SATURNINO, saint, martyr. - He is commemorated in the Depositio martyrum on 29 Nov. as buried in the cemetery of Trasone on the Via Salaria nuova. The Itineraries of the 7th century and the Sazramantari likewise mention him on the same date and in the same place.
Over his tomb, which Pope Damaso adorned with a poem, a basilica was built. No Passio of S. exists today, although the Damasian poem suggests that one once existed; some information, though legendary, is contained in the Passio Marcelli (BHL, 5234). From the Damasian poem it is inferred that he was a Carthaginian and that during the persecution of Decio he was subjected to torture (CSEL, III, 529). Driven into exile, he came to Rome, where he suffered martyrdom, probably in the persecution of Valeriano.