Martyrs of Massa Candida

• Year: d. 253 (some sources say 258).
• Feast Day: 24 August

During the persecution of Valerian, the proconsul Galerius Maximus brought imprisoned Christians from Carthage to Utica, offering them a choice between being cast into a pit of burning lime or sacrificing to idols. Reportedly between 150 and 300 Christians, encouraged by their bishop Kodratos, chose the lime pit and died together; Kodratos himself was executed four days later. Because their remains formed one fused mass, they became known as the ‘White Mass’ or Massa Candida.