An early martyr named Sabinus was claimed by several Italian cities. One tradition from the fifth or sixth century said Sabinus was a bishop arrested with two deacons, Marcellus and Exsuperantius, during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. The governor of Etruria had the deacons scourged and racked when they made confessions of faith; both died from the tortures. The governor had Sabinus’s hands cut off when he would not worship a statue of Jupiter; Sabinus was taken back to prison where he healed a blind boy, other prisoners, and even the governor, who with his family became Christians and martyrs. Sabinus reportedly was executed at Spoleto and buried near there.
