(Died 304 AD)
Vincent was ordained deacon by his friend St. Valerius of Zaragoza in Spain.
The Roman emperor had published his edicts against the clergy in 303, and the following year against the laity. Vincent and his bishop were imprisoned in Valencia. Hunger and torture failed to break them. In fact, they seemed to thrive on suffering.
Valerius was sent into exile, and Dacian, the Roman governor, then turned the full force of his fury on Vincent. The tortures inflicted on Vincent took their main effect on the governor who seemed to devolve into a furious obsession. He had the torturers beaten because they failed.
Dacian then suggested a compromise, requesting Vincent to at least give up the sacred books to be burned according to the emperor’s edict. Vincent refused to do so.
Torture on the gridiron continued, the prisoner remaining courageous, the torturer losing control of himself. Vincent was thrown into a filthy prison cell. There, he converted the jailer. Dacian wept with rage, but strangely enough, ordered the prisoner to be given some rest.
Friends among the faithful came to visit him, but he was to have no earthly rest. When they finally settled him on a comfortable bed, he went to his eternal rest.
Adapted by A. J. Valentini from: St. Vincent of Zaragossa | Franciscan Media. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2021, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-vincent-of-zaragossa