Saint Tirso was a Christian martyr who is believed to have died in 251, but read on to find out more about this revered saint.
History of Saint Tyrrhus
The Holy Martyrs Tyrrhus, Leucius and Callinicus suffered martyrdom for their faith in Christ under the Roman Emperor Decius (249-251) at Caesarea in Bithynia.
St Leucius, who had denounced the prefect Cumbricius for his unjust persecution of the Christians (See: Why the early Christians were persecuted), was executed after being tortured.
Tyrrhus, still a catechumen, reproached the emperor for the death of Leucius and was also condemned to martyrdom.
He was condemned to cruel tortures and torments after refusing to offer sacrifices to Roman idols and ridiculing those who worshipped idols of wood and stone.
St Tirso’s arms and legs were torn from their sockets, his eyes gouged out and his teeth smashed with a hammer.
He was taken to a pagan temple where, through his fervent prayers to God and Christ, they succeeded in toppling a statue of Apollo.
Church of San Tirso
The prefect Cumbricius was furious and ordered new and greater tortures to be inflicted on the athlete of Christ, St Tyrsus.
He endured them all and died peacefully after making the sign of the cross.
The pagan priest Callinicus, seeing the bravery and miracle of St. Tirso, believed in Christ and boldly confessed before the whole world his love for the true faith in Christ, for which he was also beheaded.
Get to know the church of San Tirso in the city of Oviedo through this video:
Tirso died in 251 AD and has since been venerated as a Christian martyr, believed to have died in Sozopolis (Apollonia), in ancient Phrygia, during the persecution of Christians in the reign of Emperor Decius.
inside the Church of San Tirso
St. Tirso was martyred with his two friends, and tradition has it that he endured all the tortures as well as St. Stephen.
His last torment was to be cut in half, but the saw did not harm him as he became so heavy that the executioners could not lift him.
The relics or remains of St Tirso were taken to Constantinople. His cult became popular in the Iberian Peninsula, where he was known as Saint Tirso in the Middle Ages and is now called Saint Tirso.
Tirso had a full mass in the Mozarabic liturgy. Some of his relics were also brought to France.
Saint Tyrse is the patron saint of the cathedral of Sisteron in the Lower Alps, the Cathedral of Notre Dame et Saint Tyrse.
See another church of Saint Tyrse located in Sahagun through this other video:
Saint Tyrse is therefore the patron saint of Sisteron. A 12th century church was also dedicated to him in Châteauponsac.
St Tyrsus is not mentioned in the Golden Legend, but the Acta Samctorum contains a number of texts that tell his story.
While still a pagan, he protested against the execution of St Leucius, who, like St Paul, was beheaded before the magistrate Cumbricius, and argued that there was only one true God.
For this he was tortured, succeeded in having the sacrament of baptism administered to him (See: Who Instituted Baptism), and was then tortured again in various ways until the judge finally ordered him to be “torn to pieces like a pig”.
We invite you to see in this video the procession of Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza de Oviedo to the Church of San Tirso, where the Holy Christ and the Martyr San Tirso are venerated:
According to the Roman Martyrology of 28 January, this took place in Apollonia in Phrygia; other sources suggest that it was in Africa. In any case, his remains were eventually transferred to Constantinople and from there to various cities in Spain.
Due to the manner of his death, his attribute is a hacksaw, as in the images on the right.
During the tortures, Cumbricius ordered his men to break the saint’s arms and legs; this may explain the large club in the first image.
Get to know the hermitage of San Bernabe and San Tirso through this video:
Prayer to Saint Tirso
O Lord, that Thy holy martyr Tirso, in his valiant struggle for Thee, received as reward the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal and eternal God.
Because he possessed your strength, he overthrew tyrants and utterly destroyed the impotent presumption of demons. O Christ God, through their prayers save our souls, for you are merciful.
As we gather together on this day, let us honour God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary with divine and sacred songs, the luminaries of the Church, and especially St Tyrsus, and let us continue to praise him with hymns of praise as a trophy bearer and martyr of Christ our God. Amen.
Finally, watch this video of the pilgrimage to St Tirso on his day:
