Cessianus [SEP] date of death
Cessianus
Saint Cessianus ("ca." 295 - 303) is a Roman Catholic saint and martyr. At the age of eight, he was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in 303.
History.
Pope Gregory XVI presented Bishop Mathias Loras with the remains of St. Cessianus in 1838. Bishop Loras brought the remains with him to the United States. The remains were placed within a side altar in the new St. Raphael's Cathedral, in Dubuque, Iowa.
After renovations carried out in
with a smaller, movable, less elaborate cathedra that allows him to directly face the congregation during Mass.
By November 1986 the renovations were complete. The remains of St. Cessianus were installed in the main altar during the first Mass held in the renovated Cathedral on November 23, 1986 celebrated by Archbishop Daniel Kucera, OSB. This is in reference to the tradition in the early years of the Church when Mass was often celebrated over the tombs of saints and martyrs. The bones of St. Cessianus, a second-century Roman martyr