St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr and Companions
August 6

Pope St. Sixtus II was elected Pontiff August 31, 257 and was Martyred August 6, 258 during Emperor Valerian's persecution of Christians. Four deacons, Januarius, Vincentius, Magnus, and Stephanus, were apprehended with Sixtus and beheaded with him. Two other deacons, Felicissimus and Agapitus, suffered Martyrdom on the same day. Another, St. Lawrence, also a deacon, was Martyred three days after St. Sixtus.