On November 21, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Tarsicius—one of the principal patrons of altar servers. On the occasion of today’s memorial, we recall his life story.
Saint Tarsicius lived in the third century; neither the date of his death nor the manner of his death is known. It is believed that Tarsicius was martyred during the reign of Emperor Decius in the third century. This emperor’s reign is considered one of the bloodiest in the history of Christianity.
At that time, Christians were dying en masse in the name of Christ, and their greatest dream was to receive the Eucharistic Bread before their death. A young acolyte, Tarsicius, supported them in this desire. He secretly delivered the Most Holy Sacrament to Roman prisons to strengthen the Christians in their faith.
He was killed by his peers—he was beaten and kicked after the Viaticum was found on him. He was saved by a soldier, also a Christian, who carried the seriously wounded Tarsicius home. Unfortunately, Tarsicius soon died as a result of his injuries.
Originally, Tarsicius’s body was laid to rest in the Cemetery of St. Callixtus in Rome, next to the remains of Pope Stephen I, who was murdered a few years later, in 257. In the 17th century, the saint’s relics were transferred to Naples, where they rest to this day in the Basilica of St. Dominic. A small coffin containing the reliquary of St. Tarsicius is also located in Rome, at the Salesian college on Via Appia Antica.
In Poland, Saint Tarsicius is known as the patron saint of altar servers. In Italy, he is also recognized as the patron saint of the Italian Catholic Youth Movement, Eucharistic circles, and the so-called “Minor Clergy” circles.
In the painting—St. Tarsicius in 3rd-century liturgical vestments
