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SOME   OPINIONS   OF   THE   PKESS 
ON   THE   FIRST   VOLUME 

From  the  "Guardian" 

"Miss  Dunbar  has  accomplished  in  this  first  volume  a  really 
valuable  portion  of  a  most  useful  task.  With  the  help  of  the  '  Acta 
Sanctorum'  and  a  very  considerable  knowledge  of  later  work,  she 
has  compiled  an  excellent  summary  of  a  vast  number  of  lives  of 
female  saints.  Her  survey  extends  over  the  whole  Church  prior  to 
the  severance  of  East  and  West,  the  Western  Church  as  a  whole  up 
to  the  Reformation,  and  the  Roman  Church  afterwards.  So  far  as 
we  have  been  able  to  test  the  book,  it  is  very  well  done,  and  from  the 
best  authorities." 

From  the  "Church  Times" 

"  The  present  compiler  has  gone  to  the  best  sources.  .  .  .  Un 
questionably,  it  will  be  found  to  be  an  exceedingly  useful  book  of 
reference." 

From  the  "Catholic  Times" 

"  The  authoress  of  this  book  undertook  a  work  which  demanded 
ability  and  discrimination.  In  performing  it  she  has  displayed  both. 
.  .  .  The  biographical  sketches  are  well  written,  and  the  dictionary 
will  be  valuable  both  as  a  work  for  pious  use,  and  a  book  of  reference." 

From  the  "Expository  Times  " 

"  It  is  a  work  of  intense  human  interest,  and  at  the  same  time  of 
real  scientific  value.  The  best  authorities  have  been  used,  and  they 
have  been  used  in  the  best  way,  the  utmost  care  being  taken  to  have 
all  the  references  exact,  and  at  the  same  time  to  let  these  holy  women 
speak  and  act  in  their  own  tongue  and  in  their  own  time.  This  is 
the  way  in  which  short  dictionaries  should  be  written.  Every  article 
should  be  made  to  touch  some  human  sympathy,  every  date  as  exact 
as  pains  and  patience  can  make  it." 

From  the  "Tablet9' 

"This  work  is  a  useful  collection  of  interesting  lives  of  holy 
women  .  .  .  who  in  all  ages  of  the  Christian  era  have  illustrated 
God's  Church.  .  .  .  Much  historical  information  concerning  the 
Middles  Ages  will  be  found  in  the  lives  of  saints  of  that  period." 


A  DICTIONARY 


OF 


SAINTLY    WOMEN 


GEORGE  BELL  AND  SONS 
LONDON:  PORTUGAL  ST.,  LINCOLN'S  INN 
CAMBRIDGE  :  DEIGHTON,  BELL  &  CO. 
NEW  YORK  I  THE  MACMILLAN  CO. 
BOMBAY  :  A.  H.  AVHEELER  &  CO. 


A    DICTIONARY 


OF 


SAINTLY    WOMEN 


BY 


AGNES   B.   C.   DUNBAR 


IN    TWO    VOLUMES 


VOLUME    II 


LONDON 

GEORGE    BELL    &    SONS 

YORK  HOUSE,    PORTUGAL  STREET,    LINCOLN'S   INN,   W.C. 

1905 


• 


I  \  Jc 


ABBKEVIATIONS 

AA.SS.         .        .        .        .        .  Acta  Sanctorum. 

A.R.M.         .        .        .        .        .  Appendix  to  Roman  Martyrology. 

B Blessed. 

c. circa. 

M Martyr,  martyred. 

Mart Martyrology. 

O.S.A.  .        .        .        .        .        .  Order  of  St.  Augustine. 

O.S.B Order  of  St.  Benedict. 

O.S.D.  .        .        .  •     .        .  Order  of  St    Dominic. 

O.S.F. .  ...  Order  of  St.  Francis. 

Praeter Prtetermissi. 

R.M Roman  Martyrology. 

Ven.     .        .        .        .        .        .  Venerable. 

V.        ......  Virgin. 

+          .        .  Died. 


ERRATA 

Madrun  :  for  "  JEGIWG,"  read  "  TEGIWG." 
Margaret  (8)  :  for  "  Zealand,"  read  "  Sealand." 
Syncletica  (4)  :  for  "  PERPETUA  (6),"  read  "  PERPETUA  (8). 
Victoria  (5)  :  for  "  18,"  read  "  23." 
Victoria  (19) :  for  "  19,"  read  "  24." 
Victoria  (20) :  for  "  20,"  read  "  25." 


A  DICTIONARY  OF  SAINTLY  WOMEN 


St.  Mabe.  A  church  and  village  in 
Cornwall  are  called  by  this  name.  Pro 
bably  same  as  Mabena. 

St.  Mabel  or  Mabille,  ISABEL  or 
ELISABETH.  Cahier. 

St.  Mabena,  MABINA  or  MABY  is 
represented  on  a  window  in  St.  German's 
church,  in  Cornwall,  having  on  her  lap 
a  dead  Christ  crowned  with  thorns 
(Whitaker,  Life  of  St.  Neot).  Daughter 
of  Brychan  (Smith  and  Wace).  (See 
ALMHEDA.) 

St.  Macaona  or  MACHAONIA,  Dec.  15, 
M.  Guerin. 

St.  Macaria ( 1 )  or  MACARIUS,  April  8, 
M.  with  SS.  MAXIMA  (3)  and  Januarius,  at 
Carthage.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Macaria  (2),  April  6,  M.  at 
Alexandria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Macaria(3)  or  MADIARIA,  April  7, 
M.  with  ST.  MAXIMA  at  Antioch.  AA.SS. 

St.  Macaria  (4)  or  MARCIA,  April  14, 
M.  at  Terano  in  Umbria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Machaonia,  MACAONA. 

St.  Maches,  M.  First  half  of  the 
6th  century.  Daughter  of  St.  Gwynllyw 
and  sister  of  St.  Cattwg  and  several  other 
saints.  St.  Maches  gave  alms  to  all  who 
asked,  and  was  stabbed  by  a  heathen 
Saxon  who  came  to  her  begging,  at  a 
place  called  afterwards  Merthyr  Maches 
or  Llanfaches  in  Monmouthshire.  Rees. 

St.  Macra,  Jan.  (5  (MAGRA,  MAKER), 
V.  M.  c.  303,  at  Times,  near  Eheims. 
Patron  of  Fimes.  Rictiovarus  was  sent 
by  Diocletian  and  Maximian  to  put 
down  Christianity  in  Gaul.  In  this 
persecution  Macra  was  stretched  over 
burning  coals,  and  so  died.  ELENARA  (1) 

VOL.  n. 


and  SPONSARIA  were  her  companions. 
Roman,  German  and  Gallican  Martyr- 
ologies.  AA.SS.  Tillemont. 
.  St.  Macrina  (1),  Jan.  14,  +  c.  340. 
Grandmother  of  SS.  MACRINA  (2),  Basil 
the  Great,  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  and  Peter 
of  Sebaste.  Mother  of  St.  Basil  who 
married  St.  EMILY  (1).  Macrina  was 
born  at  NeocsBsarea  in  Pontus,  soon 
after  the  death  of  its  famous  bishop 
St.  Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  and  she  was 
brought  up  to  venerate  his  memory  and 
follow  his  precepts.  She  married  a 
Christian  of  good  family  and  consider 
able  property  in  Pontus  and  Cappadocia. 
During  the  persecution  under  Galerius 
and  Maxirnianus  they  were  compelled  to 
leave  their  home  and  conceal  themselves 
with  a  few  devoted  servants  in  a  forest 
on  the  mountains  of  Pontus.  Here  they 
lived  for  seven  years  in  great  privation, 
sometimes  only  saved  from  starvation  by 
the  timely  appearance  of  stags  and  the 
miraculous  ease  with  which  they  were 
enabled  to  catch  these  wild  animals. 
They  returned  home  in  311,  but  when 
persecution  was  renewed,  their  possessions 
were  confiscated  and  they  suffered  great 
distress.  They,  however,  regained  part 
of  their  property  and,  after  her  husband's 
death,  Macrina  lived  in  her  own  country 
house  at  Annesi  on  the  Iris,  and  brought 
up  her  grandson  St.  Basil  the  Great. 
She  is  spoken  of  with  praise  in  the  writ 
ings  of  her  famous  grandsons  and  in  the 
history  of  Macrina  (2).  EM.  Baillet. 
Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Macrina  (2),  July  19,  c.  327- 
379.     Granddaughter   of    MACRINA   (1). 


ST.   MACRONE 


Eldest  daughter  of  SS.  Basil  and 
EMILY  (1).  Sister  of  SS.  Basil  the 
Great,  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  and  Peter  of 
Sebaste.  She  was  born  at  Caesarea  in 
Cappadocia  ;  she  was  very  carefully 
brought  up  by  St.  Emily,  and  before  she 
was  twelve  years  old  she  knew  all  the 
Psalms  by  heart,  besides  other  portions 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  As  she  was 
rich  and  remarkably  beautiful,  she  had 
many  suitors  and  her  father  betrothed 
her  to  a  young  man  of  distinction ;  but 
he  died  and  she  chose  to  remain  single 
and  lead  a  life  of  devotion  with  her 
mother,  working  with  her  hands  that 
she  might  have  the  more  to  give  to  the 
poor.  She  exercised  a  powerful  and  salu 
tary  influence  over  her  family.  On  her 
father's  death  she  relieved  her  mother  of 
all  care  and  trouble,  managing  the  estate  % 
and  settling  her  four  sisters  in  suitable 
marriages.  In  357  she  shared  to  the 
full  her  mother's  grief  for  the  death  of 
Naucratius  and  comforted  her  with  her 
sympathy  and  courage.  (See  EMILY  (1).) 
She  brought  up  her  youngest  brother, 
St.  Peter  of  Sebaste,  who  was  born  after 
his  father's  death.  She  avoided  teaching 
him  profane  knowledge  useless  to  his 
salvation,  and  so  regulated  all  his  time 
that  he  had  no  leisure  for  vain  or  puerile 
occupations.  He  grew  up  wise  and 
saintly  and  in  379  was  found  worthy 
to  succeed  his  brother,  St.  Basil-  the 
Great,  in  the  government  of  the  monas 
tery  founded  by  their  mother,  St.  Emily. 
Macrina  ruled  the  sister  house,  instituted 
at  the  same  time  for  women.  A  few 
months  after  the  death  of  her  brother 
Basil  she  fell  ill.  St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa, 
who  had  been  absent  eight  years,  arrived 
to  pay  her  a  visit  and  found  her  in  a 
raging  fever,  lying  on  two  boards  on  the 
ground.  Although  she  was  at  the  point 
of  death,  they  had  a  long  conversation 
concerning  their  lately  deceased  brother 
Basil,  the  future  life,  the  resurrection, 
and  the  purifying  by  fire  after  death. 
She  thanked  God  for  His  many  mercies 
to  her,  and  that  amid  her  greatest 
poverty  she  had  never  been  compelled 
to  refuse  any  one  who  begged  of  her,  nor 
to  beg  of  others  for  herself.  She  died 
that  night  and  they  found  that  she  had 
a  band  round  her  neck  from  which  hung 


a  cross  and  a  ring.  Gregory  gave  the 
cross  to  Vestina,  one  of  the  nuns,  but 
the  ring,  which  contained  a  little  piece 
of  the  cross  of  Christ,  he  kept  for  him 
self.  Such  was  the  poverty  of  the  house, 
that  nothing  could  be  found  to  cover  the 
corpse  of  its  mistress  on  the  way  to  the 
grave  ;  her  saintly  brother  spread  his 
episcopal  mantle  over  it.  R.M.  Butler. 
Baillet,  "  St.  Peter  of  Sebaste."  Smith 
and  Wace. 

There  is  a  church  dedicated  to  St. 
Macrina  at  Hassakeni,  one  of  the  curious 
subterranean  villages  in  Cappadocia.  The 
local  tradition  is  that  she  came  there 
with  ten  virgins  from  Caesarea  and 
lived  in  one  of  the  rock-hewn  houses 
with  which  the  ground  is  riddled ;  they 
are  of  great  antiquity,  most  of  them 
are  Christian,  but  some  are  older  still. 
Each  of  the  little  hovels  above  ground 
has  subterranean  rooms  under  it,  the 
passage  to  which  is  closed  by  a  cheese- 
shaped  stone  that  can  only  be  opened 
from  inside.  The  Athenseum,  Aug.  5, 
1882. 

St.  Macrone,  March  15,  M.  at 
Thessalonica,  beaten  to  death.  Mart. 
of  Salisbury. 

St.  Mactaflede,  March  13,  7th  cen 
tury  (MACTEFLEDIS,  MADEFLEDE,  MAGDE- 
FLEDE,  MAGDEFREDE,  in  French  MAFLEE), 
first  abbess  of  Habend.  About  620  St. 
Eomaric  and  St.  Amatus  (Sept.  13) 
founded  a  double  monastery  on  the  hill 
of  Habend  in  the  Vosges.  They  chose 
Macteflede,  a  woman  of  great  sanctity, 
to  preside  over  the  nuns,  in  seven  bands 
of  twelve  each  ;  they  were  to  succeed 
each  other  in  singing  psalms  without 
cessation  day  and  night.  She  ruled  for 
two  years  and  was  succeeded  by  GEGO- 
BERGA,  daughter  of  Komaric.  The  com 
munity  was  at  first  under  the  Columban 
rule  and  afterwards  adopted  that  of  St. 
Benedict.  The  monastery  was  destroyed 
by  Huns  in  the  10th  century  and  rebuilt, 
for  nuns  only,  by  the  Emperor  Louis  III., 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  where 
it  became  the  nucleus  of  the  town  of 
Remiremont.  The  nuns  gave  place  to 
canonesses  before  the  final  suppression 
of  the  establishment.  AA.SS.  O.S.B., 
"  SS.  Amatus  and  Komaric."  Bouquet. 
Mactaflede  is  called  Saint  by  Saussaye 


B.   MAFALDA 


and  in  several  calendars  but  her  worship 
is  not  certain. 

St.  Maddalena,  Madeleine  or 
Madeline,  MAGDALKM:. 

St.  Madelbert,  Sept.  •  7,  +  c.  705 
(MADUBERT,  MAGDELBERTA,  MALDEBERTA, 
MAUBERTE),  succeeded  her  sister  ADEL- 
TRUDE  (1)  as  third  abbess  of  Maubeuge, 
about  604.  Daughter  of  B.  Vincent  and 
WALTRUDE.  She  was  brought  up  by  her 
aunt  ALDEGUNDIS  (2).  AA.SS.  Butler. 

St.  Madeleine,  MAGDALENE. 

St.  Madeltrude,  ADELTRUDE(!) 

St.  Maderasma,  MEDRYSIMK. 

St.  Madern,  MADRON. 

St.  Madiaria,  MACARIA  (3). 

St.  Madila  or  MADLA,  MLADA. 

St.  Madilama,  Sept.  17,  V.  M. 
Mentioned  in  the  Alexandrine-Ethiopian 
Calendar  and  Coptic  Menology.  AA.SS. 
Neale. 

St.  Madron  or  MADERNE,  perhaps 
MADRUN.  A  very  ancient  Cornish  saint, 
whose  well  in  Cornwall,  though  very 
cold,  was,  according  to  tradition,  boiling 
hot  to  the  hand  of  a  traitor.  Sick  chil 
dren  are  taken  to  this  well  on  the  first 
Sunday  in  May  and  rags  are  tied  to 
the  surrounding  bushes  as  offerings. 
C.  F.  Gordon  Gumming.  Blight,  Cornish 
Crosses. 

St.  Madrona  or  MATRONA,  patron 
of  Badajos.  Cahier. 

St.  Madrun,  +  c.  500,  daughter  of 
Gwrthefyr  or  Vortimer.  She  married 
Ynyr  Gwent,  a  Welsh  chieftain  and 
saint.  They  had  a  daughter  ST.  TEGIWG 
and  sons  SS.  Cedro  and  Cynheiddion. 
With  the  assistance  of  Auhun,  her  maid, 
Madrun  founded  the  church  of  Traws- 
fynydd,  Merionethshire.  Rees.  She  is 
perhaps  the  same  as  MATERIANA  and 
MADRON. 

St.  Madruyna,  Sept.^5,  -f  006  or 
086,  abbess  of  the  Benedictine  convent 
of  St.  Peter,  at  Barcelona.  She  was 
carried  captive  by  the  Moors,  to  the 
island  of  Majorca.  A  certain  merchant 
planned  her  escape,  and  on  the  appointed 
day,  she  left  her  master's  house  and 
arrived  safely  in  the  merchant's  ship. 
The  Moor,  however,  soon  discovered 
that  she  was  gone,  and  guessed  whither ; 
so  he  went  to  search  the  ship.  When 
the  merchant  heard  him  coming,  he  hid 


the  abbess  in  a  sack  of  wool.  The  Moor 
suspecting  this  ruse,  ran  his  dagger 
through  every  sack  and  pierced  Ma 
druyna  with  three  or  four  wounds,  which 
she  bore  in  brave  silence ;  so  her  master 
went  away  baffled.  On  her  return  to 
Barcelona,  she  refused  to  resume  the 
dignity  and  duties  of  abbess  that  she 
might  have  leisure  to  prepare  for  her 
death,  which  occurred  very  soon  after, 
from  the  wounds  she  had  received  in  the 
ship.  She  was  regarded  as  -a  martyr 
and  buried  with  great  honour  in  the 
church,  and  afterwards  translated  to 
another  tomb  where  she  wrought  miracles. 
She  is  called  "Saint"  by  some  Benedic 
tine  and  Spanish  writers,  but  it  seems 
uncertain  whether  her  worship  is  sanc 
tioned  by  due  authority.  AA.SS. 
Hi  St.  Madubert,  MADELBERT. 

B.  Mafalda,  or  MALDA,  May  2,  -f 
1252.  Daughter  of  Sancho  and  Dulcia, 
king  and  queen  of  Portugal.  Sister  of 
SS.  THERESA  (5)  and  SANCHA.  Their 
brother  Alfonso  II.  was  envious  of  the 
fortunes  left  to  his  sisters  and  tried  to 
take  their  property  for  himself.  As 
Mafalda  was  his  favourite,  he  .increased 
her  portion  and  promoted  her  marriage 
to  Henry  I.  king  of  Castile  (1214-1217). 
The  ceremony  was  performed  at  Palentia 
or  at  Medina  del  Campo.  The  bride 
scarcely  arrived  in  Spain  when  the  Pope 
declared  the  marriage  null  on  account 
of  consanguinity.  She  resolved  to  be  a 
nun,  and  on  her  return  home,  obtained 
from  her  brother  a  ruined  monastery 
which  had  been  built  at  Arouca  in  the 
eleventh  century.  She  restored  the  house, 
established  in  it  a  convent  of  Cistercian 
nuns  and  herself  became  a  nun  under 
the  worthy  Eldrada,  its  first  abbess. 
Mafalda  kept  part  of  her  fortune  and 
built  the  monastery  of  Abraga,  a  bridge 
near  it  called  For  Dios,  another  bridge 
at  Canaves,  and  other  religious  and 
beneficent  institutions.  She  made  fre 
quent  visits  to  an  image  of  the  B.  V. 
MARY  in  the  cathedral  at  Porto.  Once, 
on  her  way  back,  she  was  seized  with 
fever,  near  Amaranth,  and  could  go  no 
further.  Knowing  that  death  was  ap 
proaching,  she  ordered  her  body  to  be 
put  on  a  mule  and  buried  wherever  the 
mule  stopped.  The  mule  went  to  Arouca, 


ST.   MAFLEE 


entered  the  church,  kneeled  down  before 
the  altar  of  St.  Peter,  laid  down  the 
precious  burden  and  died.  By  her  own 
wish,  she  was  buried  in  her  cilicium 
with  no  other  covering  except  a  thick 
layer  of  ashes.  She  was  soon  afterwards 
seen  in  glory  by  the  nuns;  and  when 
the  house  took  fire,  she  appeared  among 
the  flames  and  saved  the  church  and 
infirmary  from  destruction.  Other 
miracles  attested  her  holiness.  A.A.88., 
Appendix.  Bucelinus.  Henriquez,  Lilia. 
Ferrarius. 

St.  Maflee,  MACTAFLEDE.     Baillet. 
St.  Magdalene  (1),  MARY  MAGDA 
LENE. 

B.  Magdalene  (2)  of  Como,  May  13, 
+  1465,  O.S.A.  Abbess  of  Brunate. 
Daughter  of  the  chief  magistrate  of 
Como,  Niccolo  or  Livio  Albrizzi.  This 
ancient  and  influential  family  had  for 
their  device,  a  gate  and  a  lion,  the  branch 
to  which  Magdalene  belonged  added  to 
this  a  wheel  in  token  of  their  special 
devotion  to  CATHERINE  (1).  Her  parents, 
Niccolo  and  Margarita,  rejoiced  to  see 
early  proofs  of  devotion  and  conscien 
tiousness.^  their  child.  In  1409,  while 
she  was  still  a  very  young  girl,  a  famine 
desolated  the  city  and  neighbourhood  of 
Como;  numbers  of  beggars,  emaciated 
by  starvation  and  disease,  wandered 
through  the  streets  helplessly  parading 
their  rags  and  dirt.  Magdalene's  chari 
table  heart  was  deeply  touched  by  their 
distress.  One  day  while  her  father  was 
out  she  called  in  one  of  the  beggars  and 
with  his  assistance  distributed  amongst 
a  number  of  these  wretched  creatures  a 
great  chest  full  of  beans.  Presently 
Niccolo  came  home  and  informed  his 
daughter  that  he  had  just  sold  the  beans 
for  a  large  sum  of  money.  Magdalene 
felt  sure  he  would  be  very  angry  when 
he  found  that  they  were  no  longer  there, 
and  the  discovery  could  not  be  delayed 
as  the  purchaser  was  expected  immedi 
ately.  It  was  a  common  thing  for  fathers 
to  be  very  violent  with  their  children. 
The  girl  was  terrified.  In  her  distress 
she  began  to  pray  aloud.  Niccolo  hear 
ing  but  scarcely  understanding  what  she 
said,  ran  to  the  chest  and  found  it  brimful 
of  beans. 

