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Primus and Felician
saints
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 9 June (1962 Missal) · not on the current Roman calendar
Born
—
unknown
Died
297
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Primus and Felician were martyred around 304 in Diocletian's persecution. The Martyrology of St Jerome records them under 9 June, buried at the fourteenth milestone of the Via Nomentana near Nomentum, today's Mentana, where they evidently came from. In 648 Pope Theodore moved their bones to the church of Santo Stefano Rotondo in Rome, where they remain.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: they have been honoured as martyrs since the fourth century.
Why that counted as sanctity
Primus and Felician gave their lives for Christ in the last great persecution, and Rome has kept their memory ever since.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Sts. Primus and Felician
- Wikidata Q2535100 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Primus and Felician (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.