Saint Libertine

Saint Libertine
Saint Libertine
Bishop and Martyr
Died	1st or 3rd century AD
Feast	3 November

Last updated February 20, 2019

Saint Libertine (or Libertinus) (Italian : San Libertino) is venerated as a Christian martyr and as the first bishop of Agrigento, in Sicily.^[1]

Italian is a Romance language. Italian, together with Sardinian, is by most measures the closest language to Vulgar Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria. It formerly had official status in Albania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro (Kotor) and Greece, and is generally understood in Corsica and Savoie. It also used to be an official language in the former Italian East Africa and Italian North Africa, where it plays a significant role in various sectors. Italian is also spoken by large expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia. In spite of not existing any Italian community in their respective national territories and of not being spoken at any level, Italian is included de jure, but not de facto, between the recognized minority languages of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania. Many speakers of Italian are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages.

Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Most Christians get baptized, celebrate the Lord's Supper, pray the Lord's Prayer and other prayers, have clergy, and attend group worship services.

Martyr person who suffers persecution and death for advocating, refusing to renounce, and/or refusing to advocate a belief or cause, usually a religious one

A martyr is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a belief or cause as demanded by an external party. This refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of the martyr by the oppressor. Originally applied only to those who suffered for their religious beliefs, the term has come to be used in connection with people killed for a political cause.

According to tradition, Libertine was sent by Saint Peter to Agrigento to Christianize the city during the 1st century.^[1] However, Libertine may have actually lived at a later date, during the 3rd century, and may have been martyred during the persecutions of Decius or Diocletian.^[1]

Saint Peter, also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, according to the New Testament, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, leaders of the early Christian Great Church. Pope Gregory I called him repeatedly the "Prince of the Apostles". According to Catholic teaching, Jesus promised Peter in the "Rock of My Church" dialogue in Matthew 16:18 a special position in the Church. He is traditionally counted as the first Bishop of Rome‍—‌or pope‍—‌and also by Eastern Christian tradition as the first Patriarch of Antioch. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a major saint and as the founder of the Church of Antioch and the Roman Church, but differ in their attitudes regarding the authority of his present-day successors.

Agrigento is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas, one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden age of Ancient Greece with population estimates in the range of 200,000 to 800,000 before 406 BC.

Decius, also known as Trajan Decius, was Roman Emperor from 249 to 251.

The tradition also holds that his preaching was so effective that he was eventually martyred by the Roman authorities.^[1]

He performed miracles and built a church, perhaps on the site of the current Cathedral of Agrigento.^[1] A legend told of Libertine is that just before he died, he uttered the Latin verse: Gens iniqua, plebs rea, non videbis ossa mea ("Iniquitous people, guilty people, you will not see my bones").^[1] The northern gate of the city, Bibbirria, is said to have been derived from a corruption of Libertine's last words.^[1] However, it is more likely that the name derives from the Arabic for "Gate of the winds" (Bab er rijah).^[1] Furthermore, according to Giuseppe Fumagalli, these verses were a common saying in communities that did not possess the relics of their patron saint.^[2]

Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, and ultimately from the Phoenician alphabet.

Arabical-ʻarabiyyah[alʕaraˈbijːa](listen) or ʻarabī[ˈʕarabiː](listen) or Arabic pronunciation: [ʕaraˈbij]) is a Central Semitic language that first emerged in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the west, in northwestern Arabia, and in the Sinai Peninsula. Arabic is classified as a macrolanguage comprising 30 modern varieties, including its standard form, Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic.

Patron saint saint regarded as the tutelary spirit or heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person

A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism or Eastern Orthodoxy, is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family or person.

Libertine was martyred with Saint Peregrinus (San Pellegrino), and is said to have either been stoned to death or killed with a sword.^[1]

Veneration

A cult dedicated to Libertine existed from a very early date in Agrigento.^[1] In Leontius' life of Saint Gregory of Agrigento, a bishop of the city, it is stated that the church of Agrigento owned a house in Palermo that was named after Libertine.^[1] Libertine was invoked for aid in 1625 during a plague that afflicted Agrigento.^[1]

Palermo is a city of Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Domenico De Gregorio (November 2, 2007). "San Libertino di Agrigento Vescovo e martire". Santi e Beati. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
↑ Giuseppe Fumagalli, L'ape Latina (Hoepli Editore, 1987), 98.

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[santi-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Domenico De Gregorio (November 2, 2007). "San Libertino di Agrigento Vescovo e martire". Santi e Beati. Retrieved January 26, 2010.

[Fumagalli-2] Giuseppe Fumagalli, L'ape Latina (Hoepli Editore, 1987), 98.