When  her  parents  were  dead,  Magda 


lene,  with  the  approbation  of  her  Con 
fessor,   decided  to  take  the  veil  in  the 
convent   of  St.    Margaret,    outside    the 
walls  of  Como.     It  had  long  been  ren 
dered    famous    by  the    sanctity  of  two 
noble  sisters,  LIBERATA  (5)  and  FAUSTINA 
(13).     Magdalene  turned  her  steps  to 
wards  this  convent,  intending  to  ask  for 
admittance  there.     On  the  way  a  myste 
rious  voice  called  her  by  name  and  bade 
her  go  instead  to  Brunate,  a  little  place 
on  a  hill  not  far  from  Como,  honoured 
as  the  resort  of  two  famous  bishops  who 
had  become  hermits   there.     Uncertain 
of  its  origin,  Magdalene  did   not  obey 
this  call;  but   when  it  was  repeated  a 
second  and  a  third  time,  she    acknow 
ledged   it   as    a   divine   command,    and 
entered  the  cloister   of  St.   Andrew  at 
Brunate.     Here  she  soon  became  abbess 
and  the  fame  of  her  holiness  attracted 
devout  women  to  her  community.    With 
the  help  of  Blanche,  duchess  of  Milan, 
she    succeeded   in   having   her   convent 
placed  under  the  rule  of  the  Hermits  of 
St.  Augustine,  and  this  arrangement  was 
confirmed  by  a  bull  of  Nicholas  IV.  in 
1448.     The   community  was  extremely 
poor,  so  that  the  nuns  were  sometimes 
obliged  to  beg  in  Como ;  and  sometimes 
in  bad  weather  they  had  to  stay  all  night 
in  the  houses  of  charitable  persons  there. 
To  avoid  this  inconvenience,  Magdalene 
had  a  branch  house  built  in  Como,  to 
which  a  few  of  the  nuns  removed  while 
she  remained  at  Brunate  with  the  ma 
jority.     One  day  the  cellarer  told  her  it 
was  dinner  time  and  there  was  no  bread 
in  the  house.     Magdalene   who  always 
had     unbounded    trust    in    God,    said, 
"Never   mind,   call   the    sisters  to  the 
table."      No   sooner   were   they   seated 
than  the  porteress  entered  with  a  great 
basket  full  of  the  very  best  bread.     She 
said  she  heard  a  knock  at  the  door,  and 
found  this  basket  on  the  step.     Another 
time  they  suffered  dreadfully  from  heat 
and  drought.     The  wells  were  dry  and 
the  trees  and  plants  were  withered  for 
want  of  rain.     One  of  the  nuns  came  to 
Magdalene  and  said  her  thirst  was  almost 
beyond  endurance.     Magdalene  took  her 
into  the  garden.    There  they  knelt  down 
and  the  abbess  prayed  that  God  would 
lighten  their  sufferings.     They  looked 


ST.  MAGIRDEN 


up  and  saw  a  crowd  of  beautiful  juicy 
cherries  on  the  trees,  which  a  short  time 
ago  had  nothing  but  blackened  twigs  to 
show.  Magdalene  miraculously  con 
verted  a  relation  of  her  own  from  a 
criminal  life  to  one  of  penitential  de 
votion.  Many  other  miracles  are  told  of 
her.  She  bore  a  long  and  painful  ill 
ness  with  great  fortitude.  Immediately 
after  her  death  she  was  honoured  as 
a  saint,  and  when  the  nuns  moved  to 
another  house  they  carried  her  body 
with  them  as  a  sacred  treasure.  AA.SS. 
Torelli,  Saints  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augus 
tine.  Stadler. 

B.  Magdalene  (3),  Oct.  14,  13,  V., 
3rd  O.S.F.,  -f- 1503  or  1505.  Maddalena 
Panateri  was  born  at  Tridino,  a  town  of 
Montisferrato ;  her  mother  was  of  the 
family  of  Fondazucchi.  She  was  beau 
tiful,  clever,  well  brought  up.  She  early 
set  before  herself  the  example  of  ST. 
CATHERINE  OF  SIENA.  Her  asceticism 
was  great.  She  was  often  translated  in 
spirit  to  Jerusalem  and  other  holy  places. 
She  had  the  gift  of  prophecy  and  was 
favoured  with  many  visions  of  Christ 
and  the  saints.  She  twice  saved  the 
life  of  her  brother  Benino  by  super 
natural  means.  In  1827  her  immemorial 
worship  was  confirmed  by  the  Congrega 
tion  of  Rites  and  her  name  was  inserted 
in  the  Dominican  Martyrology.  A.R.M. 
AA.SS.,  Oct.  14,  supplement.  Marchesi, 
Diario  Sacro  Dominicano.  Diario  di 
Roma,  Sept.  28, 1827.  Tia,zzi,Predicatori. 
B.  Magdalene  (4)  Mundo,  Oct.  5, 
V.  M.  1613,  at  Arima  in  Japan.  At  the 
time  of  the  beatification  of  MARY  MAG 
DALENE  DEI  PAZZI,  Pope  Urban  VIII. 
sent  to  the  Carmelites  of  Florence,  a 
cross  containing  relics  of  Magdalene 
Mundo,  whom  he  called  "  the  Blessed 
Mary  Magdalen,  Virgin  of  Japan."  She 
was  the  daughter  of  a  Christian  gentle 
man,  named  Adrian  Facafati  Mundo  and 
Jane  his  wife.  Magdalen  was  twenty 
years  old  and  had  made  a  vow  of  vir 
ginity,  when  she  was  condemned  to 
death,  with  her  parents,  a  brother  of 
eleven,  and  four  other  Christians.  All 
the  women  met  their  death  in  dresses 
of  ceremony,  treating  it  not  as  a  misfor 
tune,  but  as  a  festal  occasion.  Twenty 
thousand  Christians,  unarmed,  encamped 


around  the  place  of  execution  for  three 
days  ;  they  were  fed  and  assisted  by  other 
Christians.  Villefranche,  MM.  du  Japon. 
B.  Magdalene  (5),  Aug.  10,M.  1620. 
Wife  of  B.  Simon  Quiota  or  Kyota.  He 
was  born  of  a  noble  family  in  the  king 
dom  of  Bungo,  Japan.  He  was  a  soldier, 
but  when  Francis,  his  king,  was  expelled, 
Simon  and  Magdalene  retired  to  Cocura, 
where  the  Jesuit  Fathers  made  him  their 
catechist  and  gave  him  charge  of  the 
mission.  He  opened  a  school  for  children 
and  soon  it  was  known  that  he  cast  out 
devils.  The  prince  ordered  him  to 
abandon  the  faith  and  cease  from  the 
functions  of  catechist.  As  he  did  not 
obey,  he  was  condemned  to  be  crucified 
with  his  head  down,  like  St.  Peter. 
Magdalene  who  belonged  to  the  confra 
ternity  of  the  Eosary,  was  cited  before 
the  tribunals,  after  her  husband.  She 
said,  "  Why  should  I  go  to  the  tribunal  ? 
I  shall  say  the  same  before  the  jndges 
as  at  home  and  never  will  fear  of  death 
make  me  abandon  the  faith  of  Christ." 
She  wrote  this  protest  and  sent  it  by 
her  servants  to  the  prince,  who  forthwith 
condemned  her  to  be  crucified  with  her 
husband.  Authorities,  as  for  LUCY  DE 
FREITAS. 

B.  Magdalene  (6;,  Sept.  12,  de 
scended  from  the  royal  house  of  Bungo, 
was  burnt  alive  in  1(327  with  B.  FRANCES 
(10),  at  Nangasaki. 

B.  Magdalene  (7)  of  Isounocouni. 
Sept.  10,  M.  1622.  Wife  of  Antony 
Sanga,  at  one  time  a  catechist  of  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  in  Japan  ;  he  wished  to 
be  a  Jesuit ;  his  health  did  not  permit 
him  to  finish  his  novitiate,  so  he  married 
Magdalene  who  had  been  brought  up  a 
Christian,  and  they  dedicated  themselves 
to  the  service  of  the  missionaries  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Dominic.  They  were  both 
beheaded  with  Spinola.  (Sec  LUCY  DE 
FREITAS.) 

St.  Magdeflede  or  MAGDEFREDE, 
MACTAFLEDE. 

St.  Magdelberta,  MADELBERT. 
St.  Magenhild,  MENEHOULD.  Cahier. 
St.  Maggina,  or  MIGIKA,  M.  April 
12.     AA.SS. 

St.  Magina,  Dec.  3,  M.  in  Africa. 
EM.  Guerin. 

St.  Magirden,  MAGIRDLE,  MAGRIDEN, 


ST.  MAGNA 


or  MAGRUDEN.  A  parish  in  Fife  is 
called  Exmagirdle,  a  contraction  of 
Ecdesia  Magirden  or  Magridden,  per 
haps  an  ancient  Scottish  saint.  Possibly 
the  name  is  derived  from  MAGDALENE. 

St.  Magna,  May  6,  V.,  born  at 
Ancyra,  was  compelled  by  her  mother 
to  marry.  Her  husband  soon  died  and 
left  her  his  sole  heiress.  She  led  a 
holy  and  laborious  life,  and  gave  all  her 
substance  in  charity  and  piety.  Palladius, 
Lausiaca. 

St.  Magnentia  (1).     (See  CAMILLA 

(1)0 

St.  Magnentia  (2),  Nov.  26.  Ee- 
presented  with  St.  Germain  d'Auxerre. 
She  accompanied  his  relics  when  they 
were  brought  back  from  Ravenna  :  none 
of  her  companions  in  this  pious  office 
seem  to  be  represented  with  him.  Mag 
nentia  died  at  Ste.  Magnence  near 
Avallon.  AA.SS.  Cahier. 

St.  Magra,  MACKA. 

St.  Magriden  or  Magruden,  MA- 

GIRDEN. 

St.  Magrina  or  Materna.  (See 
PECINNA.) 

St.  Maharite,  MARGARET  is  so  called 
in  Brittany.  Cahier.  Guerin. 

St.  Mahault  or  Mahaut,  MATILDA. 

St.  Mahpul,  MATILDA. 

St.  Maikie,  probably  MAZOTA. 
Forbes. 

St.  Mainna,  Feb.  20,  V.  mentioned 
in  an  old  Irish  martyrology.  Colgan 
thinks  it  is  a  mistake  for  Moenna  or 
Mainus,  a  monk  or  hermit. 

St.  Maixence,  MAXENTIA. 

St.  Majola  or  Majolus,  May  10, 
M.  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Major  or  Majeure,  companion 
of  St.  Saturninus.  Guerin  gives  her  no 
day,  and  as  he  enumerates  seventy-three 
SS.  Saturninus,  this  is  not  very  en 
lightening. 

St.  Majorica  (1),  April  30,  M.  at 
Alexandria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Majorica  (2),  April  30,  M.  at 
Aphrodisia  in  Caria.  AA.SS. 

St.   Majosa,  June  1,   M.  with  Au- 

CEGA.      AA.SS. 

St.  Majota,  Dec.  18,  V.  commemo 
rated  in  the  Scotch  Breviary.  Per 
haps  same  as  MAZOTA. 

St.  Maker,  MACRA. 


St.  Malachiaor  Malachie,  Nov.  20, 
V.  M.  Guerin. 

St.  Maid,  MATILDA  (4). 

St.  Malda,  MAFALDA. 

St.  Maldeberta,  MADELBERT. 

B.  Malfalda,  MAFALDA. 

St.  Malina,  April  28,  M.  with  170 
others,  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  Perhaps  a 
woman.  Worshipped  at  Narbonne  and 
said  to  have  lived  and  died  there. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Malque,  MALCHIA  or  MALCHIE, 
Guerin,  Table  Alplidbetique.  Perhaps 
this  is  the  same  as]MALA*cHiA. 

St.  Mama  (1)  V.  M.  with  BAHUTA. 

St.  Mama  (2),  June  11,  V.  Per 
haps  a  companion  of  NINA.  Armenio- 
Georgian  Calendar. 

St.  Mamelchta  (1),  MAMLACHA. 

St.  Mamelchta  (2),  MAMELTA. 

St.  Mamelta  or  MAMELCHTA  (2), 
Oct.  17,  5,  M.  probably  5th  century.  A 
native  of  Persia.  She  was  an  attendant 
in  a  temple  of  Diana,  but  she  had  a 
sister  who  was  a  Christian.  Mamelta, 
in  a  dream,  saw  an  angel  who  showed 
her  the  mysteries  of  the  Christian 
religion.  She  awoke  in  a  fright  and 
told  her  dream  to  her  sister,  who  took 
her  to  the  bishop  ;  he  instructed  and 
baptized  her,  her  sister  being  godmother. 
While  she  was  still  dressed  in  her  bap 
tismal  robes,  the  people  attacked  her 
furiously,  stoned  her  to  death  and  threw 
her  into  a  deep  lake,  from  which  she 
was  with  difficulty  taken  up  by  the 
Christians.  The  Bishop  obtained  from 
the  King  of  Persia  an  order  to  have  the 
temple  of  Diana  overthrown  and  a  church 
built  on  its  site,  dedicated  to  the  God  of 
the  Christians,  in  the  name  of  the  Martyr 
Mamelta.  When  it  was  built  he  de 
posited  her  precious  remains  there. 
Assemani  erroneously  confounds  her 
with  MAMLACHA.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mamica.    (See  ANNA  (7).) 

St.  Mamilla  was  formerly  honoured 
in  Palestine.  Guerin. 

St.  Mamlacha  or  MAMELCHTA  (1). 
(See  BAHUTA.)  Assemani,  Bibliotheca 
Orientale,  erroneously  confounds  her 
with  MAMELTA.  AA.SS.  Butler. 

St.  Mammas  or  MAMAS,  July  17, 
M.  If  the  former,  a  woman  ;  and  if 
MAMAS,  a  man.  AA.SS. 


ST.   MANNEA 


St.  Mammea  (l),  MAMY. 

St.  Mammea  (2),  MANNEA. 

St.  Mammelthe,  MAMELTA. 

St.  Mammita,  Aug.  17,  M.  with 
DISCA  at  Alexandria.  Commemorated 
with  a  man  named  Mammes.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mamurra,  Feb.  28,  M.  Guerin. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Mamy  or  MAMMEA,  Feb.  11. 
Queen.  M.  3rd  century.  Mother  of  the 
Emperor  Alexander  Severus,  222-235. 
Converted  by  Origen.  Put  to  death  by 
her  son.  (Mart.  Salisbury)  Bede,  Six 
Ages  of  the  World,  says  it  was  Maximin, 
successor  of  Severus,  who  put  Mammea 
and  many  other  Christians  to  death. 

St.  Mamyque  or  MAMYCA,  March 
26,  M.  Guerin. 

St.  Manaris  or  MANARIDIS.  5th 
century.  A  deaconess  at  Gaza  in  the 
time  of  St.  Porphyry.  (See  SALAPHTHA.) 
Guerin  calls  her  "  Saint,"  but  gives  her 
no  day. 

St.  Manatho,  ENNATHA. 

B.  Mancia  or  Mencia  Pereira, 
Aug.  12.  Widow.  Nun  O.S.D.  in  Por 
tugal.  Mentioned  in  Anno  Dominicano 
Gallico,  Viridario  Germanico,  and  Anno 
Sancto  Bdyico.  AA.SS.  Prater. 

St.  Mancina,  Jan.  13.  Either 
MANCINACH,  mentioned  among  the  vir 
gins  and  widows  in  the  Dunkeld  Litany, 
or  MANSENNA,  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Donegal ;  or,  more  likely,  Mainchin,  an 
Irishman  of  the  Gth  or  7th  century ; 
O'Hanlon  makes  him  a  contemporary 
and  servant  of  St.  Patrick.  Forbes. 

St.  Mancinach.     (See  MANCINA.) 

St.  Mane.     (See  NUNE.) 

St.  Manechild,  MENEHOULD.  Baillet. 

St.  Manegild  or  Manehild,  MENE 
HOULD. 

St.  Manehould,  MENEHOULD. 

St.  Manintia  or  MARNINTA,  Feb.  28, 
M.  with  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Manna  (1),  MANNIA,  or  MAGNUS, 
Feb.  4,  M.  at  Forum  Sempronium — 
either  Fossombrone  in  Urbino  or  a 
forum  in  Rome.  Mentioned  in  several 
old  calendars.  AA.SS. 

St.  Manna  (2)  or  MENNA  of  Fonte- 
net,  Oct.  3,  4th  century.  Daughter  of 
Sigmar  and  Liutrude  and  sister  of  SS. 
Eucharius,  Eliphus,  GERTRUDE  (1), 
LIBARIA,  ODA,  and  SUSANNA  (14). 


Sigmar  and  Liutrude  sent  Manna  at 
an  early  age  to  be  baptized  and  taught 
by  the  bishop  of  Chalons.     After  a  few 
years  they  recalled  her  to  be  married  to 
a  young  nobleman.     She  said  she  would 
have  no  husband  who  was  a  sinner  and 
mortal.     As  they  insisted,  she  fled  to  the 
bishop,    taking    with   her   a   veil    with 
which  she  begged  him  to  consecrate  her. 
Fearing   the   anger  of  her  parents,  he 
hesitated,  but  while  he  doubted,  an  angel 
appeared  and    placed   the    veil   on   her 
head.     Her  parents  were  satisfied   and 
soon  afterwards  died,  leaving  great  pos 
sessions  to  be  divided  among  their  chil 
dren.      The    persecution  under    Julian 
the  Apostate  obliged  them  to  disperse. 
Manna  fled,  attended  by  one  maid.    They 
came  in   their  flight  to  a  river,  where 
there  was  a  frightful  abyss,  dangerous 
even  for  boats  and  impassable  for  pedes 
trians.     Manna  prayed  and  immediately 
the  gulf  was  filled  with  sand  and  the  two 
women  passed  over  dry-shod.    The  place 
was  called  ever  after  Le   Guc   de   Ste. 
Manne.    When  she  had  got  safely  across, 
she  stuck  her  staff  into  the  earth  and  a 
fountain  spouted  out  from  the  spot.    She 
built  herself  a  hermitage  at  Fontenet 
and  passed  the  rest  of  her  days  there. 
Her  relics  were  placed  in  the  church  at 
Portsas   near  Mirecour,   where   a  great 
house   of  canonesses    was    founded  by 
St.  Bruno,  afterwards  Leo  IX. ;  it  was 
destroyed    in    the    French    Revolution. 
Manna   was    particularly    honoured   in 
the    Vosges.      Martin   takes   the   story 
from  Jean  Rhuyr,  Antiquites  des  Vosges. 
AA.SS.  says  she  is  perhaps  the  same  as 
AMA    (4),  one    of   seven    sisters.     The 
stories  and  the  names  in  these  groups  of 
sister  saints  are  somewhat  confounded. 

St.  Mannea  or  MAMMEA,  Aug.  27, 
M.  c.  303.  Wife  of  St.  Marcellinus,  a 
tribune.  Mother  of  John,  Serapion,  and 
Peter,  all  martyred  at  Tomis  in  Pontus ; 
or,  according  to  their  Acts  given  from 
an  old  MS.  by  Soller  the  Bollandist,  at 
Oxyryncha  in  Egypt :  the  names  of  the 
sons  are  also  different  in  this  account. 
Many  other  martyrs  suffered  at  the  same 
time  and  are  commemorated  with  them  ; 
one  of  these  was  named  SUSANNA.  They 
were  condemned  to  be  torn  by  wild 
beasts,  but  the  beasts  lay  down  meekly 


8 


ST.   MANNIA 


and  would   not  hurt  them  :    then   they 
were  beheaded.     R.M.     AA.SS. 
St.  Mannia,  MANNA  (1). 
St.  Mansenna,  MANCINA. 
Maraca,  V.  M.  under  Sapor.   Migne, 
Die.,  Appendix. 

St.  Marana  or  Maranna,  Aug.  3, 
Feb.  28,  5th  century.     A  lady  of  Berea 
in  Syria,  sister  of  CYRA  (1).     They  im 
mured  themselves  in  a  small  half-roofed 
enclosure  near  their  native  town,  assign 
ing  a  little  building  outside  their  own  to 
such  oj;  their  maids  as  chose  to  follow 
their    example.      Here    they   lived   for 
many    years,    loaded   with    chains    too 
heavy    for   a   strong  man.     Through   a 
narrow  window  they  received  a  scanty 
supply  of  food  and  water  and  exhorted 
their  visitors  to  prayer  and  the  love  of 
God.      They  repeatedly  fasted  for  long 
periods.    They  observed  a  rule  of  silence, 
which  Marana  allowed  herself  to  break 
at  Pentecost,  in  order  to  exhort  to  prayer 
and   the   love  of  God,  such  women  as 
visited  the  cell  for  edification.     No  one 
ever   heard   Cyra  speak.     She  was  the 
smaller  and  weaker  of  the  two  and  was 
bowed  to  the  earth  by  the  weight  of  her 
chains.     Large  mantles  concealed  their 
faces  and  forms  and  shut  the  world  from 
their  sight.     They  wrought  miraculous 
cures   on  the  blind,  the  lame,  and   the 
possessed.     Only  twice  did  they   leave 
their  dwelling ;    once  to  walk  to  Jeru 
salem,  twenty  days'  journey ;  and  once 
to  the  church  of  St.  Thecla,  at  Seleucia 
in    Isauria,  almost  as  long  a  distance. 
On  both  these  journeys  they  fasted  the 
whole  way,  only  eating  when  they  were 
at  the  goal  of  their  pilgrimage.     They 
allowed  Theodoret,  bishop  of  Cyprus,  to 
enter  their  abode  and  feel  the  weight  of 
their  chains.     He  testifies  that  they  had 
thus  lived  for  forty-two  years  and  were 
still  living,  the  ornament  of  their  sex, 
when  he  wrote  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century,  Hist.  Religiosve.      EM.  AA.SS. 
Migne.    Men.  of  Basil,  Feb.  28.    Baillet. 
Tillemont. 

St.  Marcella  (1),  June  10,  July  29. 
Patron  of  Tarascon  and  of  Sclavonia. 
A  fabulous  saint  described  in  the  legends 
as  servant  of  SS.  Lazarus,  MARY  and 
MARTHA,  whom  she  accompanied  to 
Marseilles.  After  Martha's  death,  she 


preached  in  Sclavonia.  She  is  by  some 
writers  identified  as  the  woman  who, 
recognizing  the  divine  authority  of  Our 
Lord,  "  lifted  up  her  voice,  and  said  unto 
him,  Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bare 
thee,  and  the  paps  which  thou  hast 
sucked "  (St.  Luke  xi.  27).  Legenda 
Aurea. 

St.  Marcella  (2),  QUINCTIA  MAR 
CELLA. 

St.  Marcella  (3),  June  2.  One  of 
227  Eoman  martyrs,  commemorated 
together  this  day  in  the  Martyrology  of 
St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Marcella  (4,  5,  0),  MM.  in 
Africa,  May  7  ;  Tarsus,  May  10  ;  and 
Eome,  Feb.  17,  respectively.  AA.SS. 

