Saints Faustinus and Jovita

But E mperor Hadrian th l'empereur Adrien Abbot sent to England to restore monastic discipline. en renewed against the Christians the persecution that had been begun by Trajan, his predecessor. Italicus, charged with exercising imperial cruelties in Brescia, had Faustinus and Jovita arrested, explained the emperor's command to them, and exhorted them to obey it, using promises and threats to make them condescend to his will; but, having found them generous and constant in the confession of their faith, he did not wish to proceed further until Hadrian himself, who was going to France and passing through the city of Brescia, had told him what he wanted him to do.

The emperor, informed of this procedure, endeavored to lead the two brothers to the adoration of his gods and had them taken to the temple of the Sun, where there was a statue of this false god, richly adorned and having its head surrounded by several rays of fine gold; but the blessed brothers having invoked the name of the true God, the statue was at that very instant covered in soot, and the rays on its head appeared like extinguished coals. Hadrian, who was present, was terrified and ordered the priests and ministers of the temple to clean the idol promptly. Scarcely had they touched it when it fell and was reduced to ashes; the emperor, furious, condemned the two brothers to be devoured by beasts. They were therefore exposed to four lions, which, instead of harming them, lay down peacefully at their feet; leopards and bears were then released; their flanks were burned with torches to increase their rage, but they were as gentle as lambs toward the Martyrs. The priests of the temples attributed this miracle to Saturn and approached the Saints with his statue to make them adore it: but the beasts threw themselves upon them and devoured them, and Italicus with them. The Gentiles, seeing these wonders, cried out: "O god Saturn! Help your ministers." However, the statue remained on the ground under the feet of the beasts, and completely soaked in the blood of its priests. The wife of Italicus, named Afra, knowing of her husband's death, ran in great agitation to the theater where the emperor was and said to him with much resentment: "What gods do you adore, O emperor? Gods who cannot guarantee their sacrificers or themselves; and your cruelty and this superstitious worship are the cause that I am a widow today." Thus she converted to the faith with several Gentiles who were present at this spectacle, and among others, Calocerus, one of the fi rst of t Calocère Court officer who converted and companion in martyrdom to the two brothers. he emperor's court, with most of his people. But, to make it known that these wonders were the works of God, who allowed these animals to follow the movement of their natural ferocity against the enemies of the truth and rendered them like lambs toward the Christians, the Martyrs having given them the command to leave the city, they immediately took the path to the forests without harming anyone.

The emperor, seeing that severity was useless to overcome the constancy of these generous brothers, resorted to artifice and ordered that they be laid in good beds, on feathers and down; but they did nothing there but sing hymns in honor of the living God who was the sole hope of their souls. Then they were led to prison with orders that no one should speak to them and that they be given neither food nor drink, in order to make them die of hunger and thirst. But who can overcome God? The angels, appearing, encouraged these brave confessors of the truth, illuminated their dungeon with celestial light, and their hearts were filled with joy that they had the honor of suffering for Jesus Christ.

Hadrian, seeing the constancy of the Martyrs and the number of those who were converting to the Christian religion through their example and the authority they held in the city, and fearing some sedition, had those who had converted put to death and led the holy br other Milan Italian city where the saint has an altar and an annual feast. s Faustinus and Jovita, along with Calocerus, in chains together to Milan. It was there that their virtue found new subjects for triumph: the malice of their enemies sought new torments to afflict them. All three were tied to the ground at full length, their faces turned upward, and then, with funnels, molten lead was poured into their mouths to make them lose their breath and their lives; but the lead, as if it had feeling, burned the executioners without harming the Martyrs. They were put to the torture and burning blades were applied to their sides; then Calocerus, feeling great pain from the fire that penetrated his entrails, said to Faustinus and Jovita: "Pray to God for me, O holy Martyrs! for I am extremely tormented by this fire." They replied to him: "Take courage, Calocerus, this will not last long, and the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ will be with you." Indeed, Calocerus, suddenly feeling relieved, said that he no longer suffered any pain; and, although the executioners threw tow, pitch, and oil, and had made a great fire around the Martyrs, the flames lost their strength, while they enjoyed an admirable peace in their souls, and their tongues sang the praises of the Savior. This was the cause that many of those present, astonished by what they saw, recognized the author of these wonders, adored his majesty, and believed in him.

The tyrant, seeing all these inventions useless, and unable to bear being defeated by these generous Martyrs, placed Calocerus into the hands of Antiochus, governor of the Alps, so that he might put him to death; and as he was returning to Rome, he had Faustinus and Jovita brought after him, who were again cruelly tormented. But, in exchange, they received many consolations from the holy Pope Evar istus, who took car saint pape Évariste Successor of Anacletus, ordained bishop by him. e to go and visit them. From there they were led to Naples, where they Naples Place of the saint's death. continued to be made to suffer: then they were thrown into the sea; but they were delivered from it by the power of Jesus Christ who fought within them, and emerged victorious from the torments, purer than gold from the crucible. Finally, they were taken back to the city of their birth, so that those who had been converted by their holy life and by their constancy in the faith of Jesus Christ might be shaken and brought back to paganism by their death. This was the intention of the tyrants; but God drew from it, on the contrary, the glory of His name and that of the holy Martyrs, and honored the city of Brescia, where they were bathed in the purple of their blood, with the triumph of their death and the possession of their holy remains: they were beheaded there, outside the gate that leads to Cremona, on February 15, in the year Baronius Disciple of Philip, historian and cardinal, author of the Annales ecclesiastici. 120 or 122, according to Baronius; their martyrdom, which was very long, began under the empire of Trajan and did not end until that of Hadrian.

They were represented on the coins of Brescia with a cross between them, to recall, not their martyrdom which was not that of the cross, but their preaching. Their true attribute is the sword that cut the thread of their days.

The city of Brescia honors them as its patrons and preserves their precious relics. There exists in the same city a very ancient sanctuary which is dedicated under their invocation, and all the martyrologies represent Saint Faustinus and Saint Jovita as models of the union between brothers.