Legend of St. Expeditus

According to legend, St. Expeditus was a Roman Centurion in Armenia. However, it is widely questioned whether or not he actually existed. Expeditus apparently became a Christian and was beheaded during the Diocletian Persecution in the year 303.


The most widely held legend was that on the day he decided to become a Christian, the Devil took the form of a crow who told him to defer his conversion on the next day. Legend has it that Expeditus stomped on the bird and killed it, declaring, "I'll be a Christian today!"

Stories also circulated about the saint's origin, saying this began when a package marked expedite arrived with unidentified relics or statues. The recipients assumed that the relics belonged to a Saint Expeditus, and so veneration began.

The nuns assumed that "Expedite" was the name of a martyr, prayed for his intercession, and when their prayers were answered, veneration spread rapidly through France and on to other Catholic countries.

Another version of the story was in New Orleans. It was said that the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe received a large shipment of various saint statues. One of the cases did not have an identifying label but bore the words Expedite or Expédit in French. The residents assumed that must be the saint's name. Today, St. Expédit still figures prominently and is revered through amulets, flowers, candles and intercession prayers.