Longinus

Feast: October 16th 🗓️

Saint Longinus is the name given to a character in the Gospel who may be two different people. The first is the Roman soldier who pierces Jesus’ side to hurry his death in John 19:32-34. The second is the commander who witnesses miracles upon Jesus’ death and insists “Truly this man was God’s Son!” in Matthew 27:54 and Mark 15:39.

Tradition suggests that he had a visual impairment that was cured when Jesus’ blood touched his eyes and that, after the crucifixion, he became a hermit and was martyred. His name comes from the spear he used to pierce Jesus’ side, a weapon of war rather than regular equipment a soldier would carry on routine duty in a province like Judea. The Greek word λόγχη was Latinized to lonche, and his name appears in the earliest crucifixion scene in an illuminated manuscript as LOGINOS.