Maximus of Rome 🇮🇹 was a wealthy merchant who lived in Asia Minor. When in the middle of the 3rd century, two young Christians Tiburce and Valérien were condemned to beheading for having offered Roman burials to Christian martyrs,
Maxime is responsible for taking them to their place of execution. Moved by their faith and their strong conviction, Maxime asks to be instructed. The two brothers then implore him to convince the executioners to postpone the execution until the next day and take them to his house where they introduce him to the Christian faith.
Valérien told him that if he promised to believe, he himself would see their glory after their death. “May I be consumed by lightning,” said Maxime, “if I do not confess this unique God whom you adore when what you say happens!” Maxime was baptized the same day by Urbain who came to join them in secret.
Maximus, then declaring himself a Christian, just like several other servants of Almachius and having propagated the faith, are held responsible for numerous conversions to the religion of Christ (notably his family and the executioners of Tiburce and Valerian who also received the baptism of Urban).
In fact, they were in turn sentenced to death. After the torture of the easel and the lead-lined whip, Maxime, who still did not want to recant, was put to death as a martyr by stoning. Other sources report that he was whipped to death. Saint Cecilia obtained the authorization rarely granted to Christians, to bury them (instead of burning them) in a tomb on the Appian Way and not in the catacombs, these underground cemeteries usually reserved for Christian martyrs.
According to the Act of Martyrs of the 5th century, without fully proven historical value, Cécile would have been the wife of Valérien and the sister-in-law of Tiburce. This legend became popular after being taken up by Geoffrey Chaucer. The story is then simplified and revised so as to become historically credible.
He is celebrated on April 14 at the same time as the two other saints associated with his history, Valerian and Tiburce.