St.  Marcella  (7),  Jan.  31,  4-  410, 
called  "The  First  Nun,"  and  by  St. 
Jerome,  "  The  Pattern  of  a  Christian 
Widow"  and  "The  Glory  of  Eoman 
Ladies."  -  She  was  of  the  illustrious 
Roman  family  of  the  Marcelli,  and  sister 
of  ASELLA.  Her  mother  was  Albina,  a 
benevolent  and  intellectual  Christian 
lady  of  great  wealth.  Marcella  was  a 
child,  but  old  enough  to  receive  a  last 
ing  spiritual  impression,  when,  in  340, 
St.  Athanasius  came  as  an  exile  to  Eome 
and  was  a  welcome  guest  in  her  mother's 
house.  Albina,  Asella  and  the  little 
Marcella,  heard  with  enthusiasm  Atha 
nasius'  descriptions  of  the  desert,  with 
the  solitary  life  and  unremitting  prayer 
of  the  monks.  When  he  went  away,  he 
left  in  the  house  the  first  copy  of  the 
Life  of  St.  Antony  that  had  been  seen 
in  Eome,  a  book  which  greatly  influenced 
the  three  ladies. 

Marcella  grew  up  singularly  beautiful, 
and  married  young.  She  had  been  a 
wife  little  more  than  half  a  year  when 
she  became  a  widow.  She  very  soon  had 
the  offer  of  a  second  marriage,  still  more 
brilliant  and  wealthy  than  the  first ;  the 
pretendu  was  Cerealis,  a  consular  senator, 
related  to  the  imperial  family.  Her 
mother  and  all  her  friends  favoured  the 
suit  of  Cerealis  and  were  vexed  when 
she  decidedly  refused  to  take  a  second 
husband.  The  custom  of  the  time,  how 
ever,  granted  great  freedom  to  a  widow, 
a  freedom  shamefully  abused  by  many ; 
Marcella  used  it  to  follow  her  vocation 
and  break  with  the  irksome  and  absurd 


ST.   MARCELLA 


0 


conventionalities  of  the  day.  The  law 
passed  about  this  date,  placing  conse 
crated  widows  on  the  same  footing  as 
virgins,  is  supposed  to  have  been  made 
in  the  interests  of  Marcella,  to  protect 
her  from  the  insistence  of  Cerealis.  She 
sacrificed  part  of  her  fortune  to  obtain 
tolerance  from  those  on  whom,  failing 
her,  devolved  the  duty  of  keeping  up  the 
family  name.  She  ceased  to  follow 
the  fashion  in  dress,  rebelling  against 
the  immense  weight  of  splendid  cloth 
ing,  the  hours  of  painting  and  curling 
before  the  mirror  ;  she  was  the  first 
widow  among  the  great  ladies  of  Home 
to  assume  the  coarse  brown  dress  that 
marked  her  as  consecrated  to  a  religious 
and  self-denying  life.  At  first  the 
gossips  slandered  her,  seeking  and  in 
venting  bad  motives  for  her  singularity. 
She  disregarded  these  insinuations,  liv 
ing  a  studious,  charitable  and  devout 
life  with  her  mother,  in  a  palace  on 
Mount  Aventine,  supposed  to  have  stood 
close  to  the  site  of  the  present  church  of 
St.  Sabina.  Here  she  grade  ally  attracted 
round  her  a  society  of  women  who  as 
pired  to  a  better  life  and  more  interest 
ing  thoughts  and  occupations  than  the 
frivolous,  gay  world  afforded.  Some  of 
these  ladies  were  still  members  of  the 
world  of  fashion  and  dressed  as  such. 
Some  were  wives  of  pagans,  some  were 
young  widows,  who  would  marry  again. 
Most  of  them  were  women  of  high 
station  and  great  influence,  and  many 
were  of  considerable  ability  and  culture. 
This  circle  soon  became  a  power  in  Rome. 
It  has  been  called  "  The  First  Convent," 
but  its  members  were  bound  by  no  rule  ; 
they  came  and  went,  and  were  under  no 
obligation  to  continue  their  meetings. 

It  was  in  382  that  St.  Jerome  was 
summoned  to  Rome  by  Pope  Damasus, 
and  was  assigned  as  a  guest  to  the  hos 
pitality  of  Marcella.  He  calls  her  house 
"  the  domestic  church."  He  remained 
there  three  years,  working  at  his  transla 
tion  of  the  Bible,  instructing  his  hostess 
and  her  friends,  and  profiting  by  their 
criticism.  Like  all  well-educated  per 
sons  of  the  time,  they  had  some  know 
ledge  of  Greek  and  some  learnt  Hebrew 
that  they  might  follow  and  assist  the 
work  of  translation.  It  was  here  that  he 


first  met  PAULA  (13J  and  EUSTOCHIUM, 
who  became  his  life  -  long  friends. 
FABIOLA,  BLAESILLA,  Paulina  were  also 
of  the  party,  and  so  were  many  others 
whom  his  pen  has  made  famous.  He 
testifies  to  the  scholarship  and  earnest 
ness  of  Marcella.  She  often  tried  to 
restrain  him  from  quarrelling  or  to 
moderate  the  violence  of  his  retaliations 
on  his  opponents.  He  attributes  the 
condemnation  of  Origen's  doctrines,  by 
Pope  Anastasius,  to  Marcella's  influence, 
and  calls  this  decision  a  "glorious 
victory." 

When  Paula  and  Eustochium  had  left 
Rome  and  settled  in  the  Holy  Land  they 
wrote  to  Marcella  begging  her  to  join 
them,  and  dwelling  on  the  delight  of 
visiting  the  scenes  of  our  Lord's  life  on 
earth,  and  of  other  events  in  scripture 
history.  This  letter  has  been  repro 
duced  in  English  by  the  Palestine  Pil 
grims'  Text  Society. 

Marcella,  however,  remained  in  Rome. 
She  must  have  been  nearly  eighty  in  the 
disastrous  year  410.  She  had  outlived 
most  of  the  friends  of  her  youth  and  had 
removed  from  the  palace  on  the  Aven- 
tiue  to  a  smaller  house,  accompanied  by 
PRINCIPIA  (1),  a  young  girl  she  had 
brought  up  and  whom  she  loved  as  a 
daughter.  There  were  signs  that  the 
house  belonged  to  a  wealthy  family,  and 
when  the  Goths  took  the  city,  the 
soldiers,  bent  on  pillage,  would  not 
believe  that  Marcella  had  not  a  store  of 
money  and  jewels  concealed  ;  they  knew 
nothing  of  the  lavish  charity  which  had 
dispersed  the  family  treasures.  To  in 
duce  her  to  give  up  that  which  she  had 
not,  they  beat,  tortured,  insulted  the 
aged  lady  ;  they  threatened  violence  to 
Principia ;  but  Marcella  succeeded  in 
defending  her  until  another  group  of 
soldiers  arrived,  having  some  reverence 
for  holy  things.  They  escorted  the  two 
women  to  the  church  of  St.  Paul, — one 
of  those  which  had  been  named  by 
Alaric  as  a  sanctuary  for  all  who  chose 
to  take  advantage  of  it.  Here  the 
venerable  Marcella,  exhausted  with  her 
fatigues  and  wounds,  died  the  next  day. 

Eleven  of  St.  Jerome's  letters  are 
addressed  to  her  and  she  is  mentioned 
in  many  of  his  other  writings. 


10 


ST.   MARCELLA 


St.  Marcella  (8),  July  22,  M.  Wor 
shipped  in  the  island  of  Ohio,  where 
pebbles  used  to  be  found  on  the  seashore 
full  of  clotted  blood ;  when  crushed  and 
kept  in  a  bottle,  the  dust  cured  all  manner 
of  diseases.  This  miracle  and  certain 
nocturnal  apparitions  accounted  for  Mar- 
cella's  worship  as  a  saint  and  martyr. 
The  Bollandists  do  not  consider  this 
sufficient  authority.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Marcella  (9),  MARCHELL. 

St.  Marcellina  (1),  June  2.  One  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  Eoman 
martyrs,  commemorated  together  this  day 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Marcellina  (2).  M.  with  ANTIGA. 

St.  Marcellina  (3),  Feb.  24,  M.  with 
many  others  at  Nicomedia.  AA.8S. 

St.  Marcellina  (4),  July  17,  V. 
4-  398.  Eepresented  with  two  boys. 
Daughter  of  Ambrose,  a  Eoman  of  high 
birth,  prefect  of  the  Gauls.  She  had 
two  brothers,  younger  than  herself:  St. 
Satyrus  and  the  great  St.  Ambrose, 
bishop  of  Milan  from  374  to  397.  She 
is  credited  with  a  large  share  in  their 
education,  and  the  three  were  united  by 
the  most  devoted  affection  as  long  as 
they  lived.  It  is  remarkable  that  al 
though  brought  up  in  the  highest  morality 
and  Christian  piety,  neither  of  these 
holy  men  was  baptized  in  youth; 
Ambrose,  only  after  he  was  elected 
bishop  of  Milan.  Marcellina  received 
the  veil  of  a  consecrated  virgin  from 
Pope  Liberius,  at  Eome,  on  the  night 
of  Christmas-day,  352,  353,  or  354.  On 
that  occasion  the  Pope  preached  a  sermon 
which  is  preserved  by  Ambrose  in  De 
Virginibus.  She  continued  to  live  in 
her  mother's  house  in  Eome,  and  was 
one  of  the  circle  of  devout  and  studious 
Christian  ladies  who  so  frequently  met 
at  the  house  of  MARCELLA  (7). 

When  Ambrose  was  compelled  to 
accept  the  bishopric  of  Milan,  Satyrus 
gave  up  a  good  appointment  in  order 
to  live  near  him  and  manage  his  secu 
lar  affairs;  Marcellina  lived  near  her 
brothers,  and  was  their  adviser  and 
confidant.  She  congratulated  Ambrose 
on  his  fame  and  success  as  a  preacher, 
and  suggested  that  as  she  could  not 
come  to  hear  his  sermons,  he  should 
send  them  to  her.  He  then  embodied 


that  course  of  sermons  in  three  books 
dedicated  to  his  sister  and  entitled  De 
Virginibus.  It  contains  the  address  of 
Liberius  to  Marcellina,  and  her  name 
occurs  frequently  throughout  the  book. 

KM.  AA.SS.  Three  of  the  most 
important  letters  of  St.  Ambrose  are  ad 
dressed  to  Marcellina ;  she  is  praised  in  his 
funeral  sermon  on  their  brother  Satyrus, 
and  in  other  works.  Smith  and  Wace, 
"Ambrosius"  and  "Marcellina." 

St.  Marcelliosa  or  Marcelona, 
May  20,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Marcesine  is  in  Guerin's  table. 
(See  MARCHESIXA.) 

St.  Marchell  or  MARCELLA,  Oct.  26, 
Sept.  5.  6th  century.  Welsh.  Daughter 
of  St.  Arwystli  Gloff  and  Twynwedd  ; 
and  sister  of  four  sainted  men.  They 
were  of  the  race  of  Seithen.  There 
were  six  other  saints  of  the  same  family. 
Marchell  founded  Ystrad  Marchell,  in 
Montgomery ;  an  abbey  was  afterwards 
built  there  and  called  Strata  MarcJiella. 
Eees. 

B.  Marchesina  Luzi,  Jan.  10,  + 
1510,  3rd  O.S.A.  She  was  murdered  in 
a  cave  on  the  mountain  of  Mambrica  in 
Italy,  by  her  brother  Mariotto  of  Visso, 
with  circumstances  of  peculiar  atrocity. 
The  crime  was  miraculously  brought  to 
light.  Such  were  the  universal  con 
viction  of  her  innocence  and  esteem  for 
her  sanctity,  that  from  that  day  she 
began  to  be  worshipped  and  miracles 
encouraged  those  who  sought  her  aid. 
Civilta  Gattolica,  Aug.  18,  Bibliography, 
note. 

St.  Marchilla,  July  22,  is  mentioned 
in  the  Arabico  Egyptian  Mart.  AA.SS., 
Pr  deter. 

St.  Marcia  (1),  March  3,  M.  with 
St.  Felix  and  others.  E.M. 

St.  Marcia  (2),  June  5,  6,  M.  at 
Csesarea  in  Palestine,  with  ZENAIS,  CYRIA 
(1),  and  VALERIA.  KM. 

St.  Marcia  (3),  July  2,  with  ST. 
SYMPHOROSA  and  eight  men;  MM.  in 
Campania,  under  Diocletian.  R.M. 

St.  Marcia  (4),  July  11,  -f  c.  300. 
Mother  of  SS.  Marcellian  and  Mark. 
She  is  mentioned  in  the  life  of  St. 
Sebastian.  Silvano  Eazzi,  Sanctis  Mu- 
liebris.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Marcia  (5-17)  (  MAC  ARIA,  MARGA, 


ST.   MARGARET 


11 


MARTIA),  MM.  in  sundry  places  and  on 
various  days.  Calendars. 

St.  Marcia  (18),  KUSTICULA. 

St.  Marcia  (19),  M.  with  her  brother 
St.  Felicitatus,  in  the  early  days  of 
Christianity  (probably  10th  century). 
Their  relics  set  in  pearls  and  jewels  are 
preserved  in  the  Capuchin  monastery 
on  the  Hradschin  at  Prague.  Schultz, 
Guide  to  Prague. 

St.  Marcia-Matidia,  MAHTIA. 

St.  Marciana  0)  or  MARTINIANA. 
(See  IRENE  (4).) 

St.  Marciana  (2).    (See  SILA.) 

St.  Marciana  0*'),  Jan.  9,  July  12, 
V.  M.  c.  300,,  in  Mauritania.  Patron 
of  Tortosa  in  Spain ;  sometimes  called 
Marciana  of  Toledo ;  she  was  born  at 
Rusuccur.  Despising  the  advantages  of 
rank  and  fortune,  she  betook  herself  to 
Csesarea,  40  leagues  west  of  Algiers, 
and  there  served  an  apprenticeship  to 
martyrdom  in  fasts  and  austerities  of  all 
kinds.  At  last,  during  the  reign  of 
Diocletian,  such  was  her  desire  to  en 
counter  the  enemies  of  the  faith,  that 
she  went  into  the  forum  and  struck  off 
the  head  of  a  statue  of  Diana.  She  was 
immediately  seized  and  met  the  fate 
she  courted,,  being  insulted,  beaten  with 
clubs  and  then  killed  by  a  wild  bull 
and  a  leopard  in  the  amphitheatre.  Her 
Acts  are  short  and  simple  but  are  not 
quite  above  suspicion.  H.M.  AA.SS. 
Butler.  Baillet. 

St.  Marciana  (4).  (&>e  SUSANNA (10).) 

SS.  Marciana  (5,  6,  7),  MM.  in 
Home,  Pontus,  and  Africa  respectively. 

St.  Marciana  (8)  of  Albi,  Nov.  2, 
5,  V.  M.  supposed  8th  century.  She 
was  of  noble  birth,  a  nun  at  Tarsia, 
veiled  by  Polymius,  bishop  of  Albi.  It 
is  uncertain  whether  she  was  murdered 
by  barbarians,  or  whether  her  habitual 
austerities  amounted  to  martyrdom. 
Martin.  Oynecseum.  Migne. 

St.  Martina  (1)  or  MARINA,  June  8, 
M.  at  Nicomedia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Marcina  (2)  or  MAGRINA,  June 
24,  sister  of  PECINNA. 

St.  Marcionilla  or  MARCIANILLA, 
Jan.  9,  +  309.  Wife  of  Marcian, 
governor  of  Antioch.  Her  son  Celsus 
was  one  of  many  boys  instructed  in  the 
Christian  faith  by  St.  Julian.  In  the 


persecution  of  Diocletian,  Celsus  was 
imprisoned,  and  begged  to  see  his 
mother.  She  was  sent  to  him  and 
given  three  days  in  which  to  convert 
him.  He,  however,  converted  her.  St. 
Julian  and  other  Christian  priests  taught 
her.  St.  Antony  baptized  her.  It.K. 
AA.SS.  Butler. 

St.  Marciosa,  one  of  the  martyrs 
of  Lyons,  who  died  in  prison.  (See 
BLANDINA.) 

St.  Mardia,  companion  of  URSULA. 

St.  Mare,  July  20,  V.  M.  in  the 
diocese  of  Lectoure,  where  the  little 
town  of  Mare  is  called  by  her  name. 
Martin. 

St.  Marella,  NIRILLA. 

St.  Mareme,  MEDRYSYME. 

St.  Marewinna,  MERWIN. 

St.  Marga  or  MARCIA,  April  6,  M. 
at  Alexandria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Margaret  (1)  or  GRITA,  July  20, 
V.  M.  27(5  or  306,  is  called  MARINA  in 
the  Coptic  Church  and  by  Metaphrastes ; 
on  an  old  bell  at  Pittington  near  Durham 
are  the  words  "  Sancta  Marineta."  She 
is  represented  with  a  dragon  and  some 
times  carrying  a  banner.  MARGARET 
(1),  BARBARA  (1),  CATHERINE  (1),  and 
EUPHEMIA  (2)  are  the  four  great  patron 
esses  of  the  Eastern  Church.  Margaret 
is  patron  of  women  called  Marjory, 
Marjoleine,  etc. ;  of  women  pregnant 
or  in  labour ;  against  barrenness ;  of 
Cremona,  Corneto,  Procida,  Montefia- 
scone,  King's  Lynn,  and  Paris. 

According  to  the  legend  she  was  the 
daughter  of  Theodosius,  a  heathen  priest 
of  Antioch,  and  was  nursed  and  brought 
up  by  a  Christian  woman.  When  Theo 
dosius  heard  that  the  nurse  had  taught 
his  daughter  to  be  a  Christian  he  said 
he  would  not  acknowledge  her  for  his 
child ;  he  thought  the  nurse  being  poor 
would  soon  be  tired  of  maintaining  the 
girl,  and  thus  he  would  punish  them 
both.  The  good  woman's  only  wealth 
consisted  of  a  few  sheep,  and  these  the 
now  portionless  maiden  had  to  tend. 
By-and-bye  it  happened  that  Olybrius, 
prefect  of  Asia,  on  his  way  to  Antioch 
to  persecute  the  Christians,  passed 
through  the  place  where  Margaret  lived 
with  her  nurse,  and  seeing  a  beautiful 
young  shepherdess  in  the  field,  inquired 


12 


ST.  MARGARET 


who  she  was.  Finding  she  was  of  noble 
birth,  he  proposed  to  make  her  his  wife. 
She  refused  that  honour  and  declared 
herself  a  Christian.  He  then  assembled 
the  chief  men  of  the  city  and  after  hold 
ing  a  grand  feast  in  honour  of  his  gods, 
he  inflicted  on  Margaret  many  horrible 
tortures  which  she  endured  with  great 
courage.  She  was  put  in  prison  where 
the  devil  appeared  in  various  forms,  and 
when  to  terrify  her  he  took  that  of  a 
dragon,  he  swallowed  her,  but  she  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  and  he  immediately 
burst  asunder,  leaving  her  unhurt.  She 
was  comforted  by  heavenly  visions. 
Next  day  she  was  subjected  to  new 
forms  of  torture.  Condemned  to  be 
drowned,  she  was  bound  hand  and  foot 
and  thrown  into  a  great  vessel  of  water. 
She  prayed  that  this  trial  might  be  to 
her  instead  of  baptism.  Immediately 
an  earthquake  shook  the  place,  her 
bonds  were  loosed  and  a  dove  carrying 
a  gold  crown  lighted  on  her  head. 
Many  of  the  spectators  were  converted 
and  became  martyrs.  As  none  of  these 
tortures  availed  to  change  her  opinions 
or  even  to  do  her  bodily  harm,  Margaret 
was  condemned  to  be  beheaded.  At  the 
moment  of  her  death  she  prayed  that 
God  would  show  mercy  on  all  who  were 
in  trouble,  particularly  women  in  labour, 
who  should  call  on  the  name  of  Jesus 
and  remember  her  martyrdom.  The 
legend  is  of  Greek  origin.  It  was  re 
jected  as  apocryphal  by  Pope  Gelasius 
in  the  fifth  century  and  her  Acts  were 
among  those  forbidden  by  him  to  be 
read  in  churches,  as  containing  things 
more  likely  to  deter  sceptics  from  being 
converted  than  to  edify  Christians.  Her 
story  and  her  worship  were  made  popu 
lar  in  Europe  by  the  crusaders  of  the 
eleventh  century.  Many  churches  in 
England  are  dedicated  in  her  name. 

R.M.  AA.SS.  Yillegas,  Leggendario. 
Flos  Sanctorum.  Golden  Legend.  Mrs. 
Jameson.  Annotated  Prayer-book. 

St.  Margaret  (2),  V.  M.,  a  com 
panion  of  URSULA.  Her  head  and  those 
of  two  others  of  the  same  band  of 
martyrs  were  preserved  in  the  Fran 
ciscan  convent  of  St.  Clara  at  Paris. 


St.  Margaret  (3)  of  Lerins,  was  the 


sister  of  St.  Honoratus  who,  early  in 
the  fifth  century,  founded  a  monastery  on 
the  island  now  called  St.  Honorat,  op 
posite  Cannes.  Margaret,  in  order  to 
be  near  him  and  profit  by  his  advice 
and  assistance,  settled  on  the  neighbour 
ing  island,  then  called  Lero  but  now 
Ste.  Marguerite.  Honoratus,  thinking 
the  world  had  too  strong  a  hold  on 
his  affections,  intended  to  renounce  the 
society  of  his  sister,  and  would  only 
yield  to  her  entreaties  so  far  as  to  agree 
to  visit  her  when  certain  little  flowers 
which  covered  the  island  were  in  bloom. 
Until  that  time  these  flowers  had  only 
bloomed  for  a  very  short  time  every 
year,  but  Margaret,  convinced  that  her 
brother's  visits  would  tend  to  the 
spiritual  advantage  of  both,  prayed 
that  the  flowers  might  blossom  all  the 
year  round.  Her  prayer  was  granted, 
and  flowers  may  be  seen  on  the  island 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year  to  this  day. 
Local  legend. 

St.  Margaret  (4)  called  Brother 
Pelagian.  A  rich  and  beautiful  maiden 
who  was  married  by  her  family  to  a 
young  man  of  rank  equal  to  her  own; 
but  fearing  the  troubles  and  dangers  of 
secular  life,  she  fled  on  the  day  of  her 
marriage,  disguised  as  a  man,  and  took 
refuge  in  a  monastery  where,  under  the 
name  of  Pelagian,  she  rose  to  the  rank 
of  abbot.  It  was  a  double  monastery, 
having  a  house  for  monks  and  another 
for  nuns.  After  a  time,  the  whole  com 
munity  condemned  her  without  a  hearing, 
on  a  charge  of  seducing  a  girl  who 
lived  near  their  gates;  so  they  built 
her  up  in  a  cave,  where  the  "  cruellest  " 
of  the  brothers  brought  her  every  day  a 
scanty  allowance  of  bread  and  water. 
At  last,  being  at  the  point  of  death, 
she  found  means  to  write  a  letter  re 
vealing  her  name  and  story  and  begging 
that  the  nuns  might  bury  her.  Legenda 
Aurea. 

