Liberatus of Rome

Saint Liberatus (Liberato, also called Liberale) of Rome died a martyr in 269 and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. His commemoration is on 20 December.

According to tradition Liberatus came of a noble family; according to some reports he was consul. Having believed, he gave up his career, politics and comfort and followed a new way, of brotherly love and faith in God. He was arrested and condemned to death, in the time of the emperor Claudius Gothicus (269 to 270), at Rome. He was buried in the cemetery of Septem Palumbas, on the old Via Salaria, in a tomb built through the care of a certain Florus. That tomb was destroyed when Alaric came in 410 but was later restored. It is believed, according to tradition, that his body lies under the basilica dedicated to the martyr John.