Algerius was a young man of Naples, so he was raised amidst Catholicism.  While in school he was befriended by another student who spoke of a personal knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ.  He spoke boldly of his faith, stirring a desire in Algerius to study the Bible.  In time, he also came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, leading his parents to faith as well.  Meeting with a few other believers, he determined that he needed believers’ baptism.  That drew the attention of the Roman establishment.  The young man was arrested and put before the priests in an effort to restore him to Catholicism.  He was even transported to Rome to stand before Pope Paul IV.  Without any awe toward the Pontiff and no recantation of the truth, it was determined that Algerius must die.  Prior to his execution by fire, on this day in 1557, the young man wrote a letter that survived his death.  He wrote: “Here on earth I have no continuing city or place of rest.  My home and country are in heaven.  I seek the new city of Jerusalem which I see before me, which comes to meet me.  In fact, I am already on the way to it.  There is my sweet home, my riches, my parents, and my friends, pleasure and my honor.”
– Source: “This Day in Baptist History III,”  Cummins