Saints of 9 September

Ss. Dorotheus and Gorgonius

At Nicomedia, the holy martyrs Dorotheus and Gorgonius. The greatest honors had been conferred on them by the emperor Diocletian, but as they detested the cruelty which he exercised against the Christians, they were by his order suspended in his presence, and lacerated with whips; then their skin being torn from their bodies, and vinegar with salt poured over them, they were burned on a gridiron and finally strangled. After some time, the body of blessed Gorgonius was brought to Rome, and deposited on the Latin road. Thence it was transferred to the basilica of St. Peter.

Ss. Hyacinthus, Alexander, and Tiburtius

Among the Sabines, thirty miles from Rome, the holy martyrs Hyacinthus, Alexander, and Tiburtius.

St Severian of Sebaste

At Sebaste, St. Severian, a soldier of the emperor Licinius. For frequently visiting the Forty Martyrs whilst they were in prison, he was suspended in the air with a stone tied to his feet by order of the governor Lysias, and being scourged and torn with whips, yielded up his soul in the midst of torments.

St Straton

The same day, St. Straton, who ended his martyrdom for Christ by being tied to two trees and torn to pieces.

Ss. Rufinus and Rufinian

Also, the holy martyrs Rufinus and Rufinian, brothers.

Pope St Sergius I

At Rome, &t. Sergius, pope and confessor.

St Omer, bishop

In the territory of TSrouanne, St. Omer, bishop.

St Kieran of Ireland

In Ireland, St. Kieran, abbot.

St Peter (Cartagena)

At Cartagena, in South America, St. Peter Claver, confessor of the Society of Jesus, who labored with, wonderful self-abnegation and great charity among the negro slaves for more than forty years and baptized personally almost thirty thousand of them. He was canonized by order of pope Leo XIII.