Saint of the day · August 7
St Sixtus II, Pope, and Companions, Martyrs
Friday, week 18 in Ordinary Time
Liturgical colour : Green
On this day, the Church commemorates Pope St Sixtus II and his companions, who were martyred in the mid-3rd century during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian. Pope Sixtus II assumed the papacy in a turbulent era, marked by strict imperial edicts against Christian clergy. Though little is known about the details of his early life, tradition holds that Sixtus was a gentle leader and a peacemaker who sought to maintain unity within the Church. In 258, while celebrating the Eucharist in secret in the catacombs of Rome, he and several deacons, including the well-known St Lawrence, were apprehended and executed for refusing to renounce their faith.
The memory of Sixtus II and his companions has been honored by Christians since late antiquity, as an example of steadfast fidelity to Christ under persecution. Their witness draws attention to the cost of discipleship, reminding the faithful that, at times, living out the Gospel demands the ultimate sacrifice. Liturgical remembrance focuses not only on the historic suffering of these leaders but also on the hope and courage that characterized the early martyrs. By venerating Sixtus II and his companions, the Church encourages all the faithful to draw strength from their perseverance and to pray for those who continue to face persecution today.
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Local variations
- Belgium — St. Juliana of Mount Cornillon, virgin
The liturgical day
Mass readings
"Woe to the bloody city" — Na 2, 1.3 ; 3, 1-3.6-7
Here upon the mountains
are the footsteps of the messenger who announces peace.
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows,
for the Wicked One will never again pass through you:
he has been utterly destroyed.
The Lord returns.
With him, the splendor of Jacob,
as with Israel,
though the plunderers had plundered them
and ravaged their vineyards.
Woe to the bloody city,
all full of lies, filled with plunder,
and never letting go of its prey.
Listen! Whip cracks,
the rumble of wheels,
galloping horses,
the rolling of chariots!
Charging horsemen,
flashing swords,
glittering spears!
Countless wounded,
heaps of dead,
cadavers without end!
People stumble over the corpses!
I am going to hurl shameful things upon you,
dishonor you, and make you a spectacle.
All who see you will flee from you, saying:
"Nineveh is devastated! Who will pity her?"
Where can I find you any comforters?
– The word of the Lord.
Dt 32, 35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41
"Yes, near is the day of their ruin,
imminent, the fate that awaits them."
For the Lord will grant justice to his people,
he will have pity on his servants.
"See now, it is I, and I alone;
there is no god besides me;
it is I who bring death and give life,
if I have struck down, it is I who heal.
"If I sharpen the lightning of my sword,
if my hand seizes judgment,
I will turn vengeance against my rivals,
I will settle accounts with my adversaries."
"What can anyone give in exchange for his life?" — Mt 16, 24-28
At that time,
Jesus said to his disciples:
"If anyone wants to come after me,
let him deny himself,
let him take up his cross
and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life
will lose it,
but whoever loses his life because of me
will find it.
For what profit would there be for someone
to gain the whole world
if he forfeits his soul?
And what can anyone give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels
in the glory of his Father;
then he will repay each one according to his conduct.
Truly I say to you:
among those standing here,
some will not taste death
before they see the Son of Man
coming in his Kingdom."
– Let us acclaim the Word of God.
Liturgical texts: © AELF — aelf.org