AD SANCTOS

AD SANCTOS. — This Latin expression (“to the saints”) designates the ancient Christian practice, whenever possible, of being buried near the tombs of martyrs. It is found throughout the ancient world, but especially in Rome, where the catacombs still bear witness to the excesses of devastation to which this custom led: Quod multi cupiunt et rari accipiunt, says an inscription; and this favor was often paid dearly. The motive was usually a simple sense of devotion, sometimes the hope of thereby enjoying more directly the patronage of the saints; Constantine, according to Eusebius, had himself buried among the tombs of the apostles so that he might share in the prayers of those who would come to honor them; at times the motive may have been mere vanity. St. Augustine (De cura pro mortuis gerenda: PL 40, 561) does not at all recommend the practice; Damasus protests that he did not have himself buried in the popes’ crypt so as not to destroy other tombs; the archdeacon Sabinus at St. Lawrence’s outside the Walls preferred to be buried inaniter esse loci (to be buried near the door), protesting: “It is not helpful and is even an annoyance to press close to the tombs of the martyrs... we must strive to be near them not in body but in spirit.”