Saint Publius

Who was Saint Publius?

Saint Publius is a Roman Saint. He is venerated as the first Bishop of Malta. Publius' conversion led to Malta being the first Christian nation in the West, and one of the first in the world.

It was the same Publius who received the Apostle Paul during his shipwreck on the island as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul cured Publius' dysentery - afflicted father.

In fact apart from being the particular patron saint of the town of Floriana, Saint Publius is also one of the patron saints of Malta. He was martyred c. 125, during the persecution of Emperor Hadrian.

His feast is celebrated on January 21 in the Roman Catholic Church, which places him as the successor of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, dating his martyrdom to ca. 112 AD.

In the Orthodox Church however his feast day is observed on March 13, and according to an epistle of Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, he is placed as the successor of Saint Narcissus of Athens, dating his martyrdom to the period of the persecution under Marcus Aurelius.