I went to look up the saints for September 16 and oh, my! Some times when I do this the saints are obscure to me. Not so much this time. These were some amazing people.

Start with Saint Cyprian of Carthage. He was a bishop in Carthage who survived the persecutions of Emperor Decius in 251 only to be martyred under Emperor Valerian eight years later. The good thing about his survival is that he was part of the group around Pope Saint Cornelius, also honored today, in working out the idea that those who apostasized under torture could indeed be allowed back to the church. Saint Cyprian wrote some incredible stuff about envy as the root of a great deal of evil and how it harms the person who is envious. He also wrote,

You cannot have God for your Father if you do not have the Church for your mother.

Saint Cyprian, from The Unity of the Catholic Church.

Both Saint Cornelius and Saint Cyprian are mentioned in the Eucharistic Prayer #1 in the canon of the Mass.

Next up, Saint Andrew Kim Taegon and the Korean martyrs. His parents were converts and his father was also killed for his faith. Andrew was the first native Korean priest, traveling a thousand miles to seminary in Macao to learn. He was beheaded on September 16, 1846. There are several other Korean martyrs remembered on this day.

Saint Euphemia was martyred in 305, thrown to the wild beasts probably under Emperor Diocletian. What fascinated me about her story is that her relics were thrown into the sea by the iconoclasts in the late 700’s, but somehow recovered by some pious brother sailors. More research is indicated… Okay, she’s very big in the Orthodox Church. https://orthodoxwiki.org/Euphemia_the_Great_Martyr The Catholic Encyclopedia on New Advent’s website does not include any of this story. It does state that the Council of Chalcedon was held largely in the church in Constantinople dedicated to Saint Euphemia. Also there’s more than one Saint Euphemia.

Saint Ninian lived in the late 300’s in Whithorn abbey Scotland. He was a ‘Briton’ who studied in Rome under Pope Damasus. He returned to lay a strong foundation for the church in Scotland. He is mentioned by Saint Bede. He is the only saint I’m listing today who was not martyred!

Saint Ludmila was strangled by hired assassins. Her daughter-in-law did not Ludmila’s influence Wenceslaus, her grandchild, and took strong action. Ludmila was baptized by Saint Methodius in 871. {And yes, that Wenceslaus, the good king, who is himself a canonized saint. (And was also murdered though not on September 16.)}

Four more saints from the persecution under Diocletian were Saint Abundius the Priest, Saint John of Rome, Saint Marcian, an Imperial Roman senator and Saint Abundantius of Rome. Saint Abundantius was a deacon and arrested with Saint Abundius, the priest. On the way to their execution they saw Senator Marcian grieving for his dead son, John. Saint Abundius prayed for the boy who immediately rose from the dead. Both John and Marcian converted on the spot, were arrested, and then all four died together.

A whole set of Japanese martyrs were beheaded at Nagasaki, Japan on September 16 in 1628. They include Blessed Dominic Shobyoye, Blessed Michael Himonoya (married lay man) and Blessed Paul Himonoya, son of Michael.

And two Spanish martyrs from 852, Saint Servus Dei and Saint Rogellus of Cordoba who were killed by the Moors for opposing Islam in Cordoba.

Saint Lucy of Rome also shares this day. She is NOT the Saint Lucy who is known as Saint Lucy of Syracuse and who is celebrated on December 13 with evergreen crowns and candles in Sweden. This Lucy was a widow and was martyred at age 75 in Rome (not Syracuse, Sicily) during the Diocletian persecutions.