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Saint Benjamin the Deacon and Martyr
Persian saint
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 31 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
329
Died
424
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
At a place called Argol in Persia, Saint Benjamin, deacon, who did not desist from preaching the word of God and, under the reign of Bahram V, suffered martyrdom with sharpened reeds driven under his nails.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 31 March as a deacon in Persia martyred under Bahram V for preaching the word of God.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 31 March (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q540436 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Benjamin the Deacon and Martyr (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.