B.  Margaret  (5),  May  16,  V.  10th 
century.  A  lady  of  rank,  betrothed  to 
St.  Bernard  of  Mentone,  but  they  were 
not  married  ;  she  became  a  nun  and  he 
a  hermit.  He  founded  the  monasteries 
and  hospices  of  the  Great  and  Little  St. 
Bernard,  the  former  on  a  spot  where  he 
had  destroyed  an  image  of  Jupiter  and 


ST.   MARGARET 


13 


exposed  the  trick  of  its  oracle.  She 
is  mentioned  in  the  Life  of  St.  Bernard. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Margaret  (6), Queen  of  Scotland, 
June  10,11),  Nov.  10  (MARITA,  MERGRETJ, 
c.  1045-1093.  She  was  daughter  of 
Edward  the  Outlaw,  who  was  son  of 
Edmund  Ironside;  her  mother  was 
Agatha,  sister  of  the  Queen  of  Hungary  ; 
they  were  probably  daughters  of  Anna 
(14)  and  Yaroslav,  grand-prince  of 
Russia,  at  whose  court  Edward  and 
his  brother  were  refugees,  as  was  also 
the  Magyar  Prince,  afterwards  Andrew 
I.,  king  of  Hungary. 

In  1057  Edward  returned  to  England 
with  his  wife  and  three  children,  Edgar 
the  Atheling,  Margaret,  and  CHRISTINA. 
He  had  no  sooner  arrived  than  he  fell 
ill  and  died.  In  1008,  Agatha  with  her 
son  and  her  two  daughters  resolved  to 
return  to  Hungary  and  embarked  with 
that  intent.  Their  ship  was  driven  up 
the  Firth  of  Forth  to  Dunfermliue, 
where  Malcolm  III.,  king  of  Scotland, 
received  them  hospitably.  He  very 
soon  offered  the  whole  family  a  per 
manent  home  with  him  and  asked  that 
the  Princess  Margaret  should  become 
his  wife.  Margaret,  who  was  very 
devout  and  much  impressed  with  the 
futility  of  earthly  greatness,  had  very 
nearly  determined  to  be  a  nun,  but 
when  Malcolm's  request  was  made  to 
Edgar,  "the  Childe  said  'Yea',"  and 
Margaret  was  persuaded  to  marry  the 
king  as  his  second  wife.  She  was  as 
saintly  and  self-denying  on  the  throne 
as  she  could  have  been  in  the  cloister. 
She  at  once  perceived  it  to  be  her  duty 
to  benefit  and  elevate  the  people  among 
whom  it  was  her  destiny  to  live,  and 
this  she  undertook  with  the  greatest 
diligence  and  the  most  earnest  piety. 
There  existed  so  much  barbarism  in  the 
customs  of  the  people,  so  many  abuses 
in  the  Church,  so  much  on  all  hands  to 
reform,  that  she  called  together  the 
native  clergy  and  the  priests  who  had 
come  with  her,  her  husband  acting  as 
interpreter,  and  she  spoke  so  well  and 
so  earnestly  that  all  were  charmed  with 
her  gracious  demeanour  and  wise  counsel 
and  adopted  her  suggestions.  Among 
other  improvements,  Margaret  intro 


duced  the  "observance  of  Sunday  by 
abstaining  from  servile  work,  "  that  if 
anything  has  been  done  amiss  during 
the  six  days  it  may  be  expiated  by  our 
prayers  on  the  day  of  the  Resurrection." 
She  influenced  her  people  to  observe  the 
forty  days'  fast  of  Lent,  and  to  receive 
the  Holy  Sacrament  on  Easter  day, 
from  which  they  had  abstained  for  fear 
of  increasing  their  own  damnation 
because  they  were  sinners.  On  this 
point  she  said  that  if  the  Saviour  had 
intended  that  no  sinner  should  receive 
the  Holy  Sacrament,  He  would  not  have 
given  a  command  which,  in  that  case, 
no  one  could  obey.  "  We,"  said  she, 
"  who  many  days  beforehand  have  con 
fessed  and  done  penance  and  fasted  and 
been  washed  from  our  sins  with  tears 
and  alms  and  absolution,  approach  the 
table  of  the  Lord  in  faith  on  the  day 
of  His  Resurrection,  not  to  our  damnation 
but  to  the  remission  of  our  sins  and  in 
salutary  preparation  for  eternal  blessed 
ness." 

Malcolm  regarded  her  with  holy 
reverence,  and  with  most  devoted  love 
followed  her  saintly  advice,  and  guided 
by  her  he  became  not  only  more  re 
ligious  and  conscientious  but  more 
civilized  and  kinglike. 

One  of  her  first  acts  as  queen  was  to 
build  a  church  at  Dunfermline,  where 
she  had  been  married.  She  dedicated 
it  to  the  Holy  Trinity.  She  gave  it 
all  the  ornaments  that  a  church  re 
quires,  amongst  them  golden  cups,  a 
handsome  crucifix  of  gold  and  silver 
enriched  with  gems,  and  vestments 
for  the  priests.  Her  room  was  never 
without  some  of  these  beautiful  things 
in  preparation  to  be  offered  to  the 
Church.  It  was  like  a  workshop  for 
heavenly  artisans ;  capes  for  the  singers, 
sacerdotal  vestments,  stoles,  altar  cloths 
were  to  be  seen  there;  some  made  and 
some  in  progress.  The  embroideries 
were  executed  by  noble  young  ladies 
who  were  in  attendance  on  her.  No 
man  was  admitted  to  the  room,  unless 
she  allowed  him  to  come  with  her. 
She  suffered  no  levity,  no  petulance, 
no  frivolity,  no  flirtation.  She  was 
so  dignified  in  her  pleasantry,  so  cheer 
ful  in  her  strictness  that  every  one 


14 


ST.    MARGARET 


both  loved  and  feared  her.  No  one 
dared  to  utter  a  rude  or  profane  word 
in  her  presence.  She  did  much  for  the 
secular  as  well  as  for  the  religious  im 
provement  of  her  country.  She  caused 
traders  from  all  lands  to  bring  their 
goods,  and  thus  introduced  many  useful 
and  beautiful  articles,  until  then  un 
known  in  Scotland.  She  induced  the 
natives  to  buy  and  wear  garments  and 
stuffs  of  various  colours.  She  is  said  to 
have  introduced  the  tartans  that  after 
wards  became  distinctive  of  Scottish 
costume.  She  instituted  the  custom 
that  wherever  the  king  rode  or  walked 
he  should  be  accompanied  by  an  escort, 
but  the  members  of  this  band  were 
strictly  forbidden  to  take  anything  by 
force  from  any  one,  or  oppress  any  poor 
person.  She  beautified  the  king's  house 
with  furniture  and  hangings,  and  intro 
duced  cups  and  dishes  of  gold  and 
silver  for  the  royal  table.  All  this  she 
did,  not  that  she  was  fond  of  worldly 
show,  but  that  the  Court  should  be 
more  decent  and  less  barbarous  than 
heretofore.  Numbers  of  captives  were 
taken  in  the  wars  and  raids  between 
England  and  Scotland,  and  many  English 
prisoners  were  living  as  slaves  in  Mal 
colm's  lands.  They  were  of  somewhat 
better  education  and  superior  culture 
to  the  Scots  and  gradually  advanced  the 
civilization  of  their  captors.  Many  of 
these  were  sei^free  by  the  queen.  When 
she  met  poor  persons,  she  gave  them 
liberal  alms,  and  if  she  had  nothing 
of  her  own  left  to  give,  she  asked  her 
attendants  for  something,  that  she  might 
not  let  Christ's  poor  go  away  empty- 
handed.  The  ladies,  gentlemen,  and 
servants  who  accompanied  her  took  a 
pride  and  pleasure  in  offering  her  all 
they  had,  feeling  sure  that  a  double 
blessing  would  reward  their  alms  when 
given  through  the  saintly  queen. 

She  provided  ships  at  a  place  on  the 
Firth  of  Forth,  still  called  "  The  Queen's 
Ferry,"  that  all  persons  coming  from 
distant  parts  on  pilgrimage  to  St. 
Andrews  might  be  brought  across  the 
water  free  of  charge.  She  also  gave 
houses  and  servants  on  either  shore 
for  their  accommodation,  that  they 
might  find  everything  necessary  for 


their  repose  and  refreshment  and  might 
pay  their  devotions  in  peace  and  safety. 
Besides  this,  she  built  homes  of  rest 
and  shelter  for  poor  strangers  in  various 
places. 

From  childhood  she  had  diligently 
studied  the  Holy  Writ  and  having  a 
keen  intelligence  and  an  excellent 
memory,  she  knew  and  understood  the 
Scriptures  wonderfully  well.  She  de 
lighted  to  consult  learned  and  holy  men 
concerning  the  sacred  writings,  and  as 
she  had  a  great  gift  for  expressing  her 
self  clearly,  they  often  found  themselves 
far  wiser  after  a  conversation  with  her. 
Her  love  for  the  holy  books  made  her 
spend  much  time  in  reading  and  studying 
such  of  them  as  she  had.  She  longed 
to  possess  more  portions  of  the  Word  of 
God,  and  she  sometimes  begged  Turgot 
and  other  learned  clergymen  to  procure 
them  for  her. 

The  king's  devotion  to  her  and  her 
influence  over  him  were  almost  un 
bounded.  Turgot  calls  Malcolm's  peni 
tence  and  piety  a  "  great  miracle  of 
God's  Mercy."  He  wondered  how  it 
was  that  there  could  exist  in  the  heart 
of  man  living  in  the  world  such  an 
entire  sorrow  for  sin.  The  king  dreaded 
to  offend  one  whose  life  was  so  admirable 
as  Margaret's.  He  perceived  that  Christ 
dwelt  in  her,  and  therefore  he  readily 
obeyed  her  wishes  in  all  things.  He 
never  refused  or  grudged  her  anything, 
nor  showed  the  least  displeasure  when 
she  took  money  out  of  his  treasury  for 
her  charities.  Although  he  could  not 
read,  he  loved  her  books  for  her  sake, 
handling  them  with  affectionate  rever 
ence  and  kissing  them.  Sometimes  he 
would  take  away  one  of  her  favourite 
volumes  and  send  for  a  goldsmith  to 
ornament  it  with  gold  and  gems.  When 
this  was  done,  he  would  restore  it  to  the 
queen  as  a  proof  of  his  devotion. 

Margaret  brought  up  her  eight  children 
very  strictly  and  piously,  instructing 
them  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the 
duties  of  their  station  and  associating 
them  in  her  works  of  charity.  She 
made  a  great  point  of  their  treating  their 
elders  with  becoming  respect.  The  fruit 
of  her  good  training  appeared  in  their 
lives  for  long  years  after  her  time. 


ST.   MARGARET 


15 


There  were  many  holy  anchorites 
living  in  cells  or  caves  in  different 
parts  of  Scotland.  These  the  queen 
occasionally  visited,  conversing  with 
them  and  commending  herself  to  their 
prayers.  It  was  not  uncommon  in  the 
ancient  Celtic  Church  for  devout  secular 
persons  to  withdraw  for  a  time  from 
association  with  the  rest  of  the  world; 
they  devoted  themselves  entirely  to 
prayer  and  meditation  for  a  long  or 
short  season,  and  then  returned  to 
the  ordinary  duties  of  life.  A  cave  is 
still  shown,  not  far  from  Dunfermline, 
where  tradition  says  this  holy  queen 
used  to  resort  for  solitude  and  prayer. 

Her  abstinence  was  so  great  and  her 
care  for  her  own  needs  or  gratification 
so  small  that  her  feast  days  were  like 
the  fast  days  of  others.  She  fasted  so 
strictly  that  she  suffered  acutely  all  her 
life  from  pain  in  the  stomach,  but  she 
did  not  lose  her  strength.  She  observed 
two  lenten  seasons  in  each  year — the 
forty  days  before  Easter,  and  the  forty 
days  before  Christmas.  During  these 
periods  of  self-denial,  her  biographer 
says  that  after  sleeping  for  a  short  time 
at  the  beginning  of  the  night,  she  went 
into  the  church  and  said  alone  three 
sets  of  Matins,  then  the  Offices  of  the 
Dead,  then  the  whole  Psalter,  which 
lasted  until  the  priests  had  said  Matins 
and  Lauds.  She  then  returned  to  her 
room  and  there,  assisted  by  the  king, 
she  washed  the  feet  of  six  poor  persons 
who  were  brought  there  by  the  chamber 
lain.  After  this,  she  "  permitted  her 
body  to  take  a  littel  slepe  or  nodde  " 
(Horstmann).  When  it  was  morning 
she  began  her  works  of  mercy  again  ; 
while  the  psalms  were  being  read  to 
her,  nine  little  destitute  orphans  were 
brought,  and  she  took  each  on  her  lap 
and  fed  it  with  her  own  spoon.  While 
she  was  feeding  the  babies,  three  hundred 
poor  persons  were  brought  into  the  hall 
and  seated  all  round  it.  As  soon  as 
Margaret  and  the  king  came  in,  the 
doors  were  shut,  only  the  chaplains  and 
a  few  attendants  being  present  while  the 
king  and  queen  waited  upon  Christ  in 
the  person  of  His  poor,  serving  them 
with  food  and  drink.  After  this  meal, 
the  queen  used  to  go  into  the  church  and 


there,  with  tears  and  sighs  and  many 
prayers,  she  offered  herself  a  sacrifice  to 
God.  In  addition  to  the  "  Hours,"  on 
the  great  festivals,  she  used  to  repeat 
the  Psalter  two  or  three  times,  and 
before  the  public  Mass  she  had  five  or 
six  private  Masses  sung  in  her  presence. 
It  was  then  time  for  her  own  dinner, 
but  before  she  touched  it  she  waited  on 
the  twenty-four  poor  people  who  were 
her  daily  care  at  all  seasons ;  wherever 
she  happened  to  be,  they  had  to  be  lodged 
near  the  royal  residence. 

She  had  a  Gospel  Book  which  she 
particularly  prized  and  often  read.  It 
had  beautiful  illuminated  pictures,  all 
the  capital  letters  shining  with  gold. 
One  of  her  people,  when  passing  through 
a  stream  let  it  fall  into  the  water,  but 
was  not  aware  of  his  loss  and  went  on. 
By-and-bye  the  book  was  missing  and 
was  looked  for  everywhere,  and  even 
tually  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  stream ; 
the  pieces  of  silk  that  were  between  the 
leaves  to  prevent  the  letters  rubbing 
against  each  other  were  washed  away  ; 
the  leaves  were  shaken  to  and  fro  by 
the  movement  of  the  water,  but  not  a 
letter  was  obliterated.  She  gave  thanks 
for  its  restoration  and  prized  it  more 
than  ever.  This  book,  with  the  water 
stain  on  the  last  leaf,  is  now  in  the 
Bodleian  Library. 

For  more  than  six  months  before  her 
death,  Margaret  could  not  ride  on  horse 
back  and  was  often  confined  to  bed. 
Shortly  before  her  death,  the  king, 
against  her  advice,  made  a  raid  into 
Northumberland,  where  he  and  her 
eldest  son,  Edward,  were  slain.  The 
queen,  who  remained  in  the  castle  of 
Edinburgh,  had  a  presentiment  of  it, 
and  said  to  those  that  were  with  her, 
"  Perhaps  this  day  a  greater  evil  has 
happened  to  Scotland  than  any  that  has 
befallen  it  for  a  long  time."  Four  days 
after  this,  she  felt  a  little  better  and 
went  into  her  oratory  to  hear  Mass  and 
receive  the  Holy  Communion.  She  then 
returned  to  bed,  and  growing  rapidly 
worse,  begged  Turgot  and  the  others 
who  were  present  to  keep  commending 
her  soul  to  Christ  with  psalms.  She 
asked  them  to  bring  her  the  black  rood, 
which  she  had  brought  from  Hungary 


ST.   MARGARET 


and  always  regarded  with  great  venera 
tion.  It  was  of  gold  set  with  large 
diamonds  and  contained  a  piece  of  the 
actual  cross  of  Christ.  She  devoutly 
kissed  and  contemplated  it,  and  when 
she  was  cold  with  the  chill  of  death,  she 
still  held  it  in  both  hands  and  kept 
praying  and  saying  the  fifty-first  psalm. 
Her  son  Edgar,  who  had  gone  with  the 
king  to  Northumberland,  came  into  her 
room  to  tell  her  of  the  death  of  his 
father  and  brother.  Seeing  his  mother 
was  dying,  he  was  afraid  to  tell  her  the 
sad  news ;  but  she  said,  "  I  know,  I 
know,  I  conjure  you  to  tell  me  the 
truth,"  and  having  heard  it,  she  praised 
God  and  died,  and  her  pale  face  recovered 
its  fair  and  rosy  colour.  The  continuation 
of  the  Annals  of  Tighernac  say,  "  Mael- 
colaim,  son  of  Duncan,  king  of  Scotland, 
is  slain  by  the  Normans,  and  Edward  his 
son,  and  Marita  the  wife  of  Maelcolaim 
died  of  grief." 

The  Annals  of  Ulster  for  1093  say, 
"Maelcolaim  Mac  Donnocha  sovereign 
of  Alban  and  Echbarda  his  son,  slain  by 
the  Franks.  His  queen,  viz.  Margarita, 
died  through  grief  before  the  end  of 
[three]  days." 

While  her  body  still  lay  in  Edinburgh 
Castle,  Malcolm's  brother,  Donald  Bane, 
assisted  by  the  King  of  Norway,  attacked 
the  castle,  but  he  only  watched  the  gate, 
thinking  the  other  parts  of  the  fortifica 
tion  inaccessible.  By  the  merits  of  this 
great  Saint,  her  family  and  her  faithful 
attendants  escaped  by  a  postern  called 
the  West  Yhet,  taking  with  them  the 
revered  corpse.  A  thick  mist  hid  them 
from  the  enemy.  They  crossed  the  sea 
and  arrived  without  hindrance  at  Dun- 
fermline,  where  they  buried  her  according 
to  her  own  wish. 

Donald  Bane  kept  the  kingdom. 
Edgar  the  Atheling  took  Margaret's 
children  to  England,  and  for  fear  of  the 
Normans,  gave  them  privately  to  friends 
and  relations  to  be  brought  up.  He 
afterwards  helped  to  restore  them  to  their 
country. 

Malcolm  and  Margaret  had  six  sons 
and  two  daughters  :  Edward,  killed  with 
his  father  at  Alnwick ;  Edmund,  who 
reigned  with  his  uncle,  Donald  Bane, 
for  three  years  and  died  a  monk  at 


Montacute  in  Somersetshire;  Ethelred, 
lay  abbot  of  Dunkeld  and  earl  of  Fife ; 
Edgar,  king  1097-1107;  Alexander, 
king  1107-1124;  David  (St.),  king 
1124-1153;  MALD  (Si.  MATILDA  (4)), 
married  Henry  I.,  king  of  England ; 
and  Mary,  married  Eustace,  count  of 
Boulogne. 

"  The  zere  of  God  a  thousand  Ixvj 
zeris  Malcolm  ye  sonne  of  Duncan  tuke 
ye  rewmm  of  Scotland  in  Heritage  and 
rignyt  xxxvj  zeris.  The  yere  of  Christ 
a  thousand  Ixvj  Mergret  ye  Quvenne 
was  spowsyt  wyt  Malcolm  and  had  six 
sonnys  and  twa  dochtiris,  Maid  Quvenne 
of  Ingland,  and  Marie  Cowntasie  of 
Balanne  "  (Chron.  of  the  Scots.^). 

Margaret  was  worshipped  without 
authority  until  1250,  when  Innocent  IV. 
solemnly  approved  her  cult  and  ordered 
her  sacred  body  to  be  translated  from 
its  first  tomb.  On  July  19,  1297,  all 
the  arrangements  being  made,  the  men 
who  were  appointed  to  raise  the  body, 
found  it  impossible  to  do  so  ;  stronger 
men  were  ordered  to  lift  it  and  tried  in 
vain ;  still  more  men  were  brought, 
but  all  their  strength  was  unavailing. 
Evidently  the  saint  objected  to  what 
was  being  done.  The  clergy  and  all 
present  prayed  earnestly  that  the  mys 
terious  opposition  might  cease  and  the 
sacred  rite  be  completed.  After  some 
time  an  inspiration  was  granted  to  a 
devout  member  of  the  congregation; 
namely,  that  the  saint  did  not  wish  to 
be  separated  from  her  husband.  As 
soon  as  they  began  to  take  up  his  coffin, 
that  of  his  dutiful  wife  became  quite 
light  and  easy  to  move,  and  both  were 
laid  on  one  bier  and  translated  with 
ease  to  the  honourable  place  prepared 
for  them  under  the  high  altar.  In  1(593 
Innocent  XII.  transferred  Margaret's 
festival  from  the  day  of  her  death  to 
June  10.  The  bodies  are  said  by  Pape- 
broch  (AA.SS.)  to  have  been  acquired 
by  Philip  II.,  king  of  Spain  (1556- 
1598),  who  placed  them  in  the  church 
of  St.  Lawrence  in  his  new  palace  of  the 
Escurial  in  two  urns.  The  head  of  St. 
Margaret,  after  being  in  the  possession 
of  her  descendant  Queen  Mary  Stuart, 
was  secreted  for  many  years  by  a  Bene 
dictine  monk  in  Fife;  thence  it  passed 


B.    MARGARET 


17 


to  Antwerp,  and  about  1627  it  was  trans 
lated  to  the  Scotch  college  at  Douai  and 
there  exposed  to  public  veneration.  It 
was  still  to  be  seen  there  in  1 785 ;  it 
was  well  preserved  and  had  very  fine 
fair  hair.  Neither  the  heads,  the  bodies 
nor  the  black  rood  can  now  be  found, 
but  the  grave  of  Margaret  may  still  be 
seen  outside  the  present  church  of  Dun- 
fermline.  Her  oratory  in  Edinburgh 
castle  is  a  small  church  with  sturdy 
short  pillars  and  a  simple  but  beautiful 
ornamental  pattern  at  the  edge  of  its 
low  rounded  arches.  It  was  falling  to 
ruin  when,  in  1853,  her  late  Majesty 
Queen  Victoria,  among  her  many  good 
and  wise  works,  had  it  repaired  and 
furnished  with  coloured  glass  windows. 

