Saint Gordianus (died 362) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

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 ...

who was killed during the reign of

Julian the Apostate Julian ( la, Flavius Claudius Julianus; grc-gre, Ἰουλιανός ; 331 – 26 June 363) was Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplato ...

, and is commemorated on 10 May. Gordianus was a Roman pagan and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. He was charged with forcing

Januarius Januarius ( ; la, Ianuarius; Neapolitan and it, Gennaro), also known as , was Bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later ...

to make a sacrifice to the Emperor, but instead was persuaded and then converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

with many within his household. Being accused before his successor, or as some say before the prefect of the city, Apronianus, he was cruelly tortured and finally

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...

. His body was carried off by the Christians, and laid in a crypt on the Latin Way beside the body of

Saint Epimachus Saint Epimachus was a Roman martyr, and is commemorated on 10 May. After his martyrdom his body was laid in a crypt on the Via Latina and later the body of Saint Gordianus who was martyred during the time of Julian the Apostate was laid beside ...

, who had been recently interred there. The two saints gave their name to the cemetery, and have ever since been jointly venerated by the Catholic Church.Murphy, John F.X. "Sts. Gordianus and Epimachus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 26 November 2021 Some time later the remains of Gordianus were moved to the Cyriaca cemetery and there they lay until the 17th century when Brother Ambrose of the Order of St Augustin removed them and gave them to Fr Christopher Anderson, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest in the 1670s. The remains were transferred to the Jesuit

College of St. Omer A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering v ...

; when the College moved to

Stonyhurst Stonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is centred on Stonyhurst College, occupying the great house, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish ...

, the remains travelled to England where they have remained since, interred below the altar of the

Sodality Chapel The Sodality Chapel is a historic Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic chapel building on the campus of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was built in 1850 in a simple Greek Revival architecture, Greek Re ...

. His bones were temporarily removed in 2006 whilst the chapel underwent restoration, but they have since been returned. The

Princely Abbey of Kempten The Princely Abbey of Kempten (german: Fürststift Kempten or Fürstabtei Kempten) was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries until it was annexed to the Electorate of Bavaria in the course of the German m ...

in Bavaria was established in 752, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Sts. Gordianus and Epimachus. Some of the relics of the two saints were brought there.Butler, Alban. "Saints Gordian and Epimachus, Martyrs". ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints''
1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 May 2013 There is a church dedicated to Saint Gordianus in

Saint-Paul-d'Oueil Saint-Paul-d'Oueil (; oc-gascon, Sent Pau d'Oelh) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. Geography Climate Saint-Paul-d'Oueil has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual te ...

in France.

References

Stonyhurst College 362 deaths 4th-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown {{Italy-saint-stub