Primary Commemoration
Anastasius of Lleida
Saint Anastasius of Lleida was an early-fourth-century Christian who suffered martyrdom in the Spanish city of Lleida during the persecution of Diocletian. According to ancient tradition, he was beheaded around the year 305 for openly confessing the Christian faith and refusing to participate in the pagan sacrifices required by imperial edict. His relics were honored in the cathedral of Lleida throughout the Middle Ages, and he is venerated as that city's patron and protector. The Church remembers him among the multitude of Spanish martyrs of the late Roman period, whose courage in the face of imperial persecution helped to plant the Christian faith deeply in the soil of the Iberian peninsula.
d. 305 · Ancient Rome
Saint