Pancras (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Sanctus Pancratius'') was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

citizen who converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304. His name is

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

( ), meaning 'all-powerful'. From an early period, Pancras was venerated together with Nereus and Achilleus in a shared feast day and

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

formula on 12 May. In 1595, 25 years after

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

promulgated the Tridentine Missal,

Domitilla Flavia Domitilla may refer to: * Flavia Domitilla the Elder (died before 69 AD), the wife of the Roman Emperor Vespasian * Flavia Domitilla the Younger (c. 45 – c. 66), Vespasian's only daughter * Flavia Domitilla (wife of Clemens) (fl. 1st c ...

was also added. Since 1969, Pancras has been venerated separately, still on 12 May. He is traditionally the second of the

Ice Saints The Ice Saints are St. Mamertus, St. Pancras of Rome, Pancras, and St. Saint Servatius, Servatius (and in some countries, Saint Boniface of Tarsus, May 14). They are so named because their feast days fall on the days of May 11, May 12 and May 13 ...

. In the Syriac traditions he is known as ''Mor Izozoel'' (Mar Azazael), remembered on 12 May and 12 August. He is the patron saint of children. The London district of St Pancras, and by extension, the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

of the same name, is named after

St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...

and

St Pancras New Church St Pancras Church is a Greek Revival church in St Pancras, London, built in 1819–22 to the designs of William Inwood, William and Henry William Inwood. The church is one of the most important 19th-century churches in England and is a Grade I ...

Legend

Because he was said to have been martyred at the age of fourteen during the persecution under Diocletian, Pancras would have been born around 289, at a place designated as near Synnada, a city of

Phrygia Salutaris In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

, to parents of

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...

. When Pancras was nine years old, his mother Cyriada died during childbirth; his father died of grief not long after. Pancras was entrusted to his uncle Dionysius' care. They both moved to Rome to live in a

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 ...

on the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill ( ; ; ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a moderately long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill overlooks a plateau from wh ...

. They were converted to Christianity by one Marcellinus, and Pancras became a zealous adherent of the religion. Dionysius subsequently died, leaving Pancras on his own. During the persecution of Christians by

Emperor Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia. As with other Illyrian soldiers of the period ...

, around 303 AD, he was brought before the authorities and asked to perform a sacrifice to the

Roman gods The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts, integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin literature, Roman art, and relig ...

. Diocletian, impressed with the boy's determination to resist, promised him wealth and power, but Pancras refused, and finally the emperor ordered him to be beheaded on the

Via Aurelia The Via Aurelia () is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary.'' 3rd ...

, on 12 May 303 AD. This traditional year of his martyrdom cannot be squared with the saint's defiance of Diocletian in Rome, which the emperor had not visited since 286, nor with the mention of Cornelius (251–253) as

Bishop of Rome The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

at the time of the martyrdom, as the most recent monograph on Pancras' texts and cult has pointed out. A Roman matron named Octavilla recovered Pancras' body, covered it with

balsam Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin ''balsamum'' "gum of the balsam tree," ultimately from a Semitic source such as ) owes its name to the biblical Balm of Gilead. Ch ...

, wrapped it in precious linens, and buried it in a newly built sepulchre dug in the

Catacombs of Rome The Catacombs of Rome () are ancient catacombs, underground burial places in and around Rome, of which there are at least forty, some rediscovered since 1578, others even as late as the 1950s. There are more than fifty catacombs in the underg ...

. Pancras' head was placed in the

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 ...

that still exists today in the Basilica of Saint Pancras.

Veneration

Devotion to Pancras existed from the fifth century onwards, for the basilica of Saint Pancras was built by

Pope Symmachus Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death on 19 July 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy. Early life He was born on the Medi ...

(498–514), on the place where the body of the young martyr had been buried; his earliest '' passio'' seems to have been written during this time.

Pope Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

gave impetus to the cult of Pancras, sending

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

to England carrying relics of that saint and including his legend in ''Liber in gloria martyrum'' (for this reason, many English churches are dedicated to Pancras;

in London is one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England). In medieval iconography, Pancras was depicted as a young soldier, due to his association with the paired

soldier saint The military saints, warrior saints and soldier saints are patron saints, martyrs and other saints associated with the military. They were originally composed of the early Christians who were soldiers in the Roman army during the persecution of ...

s Nereus and Achilleus.Eleanor P. Spencer and Wolfgang Stechow, "Sts. Nereus and Achilleus in the Fifteenth Century" ''The Art Bulletin'' 48.2 (June 1966:207–209). Pancras is popularly venerated as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of children, jobs and health. His name is also invoked against cramps, false witnesses, headaches and perjury. His image in statue form can be found in many bars, restaurants and other businesses. He is also the patron saint of the Italian city San Pancrazio Salentino. The

Tridentine calendar The Tridentine calendar is the calendar of saints to be honoured in the course of the liturgical year in the official liturgy of the Roman Rite as reformed by Pope Pius V and first issued in 1568, implementing a decision of the Council of Trent, ...

had on 12 May a joint feast (semidouble rank) of Nereus, Achilleus and Pancras. The name of

was added in 1595. The joint celebration of Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla and Pancras continued with that ranking (see

General Roman Calendar of 1954 This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as they were at the end of 1954. It is essentially the same calendar established by Pope Pius X (1903–1914) following his liturgical reforms, but it also incorporates changes that we ...

) until the revision of 1960, when it was reclassified as a third-class feast (see

General Roman Calendar of 1960 This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as approved on 25 July 1960 by Pope John XXIII's '' motu proprio'' '' Rubricarum instructum'' and promulgated by the Sacred Congregation of Rites the following day, 26 July 1960, by t ...

). In the present

General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...

, revised in 1969, Saints Nereus and Achilleus (together) and Saint Pancras have distinct celebrations (optional memorials) on 12 May. Saint Domitilla is not included in the revised calendar, because the liturgical honours once paid to her "have no basis in tradition".''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), p. 123

References

External links

Colonnade Statue in St Peter's Square
{{Authority control Christian child saints Converts to Christianity from ancient Roman religions Saints from Roman Anatolia Italian saints 290 births 304 deaths 4th-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Romans 4th-century Romans Corsican saints Legendary Romans Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian

Legend

Veneration

See also

References

External links