A first-century disciple personally greeted by Saint Paul in his Letter to the Romans, later remembered as bishop and martyr.

Saint Ampliatus is named directly in Scripture: Saint Paul greets him warmly in his Letter to the Romans, calling him ‘my beloved in the Lord.’ Later Christian tradition, beyond the biblical text itself, held that he went on to serve as a bishop and was eventually martyred, placing him among the company sometimes called the Seventy Disciples, though these later details rest on tradition rather than Scripture.

Quick Facts

• Died: 1st century, Greece
• Venerated as: Disciple of Saint Paul (Romans 16:8); later tradition holds Bishop and Martyr

Who Was Saint Ampliatus?

Saint Ampliatus appears by name in the New Testament itself: in the sixteenth chapter of his Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul sends personal greetings to a number of individual believers in the Roman church, including Ampliatus, addressing him with evident warmth as ‘my beloved in the Lord.’ This brief scriptural mention is the most secure fact known about him.

Historical Setting

The greetings in Romans 16 offer a rare, vivid glimpse of the actual, named individuals who made up the earliest Christian community in Rome, ordinary believers, some of them likely of servile or freedman background given their names, whom Paul knew personally and valued enough to mention by name in an official letter meant to be read aloud to the whole community.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Ampliatus

Ampliatus is remembered first and foremost for being personally known and valued by the Apostle Paul, a distinction that later Christian tradition expanded upon, holding that he became a bishop and ultimately gave his life as a martyr, extending the pattern of faithful service suggested by Paul’s own affectionate greeting.

Canonization and Feast Day

As a figure from the apostolic era, no formal canonization process applies to Ampliatus; his standing as a saint rests on his scriptural mention by Paul and the ancient tradition of the Church, which has honored him among the early disciples associated with the apostles’ own ministry.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Ampliatus’s entire secure record is a single warm greeting from Paul, yet the Church has treasured his memory for two thousand years, a reminder that being known and loved within a community of faith is itself a mark of real significance, whatever the world’s larger record does or does not preserve.

A Prayer to Saint Ampliatus

Saint Ampliatus, beloved friend of the Apostle Paul, pray for the bonds of friendship and encouragement within our own communities of faith. Help us to value and nurture the relationships that strengthen our life in Christ. Amen.

Sources

• Romans 16:8
• Roman Martyrology
• Butler’s Lives of the Saints, rev. ed.