Very little is known of St. Damian, though we do know that there are two saints by the same name honored on this date, and that both were martyred. Relics of a St. Damian rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

One Damian was a Roman solider who was martyred in Alexandria, Egypt. The other Damian was a Roman citizen who was martyred and whose remains were found in the catacombs in Rome.

St. Damian, who declared loyalty to God before the empire and who died for that faith, pray for us!