Pancras (
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 ...
: ''Sanctus Pancratius'') 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 ...
citizen who 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 ...
and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304. His name is
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
(Παγκράτιος) and means "the one that holds everything".
From an early stage, Pancras was venerated together with
Nereus and Achilleus in a shared feast day and
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
formula on 12 May. In 1595, 25 years after
Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
promulgated the
Tridentine Missal,
Domitilla was also added.
Since 1969, Pancras has been venerated separately, still on 12 May. He is, traditionally, the second of the
Ice Saints
The Ice Saints are St. Mamertus (or, in some countries, St. Saint Boniface of Tarsus, Boniface of Tarsus), St. Pancras of Rome, Pancras, and St. Saint Servatius, Servatius. They are so named because their feast days fall on the days of May 11, Ma ...
.
In the Syriac traditions he is known as Mor Izozoel (Mar Azazael) remembered on 12 May and 12 August. He is the saint of children.
Legend
![Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Vranov)42](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Church_of_the_Nativity_of_the_Virgin_Mary_%28Vranov%2942.JPG)
Because he was said to have been martyred at the age of fourteen during the
persecution under Diocletian, Pancras would have been born around 289, at a place designated as near
Synnada, a city of
Phrygia Salutaris
In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...
, to parents of
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
. His mother Cyriada died during childbirth, while his father Cleonius died when Pancras was eight years old. Pancras was entrusted to his uncle Dionysius' care. They both moved to Rome to live in a
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
on the
Caelian Hill
The Caelian Hill (; la, Collis Caelius; it, Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome.
Geography
The Caelian Hill is a sort of long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill over ...
. They converted to Christianity, and Pancras became a zealous adherent of the religion.
During the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, around 303 AD, he was brought before the authorities and asked to perform a sacrifice to the
Roman gods
The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin litera ...
. Diocletian, impressed with the boy's determination to resist, promised him wealth and power, but Pancras refused, and finally the emperor ordered him to be beheaded on the
Via Aurelia
The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cl ...
, on 12 May 303 AD; this traditional year of his martyrdom cannot be squared with the saint's defiance of Diocletian in Rome, which the emperor had not visited since 286, nor with the mention of
Cornelius (251–253) as
Bishop of Rome
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
at the time of the martyrdom, as the most recent monograph on Pancras' texts and cult has pointed out.
A Roman matron named Ottavilla recovered Pancras' body, covered it with
balsam
Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic ''busma'', Arabic ''balsam'' and Hebrew ''basam'', "spice", "perfume ...
, wrapped it in precious linens, and buried it in a newly built sepulchre dug in the
Catacombs of Rome
The Catacombs of Rome ( it, Catacombe di Roma) are ancient catacombs, underground burial places in and around Rome, of which there are at least forty, some rediscovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either i ...
. Pancras' head was placed in the
reliquary
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
that still exists today in the
Basilica of Saint Pancras.
Veneration
![1300 Hl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/1300_Hl._Pankratius_Bodemuseum_anagoria.JPG)
Devotion to Pancras existed from the fifth century onwards, for the
basilica of Saint Pancras was built by
Pope Symmachus
Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy.
Early life
He was born on the Mediterranean islan ...
(498–514), on the place where the body of the young martyr had been buried; his earliest ''
passio
In Christian music, a Passion is a setting of the Passion of Christ. Liturgically, most Passions were intended to be performed as part of church services in the Holy Week.
Passion settings developed from Medieval intoned readings of the Gospe ...
'' seems to have been written during this time.
Pope Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...
gave impetus to the cult of Pancras, sending
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
to England carrying relics of that saint and including his legend in ''Liber in gloria martyrum'' (for this reason, many English churches are dedicated to Pancras;
St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in Somers Town, Central London. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, and is believed by many to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. The church i ...
in London is one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England). In medieval iconography, Pancras was depicted as a young soldier, due to his association with the paired
soldier saint
The Military Saints, Warrior Saints and Soldier Saints are patron saints, martyrs and other saints associated with the military. They were originally composed of the Early Christians who were soldiers in the Roman army during the persecution of ...
s Nereus and Achilleus.
[Eleanor P. Spencer and Wolfgang Stechow, "Sts. Nereus and Achilleus in the Fifteenth Century" ''The Art Bulletin'' 48.2 (June 1966:207–209).] By the mid-nineteenth century, pious embroidery set Pancras's martyrdom in the arena among wild beasts, where the panther refrains from attacking and killing him until the martyr gives the beast permission.
Pancras is popularly venerated as the
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 ...
of children, jobs and health. His name is also invoked against cramps, false witnesses, headaches and perjury. His image in statue form can be found in many bars, restaurants and other businesses. He is also the patron saint of the Italian city
San Pancrazio Salentino
San Pancrazio Salentino ( Brindisino: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brindisi in Apulia, on the south-east Italy coast. Its main economic activities are tourism and the growing of olives and grapes.
Twin towns — sister cities
San Pancrazi ...
.
The
Tridentine Calendar had on 12 May a joint feast (semidouble rank) of Nereus, Achilleus and Pancras. The name of
Domitilla was added in 1595.
[ The joint celebration of Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla and Pancras continued with that ranking (see ]General Roman Calendar of 1954
This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as they were at the end of 1954. It is essentially the same calendar established by Pope Pius X (1903–1914) following his liturgical reforms, but it also incorporates changes that w ...
) until the revision of 1960, when it was reclassified as a third-class feast (see General Roman Calendar of 1960
This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as approved on 25 July 1960 by Pope John XXIII's ''motu proprio'' '' Rubricarum instructum'' and promulgated by the Sacred Congregation of Rites the following day, 26 July 1960, by th ...
).
In the present 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 ...
, revised in 1969, Saints Nereus and Achilleus (together) and Saint Pancras have distinct celebrations (optional memorials) on 12 May. Saint Domitilla is not included in the revised calendar, because the liturgical honours once paid to her "have no basis in tradition".[''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), p. 123]
See also
* Saint Pancras of Rome, patron saint archive
* St Pancras, London
St Pancras () is a district in north London. It was originally a medieval ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the area it covered now forms around ...
References
External links
Catholic Forum
San Pancrazio
*http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/Legenda_Aurea/Pancratius.htm
{{Authority control
Christian child saints
Converts to Christianity from pagan religions
Saints from Roman Anatolia
Italian saints
290 births
304 deaths
4th-century Christian martyrs
3rd-century Romans
4th-century Romans
Corsican saints
Legendary Romans
Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian