Saint Víctor de Braga

Victor of Braga (Paços, near Braga, last quarter of the 3rd century – Braga, c. 308) was a young catechumen and martyr during the reign of Diocletian. He is venerated as a saint by various Christian denominations. Sources regarding this martyr are scarce, and the acts of his martyrdom are compiled in ancient breviaries from Braga, Évora, and Santiago de Compostela. According to these, Victor was a young catechumen who had not yet been baptized. During the persecutions of Christians ordered by Diocletian, he refused to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. Upon his refusal and confession of his Christian faith, he was arrested, tortured, and finally beheaded, being baptized in his own blood. A temple was erected at the site of his death, where his relics were kept, as attested by a visit made by Archbishop Diego Gelmírez in 1102. However, in 1590, Archbishop Agustín de Castro examined the tomb and found that the relics were no longer there, their fate unknown.