Saints Nazarius & Celsus, Martyrs, Victor I, Pope & Martyr, and Innocent I, Pope & Confessor
Ss. Nazarii et Celsi Martyrum, Victoris I Papae et Martyris, ac Innocentii I Papae et Confessoris
On this day the Church honours together two early martyrs of Milan, Nazarius and Celsus, with two Roman Pontiffs of the early centuries, Pope Saint Victor I and Pope Saint Innocent I.
The feast of the twenty-eighth of July gathers into a single celebration four saints of the early Church: the martyrs Nazarius and Celsus, whose relics rest at Milan, and two successors of Saint Peter, Pope Saint Victor I and Pope Saint Innocent I. In honouring them together, the Church joins the witness of the persecuted faithful to the labours of her chief pastors, and recalls how the Gospel was both sealed in blood and guarded in the apostolic faith.
Nazarius and Celsus
Saints Nazarius and Celsus are venerated as martyrs of the early centuries whose bodies were discovered and honoured at Milan, where Saint Ambrose, the great bishop of that city, found and translated the relics of Saint Nazarius. Of the two martyrs little can be told with certainty: Nazarius is remembered as the elder and Celsus as a youth who shared his confession and his death. The careful student must be honest that their detailed history is not preserved, yet the ancient discovery of their relics and the honour paid them by Saint Ambrose are sure signs of a martyrdom remembered from early times.
The two Pontiffs
Pope Saint Victor I governed the Roman Church toward the end of the second century and is remembered for his pastoral care for the unity of the Church, especially in the matter of the date of Easter, that all the faithful might keep the feast of the Resurrection as one. Pope Saint Innocent I, who held the See of Peter in the early fifth century, was a vigilant guardian of the faith and of ecclesiastical order, and corresponded with bishops near and far, among them Saint Augustine, in defence of sound doctrine and discipline. Both are honoured as holy popes — Victor as a martyr, Innocent as a confessor — who served the Church in times of trial and handed on the faith entire.
The Collect
May the blessed confession of Thy Saints Nazarius, Celsus, Victor, and Innocent fortify us, O Lord, and graciously obtain by their prayers a help for our weakness.
Sanctórum tuórum nos, Dómine, Nazárii, Celsi, Victóris et Innocéntii conféssio beáta commúniat: et fragilitáti nostræ subsídium dignánter exóret.
Patronage
Saints Nazarius and Celsus are venerated especially at Milan, where their relics rest; Popes Victor I and Innocent I are honoured among the holy Roman Pontiffs of the early Church.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this combined feast is no longer kept; Saints Nazarius and Celsus and Pope Saint Innocent I may be commemorated in local or particular calendars.
Common Questions
When is this feast kept?
It is kept on 28 July in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast joining four early saints.
Who are the saints honoured on this day?
The feast unites Saints Nazarius and Celsus, early martyrs whose relics rest at Milan, with two Roman Pontiffs: Pope Saint Victor I (late second century, a martyr) and Pope Saint Innocent I (early fifth century, a confessor).
What is known about Nazarius and Celsus?
Little is preserved with certainty. They are remembered as martyrs of the early Church — Nazarius the elder and Celsus a youth — whose relics were discovered and honoured at Milan by Saint Ambrose, a sure witness to their ancient veneration.
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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