Tarcisius

Tarsicius or Tarcisius 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 (366–384), who compares him to the deacon Saint 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.

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. He preferred death at the hands of a mob rather than deliver to them the Blessed Sacrament which he was carrying.

Veneration He was originally buried in the Catacombs of San Callisto and the inscription by Damasus was placed later on his tomb. The relics are currently located in the Chapel of the Guardian Angel in the Church of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, having been transferred there in 1646. A relic of the saint is also kept in the chapel of the Salesian Institute of Saint Tarcisius in Rome. His feast day is celebrated on 15 August; which is the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. Therefore, his memorial is not included in the General Roman Calendar, but he is listed in the Roman Martyrology.

Patronage He is the patron saint of altar servers and first communicants.

Legacy His story was greatly expanded by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman, who portrays him as a young acolyte in his novel Fabiola, or the Church in the Catacombs. as well as a 35 kilogram (77 lb) bell in the Stephansdom in Vienna, Austria.

A Catholic church on London Road, Camberley, England, is dedicated to St Tarcisius.

The St. Tarcisius parish in Framingham, Massachusetts was founded in 1907 by Father Pietro Maschi.

The St. Tarcissus parish in Chicago, Illinois, was established in 1926, with St. Tarcissus Church dedicated in 1954. The parish was combined in 2020 with two other parishes on Chicago's north side to form the new St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish, with St. Tarcissus designated the parish church (and the other two churches relegated to "profane but not sordid use" in 2021).

Saint José Sánchez del Río was nicknamed "Tarcisius".

Poem by Damasus

The first five lines say that both Stephen (the protomartyr) and Tarcisius are equal in merit, and Stephen's death (as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles) is retold poetically. The last four lines can be translated as:

When an insane gang pressed saintly Tarcisius, who was carrying the sacraments of Christ, to display them to the profane, he preferred to be killed and give up his life rather than betray to rabid dogs the heavenly body.