Saint
Censorinus of Ostia
A saint honored in Western calendars and linked with Ostia; few details survive.
Uncertain source. We are looking to verify this information as soon as we can.
- Era
- 3rd century
- Place
- Lido di Ostia
Life
Censorinus of Ostia is a figure known only from the Acts of Aurea of Ostia, a text whose truthfulness is doubted, so that he may never have existed. He is honored as a saint of the undivided Church, and his story is set in the third century, in the time of Emperor Claudius II (268-270).
Censorinus was a military commander with the rank of a magistrate and a secret Christian who prayed and gave alms. When the emperor arrested a community of Christians, Censorinus comforted them in secret and, as far as he could, supplied what they needed in prison, tending their chains and their guards. Claudius learned of this, grew angry, summoned him and asked whether he was a worshipper of the gods. Censorinus confessed that the Lord Jesus Christ is the true God, crucified, buried and risen. The emperor called him mad and ordered him held in custody at the military post of Ostia.
In chains he sang the praises of the Lord day and night. Aurea visited him daily and cared for him: she cleaned his chains with her own hands and washed his eyes and face. One day the priest Maximus, a worker of miracles, joined him, and Censorinus's chains fell off by themselves.