Cassius and Castus
Cassius and Castus were two African bishop-martyrs, particularly venerated in Benevento, Calvi, Capua, Sora, Gaeta and other nearby towns in Campania and Lazio. Their feast day is 22 May, shared with Castus and Emilius.
Castus is held to have been Bishop of Calvi and Cassius Bishop of Sinuessa. They are mentioned in an ancient inscription found on the site of Calvi Risorta Co-Cathedral, which calls them martyrs, refers to their power to bring about miracles for the blind, lame and other illnesses and calls Castus "God's favourite".
Narrative
Their martyrology holds that the pagan priests feared Castus might destroy their religion and so accused him before Messalinus, Prefect of Campania. He ordered him beaten with rods and sticks near Acquaviva delle Fonti and then to be burned alive with Cassius. However, they both miraculously escaped from the flames, which Messalinus put down to magic and thus took them to a temple of Apollo, possibly to offer incense to the god. A crowd gathered there, but the temple collapsed, killing Messalinus and all of the crowd except Cassius and Castus. The two bishops were then taken to Sinuessa, stoned and finally thrust through with a sword. Castus' body was buried at Calvi Cathedral.
Cassius and Castus are depicted in Monreale [Cathedral mosaics|mosaics] in the Monreale Cathedral.