Saint Euphrasius of Illiturgis () is venerated as a Christian missionary of the 1st century, during the

Apostolic Age Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity ...

. Euphrasius’ diocese was traditionally associated with

Illiturgis Illiturgis, also known as Iliturgi, was a city in Spain during antiquity, located on the road from Córdoba, Andalusia, Corduba to Castulo. Originally, it was located near the site of Mengíbar, but when it was destroyed the populace was relocate ...

(Iliturgi), located between Bailén and

Andújar Andújar () is a Spanish municipality of 35,619 people (2024) in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia. The municipality is divided by the Guadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of the Sierra de And� ...

.Alfonso Lowe, Hugh Seymour-Davies, ''The companion guide to the south of Spain'' (Companion Guides, 2000), 369. He is said to have been martyred at Illiturgis. According to tradition, he is one of the group of

Seven Apostolic Men According to Christian tradition, the Seven Apostolic Men (''siete varones apostólicos'') were seven Christian clerics ordained in Rome by Saints Peter and Paul and sent to evangelize Spain. This group includes Torquatus, Caecilius, Ctesiph ...

(''siete varones apostólicos''), seven Christian clerics ordained in Rome by Saints

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

and sent to evangelize Spain. Besides Euphrasius, this group includes Sts. Hesychius,

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

, Torquatus, Indaletius, and Secundius (''Isicio, Cecilio, Tesifonte, Eufrasio, Hesiquio y Segundo'').Monks of Ramsgate. "Torquatus, Ctesiphon, Secundus, Indaletius, Hesychius and Euphrasius". ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 8 May 2017
/ref>

Veneration

The communal feast of the Seven Apostolic Men was celebrated in the Mozarabic liturgy.David Hugh Farmer, ''The Oxford dictionary of saints'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). In the 7th century,

Sisebut Sisebut (; ; also ''Sisebuth'', ''Sisebur'', ''Sisebod'' or ''Sigebut''; 565 – February 621) was Visigothic Kingdom, King of the Visigoths and ruler of Hispania, Gallaecia, and Septimania from 612 until his death in 621. His rule was marked ...

built a church over the saint's sepulcher at Illiturgis, but during the invasion of Spain by the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

in the 8th century, his relics were

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the Valley of the Mao River in Galicia, in Lugo Province. He is buried in the church of Santa María do Mao, in the municipality of O Incio, near the monastery of San Xulián de Samos in

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

. Euphrasius is also patron of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

and of

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

; “this seems to have been due to a secondary translation of his relics.” A relic of a kerchief found in a chapel behind the high altar of

Jaén Cathedral The Cathedral of the Assumption (Spanish language, Spanish: ) is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the city of Jaén, Spain, Jaén, Spain. The current cathedral was conceived in the 16th century to replace a previous 15th century Gothic arc ...

is associated with a legend of St. Euphrasius. When Euphrasius was sent to Rome to free the Pope from Satan's temptations, it is said that he traveled to Rome in only half an hour due to the assistance of a captive goblin who helped the saint in return for some leftovers from the saint's supper. Euphrasius vanquished Satan, and was awarded with a kerchief. Euphrasius is also associated with the cult of

Our Lady of Cabeza Our Lady of Cabeza () is a Marian apparition and statue of the Madonna and Child, whose cult is centered at the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza, located in the Natural Park of the Sierra of Andújar, 32 km north of the city of Andújar, ...

(''la Virgen de la Cabeza''). According to one legend, when Saint Euphrasius came to Spain, he brought with him an image of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

to which he showed devotion. According to the legend, this image was given to Euphrasius by

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

, and is said to have been the portrait that

Saint Luke Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

painted of the Virgin Mary.

References

External links

SAN EUFRASIO VARÓN APOSTÓLICO
''www.galiciadixital.com''
El viaje de San Eufrasio de Jaén a Roma, volando

CatholicSaints.Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Euphrasius Of Illiturgis Saints from Hispania 1st-century Christian martyrs