Saints John and Paul

Martyrs of Rome
(died c. 362)

Saints John and Paul were brothers who served as officers at the court of Constantine the Great and of his daughter Constantia, and who gave their lives for the faith during the reign of the apostate emperor Julian. The ancient Roman Martyrology records them among the most honoured martyrs of the city of Rome, and their names appear in the ancient Roman Canon of the Mass, the great Eucharistic Prayer of the Latin Church, a testimony to the esteem in which they were held from the earliest centuries.

According to their Acts, which date from the fifth century, John and Paul had served the Christian emperor Constantine with great distinction and had accumulated considerable wealth and honour in imperial service. When Constantia died they distributed their goods to the poor and retired from public life, devoting themselves entirely to prayer and works of charity. This withdrawal from the world, however, brought them to the attention of Julian, who regarded Christianity as an enemy of the traditional Roman values he wished to restore.

Julian called them to return to court service under threat of death. John and Paul refused firmly, knowing that service in a pagan court under an emperor who was actively persecuting the Church would involve them in apostasy. Julian gave them ten days to reconsider, and when they remained steadfast in their refusal he sent soldiers to their house on the Caelian Hill. They were executed there in their own home, and their bodies were buried secretly by the soldiers in the garden, to prevent their remains from becoming objects of veneration.

The concealment failed, for miracles were soon reported at the place of their burial, and a church was built over the site. This church, the Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill in Rome, still stands today and is one of the ancient titular churches of the city. It preserves to this day elements of the original house where the brothers were martyred, and pilgrims still come to venerate their memory in this place hallowed by their blood. Their feast is celebrated on June 26th.