EM.  Turgot,  Life  of  St.  Margaret 
Queen  of  Scotland,  tr.  by  Forbes  Leith. 
AA.SS.,  June  10.  Skene,  Cliron.  of  the 
Picts,  Cliron.  of  the  Scots,  and  Celtic  Scot 
land.  Karamsin.  Lappenberg.  Butler. 
Horstmann,  Lives  of  the  Women  Saints  of 
our  Contrie  of  England.  Brit.  Sancta. 
A  Memorial  of  Ancient  British  Piety. 
Brit.  Mart.  Lingard,  Hist,  of  England. 
Palgrave. 

St.  Margaret  (7),  Queen  of  Den 
mark,  July  28,  +  1180.  Daughter  of 
St.  Ingo  IV.,  king  of  Sweden,  and  Helen, 
Queen.  Margaret  married  Nicholas, 
kiug  of  Denmark.  She  showed  her 
sanctity  by  her  magnificent  gifts  to  the 
Church  and  by  her  strenuous  efforts  to 
restore  peace  throughout  the  country, 
and  especially  amongst  certain  of  her 
relations  who  quarrelled.  She  was  still 
striving  to  make  peace,  when  the  agonies 
of  death  overtook  her.  Vastovius,  Vitis 
Aquilonia. 

St.  Margaret  (8),  Oct.  25,  M.  1176, 
at  Roskild  in  Denmark.  Patron  of 
Roskild.  She  was  of  illustrious  birth 
in  the  island  of  Zealand.  Aunt  of 
Peter,  bishop  of*  Roskild,  Niece  of 
Absalon,  archbishop  of  Lund.  She 
married  Herlaug  or  Haerloegr.  She 
was  found  hanging  from  a  beam  and 
was  supposed  to  have  killed  herself,  and 
therefore  was  denied  Christian  burial. 
Archbishop  Absalon,  however,  investi 
gated  the  matter  and  found  that  she 
had  been  murdered  by  her  husband, 
whereupon  she  was  translated  into  the 

VOL.  II. 


church  of  St.  Mary  at  Roskild.  She  is 
called  a  martyr,  because  she  suffered  an 
unjust  and  cruel  death  with  piety  and 
humility.  AA.S3.  Langebek,  Scriptores, 
"  Anonymi  Chron.  Dano  Svecica,  826- 
1415." 

St.  Margaret  (9),  Feb.  3,  Jan.  11, 
July  20,  V.  12th  century.  Her  body 
is  preserved  with  great  veneration  in 
the  church  of  the  Cistercian  nuns  of 
Seauve  Benoite,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Puy-en-Velay.  The  tradition  of  the 
place — confirmed  by  several  old  writers 
— says  she  was  English  ;  but  an  old 
French  Life  of  her,  preserved  in  the 
Jesuit  college  of  Clermont,  says  she  was 
a  Hungarian,  of  noble  birth,  and  that 
she  accompanied  her  mother  on  a  pilgrim 
age  to  Jerusalem.  The  Biograjia  Eccle- 
siastica  says  that  her  mother  was  English. 
After  the  death  of  her  mother  in  Pales 
tine,  Margaret  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Monserrat  and  afterwards  to  Puy.  She 
ended  her  days  in  the  convent  of  Seauve 
Benoite,  but  she  does  not  appear  to  have 
taken  the  vows  of  the  Order  as  she  is 
not  mentioned  by  Henriquez,  the  his 
torian  of  the  Cistercians.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 
Butler. 

B.  Margaret  (10),  Oct.  29.  End 
of  12th  century.  Margaret  of  Hohenfels 
was  abbess  of  Bingen,  where  her  sister 
IDA  (7),  countess  of  Spanheim,  became  a 
mm  under  her  in  1190.  Both  are  called 
Saintsby  Bucelinus  andMenardus.  AA.SS. 
Ferrarius. 

B.  Margaret  (11),  July  13,  daughter 
of  Ladislaus  II.,  king  of  Bohemia.  In 
the  12th  century  she  was  third  abbess 
of  the  Premonstratensian  nunnery  of 
Doxan,  diocese  of  Prague  ;  it  was  founded 
by  her  mother,  Gertrude  of  Austria. 
Stadler.  Migne,  Die.  des  Abbayes. 

B.  Margaret  (12)  of  Louvain,  Sept. 
2  and  11,  V.  M.  13th  century.  Repre 
sented  dead  and  floating  on  a  river,  a 
man  with  a  spear  standing  by  her,  angels 
appearing  in  the  heavens,  the  king  and 
queen  looking  out  of  a  window,  a  two- 
handled  vase  on  the  river  bank,  either 
the  wine  she  was  bringing  to  the  robbers 
or  the  porridge  which  boiled  without 
fire  at  her  translation. 

In  the  time  of  Henry  I.,  duke  of 
Brabant,  who  died  1235,  there  was  a  man 


18 


B.   MARGARET 


called  Amandus  who,  with  his  wife,  kept . 
an  inn  in  the  rue  de  la  Monnaie  at 
Louvain.  "  Little  Margaret,"  a  girl  who 
was  related  to  them,  acted  as  a  servant 
in  their  house.  She  was  called  "the 
Proud"  because  she  would  accept  no 
love  or  admiration,  intending  some  day 
to  become  a  Cistercian  nun.  Strangers 
and  pilgrims  who  came  to  their  door 
were  always  hospitably  received  and  en 
tertained.  About  the  year  1200,  Amandus 
determined  to  leave  the  world  and  become 
a  monk  at  Villers,  a  famous  Cistercian 
monastery  in  Brabant.  Accordingly,  he 
and  his  wife  settled  all  their  affairs  and 
prepared  to  leave  their  home.  Their 
intention  became  known  to  a  set  of 
robbers,  who  also  ascertained  that  they 
had  money  in  the  house.  So  on  the  last 
night  of  their  stay  in  their  own  home, 
eight  of  these  ruffians  came  to  the  door. 
Margaret  let  them  in,  thinking  they  were 
strangers  seeking  a  night's  shelter.  Pre 
sently  they  sent  her  out  to  fetch  some 
wine  from  the  neighbouring  rue  du 
Chevalier.  While  she  was  gone  they 
murdered  Amandus,  his  wife,  and  all  the 
servants,  and  possessed  themselves  of 
everything  they  could  carry  away.  When 
Margaret  returned  with  the  wine  they 
took  her  to  a  house  some  distance  from 
the  town.  The  people  of  the  house  sus 
pected  that  she  had  been  carried  off  by 
force.  The  landlady  watched  what  the 
robbers  would  do  with  her.  They  took 
her  to  the  banks  of  the  river  Deel,  and 
as  they  were  going  to  kill  her,  one  of 
them  was  touched  with  compassion,  and 
said  to  the  others,  "  Let  her  live,  I  will 
marry  her."  But  she  said  she  would 
rather  die  than  marry  him,  and  as  they 
were  afraid  she  would  betray  their  crime, 
they  would  not  let  her  live,  but  gave  to 
one  of  the  party  ten  marks  more  than 
his  share  of  the  plunder,  on  condition  of 
his  killing  the  girl.  He  cut  her  throat 
and  stuck  his  spear  into  her  side,  and 
they  threw  her  into  the  river.  The 
woman  in  whose  house  they  had  rested 
saw  the  murder.  Next  day  a  search 
was  made  for  the  murderers,  but  they 
could  not  be  found;  the  bodies  of 
Amandus  and  his  family  were  found  and 
people  began  to  look  for  the  body  of 
Margaret.  After  some  days  it  was  found 


by  some  fishermen,  but  they  were  afraid 
to  produce  it  lest  they  should  be  accused 
of  the  murder,  they  therefore  buried  the 
girl  in  the  river  bank ;  over  her  grave, 
however,  unearthly  lights  were  seen  at 
night,  so  she  was  taken  up  and  carried 
into  the  town  of  Louvain  and  a  chapel 
was  built  over  her.  Meantime  Amandus 
and  his  wife  appeared  in  a  dream  to  a 
monk  at  Villers  and  told  him  that  they 
were  not  yet  in  heaven,  that  but  for 
Margaret  they  would  not  be  so  well  off 
as  they  were,  and  that  they  could  not 
hope  to  enjoy  the  same  glory  to  which 
she  was  promoted.  The  two  accounts 
from  which  her  story  is  gathered  agree 
as  far  as  the  moment  of  her  death  but 
differ  as  to  the  finding  of  her  body.  An 
old  MS.  of  Eubea  Valle  says  that  the 
night  she  was  murdered,  the  Duke  of 
Brabant  and  his  wife,  who  lived  at 
Louvain,  were  looking  out  of  their  win 
dow,  and  saw  a  bright  light  in  the 
heavens  over  the  river,  and  heard  angels 
singing.  They  sent  to  find  out  the  cause 
of  the  unusual  apparition,  and  the  body 
of  the  saint  was  discovered,  not  under 
water  but  held  up  by  the  fish.  The 
duke  ordered  a  grand  procession  of  the 
clergy  and  citizens  to  bring  the  sacred 
body  into  the  city  and  bury  it  in  a  place 
of  honour.  It  happened  that  a  woman 
was  making  porridge  for  her  labourers 
in  the  field.  When  she  saw  such  a  crowd 
of  people,  she  went  to  the  door  with  the 
pot  in  her  hand  and  asked  what  it  was 
all  about.  On  hearing  the  circumstances, 
she  laughed  and  said,  "  That  story  is 
true  if  my  pot  of  porridge  that  I  set 
down  here  on  the  wall  will  boil  without 
any  fire ;  one  is  as  likely  as  the  other." 
Immediately,  in  presence  of  all  the  people 
the  pot  began  to  bubble  and  steam  as  if 
it  were  on  the  fire,  and  not  only  that,  but 
whoever  chose  to  eat  of  its  contents  could 
do  so  without  diminishing  the  quantity  ; 
the  murderer's  relations  were  not  allowed 
to  taste. 

AA.SS.,  Sept.  11.  Le  Mire,  Fasti 
Belgici  ae  Burgundici.  Biografia  Ecclesi- 
astica.  Biog.  Nat.  de  Belgique.  Molanus, 
Hist.  Lovan.  Butler. 

B.  Margaret  (13)  of  Ypres,  July  20, 
1216-1237,  3rd  O.S.D.,  led  in  the  world 
a  life  of  great  innocence  and  simplicity. 


ST.   MARGARET 


19 


She  was  much  tempted  and  vexed  by  her 
natural  instincts,  but  fled  to  Christ  to 
save  her  from  them,  and  soon  experienced 
so  complete  a  change  as  to  become  subject 
to  visions  and  ecstasies.  She  had  a  deep 
conviction  of  her  own  sinfulness.  The 
life  of  prayer  was  so  strong  in  her  that 
when  her  confessor  had  commanded  her 
to  sleep  during  Christmas  night,  and  she 
had  every  intention  of  obeying,  she 
thought  she  was  only  saying  a  short 
prayer  before  falling  asleep,  and  lo  !  the 
morning  dawned.  She  did  not  like  to 
speak  to  any  one  but  her  confessor  of  her 
visions,  etc.  Thomas  of  Cantimpre  praises 
her  for  this  reticence,  saying  that  most 
women  who  have  anything  of  the  sort  to 
tell,  make  as  much  noise  about  it  as  a 
hen  that  has  laid  an  egg.  A  life  of  her, 
translated  into  French,  from  that  written 
in  Dutch  by  Zegher,  her  confessor,  calls 
her  "Sainte  Marguerite  d'Ypres."  H. 
Choquetius,  Sancti  Belgi  Ordinis  Prse- 
dicatorum,  1618.  Biog.  Nat  de  Belgique. 
Preger,  Deutsche  Mystik  im  Mittelalter. 
Both  these  modern  books  quote  her  con 
temporary  Life  by  Thomas  of  Cantimpre. 

B.  Margaret  (14)  Rich,  Aug.  15, 
Nov.  16,  +  1257,  prioress  of  Catesby. 
Sister  of  ALICE  EICH.  Ferrarius.  The 
Bollandists  promise  an  account  of  her 
when  they  come  to  Nov.  16. 

St.  Margaret  (15)  of  Hungary, 
O.S.D.,  Jan.  29,  July  13,  1241  or 
1242-1270.  Patron  against  inundations. 
Daughter  of  Bela  IV.,  king  of  Hungary, 
descended  from  the  sainted  Kings  Stephen, 
Emeric  and  Ladislas ;  her  mother  was 
Mary,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Theodore 
Lascaris.  Margaret  of  Hungary  was 
sister  of  ST.  CTJNEGUND  (4),  queen  and 
patron  of  Poland. 

In  1240,  the  year  of  the  dreadful 
Tartar  invasion  of  Europe  when  the 
whole  of  Hungary  was  laid  waste,  Bela 
appealed  in  vain  to  the  Pope,  the  Em 
peror,  and  his  neighbours,  to  help  him 
against  the  enemy  of  all  Christendom. 
The  royal  family  fled  first  to  one  place, 
then  to  another;  and  when  in  1241  so 
many  of  their  friends  and  kinsmen  were 
killed  in  the  desperate  battle  of  Leignitz, 
the  Queen  of  Hungary,  daily  expecting 
her  confinement,  fled  to  the  farthest 
corner  of  her  country  and  was  at  Klessa 


in  Dalmatia,  trembling  lest  the  Mongols 
should  make  their  appearance  there  also. 
Despairing  of  human  aid,  she  sought  the 
protection  of  heaven  and  vowed  her  un 
born  child  to  the  Church.  It  was  a 
daughter  and  she  called  it  Margaret  in 
memory  of  one  of  the  fair  young  princesses 
whose  early  death  had  just  been  added 
to  the  calamities  of  the  royal  house. 
From  the  time  of  Margaret's  birth  the 
forlorn  affairs  of  Hungary  began  to  mend 
and  soon  the  Tartars  were  fast  leaving 
the  countries  to  which  they  had  proved 
such  a  fearful  scourge.  When  she  was 
four  she  was  placed  in  the  Dominican 
nunnery  at  Vesprim,  accompanied  by  her 
governess,  the  Countess  Olympia,  who 
soon  became  a  nun  there  for  love  of  her 
pupil.  Margaret  demanded  to  be  dressed 
like  the  nuns  and  insisted  on  having 
a  cilicium.  At  twelve  years  old  she 
received  the  veil  from  the  hands  of 
Humbert,  General  of  the  Order.  She 
was  remarkable  for  austerity,  humility, 
kindness,  and  every  virtue,  and  was 
credited  with  gifts  of  prophecy  and 
miracles ;  her  love  of  dirt  was  almost  a 
miracle  in  itself.  She  did  all  the  lowest 
and  most  revolting  work  of  the  house 
and  kept  herself  and  her  clothes  so  dirty 
that  the  other  nuns  were  afraid  to  sit 
beside  her.  Not  content  with  her  fair 
share  of  scourging,  she  made  her  friends 
and  maids  give  her  some  more  in  a  dark 
room,  which  often  used  to  be  miraculously 
illumined  for  the  occasion. 

About  1261,  Ottocar,  king  of  Bohemia, 
who  had  just  divorced  his  first  wife,  came 
to  visit  King  Bela  and  Queen  Mary,  and 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  see  the  princess, 
of  whose  holiness  he  had  heard  so  much  ; 
he  was  so  charmed  by  her  beauty  and 
amiability  that  he  entreated  to  be  allowed 
to  marry  her,  asking  no  dowry  and  ex 
plaining  that  his  elder  children  were 
debarred  from  the  succession.  Bela  at 
first  said  it  was  useless  to  ask,  as  Margaret 
had  been  vowed  to  the  cloister  from 
her  birth ;  but,  as  Ottocar  persisted  in 
his  suit,  he  told  Margaret  that  if  she 
would  consent  to  the  alliance,  a  dis 
pensation  might  be  procured,  on  the 
ground  that  the  original  vow  had  been 
made  without  her  consent.  Margaret, 
however,  remained  firm  in  her  decision 


20 


B.   MARGARET 


as    she    had     no    wish    to     leave    her 
cloister. 

Her  parents  built  her  a  monastery  at 
Buda,  on  the  island  in  the  Danube  after 
wards  called  in  honour  of  her  St.  Mar 
garet's  Island.  She  was  abbess  there.  She 
was  honoured  as  a  saint  from  the  moment 
of  her  death  and  the  whole  kingdom  of 
Hungary  demanded  her  canonization  of 
Clement  V.  but  it  was  never  accom 
plished.  She  continued,  however,  to 
work  miracles  ;  one  of  the  first  was,  that 
when  her  nephew,  King  Ladislaus  IV., 
was  at  the  point  of  death,  her  veil  was 
brought  to  him  and  placed  on  his  head  ; 
he  immediately  opened  his  eyes  and 
returned  to  consciousness,  and  soon  re 
covered.  As  soon  as  he  was  able,  he 
visited  her  tomb  and  busied  himself  about 
her  canonization. 

Her  life  was  written  in  1340,  by  a 
Dominican  monk,  from  the  original  docu 
ments  collected  five  years  after  her  death 
with  a  view  to  her  canonization.  A.R.M., 
Jan.  26.  AA.SS.,  Jan.  28.  Ferrarius. 
Lopez,  Hist,  de  Sancto  Domingo.  Mailath. 
Palacky.  Eibadeneira.  Baillet. 

B.  Margaret  (16),  June  4,  +1277. 
Second  abbess  of  Vau-le-duc  (Vallis 
ducis),  a  Cistercian  nunnery  founded  in 
1232,  by  her  father  Henry  1.,  duke  of 
Lorraine  and  Brabant.  She  is  called 
"Blessed"  by  the  Benedictine  and  Cister 
cian  chroniclers.  Her  worship  was  pro- 
ably  kept  up  as  long  as  the  convent 
was  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict  and 
forgotten  when  it  passed  to  Dominicans. 
AA.SS.  Gallia  Christiana.  Bucelinus. 
Honriquez.  Stadler. 

B.  Margaret  (17)  Colonna,  Sept. 
25,  Dec.  30,  V.  0.  S.  F.,  +  1284. 
Daughter  of  one  of  the  great  historical 
princely  houses  of  Rome.  Her  parents 
died  while  she  was  very  young  and 
some  of  her  brothers  wished  to  settle 
her  in  a  suitable  marriage,  but  one  of 
them,  of  a  more  religious  turn  than  the 
rest  (and  afterwards  a  cardinal),  en 
couraged  her  wish  to  be  a  nun;  she 
went  to  a  Franciscan  convent  near 
Rome,  where  she  was  occupied  with  the 
care  of  the  sick  but  the  veil  was  re 
fused  her  on  account  of  her  delicate 
health.  She  founded  a  convent  for 
nuns  of  St.  Clara  at  Palestrina ;  Hono- 


rius  IV.  (1285-1288)  gave  to  this  com 
munity  the  convent  of  San  Silvestro  in 
Capite  and  thither  her  relics  were  trans 
ferred.  Her  virtues  and  miracles  at 
tracted  public  veneration  from  the  time 
of  her  death.  Pius  IX.  in  1847  con 
firmed  her  immemorial  worship  and  pro 
nounced  her  Blessed.  A.R.M.  Romano 
Seraphicum.  Wadding.  Diario  di  Roma, 
Dec.  17,  1847.  Her  life  is  promised  by 
the  Bollandists. 

St.  Margaret  (18)  of  Cortona,  a 
penitent,  3rd  O.  S.  F.,  Feb.  22,  trans 
lation  Nov.  22,  1247-1297.  Repre 
sented  with  a  spaniel  or  lap  dog. 

She  was  born  in  the  little  town  of 
Laviano,  eight  miles  from  Cortona.  She 
grew  up  so  beautiful  that  wherever  she 
was,  people  would  look  at  nothing  but 
her  face ;  she  liked  this  admiration  and 
took  great  pains  to  dress  nicely,  curling 
her  hair  with  hot  irons.  When  she  was 
eighteen,  a  young  man  of  Montepulciano, 
having  great  riches,  went  about  seeking 
some  vicious  way  of  spending  them.  He 
seduced  Margaret  and  carried  her  off  to 
his  own  home  where  she  lived  with  him 
for  nine  years  in  a  handsome  house, 
dressing  expensively,  plaiting  her  hair 
with  gold  ribbons,  eating  dainty  food, 
riding  about  on  a  beautiful  horse  and 
wearing  jewels.  Notwithstanding  her 
sinful  life,  she  was  always  kind  and 
liberal,  and  had  a  respect  for  religion ; 
often  when,  in  her  rides,  she  came  to  a 
lonely  place,  she  said,  "It  would  be 
nice  to  pray  here."  She  had  a  son,  and 
she  hoped  that  her  lover  would  marry 
her  to  legitimize  his  child,  but  he  kept 
putting  it  off.  One  day  he  went  out  and 
as  he  did  not  return  that  day  nor  the 
next  she  became  very  anxious.  At  the 
same  time  her  little  pet  dog  disappeared. 
In  vain  she  sent  servants  to  look  for 
their  master.  His  absence  had  con 
tinued  for  some  days,  and  as  she  was 
looking  up  and  down  the  road,  sud 
denly  the  spaniel  rushed  to  her,  seized 
the  end  of  her  dress  in  its  teeth  and, 
without  jumping  up  or  making  any 
signs  of  joy  like  a  dog  that  has  been 
absent  from  his  mistress  for  a  week  and 
suddenly  finds  her,  he  showed  great 
eagerness  to  lead  her  on.  She  followed 
and  the  dog  led  her  to  a  thicket,  and 


ST.   MARGARET 


21 


went  in  among  the  bushes,  whining  and 
making  every  possible  sign  that  she 
should  follow.  This  sho  did  with  diffi 
culty  through  thorns  and  over  stones 
and  rough  places.  The  faithful  creature 
scraped  with  his  paws  and  tried  to  re 
move  the  earth.  Margaret  now  more 
alarmed  than  ever,  fetched  a  spade  and 
called  a  man  to  help  her  to  dig.  They 
soon  discovered  the  murdered  bcdy  of 
her  lost  lover,  in  a  horrible  state  of 
decay.  He  had  been  called  away  from 
a  sinful  life,  most  likely  without  a 
moment's  notice,  without  time  for  a 
repentant  prayer,  certainly  without  be 
ing  absolved  and  reconciled  by  the  rites 
of  the  Church.  Her  grief  and  her 
horror  were  extreme.  Next  morning, 
taking  her  little  boy  with  her,  she  went 
to  her  father's  house  at  Laviano  and 
begged  him  to  take  her  in  at  least  as  a 
servant,  and  let  her  have  some  of  the 
food  of  the  pigs  like  the  prodigal  son ; 
she  was  willing  to  be  beaten,  even  to  be 
killed.  Her  father  felt  compassion  for 
her  but  her  step-mother  positively  re 
fused  to  admit  her,  so  she  sat  awhile  in 
the  vineyard  uncertain  what  to  do,  or 
how  to  feed  her  child ;  she  had  thoughts 
of  returning  to  a  life  of  sin,  but  prayed 
against  that  temptation,  and  wandered 
forth  with  her  son  until  she  came  in 
sight  of  the  beautiful  city  of  Cortona, 
and  thought  it  was  like  Jerusalem  ;  and 
there  she  went  to  the  church  of  the 
Friars  Minors  and  asked  for  the  habit 
of  penitence.  This  they  refused  as  she 
was  still  young  and  pretty  and  her  con 
version  was  so  recent  that  they  feared 
she  would  relapse  into  her  unholy  life. 
She  frequented  the  church.  She  la 
boured  hard  to  maintain  herself  and  her 
child,  and  lived  in  a  poor  little  dwelling 
near  some  kind  ladies  who  gave  her 
work. 

