![Amico Aspertini, Oratorio di Santa Cecilia, Burial of Valerian and Tiburtius](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Amico_Aspertini%2C_Oratorio_di_Santa_Cecilia%2C_Burial_of_Valerian_and_Tiburtius.jpg)
Saints Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus are three Christian martyrs who were buried on 14 April of some unspecified year in the
Catacombs of Praetextatus on the
Via Appia
The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...
near Rome.
[''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969)]
p. 120
According to the legendary ''Acts of Saint Cecilia'', a mid-fifth-century
Acts of the Martyrs
Acts of the Martyrs (Latin ''Acta Martyrum'') are accounts of the suffering and death of a Christian martyr or group of martyrs. These accounts were collected and used in church liturgies from early times, as attested by Saint Augustine."Acts of t ...
composition that has no historical value,
[Johann Peter Kirsch, "St. Cecilia" in ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York 1908)]
/ref> Valerian was the husband of Saint Cecilia, Tiburtius his brother, and Maximus, a soldier or official who was martyred with these two.[ The story was retold by ]Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
. Devotional publications make the story more credible by simplifying it.
The three martyrs were traditionally honoured with a joint feast day on 14 April, as shown in the Tridentine Calendar. The 1969 revision of 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 cele ...
removed this celebration, since the only thing really known about them is the historical fact of their burial in the Catacombs of Praetextatus. However, it allowed them to be honoured in local calendars.[
The 2001 decree of promulgation of the revised ]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 ...
declared: "In accordance with the Constitution ''Sacrosanctum Concilium
''Sacrosanctum Concilium'', the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, is one of the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council. It was approved by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,147 to 4 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 4 December 1963. ...
'' of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
on the Sacred Liturgy, 'the accounts of martyrdom or the lives of the saints are to accord with the facts of history' (art. 92 c), the names of saints included in the Martyrology and their notices have to be subjected more carefully than before to the judgement of historical study."
Accordingly, the revised Roman Martyrology now merely states, under 14 April: "At Rome, in the cemetery of Praetextatus on the Appian Way
The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...
, Saints Tiburtius, Valerian and Maximus, martyrs."
The Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
honors them together with Saint Cecilia on 22 November.The Holy Martyress Cecelia (Cesilia) and the Holy Martyrs Valerian, Tiburtius and Maximus
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus, Saints
Ante-Nicene Christian martyrs
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Saints trios