Jun. 30 Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church, Opt. Mem.
The Optional Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church honors of the nameless followers of Christ brutally killed by the mad Emperor Nero as scapegoats for the fire in Rome. The pagan historian Tacitus and St. Clement of Rome tell of a night of horror (August 15, 64 A.D.) when in the imperial parks Christians were put into animal skins and hunted, were brutally attacked, and were made into living torches to light the road for Nero's chariot. From 64 to 314 "Christian" was synonymous with "execution victim."