Saints of 17 May

St Pas- (Villareal)

At Villareal, in the kingdom of Valencia, St. Pascal, of the Order of Minorites, a man remarkable for innocence of life and the spirit of penance. Pope Leo XIII. declared him heavenly patron of Eucharistic Congresses and Societies formed in honor of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

St Torpes of Pisa

At Pisa, in Tuscany, the holy martyr Torpes, who filled a high office in the court of Nero, and was one of those of whom the apostle St. Paul wrote from Rome to the Philippians: All the saints salute you, especially those that are of the house of Caesar. For the faith of Christ, he was, by order of Satellicus, buffeted, cruelly scourged and delivered to the beasts to be devoured, but being uninjured, he at last terminated his martyrdom by decapitation on the 29th of April. His feast, however, is kept on this day, on account of the translation of his body.

St Restituta, virgin and martyr

The same day, St. Eestituta, virgin and martyr, who was subjected to various kinds of tortures in Africa by the judge Proculus, in the reign of Valerian, and then put in a boat filled with pitch and tow, to be burnt to death on the sea. But the flame turned on those who had kindled it, and the saint yielded her spirit to God in prayer. Her body was, by divine providence, carried in the boat to the island of Ischia, near Naples, where it was received by the Christians with great veneration. A church was afterwards erected in her honor in that city by Constantine the Great.

Ss. Heradius, Paul, and Aquilinus

At Noyon, the holy martyrs Heradius, Paul, and Aquilinus, with two others.

Ss. Solochanus and companions (Chalcedon)

At Chalcedon, the holy martyrs Solochanus and his companions, soldiers under the emperor Maximian.

Ss. Adrio, Victor and Basilla

At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Adrio, Victor and Basilla.

St Bruno of Würzburg

At Wurzburg, St. Bruno, bishop and confessor.