Caprasius of Agen

Holy Martyr Caprasius of Agen suffered at Agen in southern Gaul in the persecution of Diocletian, around 303. He is a saint of the undivided Church.

A native of Agen, he first hid from the persecution. Meanwhile the prefect Dacian had put Saint Faith (Fides) to death. Caprasius, who had watched her die from a hill nearby, took courage, confessed the faith openly and was condemned to death. On the way he was joined by Alberta, Faith's sister (in some accounts his own mother), and by two brothers, Primus and Felician; all four were beheaded. His relics are said to have been found at Agen in the 5th century. Legends of the 14th century call him the first bishop of Agen, but the only early evidence is a church dedicated to him in the 6th century. His veneration was joined in the 9th century with that of Saint Faith, whose relics were taken in 866 to Conques, on the pilgrim road to Compostela; along that road the church of San Caprasio at Santa Cruz de la Serós was built in the 11th century.

He is commemorated on 20 October, the liturgical date in the Orthodox calendar (the same day number on the old and new calendars).