Asterius of Ostia
Encyclopedia
Saint Asterius of Ostia (d. 3rd century AD) was a martyred priest
. Information on this saint is based on the apocryphal Acts of Saint Callixtus. According to tradition, he was a priest of Rome
who recovered the body of Pope Callixtus I
after it had been tossed into a well around 222 AD. Asterius buried Callixtus' body at night but was arrested for this action by the prefect Alexander and then killed by being thrown off a bridge into the Tiber River.
According to tradition, his body washed up at Ostia and was buried there.
by Pope Sergius II
between 844 and 847 and rest in the Church of San Martino ai Monti
on the Esquiline, according to Anastasius the Librarian. However, the “Bollandists think that this is the body of another Asterius.”
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. Information on this saint is based on the apocryphal Acts of Saint Callixtus. According to tradition, he was a priest of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
who recovered the body of Pope Callixtus I
Pope Callixtus I
Pope Saint Callixtus I or Callistus I was pope from about 217 to about 222, during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus...
after it had been tossed into a well around 222 AD. Asterius buried Callixtus' body at night but was arrested for this action by the prefect Alexander and then killed by being thrown off a bridge into the Tiber River.
According to tradition, his body washed up at Ostia and was buried there.
Veneration
Asterius was venerated from at least the 4th or 5th centuries. A saint with the same name, along with that of his daughter, were translatedTranslation (relics)
In Christianity, the translation of relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality to another ; usually only the movement of the remains of the saint's body would be treated so formally, with secondary relics such as items of clothing treated with less ceremony...
by Pope Sergius II
Pope Sergius II
Pope Sergius II was Pope from January 844 – January 24, 847.On the death of Gregory IV the archdeacon John was proclaimed pope by popular acclamation, while the nobility elected Sergius, a Roman of noble birth. The opposition was suppressed, with Sergius intervening to save John's life...
between 844 and 847 and rest in the Church of San Martino ai Monti
San Martino ai Monti
San Martino ai Monti, also known as Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti - Titolo Equizio, is a basilica church in Rome, Italy, in the Rione Monti neighbourhood.-History:...
on the Esquiline, according to Anastasius the Librarian. However, the “Bollandists think that this is the body of another Asterius.”