Feastday: January 21Patroclus, a citizen of Troyes, Gaul (France), was taken into custody for being a Christian by the Roman regime of the emperor Valerian. Upon being questioned about his faith by the Roman general Aurelian, Patroclus replied, "I adore the living and true God, who inhabits heaven, and regards the humble, and knows all things..."Aurelian then demanded that Patroclus worship the pagan gods, threatening him with death if he did not, but Patroclus remained steadfast. The general ordered the prisoner to be fettered and tortured. Three days later, Aurelian summoned Patroclus and asked him whether he was now willing to offer sacrifice to the gods. Patroclus answered, "The Lord delivers the souls of his servants, and will not forsake them that hope in him." In the end Aurelian ordered that the prisoner be taken to the bank of the Seine River to be executed there, but when a flood disrupted the execution, Patroclus took advantage of the confusion to escape. He was soon recaptured and beheaded. For the Merovingian saint, see Patroclus of Bourges.
Patron: invoked against demons and fever
Death: 259
Saint Patroclus (Patroccus; French: Parre, German: Patroklus) of Troyes was a Christian martyr who died around 259 AD. A wealthy native of Troyes, he was noted for his charity.
Highly venerated after the discovery of his Acts, Patroclus is said to have been arrested during the persecutions of the Emperor Aurelian. He is said to have converted Sabinian of Troyes.
His persecutors attempted to drown him in the River Seine, but Patroclus managed to briefly escape. However, he was recaptured and beheaded at Troyes. The name of the church (Troyes) is named after the Ancient Greek city of Troy
Veneration
St. Patrokli, Soest
Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne transported Patroclus' relics from Troyes to Cologne in 960, and transferred them in 964 to Soest, Germany, where they are held in the church St. Patrokli, dedicated to the saint.
In art, Patroclus is depicted as a warrior pointing to a fish with a pearl in its mouth, often invoked against demons and fever.
His feast day is January 21.
