Feast of Saint Fructuosus

Saint Fructuosus From the Valerian Persecutions Issue Scott 261 (1959) The Feast of Saint Fructuosus is celebrated on January 21. Vatican City memorialized this saint and martyr on one of the stamps of the Valerian Persecutions issue from 1959, as shown above. Saint Fructuosus was the Bishop of of Tarraco, now Tarragona, a coastal city on the Iberian peninsula in the present-day Spanish province of Catalonia, and he is remembered as an important name in the early history of Christianity in Hispania. In 259, Fructuosus, along with two of his deacons (Saints Augurius and Eulogius) were arrested by the local Roman governor, Emilian. This occurred during the era of the Christian persecutions under the Roman emperor Valerian, who ruled from 253-260 AD. During their interrogation, all three prisoners refused to worship pagan idols and confirmed their belief in God and Christianity. Legend has it that when Fructuosus was asked if he was a Christian bishop, he answered that he was. In response, his examiner replied, “You were”. The three were sentenced to be burned at the stake in the local arena. The executions took place on January 21, 259. The Hispanic “Acta” documents the martyrdom of the Saints Fructuosus, Augurius and Eulogius, and Saint Augustine praised these martyrs in some of his writings. REFERENCES: Anonymous, Vatican Notes, Volume 8, Number 1, pp. 7-8, July-August, 1959, The Martyrs of the Persecution of Emperor Valeriano Catholic.org, St. Fructuosus of Tarragona Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search