San Espedito statue 20 cm

Availability: In stock (1)

Expeditus (d. April, 303) is an Armenian Christian martyr. All the dependable information we have for him comes from the Hieronymian Martyrology which describes him as one of six soldiers of the Legio XII Fulminata murdered at Melitene during the Diocletian persecution. Considering that the word expeditus is Latin for a light infantry soldier without a marching pack, St. Expeditus might be named for his profession. Admittedly, Expeditus was also a somewhat common male name in the Roman Empire. He was martyred for converting to Christianity. Considered the patron saint of urgent causes, his feast day is on April 19. 

As tradition would have it, upon being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, this centurion decided to convert to the Church. As he was on his way to the church, the devil (the prince of procrastinators) took the form of a murder of crows intent on delaying the soldier’s plans. They cried aloud in Latin, Cras! Cras! (Latin: “Tomorrow! Tomorrow!”) mimicking the crow’s natural “caw.” But Expeditus, not having a great deal of patience that day, stomped upon the mocking crows, ending their miserable lives, shouting, Christianus ero, hodie! (Latin: “I will be a Christian today!”)

0 stars based on 0 reviews