Victoricus (or Victorice, Victoric), Fuscian (or Fulcian, Fulcien, Fuscien) and Gentian (or Gentien) (died circa 287–303) were three Christian martyrs later venerated as

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

saints. 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 ...

falls on 11 December.

Hagiography

According to tradition, Victoricus and Fuscian were missionaries from the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. They were preaching the Christian religion in the city of Therouanne, and in the areas inhabited by the people known as the

Morini The Morini (Gaulish language, Gaulish: 'sea folk, sailors') were a Belgae, Belgic coastal tribe dwelling in the modern Pas-de-Calais, Pas de Calais region, around present-day Boulogne-sur-Mer, during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman ...

. They were followers of Saint Quentin, as well as of

Crispin and Crispinian Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of Shoemaking, cobblers, curriers, Tanning (leather), tanners, and leather workers. They were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 Octob ...

. Near

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, they met Gentian, who warned them that Christians were being killed for their faith. Later, the governor Rictius Varus (Rictiovarus) questioned Gentian about the whereabouts of Victoricus and Fuscian. Gentian refused to tell him and was consequently

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

. According to the ''

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...

'', the governor later brought Victoricus and Fuscian to Amiens. "Then took spears of iron and put them through their ears and through their nostrils, and had them decapitated. And by the will and power of our Lord, they arose up, and took their heads in their hands, and bare them two miles far from the place where they had been beheaded." It is said that all three were buried at the place called

Saint-Fuscien Saint-Fuscien (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The name of the commune in Picard language, Picard is ''Saint-Fuschien''. Geography The ...

Veneration

It is said that

Honoratus of Amiens Saint Honoratus of Amiens (Honoré, sometimes Honorius) (died 16 January ca. 600) was the seventh bishop of Amiens. His calendar of saints, feast day is May 16 (Honoratus, Honoratus of Lérins (c. 350 – 429) was Roman Catholic Archdiocese o ...

, seventh

bishop of Amiens The Diocese of Amiens (Latin: ''Dioecesis Ambianensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Amiens'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Somme, of which the city of Amiens is the capital. In 202 ...

(d. ca. 600), had discovered in his diocese the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of these martyrs. Childebert attempted to possess these

, but was prevented from removing them. Subsequently, the king made generous gifts to endow the cult of the three saints and sent

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

s to fashion decorative pieces in their honour. Statues of Fuscian, Gentian and Victoricus stand in the left portal of

Amiens Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in Amiens, the administra ...

.James J. Rorimer, ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', Vol. 31, No. 10. (Oct., 1936), 201. During the 7th century,

Saint Audomare Audomar (died 670), better known as Omer, was a bishop of Thérouanne, after whom nearby Saint-Omer in northern France was named. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Biography Audomar was born of a distin ...

(Omer) re-evangelized the same area.

References

External links

Stephen Murray, The Portals: Access to Redemption

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoricus Fuscian Gentian Saints trios 280s deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Gallo-Roman people Cephalophores Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era