Saint Serapion of Algiers

Serapion was born around 1179, according to tradition in England or Ireland, and fought as a soldier in the wars of the Reconquista in Spain. He then joined the Order of Our Lady of Mercy (the Mercedarians), founded by Saint Peter Nolasco to ransom Christians held captive in North Africa. On a mission to Algiers he stayed behind as a hostage so that others could go free, but the ransom money did not arrive in time. In 1240 he was put to death for his faith, and he is honored as the first martyr of the Mercedarian order.

Zurbarán's moving painting of the dead friar in his white habit hangs in the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. His cult was confirmed by Pope Benedict XIII in 1728.