Martyr
Martyr Pancras of Rome
ок. 289 — 304
Martyr Pancras of Rome — a 14-year-old boy who refused to sacrifice to pagan gods during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian, beheaded in Rome in 304; one of the most venerated boy-martyrs of the Western Church.
NOTE ON DISTINGUISHING NAMESAKES: this saint should be distinguished from another martyr of the same name — St. Pancras of Taormina (Sicily), the first bishop of Taormina, appointed by the Apostle Peter himself (feast July 9/22) — an entirely different person, era, and region.
Martyr Pancras was born around 289 in Synnada (Phrygia, Asia Minor). Orphaned young, he was raised by his uncle Dionysius, who relocated with him to Rome (a property on the Caelian Hill). He was baptized in Rome. At age 14, during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian (303–304), he refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, despite the emperor's own personal attempts to sway him with bribes and promises of advancement.
He was beheaded on May 12, 304, on the Via Aurelia Vetus (the 2nd milestone) outside Rome. He was secretly buried by the Christian matron Octavilla; the burial site became a major pilgrimage catacomb (the Catacombs of Octavilla/San Pancrazio), where the Basilica of San Pancrazio was later built — one of the most venerated shrines of boy-martyrs in the Western Church, and patron of oaths.
His feast is kept on May 12/25.