St. Pelagius. Martyr June 26

St. Pelagius. Martyr in Cordoba, Spain. Also called Pelayo, he was a young boy of Asturias who was left by his uncle as a hostage to the Moors of Cordoba. As he remained un-ransomed for three years, the Cordoban ruler Emir Abd al-Rahman III offered to free him if he would but renounce his Christianity and become a Muslim. He refused, and the emir ordered him tortured. Pelagius died after six hours of agony. Rhoswitha of Gandersheim, a Benedictine poetess, composed a poem in his honor. 912-925 A.D.

St. Benildis. Roman Catholic Spanish woman martyr, converted by the heroic death of St. Athanasius. Feastday June 15

St. Benildis. Roman Catholic Spanish woman martyr, converted by the heroic death of St. Athanasius. A priest, St. Athanasius, died in the city of Córdoba at the hands of the Moors, the Islamic rulers of that era. Benildis converted during the martyrdom of St. Athanasius and she died at the stake the following day. 853 A.D. Feastday June 15

St. Anastasius XVII Roman Catholic Deacon and Martyr. Feastday June 14

St. Anastasius XVII Roman Catholic Deacon and Martyr. A monk in the Benedictine monastery in Tabanos, near Cordoba, Spain, Anastasius was caught up in the persecutions conducted by the Muslim Moors. With St. Felix and St. Digna, Anastasius was beheaded for the faith. 853 A.D. Feastday June 14

St. Peter Rodriguez and Companions, Roman Catholic Knights of Santiago of Portugal and Spanish Martyrs, put to death by the Muslim Moors Feastday: June 11

St. Peter Rodriguez and Companions, Roman Catholic Knights of Santiago of Portugal and Spanish Martyrs, put to death by the Muslim Moors Feastday: June 11