Algeria / Cyprian of Carthage, 190–258, Feast Day: September 16

Known as “the African Pope,” Cyprian did not convert to Christianity until the age of fifty. After living so long as a wealthy dissolute, he began to devote his life to chastity, obedience, and poverty. He was extremely popular throughout northern Africa and was proclaimed bishop one year after becoming a priest. His writings did much to shape the early Church. He was martyred by the Romans in his own villa.
Other patronages: North Africa

Invoked: against plague