DIONIGI, RUSTICO and ELEUTERIO, saints, martyrs. — They are commemorated in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum on 9 Oct. The earliest document attesting the cult of D. is the Vita of St. Genoveffa, which speaks of the construction of a basilica over the tomb of D. The Passio, composed toward the end of the 8th century, states that D. was sent by Pope Clemente I to Gaul
(89–97), where, together with the priest R. and the deacon E., he suffered martyrdom. The earliest sources, however, such as Fortunato and Gregorio di Tours, place them in the 3rd century. At the beginning of the 9th century, D. was identified with the Areopagite converted by St. Paolo, and his cult then spread enormously. D. and his companions probably perished in one of the persecutions of the second half of the 3rd century. Feast on 9 Oct.