JULY 12

Day 12: Susanne, martyr.

This Susanne is the daughter of Gapinos, the brother of Pope Gaius the saint, descending from a noble Christian family, related to the king Diocletian. She had consecrated her virginity (chastity) to God. When the wife of Maximilian, the cousin of the king, died, the king wanted to get him Susanne as a wife, and thus he dispatched his other cousin Claudios asking her hand from her father. At that, she told them that she had vowed her virginity to Christ the Lord, and explained to Claudios the Christian faith and the meaning of her consecration to Christ; which touched his heart, and as he asked to learn more about the Christian faith, she sent him to her uncle, the pope, telling him that he will guide to salvation.

Claudios did so, and was catechized, then baptized along with his household by Pope Gaius. As Claudios was late, the king sent Maximilian after him, and he found him kneeling down in prayer, then Maximilian too was touched by God’s grace, and ended being baptized, and distributed his money to the needy. Upon learning of their matter, the king ordered Maximilian and Claudios to be burned alive, and thus they ended up martyrs.

As for Susanne, the king ordered her decapitation, after his put her to painful tortures. She died as a martyr in the year 290. May her prayer be with us. Amen.