The Proper of saints of the dioceses of the Balearic Islands in Late Antiquity

Abstract

The fact that Menorca had an established episcopate at the beginning of the 5th century leads us to assume that a century earlier there was at least an embryonic church, something that we would extend to Mallorca and Ibiza, both of which also had their respective bishops in the year 484. However, the Balearic Islands do not have a known martyrdom tradition. Only in modern times, following a widespread practice, has the bishop Severus of Menorca (a. 418) been designated as a saint. The fidelity to Catholicism of the three bishops summoned by Hunneric, king of the Vandals, to the Carthage conference (a. 484) to abjure the faith led to their banishment. The confessors and martyrs of these persecutions are venerated on July 13 and October 12, respectively. However, a recent review of the texts prevents us from including their names among the thousands of venerated saints in the Roman martyrology.