In  1227,  when  she  had  destroyed  all 
her  beauty  by  fasting  and  weeping,  she 
made  a  general  confession  and  obtained 
admission  to  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis.  On  that  occasion  she  foretold 
that  she  would  in  time  become  holy  and 
that  pilgrims  would  come  to  visit  her. 
At  this  time  she  removed  to  a  still 
poorer  lodging,  nearer  to  the  church  of 
the  Friars.  She  became  a  servant,  and 


often  cooked  dainty  food  for  her  em 
ployers  but  never  touched  it  herself, 
living  all  the  time  in  the  most  rigidly 
penitential  ascetic  manner.  After  a 
time,  she  found  that  her  service  pre 
vented  her  attending  mass  and  sermons, 
and  she  gave  it  up. 

She  attended  the  great  ladies  of  Cor 
tona  in  their  confinements,  making  deli 
cate  food  and  devising  comforts  for  them 
but  never  departing  from  her  own  rigid 
practice  of  poverty  and  self-denial.  Then, 
that  she  might  attain  to  thorough  hu 
mility,  she  went  about  begging,  and  if 
any  one  gave  her  a  whole  loaf  she  would 
not  accept  it  lest  it  should  be  given  out 
of  regard  for  her  ;  she  would  only  have 
such  broken  scraps  as  would  be  given  to 
the  first  beggar  who  asked  for  anything. 

One  day  as  she  prayed  with  tears 
before  the  image  of  the  crucified  Saviour 
in  the  Franciscan  church,  He  bowed  His 
head  and  said  to  her,  "  What  wouldst  thou 
have,  poor  woman  ?  "  She  answered,  "  I 
seek  nothing,  I  wish  for  nothing  but 
Thee,  my  Lord  Jesus."  Another  day 
while  she  was  praying  she  heard  the  Sa 
viour  speak  to  her  in  the  spirit,  and  re 
mind  her  of  her  conversion,  of  the  favours 
granted  to  her,  such  as  perseverance,  in 
crease  in  virtue,  strength  to  do  penance, 
good  desires,  and  other  gifts.  She  ren 
dered  thanks  with  great  affection,  and 
Christ  told  her  He  had  forgiven  all  her 
sins,  and  would  make  her  a  mirror  of 
penitence,  a  net  and  a  ladder  to  bring 
sinners  to  repentance. 

As  the  fame  of  her  sanctity  began  to 
spread  abroad,  strangers  from  all  parts 
of  Italy,  France,  and  Spain  came  to  see 
her  and  take  counsel  of  her  ;  and  as  she 
was  attaining  to  great  humility,  the 
devil  tried  to  destroy  this  virtue  in  her 
and  make  her  vain  of  her  virtues  and 
favours.  Then  she  called  to  mind  her 
sins  and  her  shameful  life,  and  finding 
the  temptation  to  pride  returning  to  her 
thoughts  in  the  night,  she  went  out 
calling  through  the  streets  to  the  people 
to  arise  from  their  sleep  and  stone  her 
and  to  drag  her  and  chase  her  out  of 
their  city  that  she  might  not  contami 
nate  them  with  her  wickedness,  lest  they 
should  suffer  a  judgment  for  keeping 
so  depraved  a  creature  amongst  them. 


22 


ST.   MARGARET 


Many  arose  and  went  to  her  and  were 
edified  by  her  repentance,  and  the  devil 
never  again  lured  her  into  self-compla 
cency.  Once  she  went  with  a  cord 
round  her  neck,  in  the  poorest  clothing, 
to  Montepulciano,  where  she  had  lived 
during  those  nine  years  of  infamous  pros 
perity.  She  begged  for  alms,  saying, 
"Behold  your  Margaret,  so  pretty  and 
so  brilliant,  who  scandalized  you  all  and 
who  wounded  your  souls!  Take  ven 
geance  on  me." 

At  last  she  determined  to  serve  and 
beg  for  the  poor.  With  the  help  of  the 
charitable  Cortonese  she  built  a  hospital 
of  St.  Mary  of  Mercy,  called  the  Miseri- 
cordia.  It  is  still  standing.  She  gave 
up  her  former  cell  to  her  sister  ADRIANA 
(2)  and  served  the  destitute  and  the  sick, 
begging  from  door  to  door  for  them  until, 
worn  out  with  her  charitable  labours  and 
with  more  than  twenty  years  of  the  most 
severe  penance,  she  removed  to  a  poor 
place  in  the  highest  part  of  the  town 
near  the  citadel.  This  move  was  op 
posed  by  the  Franciscan  monks,  lest  she 
should  not  be  buried  amongst  them. 
Here  she  spent  the  short  remainder  of 
her  life,  and  died  Feb.  22,  1297.  She 
was  embalmed  and  laid  in  a  new  tomb  in 
the  Francisan  church  of  St.  Basil,  where 
twenty  years  before,  the  crucifix  had 
spoken  to  her.  She  was  afterwards 
translated  to  the  new  church — the  church 
of  the  monks  of  St.  Basil,  who  had  re 
moved  there ;  it  was  erected  in  her  name, 
on  a  neighbouring  hill,  by  the  Cortonese 
and  the  monks. 

In  1505  Leo  X.  went  to  visit  her 
tomb,  recommended  himself  to  her 
intercession,  and  gave  leave  to  exhibit 
her  relics  for  public  veneration  and  to 
celebrate  her  festival  in  Cortona  and  in 
her  own  Order.  Many  miracles  re 
warded  the  faith  of  those  who  sought 
her  intercession.  Urban  VIII.  declared 
her  "  Blessed,"  and  she  was  solemnly 
canonized  in  1728.  Her  son  became  a 
Franciscan  monk  and  a  great  preacher. 

AA.SS.  Jacobilli,  Santi  dell'  Umbria. 
Leon.  Gaspar  Bombaci.  Her  Life  by 
Marchese.  Leggendario.  Mrs.  Jameson, 
Sacred  and  Legendary  Art. 

St.  Margaret  09)  of  Castello,  April 
13,  -f  1320,  0.  S.  D.  Born  blind  in 


1287  at  Metola,  in  the  duchy  of  Spoleto. 
She  wore  a  hair  shirt  from  the  age  of 
seven  and  fasted  and  prayed  much.  Her 
parents  were  greatly  distressed  at  her 
blindness  and  took  her  to  Castello,  where 
they  offered  and  commended  her  to  a 
saint  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  whose 
body  was  kept  there  with  great  venera 
tion  and  wrought  many  miracles.  As 
the  saint  did  not  open  the  eyes  of  the 
child,  her  parents  abandoned  her  in  the 
streets  of  Castello  and  went  home  with 
out  her.  Some  charitable  women  took 
pity  on  her  and  placed  her  in  a  little 
convent  which  bore  the  name  of  St. 
Margaret;  she  did  not  remain  there 
long,  as  her  sanctity  and  asceticism  so 
much  exceeded  those  of  all  her  com 
panions  that  they  were  dissatisfied  with 
her,  and  spoke  evil  of  her,  and  turned 
her  out  in  disgrace.  A  certain  honest 
man,  called  Venturino,  took  her  in  for 
the  love  of  God ;  his  wife  Grigia  re 
ceived  her  with  great  kindness,  and  she 
passed  the  rest  of  her  life  with  them. 
The  Lord  to  whom  the  forsaken  child 
belonged  began  immediately  to  pay  for 
her  board  and  lodging  in  miracles  and 
the  notorious  sanctity  of  His  servant. 
Although  owing  to  her  blindness  she 
had  never  learnt  to  read,  she  used  to- 
assist  and  instruct  the  sons  of  Ventu 
rino  and  Grigia  in  preparing  their  daily 
tasks  for  school.  One  day  she  was  pray 
ing  in  her  room  at  the  top  of  the  house 
when  the  kitchen  took  fire.  A  concourse 
of  people  rushed  to  the  house  so  that 
half  the  town  were  assembled  there, 
making  so  much  noise  and  confusion 
that  Grigia  did  not  know  whether  the 
fire  or  the  crowd  was  worse.  In  her 
distress  she  called  Margaret,  who  left 
her  prayers  and  threw  her  cloak  down 
saying,  "Don't  be  afraid, Signora Grigia, 
throw  this  over  the  fire  and  it  will  go 
out."  Grigia  obeyed  her.  The  fire 
was  extinguished  quicker  than  if  a  river 
of  water  had  been  turned  into  it ;  and  all 
the  people  saw  that  the  power  of  God 
was  greater  than  the  deluge. 

Margaret  received  the  habit  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Dominic  from  the  brothers 
of  that  body,  and  frequented  their 
church,  still  living  with  Venturino 
and  Grigia.  Her  favourite  subjects  of 


ST.   MARGARET 


23 


meditation  were  the  delivery  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  the 
service  of  St.  Joseph  during  the  flight 
into  Egypt  and  the  return  thence. 

On  her  death,  a  grave  was  dug  for 
her  in  the  cemetery,  but  the  people 
who  had  witnessed  her  sanctity  and  her 
miracles,  clamoured  to  have  her  buried 
in  the  church  like  a  saint,  so  they  made 
a  wooden  box  and  took  her  in  it  to  the 
church.  A  dumb  and  deformed  boy  was 
brought  to  this  extemporized  coffin,  and 
as  soon  as  he  touched  the  body  of  the 
saint  he  became  straight  and  cried  out 
that  he  was  healed  by  St.  Margaret.  He 
forthwith  took  the  Dominican  habit,  to 
the  joy  of  his  grateful  parents. 

The  rulers  of  the  town  decided  that 
Margaret  ought  to  be  embalmed.  This 
operation  was  attended  by  miracles,  the 
most  remarkable  of  which  was  that  her 
heart  was  found  to  contain  three  precious 
stones  marked  with  representations  of  the 
three  chief  subjects  of  her  meditations. 
On  one  was  engraved  the  image  of  a 
beautiful  woman  with  a  gold  crown  on 
her  head ;  on  the  second,  a  new-born 
child  batween  two  mules ;  on  the  third, 
an  old  man  with  a  bald  head  and  white 
beard,  wearing  a  gold  mantle  ;  before 
him  was  a  woman  on  her  knees,  in  the 
dress  of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  repre 
senting  Margaret  herself  at  her  devo 
tions.  She  cured  many  persons  possessed 
of  devils  and  afflicted  with  blindness 
and  divers  diseases.  Her  worship  and 
miracles  having  continued  for  nearly 
three  hundred  years,  her  honours  were 
solemnly  confirmed  by  Paul  V.  in  1609. 

Mart.Predicatorum.  AA.SS.  Ferrarius. 
Cahier.  Pio.  Razzi.  Analecta. 

B.  or  S.  Margaret  (20)  of  Faenza, 
Aug.  26,  V.  -f  1330.  She  was  abbess 
of  the  Order  of  Vallombrosa,  and  was 
buried  at  the  convent  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist  at  St.  Salvio,  near  Florence. 
For  centuries  the  nuns  reverently  pre 
served  the  image  of  the  Infant  Christ, 
which  she  caused  to  be  made.  She  was 
the  disciple,  beloved  companion  and  suc 
cessor  of  ST.  HUMILITY.  She  was  favoured 
with  many  celestial  apparitions  and  mar 
ried  with  a  ring  to  Christ  in  a  vision. 
AA.SS.  Bucelinus.  Ferrarius. 

St.    Margaret  (21)  of  Sanseverino, 


widow,  Aug.  T>,  27,  4-  1395,  called  La 
Paittoretta,  the  shepherdess.  She  was 
born  of  poor  parents  in  the  village  of 
Cesalo,  near  Sanseverino.  She  was 
always  anxious  to  serve  God  and  her 
neighbour  and  to  deny  herself.  When 
she  was  seven  years  old,  she  was  sent  by 
her  mother  to  feed  the  sheep.  On  the 
way  she  saw  a  noble  looking  pilgrim 
sitting  on  the  ground,  apparently  worn 
out  with  fatigue  and  hunger.  He  asked 
her  if  she  could  spare  him  some  of  the 
food  she  was  carrying  for  herself,  as  he 
was  dying  of  hunger.  Although  she 
was  very  hungry,  the  child  opened  her 
little  bag  and  gave  all  her  bread  to  the 
pilgrim,  who  stood  up  and  solemnly 
blessed  her  for  her  charity  and  then 
vanished  out  of  her  sight.  She  knew 
that  he  was  no  mortal  man  and  she 
spent  the  rest  of  the  day  in  prayer.  At 
night  when  she  brought  home  the  sheep 
as  usual,  she  was  very  hungry  and  asked 
her  mother  for  bread.  The  mother  re 
plied  somewhat  angrily,  "  Didn't  you 
see  that  the  cupboard  was  empty  when  I 
gave  you  the  last  bit  of  bread  I  had  in 
the  morning  ?  And  now  you  come  and 
ask  for  more  before  supper  time  as  if  you 
were  the  only  one  of  the  family  that 
wanted  food  !  Don't  you  know  how  poor 
we  are  ?  Do  you  forget  that  we  all 
want  food  ?  "  Margaret  told  her  mother 
she  had  been  fasting  all  day  because 
she  had  given  all  her  bread  to  a  beggar, 
and  that  she  was  not  sorry  for  it  as  she 
had  done  it  for  the  love  of  Christ  and 
she  believed  she  had  given  her  charity 
to  the  Lord  Himself.  "Well  then," 
said  the  mother,  "  bear  with  patience  the 
hunger  you  voluntarily  encountered." 
With  these  words  she  opened  the  cup 
board,  and  saw  to  her  surprise  a  large, 
white  loaf  of  bread  which  she  at  once 
divided,  giving  a  piece  to  Margaret  first, 
and  afterwards  sharing  it  with  the  whole 
family  and  some  relations  and  neigh 
bours,  who,  hearing  that  something  un 
usual  was  going  on,  nocked  to  the  house. 
When  they  saw  the  miracle  they  en 
treated  Margaret  to  pray  for  them  and 
they  all  lived  together  in  peace.  At 
fifteen  Margaret  was  married  to  a  man  of 
Sanseverino,  with  whom  she  never  quar 
relled  during  the  twenty-one  years  of  her 


24 


B.   MARGARET 


married  life ;  she  bad  several  sons  and 
daughters  whom  she  brought  up  piously. 
EM.,  Aug.  27.  AA.SS.,Aug.  5.  Baro- 
nius,  Annales. 

B.  Margaret  (22)  Dominici,  June 
13,  1378-1442,  O.S.F.,  was  born  at 
Foligno,  of  obscure  but  honest  parents. 
From  the  time  of  her  mother's  death, 
when  she  was  fifteen,  she  prayed  for  two 
years  incessantly  to  be  guided  where 
and  how  she  was  to  serve  God.  He 
inspired  B.  ANGELINA  CORBARA  to  come 
to  Foligno,  where,  in  1395,  she  founded 
the  monastery  of  St.  Anna.  Devotees 
came  from  many  places  but  Margaret 
was  the  first  virgin  of  Foligno  to  enter 
there.  Angelina  was  like  the  sun  among 
planets,  and  Margaret  was  like  the  moon 
among  stars.  The  number  of  nuns  being 
too  great  for  this  convent,  in  1399  a 
branch  was  established,  one  hundred 
paces  from  St.  Anna's,  and  was  dedicated 
in  the  name  of  St.  Agnes,  V.M.  After 
long  prayers  it  appeared  that  Margaret 
was  chosen  in  heaven  to  rule  the  new 
monastery.  When  Angelina  announced 
this  to  her,  Margaret  was  overwhelmed 
with  the  sense  of  her  own  un worthiness, 
but  in  obedience  to  the  Ministra — as 
Angelina  was  called — and  the  bishop, 
she  was  obliged  to  accept  the  office  of 
Superior  of  the  new  house.  It  was 
called  La  Margaritura  and  the  nuns 
were  called  Maryaritole.  In  1402  the 
Margaritole  had  become  so  numerous 
that  she  had  to  enlarge  the  house.  Mar 
garet  was  sent  in  1431  to  set  up  a  new 
monastery  of  St.  Catherine  in  Spoleto. 
She  afterwards  returned  to  her  own 
at  Foligno,  and  was  eventually  elected 
second  Minister- General  of  the  Ter- 
tiaries.  She  miraculously  cured  de 
formed  and  dumb  persons.  She  died 
on  June  13,  the  day  of  St.  Antony  of 
Padua,  whom  thenceforward  her  nuns 
took  for  patron,  honouring  their  own 
saint  with  him  every  year.  Many  pri 
vileges  had  been  granted  by  different 
Popes,  to  the  convent  of  St.  Anna,  and 
Pius  II.,  in  1462,  extended  these  to  the 
house  of  St.  Agnes  of  the  Margaritura. 
Margaret  performed  new  miracles  when 
her  grave  was  opened,  and  again,  in 
1588,  on  the  occasion  of  her  translation. 
She  is  enrolled  by  the  O  S.F.  and  by  the 


people  of  Foligno  among  their  Saints. 
Jacobilli,  Santi  di  Foligno  Santi  dell"1 
Umbria,  and  his  life  of  St.  Angelina. 

B.  Margaret  (23)  of  Sulmona,  Sept. 
5,  1395-1449,  O.S.F.  Daughter  of 
Francesco  Figliuoli  and  of  GEMMA  (5)  di 
Letto.  Margaret  was  brought  up  by 
her  cousin  ALEXANDRINA  in  the  convent 
of  St.  Clara  at  Sulmona.  Jacobilli  has 
written  the  lives  of  the  saintly  family  of 
Letto  of  Sulmona,  whose  members  he 
also  mentions  in  his  Santi  dell'  Umbria. 

B.  Margaret  (24)  of  Savoy  or  MAR- 
GARIDA  A  GRANDE  (Agiologio  Dominico), 
Nov.  23,  27,  +  1464,  3rd  O.S.D.  Patron 
of  Alba  de  Montferrat.  Eepresented 
holding  three  lances.  Daughter  of  Louis, 
count  of  Savoy  and  prince  of  Achaia, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  family  of  the 
dukes  of  Savoy.  She  was  married  young 
to  Theodore  Paleologus,  marquis  of 
Montferrat,  of  imperial  descent.  She 
was  disposed  to  virtue  and  piety  and  her 
heart  was  touched  by  the  preaching  of 
St.  Vincent  Ferrer,  so  that  she  became 
more  strict  in  her  conduct.  Under  her 
silken  robes,  she  wore  a  cilicium.  She 
was  extremely  charitable,  particularly  to 
those  who  were  ashamed  to  beg.  Her 
husband  died  about  1418,  and  she  left 
the  government  to  John  James,  her  step 
son.  When  she  was  a  widow  and  before 
she  became  a  nun,  she  prayed  to  be  num 
bered  among  the  elect.  The  Lord  ap 
peared  to  her  in  human  form.  He  offered 
her  three  lances,  which  were  the  three 
different  trials  of  calumny,  sickness,  and 
persecution,  and  asked  her  which  she 
would  choose  to  suffer.  She  said  she 
would  leave  the  choice  to  His  wisdom, 
so  He  granted  her  all  the  three.  She 
had  no  children.  She  went  to  Alba,  not 
as  a  princess  but  as  a  poor  woman,  and 
in  a  few  days  she  took  the  habit  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  She  was 
still  beautiful  and  was  invited  to  marry 
Filippo  Maria,  duke  of  Milan.  She  re 
fused  on  the  ground  of  her  religious 
vow.  Eugenius  IV.  granted  a  dispensa 
tion,  but  she  would  not  have  it.  She 
suffered  badly  from  gout  and  prayed  to 
be  rid  of  it.  The  VIRGIN  MARY  told  her 
she  must  bear  it  until  her  death.  She  did 
so  and  never  complained  again.  She 
asked  and  received  of  the  Pope,  the  old 


B.   MARGARET 


25 


abbey  of  Gracciano,  founded  by  Alerano, 
the  first  marquis,  and  containing  his 
tomb;  and  there  she  built  the  convent 
of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  where  she  shut 
herself  up  and  imitated  St.  Dominic, 
walking  towards  Paradise  by  the  difficult 
road  of  patience.  She  cured  her  niece 
Amadea,  afterwards  queen  of  Cyprus, 
whom  all  the  physicians  had  given  up.  A 
certain  lady  having  heard  Margaret  spoken 
ill  of,  abused  her  and  shut  the  door  in 
her  face.  As  a  punishment  for  this  un 
just  and  unchristian  conduct,  she  brought 
forth  monsters  instead  of  children,  until 
she  repented  and  craved  the  pardon  of 
the  saint.  Margaret  brought  up  Gian- 
nettina  de'  Boccarelli,  who  became  a  very 
holy  nun.  They  were  united  by  the  ten- 
derest  affection.  Their  spiritual  father 
ordered  them  not  to  speak  to  each  other 
and  they  dutifully  obeyed.  A.R.M.,  Nov. 
27.  Razzi.  Piq.  Cahier.  Manoel  de 
Lima.  Her  Life  is  to  be  in  the  AA.SS. 
when  they  come  down  to  Nov.  27. 

