FERREOLO, SANTO, MARTIRE

FERREOLUS, St., Martyr. — At the beginning of the persecution of Diocletian, he was a tribune in the army at Vicenza (France), where he lived together with his friend Julian. Shortly after the martyrdom of the latter, Ferreolus was also accused before the judge Crispinus; he professed his Christian faith, and, having refused to renounce it, was cruelly tormented and then confined in a narrow prison. He managed to escape, but was recaptured and beheaded. His body was buried in the same place as the martyrdom, on the banks of the Rhône, where a basilica was also built. The frequent inundations of the river led Bishop St. Mamertus (d. 473) to construct another basilica in a safe place, to which the martyr’s body was also transferred. In the Martyrologium of Germanus he is commemorated on 19 September.