Saint Cyricus, Martyr, 301-304 A.D.?

Some sources on the internet have Cyricus martyred in 304 during the persecution of Diocletian, but the Golden Legend says it was in 230, in Tarsus. The governor of that city had Cyricus' mother, scourged before him, holding the boy on his lap. When the boy cried, "I am a Christian too" and bit the governor, the latter dashed him to the floor, killing him.

In France, whither Wikipedia says his relics were taken in the 4th century, he is known as St. Cyr. The Golden Legend calls him Quiricus. His mother is called Julitta in the Legend and Julietta elsewhere.

The bathing tub in the sculpture shown may be due to a confusion between this saint and St. Cyriacus. The latter was an adult martyred in 304 and known for having ministered to the slaves in the Baths of Diocletian. There was a church in Rome dedicated to the adult saint and known as S. Cyriacus in Thermis, "St. Cyriacus in the Baths."

One legend had Charlemagne dreaming that the boy saint had saved him from a boar, so the boar became an attribute of the saint.

Feast day: June 16

At left, sculpture by Francesco Laurana.

Hagiography:
Golden Legend #83

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