Saint Expeditus

Also known as
Saint Expedite
Saint Expedito
Saint Expédit
Saint Espedito
Saint Espedite
Saint Espedit
Saint Espeditus
Saint Elpidius

Memorial
19 April

Profile
Possibly legendary. Unclear whether his name led to his association with expeditious matters, or the other way around. This association led to his becoming the patron of people who had to deliver things on time.

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage
against procrastination
expeditious solutions
merchants
navigators
prompt solutions

Representation
young Roman soldier holding aloft a cross
young Roman soldier holding aloft a banner with the word "hodie"
Patron Saint of the Republic of Molossia

Expeditus was possibly born in Armenia, at an unknown date. He was a Christian martyr, but not much else is known about him. A Parisian convent received a package from Rome containing a statue and relics of a saint, but they were unsure to whom the Holy Remains belonged. The package in which it came was marked “spedito” or “special delivery,” which in Latin translates to Expeditus. Whether the relics belong to the poor Armenian martyr or the good sisters had just been duped by an ironic play on words will never really be known. The controversial statue now resides in New Orleans, and the saint's name is regularly mentioned with gratitude in the personal column of the local paper, alongside St Jude.

As well as being the patron saint of the Republic of Molossia, St. Expeditus is also the patron of emergencies and solutions. He is traditionally depicted as a Roman soldier, holding a palm leaf in his left hand, and raising a cross with the word "Hodie" (today) on it. His right foot is stepping on a raven, which is speaking the word "Cras" (tomorrow).

St. Expeditus is related to the Voodoo Culture of New Orleans, as a Loa, or Voodoo "saint" invoked for speedy solutions. In addition, St. Expeditus is a cult figure on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, where blood-red shrines populate the countryside, decorated with candles and, occasionally, underwear.

There is a saint Expeditus recorded in the Roman Martyrology for today included with Hermogenes and Companions (Hermogenes, Caius, Expeditus, Aristonicus, Rufus, and Galata were Armenian martyrs believed to have died at Melitene (Benedictines). ); however, the cultus of Saint Expeditus didn't develop until very late and was probably based on a play of words: expedito means "expeditiously" so this saint is invoked in moments of urgency. Sheppard (1969) claims that the name arose due to a copyist's error when, in the 19th century, a box of relics was sent to nuns in Paris marked `spedito' (sent off) and taken as a name. This story is probably untrue because Expeditus was already invoked in the 18th century in Germany and Sicily in cases of pressing emergency (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Sheppard).