Susanna, Saint, Martyr

SUSANNA, saint, martyr. - She is commemorated in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum on 11 August, but her memorial is not, as usual, connected with a cemetery, but rather with a church within Rome, « ad duas domos iuxta Diocletianas (thermas) ».

However, nothing certain is known concerning the person and martyrdom of S. The Passio provides no reliable information, since it was clearly written to legitimize her cult in the « titulus Gai ». Indeed, while this title is mentioned in the Roman Synod of 499, in that of 595 it already appears transformed, as in other cases, into that of St S., daughter of the presbyter Gabinius, who, during the persecution of Diocletian, having refused to marry the Emperor’s son, was arrested and beheaded in her own house. Pope Gaio, who lived nearby, initiated her liturgical commemoration and declared the house of S. a station title.

BIBL.: Acta SS. Augusti, II, Parigi 1867, pp. 624-32; L. Duchesne, Les légendes de l'Alta Semita, in Mélanges d'arch. et d'hist., 36 (1916), pp. 27-42; J. P. Kirsch, Die röm. Titelhirchen in Altertum, Paderborn 1918, pp. 70-74; F. Lanzoni, I titoli presbiterali di Roma antica, in Riv. di arch. christ., 2 (1925), pp. 228-34; P. Franchi de' Cavalieri, S. S. e il titulus Gai, in Note agiogr., VII (Studi e testi, 49), Roma 1928, pp. 185-202; Martyr. Heronymianum, p. 435; H. Delehaye, Les origines du culte des martyrs, Bruxelles 1933, p. 275 sg.; Martyr. Romanum, p. 333. Agostino Amore
Cite this article

“SUSANNA, SANTA, MARTIRE.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. XI (1953), p. 962. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/susanna-santa-martire.