Carpophorus, Exanthus, Cassius, Severinus, Secundus and Licinius

Saints Carpophorus, Exanthus, Cassius, Severinus, Secundus and Licinius, Martyrs, were, according to tradition, Christian soldiers put to death at Como in the time of the emperor Maximian, around the year 295 (by another source, in 303). They are said to have belonged to the Theban Legion and to have escaped its decimation. Condemned to death because they would not sacrifice to the Roman gods, they are said to have tried to flee toward the Alps, but were caught and executed near Como, at the foot of Castel Baradello.

The veneration of Saint Fidelis of Como is linked with them. One variant of the legend says that Fidelis, Carpophorus and Exanthus were Roman soldiers of the Theban Legion who deserted in the persecution of Maximian and were caught and killed at Como. Another variant says that Fidelis was an officer who guarded Christian prisoners at Milan, among them Saint Alexander of Bergamo; he managed to free five of them and, with Carpophorus and Exanthus, tried to reach the Alps, but they were killed at Como. The martyrdom is said to have taken place on the north shore of Lake Como, near Samolaco. Their commemoration is on 7 August. The church of San Carpoforo at Como, built at the end of the fourth century by the will of the first bishop of Como, Saint Felix (386), is said, by a tradition not historically proven, to have been set on an old temple of Mercury, to house the relics of Carpophorus and other martyrs. Carpophorus is also venerated at Arona, with Felinus and Gratian, on 13 March.