Sts. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus

Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus are remembered together among the martyrs of Rome. The traditional account calls Cyriacus a deacon and says that he, Sissinius, Largus, and Smaragdus helped Christians who had been forced to labor on the baths of Diocletian. It goes on to describe Cyriacus delivering the emperor's daughter from demonic possession and later suffering death with his companions.

This life is clear that this later martyr story cannot be treated as reliable biography. That caution need not become the opening or the center of their feast. The Church remembers the martyrs for fidelity to Christ, and Cyriacus in particular became one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, invoked for protection in spiritual combat and at the hour of death. The devotional lesson is therefore sober and strong: Christians ask the martyrs to help them resist evil, remain charitable under pressure, and persevere faithfully to the end.