Sveti Socerb
Feast: 24 May (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Saint Servolo (Servulo) is a Christian martyr venerated on 24 May. The hagiographic sources, though late and inconsistent, tell of a young Istrian hermit who went to Rome during the persecution of Diocletian and was martyred by beheading; legend also tells of a dragon he defeated, a symbol of faith triumphing over evil.
His veneration spread in Trieste from the 14th century onward, as shown by the apse mosaic in the cathedral of San Giusto and various later works of art; his relics are kept at Trieste and Venice, and his feast at Trieste on 24 May was once marked by a civic procession and a crossbow contest.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
Istrian hermit martyred by beheading in Rome under Diocletian, with a later legend of a defeated dragon; feast 24 May, especially venerated at Trieste.
- Santi, beati e testimoni (santiebeati.it) - San Servolo (Servulo), by Antonio Niero
- Wikidata Q12803754 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.