Marcellinus and Peter are two Roman martyrs, mentioned in the Roman Canon, the first Eucharistic Prayer. Marcellinus was a priest, and Peter was an exorcist. After they were imprisoned, they led many of their fellow prisoners to be baptized there in prison. Because the Romans had started to catch on that the witness of the martyrs was inspiring and encouraging their fellow Christians, Marcellinus and Peter were taken to a forest in the middle of the night in secret, forced to dig their own graves, and beheaded. However, one of the soldiers was so moved by their courage, that he converted to Christ, then told the Church where Marcellinus and Peter were buried, so they could be properly venerated.
The emperor Constantine, the first Holy Roman Emperor who ended the persecutions, had a church built over the spot of their martyrdom.
Over 2000 years there have been thousands and thousands of Christian martyrs. Yet, we continue to look to the example of those early Roman Martyrs: Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia. The Pope could very well create new feast days for more modern saints: and the Popes have done this. We recall the modern martyrdoms of people like Paul Miki, from Japan, Charles Lwanga, from Uganda, Miguel Pro, from Mexico, Lorenzo Ruiz from the Philipines, Andrew Kim from Korea.
Yet, our liturgical calendar is still very Roman, even though there were more martyrs killed in the 20th century outside of Rome than in all the previous centuries combined.
Their veneration of the Roman Martyrs is part of our liturgical heritage and our Christian heritage—their blood is the seed of our faith. They remind us how much the world hates us, and how much we are to love Christ. We do well to continue to make pilgrimage to their shrines, if not physically, then spiritually and intellectually and return home sharing their stories. The Roman martyrs are ever-ancient, ever-new, just like the Church, just like Christ. They protect us from becoming disconnected, decapitated from our Roman faith.
And following them, they lead us to Christ "Rex et caput martyrum"—the king and head of martyrs: whose passion they imitate, struggling, strengthened by the Eucharist, filled with the Holy Spirit, with love for Christ and for their fellow men, to testify fidelity to the revealed word, truth and justice, to God's law.
May Marcellinus and Peter and all of the martyrs of the Roman Church help us to courageously confess Christ in our own day and place, remaining true to Him in word and deed, loving Him with all of our heart, mind, and strength, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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