Saints Marius, Martha, Audifax & Abachum, Martyrs
Ss. Marii, Marthae, Audifacis et Abachum Martyrum
These four martyrs — a father, mother, and their two sons — are venerated as a holy family who came to Rome and gave their lives together for Christ.
Saints Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum are honoured by the Church as a family of martyrs: Marius and his wife Martha, together with their sons Audifax and Abachum. Their memory is very old, kept on the nineteenth of January, and tied to the burial places of the early Roman martyrs on the roads outside the city.
A family’s witness
According to the tradition handed down in their honour, this family came from the East to Rome during a time of persecution, to pray at the tombs of the Apostles and to comfort the Christians who were suffering for the faith. There they too were seized, and the whole household — parents and children alike — bore witness to Christ unto death.
The fuller narrative of their passion belongs to the early accounts of the Roman martyrs, whose details cannot all be confirmed by history. What the Church holds with confidence is their names, their veneration as martyrs from ancient times, and the witness of a family united not only in blood but in their confession of Christ and in the crown of martyrdom.
Their witness today
The feast of these holy martyrs reminds the faithful that the call to follow Christ is given to whole households, and that parents and children may walk the same road of faith together to the end. In a particular way they are a comfort and example to Christian families, showing that the bond of the home can be sanctified and crowned in the love of God. The collect of their Mass asks that, through their intercession, we may enjoy peace in this life and find help for the life to come.
The Collect
Hear, O Lord, thy people as they make supplication under the patronage of thy Saints: that thou mayest grant us both to enjoy peace in this present life, and to find the help of the life eternal.
Exáudi, Dómine, pópulum tuum cum Sanctórum tuórum patrocínio supplicántem: ut et temporális vitæ nos tríbuas pace gaudére; et ætérnæ reperíre subsídium.
Patronage
They are venerated as early Roman martyrs and are honoured especially as patrons of Christian families.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this feast is no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saints Marius, Martha, Audifax and Abachum?
Their feast is kept on 19 January in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast.
Who were they?
They are venerated as a family of martyrs — the father Marius, the mother Martha, and their sons Audifax and Abachum — who, according to ancient tradition, came to Rome during a persecution and gave their lives together for Christ.
How much is known of their story for certain?
The Church holds with confidence their names, their veneration as martyrs from ancient times, and their honour as a holy family. The detailed account of their passion cannot all be verified by history, and so the Church venerates them soberly for what is sure.
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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