St. Tarcisius

St. Tarcisius was a martyr of the early Christian church who lived in the 3rd century. The little that is known about him comes from Pope Damasus I, who wrote that Tarcisius preferred death at the hands of a mob rather than deliver to them the Blessed Sacrament, which he was carrying. As Damasus compares him to St. Stephen, who was stoned to death, this may have been the manner of his death. His story was greatly expanded by Nicholas Cardinal Wiseman, who portrays him as a young acolyte in his novel Fabiola, or The Church in the Catacombs.

He was originally buried in the Catacombs of San Callisto, but today his relics rest in the San Silvestro in Capite church in Rome. His feast day is celebrated on August 15, but, since that day is occupied by the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, he is not mentioned in the General Roman Calendar, but only in the Roman Martyrology. He is a patron saint of altar servers and first communicants.