Longinus

Saint Longinus is traditionally remembered as a Roman soldier at Jerusalem who stood near the Cross of Christ. Though unnamed in the canonical Gospels, later Christian tradition—drawing especially from early apocryphal sources—gave him the name Longinus and identified him with the centurion who, witnessing Jesus’ death, confessed that He was truly the Son of God. In the Gospel of John, a soldier pierces the Lord’s side with a lance, and from that wound flow blood and water; devotion came to see this moment as intimately joined to the mystery of Christ’s saving Passion and to the final of His Five Holy Wounds. Over time, Longinus’ story grew into a witness of conversion: the one who struck the Crucified is also remembered as one who came to believe, and in many traditions he is venerated as a martyr who suffered for his faith. His name is linked with the “Holy Lance,” long honored in Christian memory. Saint Longinus is honored as patron of Baschi. His feast day is October 22.