Memorial of Saints (August 17)

on August 17:

• Hyacinth, confessor;
• Mamas, martyr;
• Eusebius, priest;
• Liberatus and Companions, martyrs;
• Clare of Montefalco, virgin

Mamas (d. ca. 275 A.D.) was a shepherd at Caesarea, Cappadocia. There are two stories about him:

• The Roman Martyrology says he was the son of Saints Theodotus and Rufina, and was executed for his faith in his old age during the reign of Emperor Aurelian.
• An Eastern tradition says he was stoned to death when he was a boy. St. Basil and St. Gregory Nazianzen both wrote of the story of Mamas.