Saints Faustinus and Jovita | Saint of the day

Saints Jovita and Faustinus were martyrs under Hadrian. Their traditional year of death is 120 A. D. Their common feast day on 15 February, the traditional date of their martyrdom, was inserted into the General Roman Calendar. "Jovita" in modern times is a woman's name. In some accounts the saints were instead Jovinus and Faustinus, brothers.

Tradition states that they were members of a noble family of Brescia in Lombardy, northern Italy. Jovinus, the older brother, was a preacher; Faustinus, a deacon. For their fearless preaching of the Gospel, they were arraigned before the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who at Brescia, Rome and Naples, subjected them to frightful torments, after which they were beheaded at Brescia. They are depicted as two knightly brothers holding the palms of martyrdom. Sometimes only Jovita is shown, richly dressed and on horseback; an angel may be shown saving them from drowning; sometimes shown with Faustinus of Brescia.

Though a lot of information related to them is of legendary nature, the two saints remain listed in the Roman Martyrology, the official list of the saints recognized by the Catholic Church. A lake partially in the town of Saint Leo, Florida, USA, has been called Lake Jovita since its discovery by Judge Edmund F. Dunne on 15 February 1882, their feast day. Modern tradition considers Faustine's day as the anti-Valentine's Day. This is why single people celebrate it on 15 February, a day after Valentine’s Day. These martyrs are patron saints of Brescia.