NICASIO, saint. – Tenth in the succession of the bishops of Reims, he lived between the end of the 4th century and the beginning of the 5th.
In his city he founded the Basilica dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. N. was martyred during the invasion of the Vandals on 14 December 407 (less probably, others place the martyrdom during the invasion of the Huns in 451), together with his sister Eutropia, the deacon Fiorenzo, and Giocondo. According to the Acta, they were buried in the church (or cemetery) of S. Agricola. He is one of the cephalophoric martyrs (v. MARTIRE and MARTIRIO). Feast: 14 December.
BIBL.: Flodoardus, Hist. Ecclesiae Remensis, I, chap. 6: PL 135, 36–41; L. Duchesne, Fastes episcopaux, III, Paris 1915, p. 81; Martyr. Hieronymianum, p. 648; Martyr. Romanum, p. 582. Alberto Ghinato