Died 3rd century
Rome | Feast 11 August | |
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Venerated in Eastern Orthodox Church
Roman Catholic Church
Oriental Orthodoxy | ||
The church of saint susanna at the baths of diocletian
Saint Susanna of Rome (Latin: Susana), according to Christian legend, a Christian martyr whose feast day is 11 August which is the same as Saint Tiburtius. The saints were not related, but they are sometimes associated because they are venerated on the same day.
Contents
Life
Saint Susanna, virgin and martyr, is said to have been the daughter of Saint Gabinus of Rome. According to her Acts, she was beheaded about the year 295, at the command of Diocletian, in her father's house, which was turned into a church, together with the adjoining one belonging to her uncle, the prefect Caius or, according to other accounts, Pope Caius. The church became known as Sancta Susanna ad duas domos (cf. Kehr, "Italia pontificia", I, 61 seq.).
Susanna is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology for 11 August in the following terms: "At Rome, commemoration of Saint Susanna, in whose name, which was mentioned among the martyrs in ancient lists, the basilica of the titular church of Gaius at the Baths of Diocletian was dedicated to God in the sixth century." The commemoration of her that was included in the General Roman Calendar was removed in 1969 because of the legendary character of the Acts of her martyrdom.
