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Ss. Nereus, Achilleus and Pancras, Martyrs and St. Domitilla, Virgin
May 12, 2023
The holy martyrs venerated today have in common the place of their cultus which is the catacomb of Domitilla, well known to pilgrims in Rome. Nereus and Achilleus, two Roman soldiers were converts; they were beheaded for their faith and their bodies rest in a basilica which may be as early as the fourth century. Here also is venerated St. Domitilla in what was her family property; she was banished from Rome and died in exile, as her grandmother, a Christian of the same name had done before her. They belonged to the ancient patrician family of Flavius (beginning of the second century). St. Pancras is a Roman martyr buried in the cemetery on the Via Aureliana; Pope Symmachus built a basilica in his memory.