B.  Margaret  (25)  Stropeni,  LUCINA 
(5). 

B.  Margaret  (2(3)  of  Ravenna,  Jan. 
23,  1442-1505,  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Congregation  of  the  Good  Jesus,  was 
born  at  the  village  of  Russi,  between 
Ravenna  and  Faeuza.  She  became  blind 
at  two  months  old  and  began  from  early 
childhood  to  lead  a  life  of  religious  con 
templation  and  extreme  austerity.  She 
suffered  much  from  ill-health  and  from 
the  unkindness  of  her  neighbours,  who 
accused  her  of  hypocrisy.  At  length, 
however,  they  were  convinced  of  her 
sincerity  and  goodness,  and  all  of  them 
and  three  hundred  other  persons  who 
had  been  strangers  to  her  put  themselves 
under  her  guidance.  She  then  thought 
herself  called  to  draw  up  a  rule.  It  was 
written,  in  the  first  place  from  her  dicta 
tion,  by  Dom  Serafino  di  Fermo,  a  Canon 
Regular  of  St.  John  Lateran.  The  Ven. 
Father  Jerome  Maluselli  and  B.  GENTILE, 
her  disciple,  assisted  her  in  founding 
this  secular  order,  which  was  intended 
for  persons  living  in  the  world.  Each 
member  was  enjoined  to  be  content  with 
his  station  and  fulfil  its  duties:  there 
were  special  rules  for  the  guidance  of 
women  married  and  single  :  the  clergy 
of  this  brotherhood  were  bound  to  be 


content  with  their  income  and  not  seek 
to  obtain  good  livings.  Twenty  years 
after  the  death  of  Margaret,  Maluselli 
suppressed  such  of  her  rules  as  were 
adapted  to  laymen  and  women,  and  it 
became  an  order  for  priests  only,  under 
the  name  of  the  Priests  or  Regular  Clerks 
of  the  Good  Jesus.  The  Biografia  Ec- 
clesiastica  says  that,  with  the  exception 
of  the  extreme  asceticism  inculcated  on 
members  of  religious  orders,  her  holy 
counsels  for  her  Congregation  would  be 
good  for  every  Christian.  About  thirty 
years  after  her  death,  Paul  III.  con 
firmed  her  institution  and  commanded 
that  her  miracles  and  prophecies  should 
be  inquired  into.  She  is  not  yet  canon 
ized  but  is  numbered  among  the  saints 
of  Italy.  She  foretold  many  events 
which  duly  came  to  pass,  in  particular 
the  depopulation  of  Ravenna  by  the 
French,  which  occurred  within  a  year  of 
her  death.  AA.SS.  Helyot.  Ferrarius. 

B.  Margaret  (27)  Fontana,  Sept. 
13,  1440-1513,  was  a  very  good  and 
charitable  woman,  who  belonged  to  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  and  lived  in 
her  own  family  in  Modena.  One  winter, 
although  food  was  very  scarce,  she  deter 
mined  to  take  some  bread  to  the  poor. 
It  was  near  Christmas  and  bitterly  cold. 
As  she  was  coming  downstairs  with  her 
apron  full  of  bread,  she  met  her  brother, 
who  angrily  asked  her  what  she  had 
there.  The  terrified  girl  said,  "  Roses," 
and  immediately  the  loaves  were  changed 
into  fresh,  sweet  roses.  At  her  death 
her  family  were  going  to  bury  her  in 
their  own  tomb,  but  the  workmen  suf 
fered  such  awful  terrors  when  they 
began  to  prepare  the  grave  that  they 
were  obliged  to  desist ;  it  was  then  de 
cided  to  bury  her  in  the  Dominican 
church,  where  her  tomb  emitted  a  scent 
of  roses.  AA.SS.  Pio.  Razzi. 

B.  Margaret  (28)  of  Lorraine,  or 
Margaret  of  the  Ave  Maria,  Nov.  2, 
1463-1521,  O.S.F.,  was  the  daughter  of 
Ferry  de  Lorraine,  count  of  Vaudemont. 
Her  mother  was  Yoland  d'Anjou,  duchess 
of  Lorraine  and  Bar,  eldest  daughter 
of  Rene  d'Anjou,  titular  king  of  Jeru 
salem,  Sicily,  and  Naples,  and  sister  of 
Margaret  of  Anjou,  Queen  of  England. 

After    the    death     of    her    parents, 


B.   MARGARET 


Margaret  spent  some  years  of  her  youth 
at  Aix  in  Provence,  at  the  Court  of  her 
grandfather,  King   Rene,  famous    as   a 
patron  of  troubadours.      At   his   death 
she  went  to  live  with  her  brother  Rene, 
duke  of  Lorraine,  who  married  her,  in 
1488,  to  Rene  de  Yalois,  duke  of  Alencon, 
count  of  le  Perche,  viscount  of  Beaude- 
mont.      Her   married    life   lasted   little 
more  than  four  years,  and  at  thirty,  she 
was  left  a  widow  with  three  children. 
Her  inclination  would  have  led  her  to 
religious  retirement,  but  for  the  sake  of 
her  children,  she  went  to  the  Court  of 
her  relation  Charles  VIII.   to  be   pro 
tected  and  confirmed  in  their  guardian 
ship.     On  the  accession  of  Louis   XII. 
she  went  to  Court  to  congratulate  him, 
as  her  son  had  to  take  part  in  the  cere 
mony  of  his  coronation.     The  king  made 
her  stay  for  his  second   marriage  with 
Anne  of  Bretagne,  who  was  a  firm  friend 
of  Margaret.     On  this  occasion  she  also 
paid  a  visit  of  affection  and  respect  to 
the  ex-queen  ST.  JANE  (10).     Margaret 
brought  up  her  children  with  great  care 
and  was  so  good  a  manager  of  their  pro 
perty  that,  during  the  minority  of  her 
son,  she  paid  off  debts  and  burdens  to 
the  amount  of  133,000  crowns,  without 
diminishing  the  state  required  of  him  as 
a  prince  of  the  blood.     She  took  great 
care   that   his   subjects   should   live   in 
peace  and  safety,  and  spared  no  pains  to 
provide  good  magistrates  to  look  after 
them  and  do  them  justice.      She  made 
great  alliances  for  her  children,  marrying 
her  son  Charles,  duke  of  Alencon,  to  the 
only  sister  of  the  Due  de  Valois,  after 
wards  King  Francis  I. ;  her  elder  daugh 
ter,  first  to  one  duke  and  then  to  another, 
and   the   younger    to   the   Marquis    de 
Montferrat,  a  member  of  the    imperial 
family  of  Paloologus.  All  these  expenses 
and  economies  did  not  prevent  her  from 
giving  immense  sums  in  charity  ;    and 
not  content  with  giving,  she  waited  in 
person  on  the  poor,  dressing  their  sores, 
feeding  and  nursing  them.     Her  ladies 
were  unable  to  overcome  their   repug 
nance    to   these   charitable   works,    and 
could    not    assist    her.     She   built   five 
monasteries:      Argentan,     Alencon,    la 
Fleche,  Mortagne,  and  Chateau  Gontier  ; 
the  last  was  for  the  Third  Order  of  St. 


Francis,  and  had  a  hospital  attached  to 
it  for  sick  persons  and  for  the  enter 
tainment  of  pilgrims. 

When  she  had  bsen  a  widow  twenty- 
four  years,  and  had  set  all  her  family 
affairs  in  good  order,  she  took  leave  of 
King  Francis  I.  and  assumed  the  habit 
of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  in 
presence  of  her  son  and  daughters.  After 
a  year  of  probation,  she  took  the  vows  in 
1518.  She  lived  as  a  nun  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Clara,  at  Argentan,  for  four  years 
in  great  perfection,  and  died  in  the  odour 
of  sanctity,  1521.  She  was  buried  in 
the  church  of  her  convent,  where,  not 
withstanding  the  damp,  her  body  re 
mained  perfect  and  lifelike  for  many 
years,  and  smelt  of  the  gardens  of 
Paradise.  Steps  were  taken  for  her 
canonization  in  the  reign  and  by  the 
wish  of  her  grandson  Louis  XIII.,  but 
owing  to  his  death  and  the  long  minority 
of  his  son,  the  subject  was  allowed  to 
drop. 

The  Bollandists  say  that  her  worship 
has  never  been  authorized,  but  the  people 
of  Argentan  and  Alencon  persist  ^  in 
honouring  and  invoking  her  as  a  saint. 
AA.SS.  Hueber,  Menologium  Francis- 
canum  (Nov.  5).  Leon,  Aureole  de  Ste. 
Claire.  Coste,  Eloges  des  Eeines.  Lau 
rent,  Hist,  de  Marguerite  de  Lorraine. 

In  the  church  of  St.  Germain  at 
Argentan,  on  the  left  side  of  the  great 
door,  is  the  chapel  of  B.  Clara,  which  is 
always  called  by  the  populace  the  Chapel 
of  St.  Margaret  (meaning  the  Duchess  of 
Alencon).  There  her  heart  is  built  up 
in  the  wall,  and  there  pious  persons  light 
candles  and  put  money  on  the  altar,  and 
often  demand  to  have  masses  said  in 
honour  of  Margaret.  Women  near  their 
confinement  invoke  her  and  provide 
themselves  with  her  relics,  and  the  nuns 
of  her  convents  resort  to  her  intercession 
and  protection  with  advantage  on  all 
occasions. 

B.  Margaret  (29)  Plantagenet, 
May  4,  28,  3469  or  1473-1541,  was  born 
at  Farley  Castle  near  Bath.  Daughter 
of  George,  duke  of  Clarence,  and  Isabella, 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick.  Mar 
garet  was  niece  of  Edward  IV.  and 
Richard  III.  Her  brother  Edward  was 
beheaded  on  Tower  Hill  in  1499.  She 


B.  MARGARET 


27 


married,  in  1-H'l,  Sir  Richard  Pole,  a 
landed  gentleman  of  Bucks  and  kinsman 
of  Henry  VII.  Sir  Richard  had  already 
done  good  service  to  the  king  and  after 
his  marriage  he  distinguished  himself 
particularly  in  the  wars  against  Scotland, 
for  which  he  was  made  a  Knight  of 
the  Garter  and  chief  gentleman  of  the 
bed-chamber  to  Prince  Arthur,  eldest 
son  of  Henry  VII.  It  was  probably  at 
this  time  that  Margaret's  friendship  with 
Catherine  of  Aragon  began.  Later,  he 
was  made  Constable  of  the  castles  of 
Harlech  and  Montgomery  and  held  other 
important  appointments  in  Wales.  He 
died  in  1505,  leaving  Margaret  a  widow, 
with  five  children,  viz. — (1)  Henry, 
lord  Montague  in  his  mother's  right, 
beheaded  shortly  before  her,  on  a  charge 
of  plotting  to  dethrone  Henry  VIII.  in 
favour  of  Reginald  Pole ;  (2)  Geoffrey, 
convicted  at  the  same  time,  but  pardoned 
in  consideration  of  his  betraying  the 
secrets  of  his  party ;  (3)  Arthur,  con 
demned  to  death  for  plotting  in  favour 
of  Queen  Mary  Stuart,  but  not  executed, 
on  account  of  his  near  relationship  to 
Queen  Elizabeth  Tudor ;  (4)  Reginald, 
Cardinal,  born  at  Stoverton  Castle,  Staf 
fordshire,  in  1500,  on  two  occasions  he 
was  nearly  elected  Pope ;  twice  he  came 
near  to  being  made  King  of  England ; 
he  was  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  after 
Cranmer;  he  died  in  1558  on  the  same 
day  as  Queen  Mary;  he  is  buried  in 
Canterbury  Cathedral ;  (5)  Ursula,  mar 
ried,  in  1516,  Henry,  lord  Stafford,  son 
of  the  last  Duke  of  Buckingham  of  that 
family.  The  Duke  was  beheaded  in 
1522  but  the  barony  of  Stafford  was 
afterwards  restored  to  Henry. 

Henry  VIII.  succeeded  to  the  throne 
in  1509.  He  held  Margaret  in  great 
esteem  'and,  desiring  to  atone  for  the 
judicial  murder  of  her  brother,  Prince 
Edward,  and  the  injustice  that  had  been 
done  to  her  family,  he  at  once  granted 
her  an  annuity.  In  1513  he  reversed 
the  attainder  of  the  prince  and  made  full 
restitution  to  her  of  all  the  rights  of  her 
family,  creating  her  Countess  of  Salis 
bury  and  giving  her  all  the  lands  be 
longing  to  the  earldom.  She  now  had 
fine  estates  in  Hampshire,  Wiltshire,  and 
Somersetshire,  and  although  she  had 


heavy  burdens  in  the  way  of  "  benevo 
lence  "  and  "  redemption  money  "  to  the 
king,  she  was  rich  enough,  a  good  many 
years  later,  to  buy  additional  property  for 
herself  in  Essex  and  Buckinghamshire. 

In  1517  Henry's  eldest  daughter,  the 
only  child  of  Catherine  of  Aragon,  was 
born  at  Greenwich  Palace.  Henry,  who 
called  Lady  Salisbury  "  the  most  saintly 
woman  in  England,"  appointed  her 
governess  to  the  infant  Princess,  after 
wards  Queen  Mary.  Margaret  carried 
her  pupil  to  the  neighbouring  church 
of  the  Grey  Friars  to  be  christened ; 
she  appointed  a  kinswoman  of  her  own 
to  be  her  wet-nurse  and  devoted  herself 
with  watchful  affection  to  her  charge  as 
long  as  she  was  suffered  to  remain  at  her 
post. 

In  1533  the  king  married  Anne 
Boleyn.  The  Countess  of  Salisbury, 
whose  heart  was  in  the  cause  of  the  in 
jured  Queen  Catherine  and  the  Catholic 
religion,  withdrew  from  Court.  The 
king  sent  a  lady  to  her  with  orders  to 
bring  the  Princess  Mary's  jewels  to  him. 
Margaret  refused  to  give  them  up.  The 
king  then  deposed  her  from  her  office  of 
governess,  but  the  faithful  Margaret 
said  she  would  remain  with  her  beloved 
pupil  at  her  own  expense.  Mary  re 
garded  her  as  a  second  mother  and 
Catherine  fully  appreciated  her  self- 
sacrificing  devotion.  The  king,  how 
ever,  took  means  to  remove  his  daughter 
from  her  care.  After  the  fall  of  Anne 
Boleyn,  in  1536,  the  Countess  of  Salis 
bury  returned  to  Court  and  to  favour. 
Meantime,  in  answer  to  Henry's  declara 
tion  that  he  constituted  himself  Head  of 
the  Church,  her  son  Reginald  Pole  wrote 
his  book  Pro  Unitate  Ecclesise  and  sent 
it  to  the  king.  At  the  same  time  an 
insurrection  occurred  in  the  north  of 
England,  caused  by  the  dislike  of  the 
people  to  the  change  of  religion  and  by 
their  loss  of  respect  for  the  king.  The 
book  gave  dire  offence,  and  the  king 
knowing  that  Pole  was  working  against 
him  in  foreign  Courts  and  that  his  whole 
family  were  hostile  to  the  new  arrange 
ments,  determined  to  get  rid  of  them  all. 
The  Countess  of  Salisbury,  who  was  now 
about  seventy  years  old,  was  accused  of 
treason.  She  was  imprisoned  for  a  time 


B.   MARGARET 


in  the  house  of  Fitzwilliam,  earl  of 
Southampton,  who  did  not  treat  her 
with  the  consideration  due  to  her  station. 
She  was  never  brought  to  trial  as  it  was 
certain  that  any  jury  would  acquit  her. 
In  1539  she  was  removed  to  the  Tower, 
where  she  was  kept  without  the  common 
comforts  necessary  to  her  age,  and  not 
withstanding  her  great  possessions,  was 
not  able  to  buy  herself  a  warm  garment 
to  protect  her  from  the  extreme  cold; 
Catherine  Howard,  the  fourth  of  Henry 
VIII.'s  queens,  sent  her  a  furred  gown, 
some  shoes  and  slippers  and  other  com 
forts.  It  was  generally  supposed  that 
the  Countess  would  soon  be  released  ; 
but  early  on  the  morning  of  May  27  she 
was  informed  that  she  was  to  die  that 
day.  She  walked  with  a  firm  step  to 
the  grass  plot  still  shown  in  the  Tower, 
where  Anne  Boleyn,  before  her,  and 
Catherine  Howard,  after  her,  were  be 
headed.  When  ordered  to  lay  her  head 
on  the  block  she  said,  "  Thus  should 
traitors  die,  I  am  none !  "  and  stood  erect, 
her  almost  gigantic  height  towering  above 
the  guards  and  spectators;  and  so  she 
was  beheaded. 

When  Cardinal  Pole  was  told  of  her 
death,  he  said  that  he  had  always  thanked 
God  for  giving  him  a  pious  and  excellent 
mother,  but  that  it  was  an  unexpected 
honour  to  be  able  to  call  himself  the  son 
of  a  martyr. 

Margaret's  portrait,  with  those  of  many 
other  martyrs,  was  painted  on  the  walls 
of  the  ancient  church  of  the  English 
college  in  Rome,  with  the  sanction  of 
Gregory  XIII. 

She  is  the  only  woman  among  the 
fifty-four  English  Martyrs,  May  4,  pro 
nounced  Blessed  by  Pope  Leo  XIII., 
Dec.  9,  1886.  They  were  martyred 
by  Protestants  in  England  during  the 
struggle  on  account  of  the  change  in  the 
national  religion,  between  1 535  and  1681. 
Die.  of  Nat.  Biocj.  Phillips,  Life  of 
Pole.  Beeton,  British  Biography  ;  Nou- 
velle  Biogragnie  Universelle.  Thomas, 
Universal  Die.  of  Biography.  Lingard, 
Hist,  of  England.  Low  and  Pulling,  Die. 
of  English  History.  Sanford,  Hist,  of  the 
Royal  Family  of  England.  Keightley, 
Hist,  of  England.  Stanton,  Menology  of 
England  and  Wales. 


B.  Margaret  (30)  of  Piazza  in  Sicily, 
or  Margaret  Calixabeta,  March  7, 
May  12,  Sept.  13,  Dec.  28,  +  1560,  3rd 
O.S.F.  Her  father's  name  was  Thomas 
Matthia  ;  her  mother  was  Angela  Negra. 
Various  days  and  dates  are  assigned  to 
her.  She  lived  alone  in  a  humble  dwell 
ing  and  took  poor  girls  to  teach  and 
train.  She  is  credited  with  miracles. 
Stadler.  Hueber. 

St.  Margaret  (31)  delle  Chiave, 
Sept.  8,  June  13,  -f  1570.  A  Portu 
guese  widow,  a  nun,  O.S.A.,  at  Ponta 
Delgada  in  the  Azores.  She  was  ex 
tremely  ascetic  and  had  wonderful 
spiritual  gifts.  She  died  Sept.  8,  and 
was  translated  June  20.  Her  immediate 
canonization  was  confidently  expected 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  island;  they 
began  at  once  to  build  a  church  in  her 
honour,  but  as  she  was  not  canonized 
it  was  not  permissible  to  dedicate  it  in 
her  name,  so  ST.  MAKGAKET  (1)  was 
chosen  as  its  patron  in  1587.  Margaret 
(31)  is  called  "Saint"  byTorelli,  Secoli. 
Cardoso,  Agiologio  Lusitano.  Chevalier, 
Repertoire.  AA.SS.,  June  23,  Prseter. 

B.  Margaret  (32),  Sept.  14,  +  1574. 
Daughter  of  Francis  I.,  king  of  France. 
Married,  in  1559,  to  Emmanuel  Phili- 
bert,  duke  of  Savoy.  Migne.  Her 
sister  Magdelaine  married  James  V., 
king  of  Scotland. 

B.  Margaret  (33)  Agullona,  Dec. 
9,  1536-1600,  3rd  O.S.F. — erroneously 
called  Margaret  Angelona  and  B. 
BULLONA — was  born  at  Xativa  in  Val 
encia.  In  her  childhood  she  was  sur 
rounded  by  a  miraculous  light,  which 
moved  about  with  her.  At  twenty,  she 
became  a  member  of  the  Third  Order  of 
St.  Francis,  and  gave  all  she  had  to  the 
poor.  She  lived  by  the  work  of  her 
own  hands,  went  about  in  ragged 
clothes,  and  begged  at  the  gate  of 
the  friars.  Her  sanctity  attracted  the 
attention  of  St.  Louis  Bertran,  Louis  of 
Grenada  and  other  persons  eminent  for 
learning  and  holiness.  In  her  time, 
Mary,  prioress  of  the  Convent  of  the 
Annunciation  in  Lisbon,  pretended  to 
have  the  stigmata  and  deceived  every  one, 
even  Pope  Gregory  XIII.,  who  wrote 
her  a  letter.  When  she  was  found  out, 
a  great  revulsion  of  feeling  set  in 


ST.   MARIAMNA 


29 


against  ecstatic  nuns  in  general,  and 
Margaret  came  in  for  a  share  of  the 
popular  dislike  and  persecution,  but 
her  perseverance  was  rewarded  with 
increase  of  grace.  "  Such  wonderful 
things  are  recounted  of  this  illustrious 
virgin,"  says  the  Bwgrafia  Bcdetiattica, 
"  that  if  they  were  properly  proven, 
there  is  no  doubt  she  would  be  placed 
in  the  category  of  the  saints."  Da^a 
and  du  Monstier  speak  of  her  as 
"  Blessed  "  and  "  a  holy  virgin." 

B.  Margaret  (34),  abbess  of  Val 
de  Grace  in  Paris,  Aug.  10,  1580-1020, 
was  born  at  Villemont;  daughter  of 
Gilbert  de  Veynes  d'Arbouze,  of  the 
ancient  house  of  Villemont,  and  Jeanne 
de  Pinac,  daughter  of  Peter,  viceroy 
of  Burgundy.  Margaret  took  the  veil 
at  St.  Peter's  at  Laon.  Seeking  for  the 
severest  rule,  she  first  joined  the  Capu- 
chinesses  or  Passionists,  then  the  bare 
footed  Carmelites ;  afterwards  the  Bene 
dictine  nuns  of  Mont  des  Martyrs. 
Louis  XIII.  heard  of  her  sanctity  and, 
in  1018,  appointed  her  abbess  of  Val  de 
Grace.  She  obeyed  the  royal  behest 
somewhat  unwillingly.  When  she  ar 
rived  at  her  new  house  and  was  inaugu 
rated,  she  found  that  a  room  had  been 
handsomely  and  comfortably  fitted  up 
for  her.  She  sent  for  a  ladder  and 
began  at  once  to  pull  down  all  the 
silken  hangings,  and  banished  from  her 
cell  everything  but  the  plainest  and 
most  necessary  articles.  She  practised 
in  her  own  person  all  the  austerities  she 
required  of  those  under  her  rule  and 
soon  reformed  the  convent.  Her  holiness 
was  rewarded  with  the  gifts  of  prophecy 
and  miracles.  She  resigned  her  post  in 
1620  and  died  at  Sery  in  Berri,  the  same 
year.  Catherine,  princess  of  Lorraine, 
abbess  of  Remiremont,  was  her  disciple 
and  the  authority  for  many  of  the  facts 
recorded  of  her.  Bucelinus.  Hugo 
Menard.  Biografia  Ecclesiastica. 

