When St. Peter was imprisoned in Rome, the prison guards who were assigned to his prison cell converted to Christianity and were baptized by him.
St. Peter had a way of touching people's lives in a unique way, often converting them to Christianity. This happened on multiple occasions, even when he was jailed.
According to various legends, when St. Peter was thrown into jail in Rome, two guards were assigned to his prison cell to ensure that he would not escape.
St. Peter had a history of escaping prison, though always in a divinely ordered fashion. One account can be found in the Acts of the Apostles, in which an angel appeared to him and led him out of prison (cf. Acts 12).
Imprisoned in Rome
When Peter was imprisoned in Rome, however, he was not to be rescued in the same way. Instead, God used the opportunity to bring the two prison guards who guarded him to the Christian faith.
Their names were Martinian and Processus, and with so much time spent with St. Peter (and possibly St. Paul), they wished to be baptized.
A legend says that water flowed from a rock in the prison so that St. Peter could baptize them.
According to the Butler’s Lives of the Saints, their faith was quickly tested by their fellow guards:
The officer in charge, Paulinu, tried to persuade Processus and Martinian from their new faith, and afterwards subjected them to cruel tortures when they would not offer incense on the altar of Jupiter.
Refusing to renounce their newfound Christian faith, the two guards were martyred and their relics were eventually buried in St. Peter's Basilica. Their memory is kept in the Roman Martyrology and their feast is on July 2 each year.
Their lives remind us how much a single person's encounter can change someone's life. If we live out our faith joyfully, others will be attracted to it.
