Feastday: August 24
Death: 260
A group of martyrs who suffered in Utica, in northern Africa. The name, translated as "the White Mass," was believed to denote the fact that these martyrs were thrown into a lime pit, and their remains became one great white mass. Now it is believed that Massa Candida was an actual site near Utica in modem North Africa. Some 153 martyrs suffered there under Emperors Valerian and Gallienus.
The Massa Candida were 300 early Christian martyrs from Utica who chose death rather than offering incense to Roman Gods, in approximately 253-60 AD. They were put to death by Galerius Maximus, the governor of the province of Africa. The title "Massa Candida" or "White Mass or Lump" refers to their manner of death. The Catholic Encyclopedia reports that they were hurled into a pit of burning lime and thus reduced to a mass of white powder. They are commemorated on August 24.
