They were brothers in many ways: brothers by birth, brothers in the Lord and in ministry in the house of St. Philip in Rome, and brothers as they died together, burned for their faith as very early martyrs in the Church.

Other than the above, little is known about these early martyrs. Protus and Hyacinth were buried in the same crypt in the Catacomb of Saint Hermes, the cemetery of Saint Basilla. Hyacinth’s burial stone read that he was buried September 11, 257. Protus’ remains had long before been transferred to the Church of San Salvatore when his brother’s were found.

In 1845 Father Marchi discovered the still undisturbed grave of St. Hyacinth in the crypt. It was a small square niche in which lay the ashes and pieces of burned bone wrapped in the remains of costly stuffs (Marchi, “Monumenti primitivi: I, Architettura della Roma sotterranea cristina” , Rome, 1844, 238 sqq., 264 sqq.) His relics were transferred to the Chapel of the Propaganda.

In life and in death, they belong to God. Though hidden for centuries from the eyes of the world, they are alive, worshiping and interceding, as saints in Heaven.

Other Saints We Remember Today

St. Adelphus (5th Century), Bishop

St. Paphnutius (356), Bishop