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{{Infobox saint
|name=Sossius
|birth_date=275
|death_date=19 September 305
|feast_day=23 September
|venerated_in=
|image=Maestro di s. severino, s. severinop in trono e santi, 1472 ca., da chiesa ss severino e sossio 07.JPG
|imagesize=
|caption=Saint Sossius (right) with Saint Severinus, altar painting from the eponymous Church of [[Santi Severino e Sossio]] in Naples, late 15th century
|birth_place=[[Misenum]], Italy
|death_place=[[Pozzuoli]], Italy
|titles=
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=
|patronage=[[Frattamaggiore]], [[San Sossio Baronia]]
|major_shrine=[[Basilica di San Sossio]], [[Frattamaggiore]]
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
}}
Saint '''Sossius''' or '''Sosius''' (Italian: ''Sosso'', ''Sossio'' or ''Sosio''; 275 – 305 AD) was [[Deacon]] of [[Misenum]], an important  naval base of the [[Roman Empire]] in the [[Bay of Naples]]. He was martyred along with Saint [[Januarius]] at [[Pozzuoli]] during the [[Diocletian Persecution]]s. His feast day is September 23, the date, three days after his death, on which his corpse was [[translation (relics)|translated]] to Misenum.<ref name=Zullo>Franco Zullo, [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91102 San Sosso], Santi e Beati.</ref>
==Legend==
The legend conserved in the ''Atti Bolognesi'' states that during the [[Diocletian]] persecutions, Januarius, bishop of [[Benevento]],<!-- or Naples???--> escaped from his see and traveled to [[Pozzuoli]] "incognito." However, his presence became known to Christians in the area, and Januarius maintained contact with Sossius, who was a deacon of Miseno, as well as the deacon Festus and the lector Desiderius.
Legend says Januarius, with whom he studied to become a priest, predicted the martyrdom of Sossius when he saw a luminous red light and a [[dove]] hover over his head while he read the gospel at mass.
Sossius was soon discovered to be a Christian by the local authorities and he was condemned by the judge Dragontius, who condemned him to be killed by wild [[bear]]s in the [[Flavian Amphitheater (Pozzuoli)|local amphitheatre]]. Januarius, Festus, and Desiderius, on hearing of Sossius’ arrest, took a risk and visited him in prison at the [[sulphur]] mines of Pozzuoli, near the volcano of [[Solfatara (volcano)|Solfatara]].
The authorities discovered that these men were also Christians and they were thrown to the wild beasts as well, but as one modern account states, "...when the animals came near the Saints, they fell affectionately at their feet and refused to harm them.".<ref>[http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/los/September/19-05.htm Hieromartyr Januarius, bishop of Benevento, and his companions: Sosius, Proclus and Festus, deacons, Gantiol, Eutychius, Acutius, and Desiderius, at Puzzuoli (305)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  They were then condemned to be [[decapitation|beheaded]], along with Sossius.
The deacon [[Proculus of Pozzuoli]] and the laymen Eutyches and Acutius protested this sentence while the other men were being led to their execution. As a result, these three were also decapitated with the others near the Solfatara, on September 19, 305.<ref>[http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91924 Santi Procolo, Eutiche e Acuzio<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Veneration==
His remains were first preserved at [[Misenum]] (today [[Miseno]]). After the destruction of the town by the [[Saracens]], its population transferred to the newly founded town of [[Frattamaggiore]]. They brought the saint's [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] with them, making Sossius patron saint of the town; his relics, however, they left behind. The [[Benedictines]] recovered the relics from Miseno and preserved them at the convent of [[Santi Severino e Sossio, Naples]] in 910. [[John the Deacon (Neapolitan historian)|John the Deacon]] wrote a history of St. Januarius and his companions, in which as an eyewitness he describes the aforesaid transfer.<ref>''Acta Sanctorum'', September, VI, 874 sqq.; the text of the "Translatio" alone is found in Waitz, loc. cit., 459-63.</ref>
From here his veneration spread through various parts of Campania and Lazio, and even to Africa. Following the Napoleonic suppression of the convent, the remains were translated to Frattamaggiore where they are still preserved in the basilica dedicated to him.<ref name=Zullo />
A village in the province of Avellino was established in his name as San Sossio Baronia.
==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}
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[[Category:3rd-century births]]
[[Category:305 deaths]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian martyrs]]
[[Category:3rd-century Romans]]
[[Category:4th-century Romans]]
[[Category:Sosii]]
[[Category:Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian]]