St. Vincent, Deacon Martyr

Born at Huesca, Spain, he became a deacon and served St. Valerius at Saragossa until their martyrdom at Valencia during the persecutions under Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305). St. Valerius was exiled, but Vincent was cruelly tortured because he would not surrender the holy books. While imprisoned, he was racked until his limbs became disjointed, then pressed between plates of heated metal and on the gridiron.  He converted the warden of the prison and then died. He was honored by Sts. Augustine, Pope Leo I, and Prudentius, and is considered the patron saint of vinedressers in some regions of Spain.  His feast is kept on January 22.