In February of 2006, St. Peter's received information from the Diocese of Covington which disclosed the identity of the relics in our church's altars. These relics were of St. Pius I, Pope, martyr; and St. Abdon and St. Sennen, martyrs.

The late Bishop Ackerman consecrated the altars in 1961 for the Diocese of Covington, of which Lexington was a part at that time. According to Butler's Lives of the Saints which describes these saints and martyrs, we know the following information:

Pope Pius I, the tenth pope and elected to the papacy in 42 A.D., is known for boldly condemning heresies. This courageous effort led to conflicts that earned him the title of martyr.

One ancient source reports that he died by the sword for the faith, passing into a better life in 157 A.D. (Fontannini discusses this pope in detail in Historia Literaria Aquileiensis, l.2, c.3 and 4.) His remains are buried at the foot of Vatican Hill and he is honored on his feast day of July 11.

Saints Abdon and Sennen were Persians in Rome who suffered fatally for confessing the faith of Christ under the persecution of Decius in 250 A.D. They befriended Christians, and were tortured and executed when they were found collecting the remains of martyrs in order to give them a respectable burial. Though their bodies were mangled and covered with ghastly wounds, they did not deny the faith.

"Their souls were adorned and beautified with divine grace, and rendered glorious in the sight of heaven." In the eyes of Christians at Rome, who united themselves to these martyrs rather than treating them as strangers, their bodies were buried in a house of a subdeacon named Quirinus.

Later, under the rule of Constantine, their relics were carefully removed to an ancient burial place that now bears their names near the gates of Rome. An ancient sculpture depicts these martyrs with Persian bonnets and crown on their heads, and their names.

Saint Peter’s celebrates the feast day of Saints Abdon and Sennen on July 30. When we honor them, let us ask them to intercede for peace in the Middle East.