Doa st tarcisius biography

Martyr of the early Christian church

Tarsicius^[1] or Tarcisius^[2] was a martyr of the early Christian church who lived in the 3rd century.

The little that is known about him comes from a metrical inscription by Pope Damasus I, who was pope in the second half of the 4th century.

History

The only positive information concerning this Roman martyr is found in a poem composed in his honour by Pope Damasus (–), who compares him to the deaconSaint Stephen and says that, as Stephen was stoned by a crowd, so Tarcisius, carrying the Blessed Sacrament, was attacked by a group and beaten to death.^[3]

Nothing else definite is known concerning Tarcisius.

Since Damasus compares him to Stephen, he may have been a deacon; however, a 6th-century account makes him an acolyte.^[3] According to one version of the detailed legend that developed later, Tarcisius was a young boy during one of the fierce 3rd-century Roman persecutions, probably