Acisclus

Saint Acisclus was born in Córdoba in Hispania, in what is now southern Spain, and gave his life for Christ during the fierce Diocletianic Persecution around the year 304. Remembered as a steadfast confessor of the faith, he is traditionally linked with his sister, Saint Victoria, who shared in his arrest and sufferings. Ancient devotion in Córdoba cherished their witness, and their names were honored in the Mozarabic liturgy that nourished Christians of the region for centuries. Accounts of their martyrdom tell of brutal tortures meant to break their courage. One tradition says they were thrown into a blazing furnace, yet sang hymns of joy; when cast into the Guadalquivir weighed down with stones, they were said to rise unharmed upon the waters. At last, having borne witness to Christ with unwavering peace, Victoria was killed and Acisclus was beheaded. Venerated widely in Hispania and beyond, Saint Acisclus is a patron of Córdoba and Alcalà de Xivert. His feast day is November 17.