Expeditus was probably born in Armenia. He was a Christian martyr. The name "Expeditus" has evoked puns, so he has become the saint of rapidity. At first, he was invoked for urgent causes; he has since become the patron of dealers, sailors, students, and examinees; he is also implored for success in lawsuits. Given that "Expeditus" is Latin for a soldier without marching pack, i.e. a soldier with light equipment, this saint may be an anonymous individual known by his "profession". His cult was already developed in Turin in the middle Ages. According to tradition, St. Expeditus was a Roman centurion in Armenia who became a Christian and was beheaded during the Diocletian Persecution in 303 A.D. The day he decided to become a Christian, the Devil took the form of a crow (a snake in some versions of the legend) and told him to defer his conversion until the next day, but Expeditus stamped on the bird and killed it, declaring, "I'll be a Christian today!" Many stories circulated about the saint's origin say the cultus of Expeditus began when a package marked expedite (meaning 'be ready' or alternately 'loosen') arrived with unidentified relics or statues. The recipients assumed that the statuary or relics belonged to a Saint Expeditus, and so veneration began. One of these stories is set in 1781, when a case containing the relics of a saint who was formerly buried in the Denfert-Rochereau catacombs of Paris arrived at a convent in the city. The senders had written expedite on the case, to ensure fast delivery of the remains. The nuns assumed that "Expedite" was the name of a martyr, prayed for his intercession, and when their prayers were answered, veneration spread rapidly through France and on to other Roman Catholic countries.
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