Cyprian and Felix were bishops who stood at the head of 5,000 people who were driven into the desert because they were Christian.

Cyprian and Felix led communities in northern Africa in the fifth-century Church. When the area came under the power of the Vandals, the foreign king persecuted Christians by exiling them to a prison in the Libyan desert. They were tortured on their way, and many died during the journey.

The Vandal king finally decided to have them killed by being led out into the wilderness. The Christians emerged from the prison singing psalms together. Felix was very old and disabled, and it was suggested that he could be left alone to die, but the king ordered him to be taken out on a donkey. Stones were thrown at the Christians, and those who fell behind were pricked with spears to urge them forward until they died of exhaustion and exposure.

Cyprian was another bishop who tended these persecuted Christians, and it is reported that he spent all of his time and energy and resources caring for them. He was eventually also arrested and exiled, where he died from the harsh treatment.

Relics of Sts. Cyprian and Felix rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

Sts. Cyprian and Felix, you supported your persecuted community experiencing exile and martyrdom—pray for us!