting to the faith, the Emperor built a number of churches, including one in honor of Sant’Agazio at the location of his martyrdom.

Dating back to the seventh century (c. 630), ever-devoted Squillace also celebrates the translation of the Saint’s holy relics to their town on January 16th. From Squillace the Saint’s relics and patronage spread to nearby Guardavalle in 1584 and then to Ávila and Cuenca in Spain.

In celebration, I’m posting a prayer to St. Achatius. The photo comes courtesy of the Parrocchia Sant'Agazio Martire – Guardavalle Facebook page. Evviva Sant’Agazio!

Prayer to St. Achatius

Valiant Martyr of Christ, St. Achatius, who preached Christ faithfully before kings and judges, and didst gain the victory over the enemies of God; help me through thy powerful intercession to resist and gain the victory over all the enemies of my salvation, over the world and its allurements, over the concupiscence of the flesh, and over the temptations of Satan. I implore thee particularly to assist me in my agony, when the powers of Hell rise against me to rob my soul. Then do thou come to my aid and repel the assaults of the enemy, so that I surrender my soul into the hands of my Redeemer in faith, hope, and charity, and confiding in His infinite merits. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.