Feastday: May 12
Patron: of Agira, Sicily, Malta, United States Army Special Forces
Death: unknown
Supposedly the first Christian missionary to preach in Sicily Although almost certainly a legendary figure, he is venerated in the hill town of Agirone, Sicily.
Saint Philip of Agira (also Aggira, Agirone, Agirya or Argira) was an early Christian confessor. There are two parallel stories of this saint which give to possible dates in which this saint lived. Traditionally, through the writings of St. Athanasius, it is maintained that Philip of Agira is a saint of the 1st century, born in the year AD 40 in Cappadocia (modern Turkey) and died on 12 May, AD 103.
Another recent study says to have been born of a Syrian father in Thrace on an unknown date in the 5th century whose elder brothers drowned whilst fishing. Philip was known as the "Apostle of the Sicilians", as he was the first Christian missionary to visit that island. Nothing else can be certainly stated about him.
His feast day is 12 May, and he is naturally, patron saint of the city of Agira, Sicily, and of the city of Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Malta, he is celebrated also in the town of Limina, Sicily, where he also lived. Philip is one of the patron saints of the United States Army Special Forces and also known for his power of accomplish exorcisms.
