Cessianus

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.

The main altar at St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque, Iowa. Contained within the altar is the box containing the remains of Saint Cessianus.

History

Pope Gregory XVI presented Bishop Mathias Loras with the remains of Cessianus in 1838. Loras brought the remains with him to the United States.^[1] The remains were placed within a side altar in the new St. Raphael's Cathedral, in Dubuque, Iowa.^[2]

After renovations carried out in the mid-1980s were completed, it was decided to place the remains of Cessianus under the new, freestanding main altar.^[3] On November 23, 1986, the wooden box containing the remains of Cessianus was installed during Mass in the altar where they currently reside.

References

1. Thomas Craughwell. "St. Cecilia and the History of the Roman Catacombs". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
2. Joseph Frazier (25 January 2010). The WPA Guide to 1930s Iowa. Federal Writers' Project. ISBN 9781587296635. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
3. Craughwell, Thomas J., "Cessianus", Saints Preserved, Crown Publishing Group, 2011 ISBN 9780307590749