Saint Euphrasius of Illiturgis ( es, link=no, San Eufrasio) is venerated as a Christian missionary of the 1st century, during the

Apostolic Age Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity ...

. Euphrasius’ diocese was traditionally associated with

Illiturgis Illiturgis, also known as Iliturgi, Illurgis was a city in Spain during antiquity, located on the road from Corduba to Castulo. Originally, it was located near the site of Mengíbar, but when it was destroyed the populace was relocated near prese ...

(Iliturgi), located between

Bailén Bailén (archaically known as Baylen in English language, English) is a town in the province of Jaén, Spain, province of Jaén, Spain. History Bailén is probably the ancient Baecula, where the Roman Republic, Romans, under Scipio Africanus, Sc ...

and

Andújar Andújar () is a Spanish municipality of 38,539 people (2005) in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia. The municipality is divided by the Guadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of the Sierra de Andú ...

.Alfonso Lowe, Hugh Seymour-Davies, ''The companion guide to the south of Spain'' (Companion Guides, 2000), 369. He is said to have been martyred at Illiturgis. According to tradition, he is one of the group of

Seven Apostolic Men According to Christian tradition, the Seven Apostolic Men (''siete varones apostólicos'') were seven Christian clerics ordained in Rome by Saints Peter and Paul and sent to evangelize Spain. This group includes Torquatus, Caecilius, Ctesiphon, ...

(''siete varones apostólicos''), seven Christian clerics ordained in Rome by Saints

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and sent to evangelize Spain. Besides Euphrasius, this group includes Sts. Hesychius,

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

Torquatus Torquatus, masculine (''torquata'', feminine; ''torquatum'', neuter), is a Latin word meaning "adorned with a neck chain or collar" and may refer to: People *Lucius Manlius Torquatus * Titus Manlius Torquatus (235 BC) * Silanus ** Marcus Jun ...

Indaletius Saint Indaletius ( es, San Indalecio) is venerated as the patron saint of Almería, Spain. Tradition makes him a Christian missionary of the 1st century, during the Apostolic Age. He evangelized the town of Urci (today Pechina), near the present ...

, and Secundius (''Isicio, Cecilio, Tesifonte, Eufrasio, Hesiquio y Segundo'').Monks of Ramsgate. "Torquatus, Ctesiphon, Secundus, Indaletius, Hesychius and Euphrasius". ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 8 May 2017
/ref>

Veneration

The communal feast of the Seven Apostolic Men was celebrated in the

Mozarabic Mozarabic, also called Andalusi Romance, refers to the medieval Romance varieties spoken in the Iberian Peninsula in territories controlled by the Islamic Emirate of Córdoba and its successors. They were the common tongue for the majority of ...

Liturgy.David Hugh Farmer, ''The Oxford dictionary of saints'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). In the 7th century,

Sisebut Sisebut ( la, Sisebutus, es, Sisebuto; also ''Sisebuth'', ''Sisebur'', ''Sisebod'' or ''Sigebut'') ( 565 – February 621) was Visigothic Kingdom, King of the Visigoths and ruler of Hispania and Septimania from 612 until his death. Biography H ...

built a church over the saint's sepulcher at Illiturgis, but during the invasion of Spain by the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

in the 8th century, his relics were

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the Valley of the Mao River in Galicia, in

Lugo Province Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in the nor ...

. He is buried in the church of Santa María do Mao, in the municipality of

O Incio O Incio is a municipality in the province of Lugo in Galicia in north-west Spain. The main attraction is the small church of Hospital, surrounded by oak and chestnut forest in a western orientated narrow valley. It is a very well preserved Rom ...

, near the monastery of San Xulián de Samos in

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

. Euphrasius is also patron of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

and of

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...

; “this seems to have been due to a secondary translation of his relics.” A relic of a kerchief found in a chapel behind the high altar of

Jaén Cathedral The Assumption of the Virgin Cathedral (Spanish: ) is a Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic cathedral located in Santa María Square, opposite the Town Hall and the Episcopal Palace, in the center of Jaén, region of Andalusia, Spain. , image ...

is associated with a legend of St. Euphrasius. When Euphrasius was sent to Rome to free the Pope from Satan's temptations, it is said that he traveled to Rome in only half an hour due to the assistance of a captive goblin who helped the saint in return for some leftovers from the saint's supper. Euphrasius vanquished Satan, and was awarded with a kerchief. Euphrasius is also associated with the cult of

Our Lady of Cabeza Our Lady of Cabeza ( es, Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza, La Santísima Virgen de la Cabeza, Virgen de la Cabeza, Nuestra Señora la Virgen de la Cabeza) is a Marian apparition and statue of the Madonna and Child, whose cult is centered at the Basili ...

(''la Virgen de la Cabeza''). According to one legend, when Saint Euphrasius came to Spain, he brought with him an image of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

to which he showed devotion. According to the legend, this image was given to Euphrasius by

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

, and is said to have been the portrait that

Saint Luke Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...

painted of the Virgin Mary.

References

External links

SAN EUFRASIO VARÓN APOSTÓLICO
''www.galiciadixital.com''
El viaje de San Eufrasio de Jaén a Roma, volando

CatholicSaints.Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Euphrasius Of Illiturgis Saints from Hispania 1st-century Christian martyrs