Ansanus

Saint Ansanus was born in Rome in the third century, into a noble family of the Anician line. While still a child, he was secretly baptized by his nurse, Maxima, and quietly raised in the Christian faith. When the persecution under Emperor Diocletian intensified, Ansanus—only nineteen—openly confessed Christ, choosing fidelity to the Gospel over the safety of his rank. Tradition remembers him preaching in Bagnoregio and enduring imprisonment for the name of Jesus; a church outside Rome’s Alban Gate was later associated with the place of his confinement. Ansanus and Maxima were scourged, and Maxima died from the torture. Ansanus, however, was preserved through further trials, even being cast into boiling oil. Sent as a prisoner to Siena, he continued to proclaim Christ with courage and tenderness, winning many converts and earning the title “Apostle of Siena” and “the Baptizer.” At last he was beheaded by imperial order in 304, sealing his witness with martyrdom. He is honored as patron of Siena and Allerona. His feast day is December 1.