Saints Tiburtius, Valerian & Maximus – Saint Of The Day – 14 April

Saints Tiburtius, Valerian and Maximus are three Christian martyrs who were buried in the catacombs of the Praetextata on the Via Appia near Rome.

Catacombs of Praetextatus were built at the end of the 2nd century. It’s a burial area, first in pagan then in Christian use, where various tombs of Christian martyrs were found.

According to legends, Valerian was the husband of Cecilia (who is also a saint), Tiburtius was his brother and Maximus was a soldier or warrior. It is not clear why Maximus was martyred and buried with Valerian and Tiburtius.

An interesting historical fact is that in 1969 the feast day of these three martyrs was removed from the official Catholic calendar. Probably because the only thing that is really known about them is the historical fact of their burial in the Catacombs of Praetextata. But in 2001 the Revised Martyrology calendar was issued stating under the date of April 14th: “In Rome, in the cemetery of Praetextata on the Appian Way, Saints Tiburtius, Valerian and Maximus, martyrs.”

Saints Tiburtius, Valerian & Maximus, along with St Cecilia, are honored also in the The Eastern Orthodox Church, but on on November 22nd.