Saint Libertine

Saint Libertine (or Libertinus) (Italian: San Libertino) is venerated as a Christian martyr and as the first bishop of Agrigento, in Sicily.^[1]

According to tradition, Libertine was sent by Saint Peter to Agrigento to Christianize the city during the 1st century.^[1] However, Libertine may have actually lived at a later date, during the 3rd century, and may have been martyred during the persecutions of Decius or Diocletian.^[1]

The tradition also holds that his preaching was so effective that he was eventually martyred by the Roman authorities.^[1]

He performed miracles and built a church, perhaps on the site of the current Cathedral of Agrigento.^[1] A legend told of Libertine is that just before he died, he uttered the Latin verse: Gens iniqua, plebs rea, non videbis ossa mea (“Iniquitous people, guilty people, you will not see my bones”).^[1] The northern gate of the city, Bibbirria, is said to have been derived from a corruption of Libertine’s last words.^[1] However, it is more likely that the name derives from the Arabic for “Gate of the winds” (Bab er rijah).^[1] Furthermore, according to Giuseppe Fumagalli, these verses were a common saying in communities that did not possess the relics of their patron saint.^[2]

Libertine was martyred with Saint Peregrinus (San Pellegrino), and is said to have either been stoned to death or killed with a sword.^[1]

Veneration

A cult dedicated to Libertine existed from a very early date in Agrigento.^[1] In Leontius’ life of Saint Gregory of Agrigento, a bishop of the city, it is stated that the church of Agrigento owned a house in Palermo that was named after Libertine.^[1] Libertine was invoked for aid in 1625 during a plague that afflicted Agrigento.^[1]

References