Saint Libertine (or ''Libertinus'') ( it, San Libertino) is venerated as a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
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 ...
and as the first
bishop of Agrigento
The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Agrigento ( la, Archidioecesis Agrigentina), in Sicily, was elevated to archiepiscopal status in 2000. , in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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.
According to tradition, Libertine was sent 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 ...
to
Agrigento
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
to Christianize the city during the 1st century.
However, Libertine may have actually lived at a later date, during the 3rd century, and may have been martyred during the persecutions of
Decius
Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251.
A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procla ...
or
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
.
The tradition also holds that his preaching was so effective that he was eventually martyred by the Roman authorities.
He performed miracles and built a church, perhaps on the site of the current
Cathedral of Agrigento.
A legend told of Libertine is that just before he died, he uttered the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
verse: ''Gens iniqua, plebs rea, non videbis ossa mea'' ("Iniquitous people, guilty people, you will not see my bones").
The northern gate of the city, Bibbirria, is said to have been derived from a corruption of Libertine's last words.
However, it is more likely that the name derives from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
for "Gate of the winds" ().
Furthermore, according to Giuseppe Fumagalli, these verses were a common saying in communities that did not possess the
relics
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
of their
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
.
[Giuseppe Fumagalli, ''L'ape Latina'' (Hoepli Editore, 1987), 98.]
Libertine was martyred with Saint Peregrinus (''San Pellegrino''), and is said to have either been
stoned to death
Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times.
The Torah and Tal ...
or killed with a sword.
Veneration
A cult dedicated to Libertine existed from a very early date in Agrigento.
In Leontius' life of
Saint Gregory of Agrigento, a bishop of the city, it is stated that the church of Agrigento owned a house in
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
that was named after Libertine.
Libertine was invoked for aid in 1625 during a plague that afflicted Agrigento.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Libertine
Ante-Nicene Christian martyrs
Sicilian saints