Saint Torquatus ( es, Santo Torcuato) is 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 ...

Guadix Guadix (; Local pronunciation: aˈðih is a city and municipality in southern Spain, in the province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, on the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern foothills of the Sie ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Tradition makes him 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 ...

missionary of the 1st century, during the

Apostolic Age Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity ...

. He evangelized the town of ''Acci'', identified as Guadix, and became its first bishop. He is one of the group of

Seven Apostolic Men According to Christian tradition, the Seven Apostolic Men (''siete varones apostólicos'') were seven Christian clerics ordained in Rome by Saints Peter and Paul and sent to evangelize Spain. This group includes Torquatus, Caecilius, Ctesiphon, ...

(''siete varones apostólicos''), seven Christian clerics ordained in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

by Saints

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and sent to evangelize

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

. Besides Torquatus, this group includes Sts. Hesychius, Caecilius,

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

, Euphrasius,

Indaletius Saint Indaletius ( es, San Indalecio) is venerated as the patron saint of Almería, Spain. Tradition makes him a Christian missionary of the 1st century, during the Apostolic Age. He evangelized the town of Urci (today Pechina), near the present ...

, and Secundius (''Isicio/Hesiquio, Cecilio, Tesifonte, Eufrasio, Indalecio y Segundo''). It is not certain whether Torquatus was a martyr or

confessor of the faith Confessor of the Faith is a title given by some Christian denominations. Etymology The word confessor is derived from the Latin ''confiteri'', to confess, to profess. Among the early church fathers, it was a title of honor, designating those ind ...

Veneration

Torquatus' relics were rediscovered in the 8th century during the

Moorish invasion of Spain The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also known as the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania (in the Iberian Peninsula) from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the decline of t ...

, in a church built in his honor, near the Limia River. Torquatus' relics and those of Euphrasius were

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to Galicia. Torquatus’ relics remained for a long time in the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

church of Santa Comba de Bande (

Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...

) (''Santa Comba de Baños''). In the 10th century, Torquatus' relics were translated to San Salvador de Celanova (in

Celanova Celanova is a town and municipality located in the province of Ourense, Galicia, Northern Spain. Situated near the border with Portugal, the municipality is bordered by Ramirás, Cartelle, A Merca, A Bola, Verea and Quintela de Leirado. The A ...

, Ourense). In 1592, the sepulcher at Celanova was opened and part of Torquatus’ relics was distributed to Guadix, Compostela, and

, and also to

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

, and to the

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

college at Guadix, and in 1627, to

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. The relics that remained in San Salvador de Celanova were placed in the main chapel of the church of the monastery, together with those of

Saint Rudesind Saint Rudesind ( gl, San Rosendo, Rudesindo; pt, São Rosendo lat, Rudesindus) (November 26, 907 – March 1, 977) was a Galician people, Galician bishop and abbot. He was also a regional administrator and military leader under his kinsmen, the ...

, the monastery's founder. The cathedral of Guadix conserves three relics associated with Saint Torquatus: his arm, his jawbone, and his

calcaneus In humans and many other primates, the calcaneus (; from the Latin ''calcaneus'' or ''calcaneum'', meaning heel) or heel bone is a bone of the tarsus of the foot which constitutes the heel. In some other animals, it is the point of the hock. S ...

(this last relic is not on display). It has been theorizedCastro Pérez, Ladislao (1992). ''Los torques de los dioses y de los hombres''. A Coruña: Ayuntamiento de La Coruña. that Torquatus, may be a Christian version of the Celtic god

Bandua Bandua was a theonym used to refer to a god or goddess worshipped in Iberia by Gallaeci and Lusitanians. Whether the name referred to a discrete deity or was an epithet applied to different deities is arguable. Epigraphy The deity's name is foun ...

References

External links

Torquatus

San Torquato Vescovo di Guadix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torquatus Of Acci People from the Province of Granada Saints from Hispania 1st-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown