Marcellus and Apuleius were third- or fourth-century

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s who were inserted in the

General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These celebra ...

in the 13th century. They were recognized as

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, with 7 October as their feast day. Apuleius is considered purely legendary, and is no longer recognized.

Recognition

Marcellus was associated with a Saint Apuleius, which led to them being mentioned together in some editions of the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

. In the Tridentine Calendar, Marcellus was commemorated with Apuleius and two other saints on 7 October, the feast day of

Pope Mark Pope Mark ( la, Marcus) was the bishop of Rome from 18 January to his death on 7 October 336. Little is known of Mark's early life. According to the ''Liber Pontificalis'', he was a Roman, and his father's name was Priscus. Mark succeeded Syl ...

. The '' Sacramentarium'' of Pope Gelasius assigned a mass to them. In 1716, this day became the feast of

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Roma ...

, and the commemoration of Marcellus and Apuleius was moved to 8 October. Marcellus were restored to 7 October in 1969 and Apuleius was expunged from the official list of saints of the Catholic Church, as without historical foundation. Although the veneration of the two saints is very old, their existing Acts are not genuine and agree to a great extent with those of

Saints Nereus and Achilleus Nereus and Achilleus are two Roman martyr saints. In the present General Roman Calendar, revised in 1969, Nereus and Achilleus (together) are celebrated (optional memorials) on 12 May. The Tridentine Calendar had on 12 May a joint feast (semid ...

Monks of Ramsgate account

The monks of

St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate St Augustine's Abbey or Ramsgate Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Ramsgate. It was built in 1860 by Augustus Pugin and is a Grade II listed building. It was the first Benedictine monastery to be built in England since the Reformation. In ...

wrote in their ''Book of Saints'' (1921),

Butler's account

The hagiographer

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

(1710–1773) wrote in his ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints'' under October 7,

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcellus Of Capua 4th-century Christian martyrs 4th-century Romans Year of birth unknown