We don’t know a great deal about St. Expeditus. The legends around him are more abundant than verifiable facts. The story I like the most is the one most commonly depicted in his iconography. He’s dressed as a Roman soldier bearing a palm frond. At his feet are one or more crows. From the crows’ mouths comes a banderole with the word cras (Latin: “tomorrow”). Expeditus is usually depicted holding a cross inscribed with the Latin word hodie (Latin: “today”).
As tradition would have it, upon being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, this centurion decided to convert to the Church. As he was on his way to the church, the devil (the prince of procrastinators) took the form of a murder of crows intent on delaying the soldier’s plans. They cried aloud in Latin, Cras! Cras! (Latin: “Tomorrow! Tomorrow!”) mimicking the crow’s natural “caw.” But Expeditus, not having a great deal of patience that day, stomped upon the mocking crows, ending their miserable lives, shouting, Christianus ero, hodie! (Latin: “I will be a Christian today!”)
I’m often mocked by crows and having been thusly treated, I have no doubt they can be ministers and familiars of infernal powers and thus I wholeheartedly believe the story. There’s a reason a group of crows is referred to as a “murder.”
