Sossius of Misenum

About Sossius of Misenum

The Roman Martyrology commemorates Sosius, deacon of Misenum, in Campania on September 23. It connects him with Januarius, bishop of Benevento, and gives a traditional account in which Januarius foresaw Sosius’s martyrdom after seeing a flame above him as he read the Gospel. The entry says Sosius and Januarius were beheaded. The Catholic Church in Norway reproduces this martyrology notice and identifies the same figure as Sosius of Misenum. These sources support Sossius’s remembered diaconal office, Campanian association, and place in the Januarius martyr tradition. They do not provide independent contemporary evidence for every detail in the narrative.In the received account, Sossius belongs to the group of Campanian martyrs associated with Januarius. The Norwegian Catholic reference lists their commemorations on separate dates: Januarius on September 19, Sosius on September 23, and other companions later in October. The name appears in Latin as Sosius and in modern Italian forms as Sossio or Sosso. The available sources do not establish a secure year of birth, age, or a precise date of execution, so the profile leaves those fields blank. Nor does it treat the vision narrative as independently verified. What can be stated responsibly is that the church’s martyrological tradition remembers him as a deacon of Misenum and martyr linked with Januarius.