Feastday: May 10
Patron: of Lentini; Trecastagni
Death: 251
Martyr, one of three brothers from Vaste, Italy, who died with their sister, Benedicta. The details concerning these martyrdoms are traditional, considered by some scholars as unreliable. Alphius, Philadeiphus, Cyrinus, and Benedicta were arrested during the persecutions conducted by Emperor Trajanus Decius. They were tortured in Rome and then taken to Pozzuoli, near modern Naples, where one of the Christians, Onesimus, was executed. The brothers went on to Sicily, where they were martyred at Lentini. Alphius had his tongue torn from his mouth. Philadelphus was burned to death and Cyrinus was boiled to death. The brothers ranged in age from nineteen to twenty-one years of age at the time of their martyrdom. No details of execution are given extant for Benedicta.
Catholic saintsSaints Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus (Italian: S.S. Alfio, Filadelfo e Cirino), martyrs in the Byzantine traditions of southern Italy, were three brothers from Vaste, in the diocese of Otranto, who died with their mother, Benedicta, during the persecution of Decius, ca 251 AD. The details concerning these martyrdoms are traditional, drawn up at a later date in the Benedictine Acta of Saint Alphius.
According to the Acta, Alphius, Philadelphus, Cyrinus, ranging in age from nineteen to twenty-two, and their mother Benedicta were arrested with other Christians during the persecutions under Decius. They were taken to Pozzuoli, near Naples, where one of the Christians, Onesimus, was executed. The brothers were taken on to Sicily, where they were martyred at Lentini; there they are among the patron saints. Alphius had his tongue torn from his mouth. Philadelphus was burned on a stake and Cyrinus was boiled alive in oil. No details of her execution are given for Benedicta. Their feast day is 10 May in Trecastagni, Sicily and Labor Day Weekend Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA.
