The Seven Holy Brothers, Martyrs, and Saints Rufina & Secunda, Virgins & Martyrs
Ss. Septem Fratrum Martyrum ac Rufinae et Secundae Virginum et Martyrum
On this day the Church honours the Seven Holy Brothers, early martyrs of Rome venerated together with their mother Saint Felicitas, and joins to them two sister-martyrs, the virgins Rufina and Secunda.
This feast unites the memory of several martyrs of the early Roman Church whose veneration is very ancient. Foremost are the Seven Holy Brothers, honoured from early times as martyrs of Rome, whom the tradition of the Church associates with Saint Felicitas, a holy widow venerated as their mother. With them are kept the memory of two sisters, the virgins Rufina and Secunda, likewise numbered among the early Roman martyrs.
The Seven Holy Brothers
The Seven Holy Brothers — whose names the tradition gives as Januarius, Felix, Philip, Silvanus, Alexander, Vitalis, and Martial — were venerated at Rome from the first centuries of the faith, their tombs honoured in the ancient cemeteries of the city. The account long kept in the Church remembers them as the sons of Saint Felicitas, a Christian widow, and tells how mother and sons alike confessed Christ and were put to death rather than deny him, the mother strengthening her children to be faithful even unto death. The detailed narrative of their passion belongs to the early martyr-accounts whose particulars cannot all be confirmed by history; what is certain is the antiquity of their veneration and the witness of their blood.
Saints Rufina and Secunda
Saints Rufina and Secunda were two sisters, virgins of Rome, venerated as martyrs from ancient times and honoured at a burial place on the road outside the city. The tradition remembers them as young women of a noble family who, having consecrated themselves to Christ, refused to forsake their faith and so won the martyr’s crown in one of the early persecutions. As with the Seven Brothers, the particulars of their story have not all come down to us with certainty, but their early veneration is sure.
The collect of the day asks that we who have known how bravely the glorious martyrs confessed the faith may find them loving toward us in their intercession before God. Their feast, kept on the tenth of July, joins the faithful to these early witnesses — mothers, sons, and virgins — who counted no earthly bond and no earthly life dearer than Christ.
The Collect
Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God: that we who have known the courage of thy glorious Martyrs in confessing the faith, may experience their loving-kindness in interceding for us before thee.
Præsta, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut, qui gloriósos Mártyres fortes in sua confessióne cognóvimus, pios apud te in nostra intercessióne sentiámus.
Patronage
They are venerated among the early martyrs of Rome; the Seven Holy Brothers are honoured together with their mother Saint Felicitas, and Saints Rufina and Secunda among the holy virgin-martyrs of the city.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar these martyrs are no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of the Seven Holy Brothers and Saints Rufina and Secunda?
Their feast is kept on 10 July in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast.
Who were these martyrs?
The Seven Holy Brothers were early martyrs of Rome, honoured by tradition as the sons of Saint Felicitas, who suffered with their mother for the faith. Saints Rufina and Secunda were two sisters, virgins of Rome, also venerated as martyrs from ancient times. All were honoured at Rome from the early centuries.
How much is reliably known about them?
The antiquity of their veneration and the witness of their tombs at Rome are certain. The detailed accounts of their passions belong to the early martyr-legends whose particulars cannot all be confirmed by history, and the Church honours them soberly for what is sure: that they were faithful witnesses who died for Christ.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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