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Bassa of Edessa
Christian saint
SaintFull write-upAncient RomePre-congregation
Feast: 21 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
260
Died
307
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Commemoration of the holy martyrs Bassa and her three sons Theognius, Agapius and Pistus: of them it is said that Bassa suffered martyrdom on the island of Alone, the others at Edessa in ancient Syria.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: she has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers her on 21 August as a martyr with her three sons.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 21 August (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q131290952 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.