Expeditus

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According to legend, Expeditus was a Roman commander in Armenia who became a Christian and was beheaded because of it by Eastern Roman Emperor Diocletian in 303.

While he is no longer recognized as a saint by Catholic authorities, he is still worshipped in some places, most notably Réunion Island.

Catholic worship

Some church authorities question however whether or not he actually existed saying that he may have been inadvertently invented by a group of nuns in Paris that received a shipment of relics labeled for "expedited" delivery. Nevertheless, in the past Saint Expeditus was often called upon by believers to settle overly long legal cases. His acta have not been reviewed and demoted by the Roman Catholic Church, but his feast is not widely celebrated.

His feast day in the Roman Catholic calendar is April 19.

Réunion Island

Expeditus, known locally as Saint Expédit, has a folk following on the French island of Réunion (in the Indian Ocean). Altars of Saint Expédit are built on the sides of roads. They can be as small as a box containing a small statue of the saint (represented as a Roman legionnaire), or as large as a small hut containing multiple statues, candles etc.; in all cases, they are painted bright red. Ex-votos thanking Saint Expédit for wishes are frequently found.

The worship of Saint Expédit takes the form of a syncretic cult, mixing unofficial Catholicism with other beliefs (from Madagascar or India). Saint Expédit seems like a simple recourse for many, mostly in the poorer classes of society. They go to Saint Expédit in order to ask for a divine favor: finding work, money... or some other less acknowledgeable needs. It is difficult to say how many do so, since the worship of Saint Expédit is socially shunned and people generally do not visit the altars in the open. However, the altars are widespread on the island and obviously well-tended.

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