Donatian and Rogatian were two brothers,

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

ed in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

during the reign of Roman Emperor

Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...

, around 288–290, for refusing to deny their faith. They are also known as ''les enfants nantais''. Their

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is 24 May.

Life

The story of St. Donatian and his brother St. Rogatian is known from a 5th-century document, "the Passion of Children of Nantes". This is the basis for all later works, which also added some extra information to the legend, for example the tradition that they were related to a "illustrious"

Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

n family. St. Donatian and St. Rogatian were, it seems, the sons of the first

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

of the city. Donatian, the youngest, was baptized (probably by St. Similien, third bishop of Nantes, who outlived them). Donatian then evangelized his older brother, Rogatian. The family property, a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

, also home to the first Christian church built in Nantes, stood on the site of the current Basilica of St. Donatien-et-Saint-Rogatien. According to tradition, the church was built at the location of their graves, which was in their home, as was customary. According to the story, after being denounced as Christians, they were arrested and appeared before the imperial

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

, the provincial governor, who asked them to sacrifice to idols. When they refused, they were tortured and spent their last night praying together. That night, Rogatian regretted that he was going to die without being

baptize Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

d, but his brother reassured him, telling him that the blood of his

dom would take the place of baptism. They were pierced by the spear of a

lictor A lictor (possibly from Latin language, Latin ''ligare'', meaning 'to bind') was a Ancient Rome, Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a Roman magistrate, magistrate who held ''imperium''. Roman records describe lictors as hav ...

and then beheaded on the morning of 24 May 304. According to tradition,Henri de Berranger, Évocation du vieux Nantes, Éd. de Minuit, 1966, 300 p. (), p. 14. their martyrdom took place outside the city walls, at the site of the current no. 63 rue Dufour on the old road from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, near the Eugene-Livet High School and not far from the basilica dedicated to them.

Veneration

They are commemorated throughout the Loire Valley, as far as

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Norman invasions, and then deposited in the ninth or tenth century in their namesake basilica in a

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. These relics were scattered during the French Revolution, a wooden shrine replacing the previous reliquary.Nicolas Travers, Histoire civile, politique et religieuse de la ville et du comté de Nantes, Forest, 1836, p. 24. Both have statues on either side of the main portal in the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

of the Cathedral Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul de Nantes. There is also a

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

in the cathedral by . A church in Orléans is also named after St. Donatian. File:Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre- crypte - Saints Donatien et Rogatien par P. Potet 1850.JPG, File:Nantes Cathedral chapel of St. Donatian ad St. Rogatian.jpg, Chapel of St. Donatian and St. Rogatian, Cathédrale de Nantes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donatian And Rogatian 3rd-century Christian martyrs People from Nantes Christian martyrs executed by decapitation Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Year of birth unknown