Information concerning Expeditus is found in the Hieronymian Martyrology,[1] where he appears as one of six Roman soldiers said to have been executed at Melitene during the Diocletianic Persecution.

One states that it began when a package marked expedite (meaning 'be ready' or alternately 'loosen') arrived with unidentified relics or statues.

[4] Another version of the story takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana, which was strongly influenced by French Catholic culture through the colonial period.

This account says that Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel (New Orleans) received a large shipment of statues of various saints, and that one case lacked an identifying label.

The church has a statue of Expéditus, who still figures prominently in Louisiana Creole folklore and is revered through amulets, flowers, candles, and intercessory prayers.

In 1781 Pope Pius VI proclaimed him protector of merchants and seafarers,[6] There was a tradition that Expeditus could be called upon to help settle overly long legal cases.

It is said that local authorities initially rejected the idea, but the priests and the devout lady prayed to Expeditus, and in less than nine days they had the approval.

—Himno a San Expedito[9] A thousand hymns to glorious Expeditus, Who shed his blood in Armenia, Whose name was written in heaven, And gained the laurel of martyrdom.

Stories about the origin of his veneration follow the typical formula: a mysterious parcel marked with expedit arrived as an aid to instill pious virtues in the people.

Decapitated statues of the saint are often found, the defacement inflicted in anger for a request not carried out, or in order to break an existing curse.

In Réunion, the cult of Saint Expédit has been syncretic, associating him with goddess Kali,[12] with Roman Catholicism absorbing other beliefs from Madagascar or India.