NEMESIANO and COMPANIONS, saints, martyrs. - They are commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on 10 Sept.; however, the true dies natalis and the martyrdom itself are unknown. The notice originated from a letter that St. Cyprian wrote to N. and c., who had been condemned to the mines of Sige in Mauretania.
In this letter St. Cyprian extols in fervent words their faith and their constancy in enduring torments for the love of Jesus Christ, and reports that many had already attained the palm of martyrdom, either in prison or through the ill-treatment they had suffered. The letter was written in 257-58 and, besides N., was addressed collectively to another 8 bishops, many priests and deacons, and very many faithful of both sexes. The confessors must have lived in separate groups, since three distinct replies were given to St. Cyprian’s letter. It is nevertheless unknown whether they all died in the mines or whether some succeeded in obtaining their release.