B.  Margaret  (;-*5)  Mary  Alacoque, 
Oct.  17,  1047-1690.  Founder  of  the 
devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart.  Repre 
sented  holding  a  heart,  or  a  picture  of  a 
heart,  encircled  with  a  wreath  of  thorns 
and  surmounted  by  a  cross.  She  was 
born  at  Lauthecour,  in  Charolois,  Bur 
gundy.  She  was  christened  Margaret, 


to  which  at  her  confirmation  she  added 
the  name  of  Mary.  She  was  for  a  time 
discontented  with  her  station,  desiring 
riches  and  distinction  for  herself,  but 
she  found  that  nothing  but  the  love  of 
Christ  could  bring  her  any  satisfaction. 
At  twenty-three,  she  became  a  nun  at  Pa- 
ray-le-Monial,  in  Charolois,  of  the  Order 
of  the  Visitation,  founded  by  JANE  (19). 
She  was  for  a  long  time  mistress  of  the 
novices  and  was  much  beloved  by  them. 
She  was  the  first  to  establish  a  general 
devotion  to  the  heart  of  Jesus  as  a 
special  object  of  worship ;  she  did  so 
in  consequence  of  visions  and  revela 
tions,  which  are  described  at  great 
length  by  her  biographer.  The  object 
of  this  devotion  is  to  acknowledge  the 
love  of  Christ  to  His  people  and  to 
make  amends  to  Him  for  the  indignities 
to  which  He  submitted  for  their  sake 
during  His  life  on  earth,  and  to  which 
He  is  still  subject  in  the  Sacrament ; 
and  to  make  up,  by  the  greater  love 
of  His  devotees,  for  the  ingratitude 
of  those  who  forget  and  neglect  Him. 
The  festival  is  held  on  the  Friday 
after  the  octave  of  Corpus  Christi. 
She  met  with  great  opposition,  es 
pecially  in  her  own  convent  and 
diocese,  which  were  the  last  in  France 
t  >  receive  the  Sacred  Heart  as  a  separate 
object  of  devotion.  Immediately  after 
her  death,  she  was  regarded  as  a  saint, 
and  miracles  were  performed  at  her 
tomb.  She  was  beatified  in  1864.  In 
1720,  three  hundred  societies  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  had  been  established  in 
different  parts  of  Europe  and  in  India 
and  China.  Saints  and  Servants  of  God, 
published  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Oratory 
of  St.  Philip  Neri.  Analecta. 

St.  Mariamna  (1),  Feb.  17,  V. 
Sister  of  St.  Philip  the  apostle.  She 
is  not  commemorated  in  the  Western 
Church,  but  honoured  in  the  Mcnea  with 
the  title  of  "Equal  of  the  Apostles." 
After  the  ascension  of  the  Lord,  she 
accompanied  her  brother  and  St.  Bar 
tholomew  to  Hierapolis,  in  Phrygia, 
where  idols  were  worshipped  in  magni 
ficent  temples.  In  one  of  these  temples 
a  viper  was  kept  in  a  shrine  and  re 
ceived  divine  honours.  The  preaching 
of  the  three  saints  put  a  stop  to  idol 


30 


SS.   MARIAMNA   AND   PHILIPPA 


worship  for  a  time,  but  through  some 
cause  of  dissatisfaction  the  people  rose 
in  a  sedition  against  them  and  hung 
Philip  by  his  head,  from  a  pillar,  and 
fastened  Bartholomew  and  Mariamna  on 
crosses.  The  earth  then  suddenly  sank 
to  a  great  depth,  engulting  the  proconsul 
and  a  great  number  of  the  rioters  and 
spectators.  The  people  understood  this 
calamity  to  be  a  judgment  for  their 
conduct  to  the  holy  preachers,  and 
begged  their  forgiveness.  Mariamna 
and  Bartholomew  prayed  Philip  to  free 
the  populace  from  their  danger :  the 
earth  returned  to  its  usual  level ;  all 
the  people  were  saved  except  the  pro 
consul.  He  was  left  in  the  abyss  with 
the  viper,  which  had  escaped  in  the  con 
fusion  .  Batholome w  and  Mariamna  were 
released,  and  Philip,  who  was  already 
dead,  was  buried  with  fitting  honours. 
Bartholomew  afterwards  preached  in 
India,  and  Mariamna  having  preached 
the  gospel  and  baptized  many  converts 
in  Lycaonia,  died  there  in  peace. 

The  Latin  Acts  of  St.  Philip  do  not 
give  him  any  sister  ;  but  two  daughters, 
virgins,  buried  with  him.  Bollandus 
thinks  the  story  of  Mariamna  possibly 
makes  some  confusion  with  St.  Philip 
the  deacon.  AA.SS.  Menology  of  Basil. 

SS.  Mariamna  (2)  and  Philippa 
(1),  VV.,  May  1.  Daughters  of  St. 
Philip  the  apostle.  Tradition  says 
Philip  had  three  daughters,  two  of 
whom  (Mariamna  and  Philippa)  re 
mained  at  Jerusalem  until  they  died 
at  a  great  age  and  were  buried  there 
on  each  side  of  their  father;  the  third 
was  HERMIONE.  Some  legends  add  a 
fourth,  Eutyche.  Their  names  are  not 
mentioned  in  any  of  the  old  martyr- 
ologies.  Some  of  the  hagiologists  appear 
to  confound  the  daughters  of  St.  Philip 
the  apostle  with  those  of  St.  Philip  the 
deacon  :  "  four  daughters,  virgins,  which 
did  prophesy"  (Acts  xxi.  9).  AA.SS., 
"  St.  Philip,"  May  1,  Introduction. 

St.  Mariamna  (3).  See  THECLA 
(10). 

St.  Mariana  (1)  or  MARINA,  March 
16,  V.  M.  in  the  year  253,  at  Antioch. 
She  was  afterwards  translated  into  Spain. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Mariana  (2),  KETEVAN. 


B.  Mariana  (3)  or  MARIANNA,  of 
Jesus,  May  25/1618-1645,  V. 

Marianna  Paredes  y  Mores,  called  the 
"lily  of  Quito,"  was  born  at  Quito  in 
Peru.  She  devoted  herself  to  God  from 
her  early  youth,  seeking  especially  the 
grace  of  purity ;  and  knowing  that  that 
virtue  could  not  be  cultivated  in  a  life  of 
ease  and  pleasure,  she  subjected  her  body 
to  severe  and  extraordinary  penances. 
She  is  said  to  have  preserved  her  country, 
by  her  prayers,  from  the  scourge  of 
earthquake  and  pestilence.  After  her 
death  many  miracles  were  wrought  by 
her  intercession.  She  was  solemnly 
beatified  by  Pius  IX.  in  1853,  and  her 
life,  written  on  that  occasion,  was  pub 
lished  by  Agostini  at  Turin,  in  1858,  in 
the  Collezione  di  buoni  libri.  La  Civilta 
Cattolica,  Dec.  3,  1853.  Diario  di  Roma, 
Nov.  21,  1853. 

B.  Mariana  (4)  of  Jesus,  MARY  (67). 

Mariana  (5)  or  MARIANNA  Fontan- 
ella,  MARY  (70). 

St.  Mariminia,  ARMINIA  (2). 

St.  Marina  (1),  June  18,  M.  at  Alex 
andria.  Her  martyrdom  is  commemo 
rated,  June  18  ;  her  translation  to  Venice, 
July  17.  EM. 

SS.  Marina  (2-11),  appear  as  MM. 
in  different  places.  One  of  them  is  also 
called  MARCINA  (June  8).  The  great  V. 
M.  ST.  MARGARET,  and  some  of  the  other 
Margarets  are  sometimes  called  Marina. 
Calendars. 

St.  Marina  (12),  July  17,  Y.  M.  at 
Antioch  in  Pisidia.  Daughter  of  a 
heathen  priest.  She  underwent  diverse 
tortures  on  account  of  her  Christian  faith 
and  was  then  put  in  prison,  where  a 
dragon  appeared  to  her;  its  neck  was 
encircled  by  horrid  serpents  which  hissed 
at  the  young  saint.  She  killed  it  with 
the  sign  of  the  cross.  Next  day  she  was 
thrown  into  a  lake;  a  white  dove  ap 
peared  over  her,  blessed  the  water  and 
baptized  the  maiden.  Marina  was  taken 
uninjured  from  the  lake  and  beheaded. 
Men.  of  Basil. 

St.  Marina  (13)  or  MARGARET,  July 
18,  V.  M.  at  Orense  or  Amphilochium  in 
Galicia,  Spain.  She  and  her  eight  sisters 
were  daughters  of  Attilius  and  lived  at 
Belcagia.  They  left  their  father  there 
and  went  to  Orense,  where  Marina 


ST.  MARINA 


31 


vanquished  the  devil  in  the  form  of  a 
dragon,  by  making  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
E.M.  AA.SS. 

The  Spanish  hagiologists  sometimes 
claim  as  a  native  of  their  own  country, 
some  ancient  saint  who  suffered  martyr 
dom  at  Eome,  Nicomedia,  or  anywhere 
else.  This  seems  a  reflection  of  the  story 
of  MARINA  (12)  and  that  of  MARGARET 
(1),  both  martyrs  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia ; 
nevertheless  she  appears  in  the  Roman 
Martyrology  as  a  separate  person. 

St.  Marina  (14),  May  10,  -f  362. 
Wife  of  St.  Gordian,  a  ricarius  in  Eome 
under  Julian  the  apostate.  He  was 
converted  by  St.  Januarius,  an  aged  priest 
who  was  brought  to  his  tribunal  accused 
of  being  a  Christian.  Gordian  and  Marina 
went  by  night  to  the  prison  to  receive 
instruction  and  baptism  from  Januarius. 
He  would  not  baptize  them  until  they 
had  allowed  him  to  destroy  all  their 
idols,  one  of  which  was  a  gilded  statue 
of  Jupiter,  the  gift  of  the  emperor.  He 
then  baptized  them  and  their  household 
of  fifty-three  persons.  When  these  things 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  emperor, 
he  deputed  some  one  to  supersede  Gordian 
and  punish  him.  Marina  was  sent  to  be 
a  slave  to  the  peasants  who  worked  at  a 
villa  called  Aquas  Salvias,  near  the 
Porta  Capena,  not  far  from  the  spot 
where  St.  Paul  the  apostle  was  beheaded. 
While  there,  she  heard  that  her  husband 
had  been  scourged  to  death  and  thrown 
in  front  of  the  temple  of  Pallas  and  left 
to  be  eaten  by  dogs.  The  dogs,  however, 
kept  guard  over  the  martyred  saint  until 
one  of  his  servants  came  with  some  other 
Christians  to  take  him  away  and  bury 
him  in  the  tomb  of  St.  Epimachius,  about 
a  mile  from  Eome,  in  the  Via  Latina. 
Gordian's  name  appears  in  the  Vetus 
Romanum  and  other  very  ancient  mar- 
tyrologies,  and  Marina's  name  is  men 
tioned  in  the  account  of  him  by  Ado. 
AA.SS.  Smith  and  Wace,  "  Gordianus 
(3)  "  and  «  Marina  (1)."  Baillet. 

St.  Marina  (15),  June  13,  July  19, 
Dec.  4,  is  called  in  the  Golden  Legend 
MARYNE  ;  in  French,  MARINE  LA  DEGUISEE. 
Perhaps  5th  century.  Eepresented  at 
the  door  of  a  monastery  with  a  small 
child.  Somewhere  in  the  East,  once 
upon  a  time,  there  was  a  man  whose  wife 


died,  leaving  him  an  infant  daughter. 
He  called  the  child  Marina  after  her 
mother,  and  gave  her  into  the  care  of  a 
good  woman  to  nurse.  Then  having  no 
pleasure  or  interest  in  the  world,  and 
longing  only  to  follow  his  wife  to 
Paradise,  he  left  his  home  and  went  to  a 
monastery  and  there  he  tried  to  occupy 
himself  entirely  with  the  duties  and  de 
votions  of  the  monks  ;  but  ever  and  anon, 
the  thought  of  his  little  daughter  recurred 
to  his  mind  and  he  wondered  what  would 
become  of  her,  left  alone  in  this  unsatis 
factory  world.  The  Abbot  soon  re 
marked  that  he  had  some  unacknow 
ledged  care  in  his  mind,  and  questioned 
him  about  it.  "  Alas,  Father,"  said  he, 
"  I  have  a  little  child,  I  have  left  it  to 
be  nursed,  but  after  that  I  know  not  what 
will  become  of  it,  or  what  dangers  may 
await  it  in  this  wicked  world."  The 
Abbot  supposed  the  child  to  be  a  boy, 
and  without  more  questions,  he  bade  the 
father  go  and  fetch  it  and  bring  it  up 
himself  in  the  monastery,  safe  from  all 
the  peril  and  wickedness  of  secular  life. 
The  happy  father  set  out  for  his  old 
home  and  brought  his  daughter,  who  was 
now  a  big  baby  able  to  run  about.  He 
kept  her  carefully  in  his  own  cell,  teach 
ing  her  all  that  was  necessary  and 
earnestly  impressing  on  her  the  import 
ance  of  concealing  her  sex.  She  went  by 
the  name  of  Marinus.  By  the  time  that 
her  father  died,  she  was  tall  and  strong 
and  took  her  share  of  the  labours  of  the 
community ;  among  others,  she  was  often 
sent  with  a  cart  to  fetch  wood  from  a 
considerable  distance.  On  these  occasions 
she  used  to  sleep  at  an  inn  where  soldiers 
and  other  rough  people  sometimes  lodged. 
At  last  it  came  to  pass  that  the  landlord's 
daughter  had  a  child,  and  said  that 
Brother  Marinus  was  the  father  of  it. 
The  landlord  and  his  wife  came  to  the 
monastery  and  complained  to  the  Abbot 
of  the  indignity  they  had  suffered  from 
one  of  his  monks.  Marina  not  being 
able  to  prove  her  innocence,  accepted  the 
accusation  in  silence  and  was  turned  out 
of  the  monastery.  She  lived  outside  the 
gate  and  sometimes  the  monks  threw  her 
a  bit  of  bread.  When  the  child  was 
weaned,  its  grandfather  brought  it  to 
Marina,  saying,  "  Here  is  your  son,  take 


32 


B.   MARINA 


him  and  bring  him  up  if  you  like ;  for  I 
will  not  have  him."  Marina  took  the 
child  and  the  insult  meekly,  and  tended 
the  boy  as  if  he  had  been  her  own ;  and 
when  the  monks  gave  her  the  remnants 
of  their  food  for  charity,  she  fed  the 
child  first,  and  if  anything  remained 
when  he  had  had  enough,  she  contented 
herself  with  that. 

"When  her  exclusion  from  the  monas 
tery  had   lasted   five  years,  the  monks 
seeing  her  meekness  and  patience,  and 
how  she  departed  not  from  their  gate 
nor    sought    to    associate   with   others, 
besought  the  Abbot  to  restore  her  to  her 
place  amongst  them.    The  Abbot  replied, 
"Marinus  has  brought   a  grievous   re 
proach   upon  us   and   has   committed  a 
great  sin,  we  cannot  bring  him  back  as 
one  of  ourselves  again  ;  but  let  him  come 
in  and  do  the  hardest  and  meanest  of 
the  work,  and  by-and-bye,  perhaps  we 
will  admit  him  to  penance."     So  Marina 
was   brought  back  into  the  monastery, 
not   to   her   former   place  amongst  the 
brethren,  but  to  do  all  the  work  that  was 
most  laborious  and  disagreeable.     This 
she  accepted  humbly  and  thankfully.    A 
few  days  afterwards  she  was  found  dead 
one  morning.    The  monks  went  and  told 
the  abbot,  who   said,   "Behold,  what   a 
sinner   Marinus   was;    God   would   not 
allow  him  to  be  reconciled  by  penance, 
but  cut  him  off  before  he  had  begun ! " 
Her  accuser  was  tormented  by  a  devil, 
and  could  only  be  cured  by  penance  at 
the  tomb  of  the  injured  saint.     AA.SS., 
July  17.     Golden  Legend. 

B.  Marina  (16)  of  Spoleto,  June  18, 
13th  century.  VALLARINA  PETKOCIANI 
joined  the  order  of  Canons  regular  of 
St.  Augustine,  took  the  name  of  MARINA, 
and  founded  the  convent  of  St.  Matthew 
at  Spoleto.  At  her  death  a  heavenly  light 
illumined  her  body,  and  many  miracles 
increased  the  reputation  for  holiness 
which  she  had  acquired  in  her  life. 
AA.SS. 

B.  Marina  (17),  MARY  (64). 
St.  Marina  (18),  MARIANA  (1). 
St.  Marineta,  MARGARET  (1). 
St.  Marinha,  July  18,  a  Portuguese 
V.  M.  in  one  of  the  three  first  centuries. 
Many   churches    are   dedicated    in   her 
name  in  Portugal  and  Galicia.     She  is 


said  to  have  been  worshipped  in  the 
Order  of  Mercy  from  time  immemorial. 
She  is  sometimes  confounded  with  Mar 
garet  and  sometimes  supposed  to  be  one 
of  nine  sisters  born  at  a  birth  (See  Qui- 
TEBIA).  A.EM.  Azevedo. 

St.  Marionilla,  M.  309.  A  matron 
of  Antioch  who  was  put  to  death  with 
cruel  tortures  in  the  persecution  of  the 
Christians,  at  the  same  time  with  St. 
Julian,  St.  Celsus,  St.  Antony  and  many 
others.  At  their  death  an  earthquake 
ruined  great  part  of  the  city,  over 
throwing  most  of  the  idols  and  heathen 
temples ;  and  many  persons  were  killed 
by  lightning  and  hail.  Martian,  who 
had  condemned  these  Christians,  escaped 
half  dead  from  the  storm,  but  died  a 
few  days  after  from  a  horrible  disease. 
Martyrum  Ada. 

St.  Mariota.  In  the  16th  century 
there  was  a  chapel  in  her  honour  in  the 
county  of  Haddington  in  Scotland. 
Forbes. 

St.  Marjoleine,  MARGARET. 
St.  Marjory,  MARGARET. 
St.    Marmenia,  May    25,  +    230. 
Wife  of  Carpasius  and  mother  of  LUCINA 
(4).     In    the    reign    of    the    Emperor 
Alexander,  the  Church  in  general  had 
peace,  but  occasional  cruelties^  and   in 
justice    were     committed     against     the 
Christians   through   bigotry,  malice    or 
covetousness.      Alrnachms,    prefect     of 
Eome  (whose   name  is   not  historical), 
raised  a  persecution   against  them  and 
commissioned  Carpasius  to  compel  them 
to  worship  the  gods.     St.  Urban  I.,  who 
had  succeeded  St.  Calixtus  as  Pope  in 
223,  was  one  of  the  first  victims.     Car 
pasius  held  a  great  function  and  called 
upon  all  to  join  in  the  sacrifice.     The 
Pope    and     many    others    who    refused 
were    beheaded,    Carpasius    proceeding 
with   the    sacrifice    was  seized    by  the 
devil.     He  gnashed  his  teeth  and  talked 
incoherently,    crying    out    between   the 
paroxysms  that  this  had  come  upon  him 
because  he  had    killed  the    Christians ; 
Almachius    thought   Carpasius  had  be 
come  a  Christian,  and  ordered    him  to 
be  taken  away.      His   convulsions   and 
sufferings  increased  and  he  presently  died. 
Marmenia,  next    night,   went    with    her 
daughter  Lucina  to  two  holy  Christian 


ST.   MARTHA 


33 


priests  and  begged  to  be  instructed. 
They  buried  Urban  and  the  martyrs  who 
Buffered  with  him.  Lucina  distributed 
all  her  property  to  the  poor  among  the 
Christians.  Marmenia,  Lucina  and 
twenty-two  of  their  newly  converted 
servants  were  beheaded,  and  many  other 
Christians  were  put  to  death  by  Alma- 
chius,  and  are  honoured  on  the  same 
day.  AA.SS.  Baillet.  The  story  is 
taken  from  the  Acts  of  St.  Urban, 
which,  though  very  ancient,  are  not 
authentic. 

St.  Marninta,  or  MANINTIA,  Feb. 
28.  M.  with  many  others.  AA.S8. 

St.  Maroye,  MART  OF  OIGNIES  and 
MARY  OF  THE  INCARNATION,  Guenebault. 

St.  Martana,  Dec.  2  (R.M.),  Dec.  10 
(Lightfoot  and  Tillemont),  Nov.  30,  + 
between  250  and  205.  A  Christian  lady 
who  came  to  Eome  with  her  daughter 
VALERIA  (4)  some  months  after  the 
martyrdom  of  SS.  Adrias  and  PAULINA 
and  their  family.  Martana  and  Valeria 
were  made  to  die  of  hunger  for  their 
faith,  and  were  buried  beside  Paulina 
and  her  companions  in  the  sandpit,  at 
the  first  milestone  from  the  city.  Bishop 
Lightfoot,  Hippolytus  of  Portus. 

St.  Martha  (1)  of  Bethany,  the 
entertainer  of  Christ,  July  29.  1st 
century.  Patron  of  housekeepers,  inn 
keepers,  publicans  (with  Zaccheus),  hos 
pitallers,  laundresses  (with  HUNNA)  ; 
patron  and  model  of  women  who  serve 
God  in  an  active  life,  while  her  sister 
MARY  is  the  patron  of  those  who  choose 
the  contemplative  state ;  MARTHA  is 
patron  of  Provence,  Aix  en  Provence, 
Cadiz,  Castres,  Tarascon,  Martos.  Re 
presented  carrying  a  bunch  of  keys, 
or  with  a  dragon  beside  her.  It  is 
conjectured  that  she  was  the  wife  or 
daughter  of  Simon  the  Leper.  We  are 
told  that  "  Jesus  loved  Martha,  and  her 
sister,  and  Lazarus."  After  the  death 
'  of  Lazarus,  the  Lord  came  to  Bethany  ; 
and  Martha,  as  soon  as  she  heard  that  He 
was  coming  and  before  He  entered  the 
town,  went  and  met  Him,  but  Mary  sat 
still  in  the  house  until  Martha  came 
back  and  called  her,  saying,  "  The 
Master  is  come  and  calleth  for  Thee." 
Each  sister,  as  she  met  the  Lord,  said, 
"Lord,  if  Thou  hadst  been  here,  my 

VOL.  II. 


brother  had  not  died.''  They  knew  that 
he  was  to  rise  again  at  the  last  day, 
but  as  yet  they  knew  not  that  he  was 
to  be  given  back  to  them  at  once.  After 
the  raising  of  Lazarus,  the  Saviour 
again  visited  the  family  at  Bethany, 
where  they  made  Him  a  supper,  and 
Martha  served  ;  many  of  the  Jews  came 
that  they  might  see  Lazarus,  and  because 
of  him  many  believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus. 
To  these  details,  tradition  adds  that  after 
the  death  of  onr  Saviour,  Martha  with 
her  brother  Lazarus  and  sister  Mary, 
MAUCKLLA  their  maid,  and  St.  Maximus, 
one  of  the  seventy-two  disciples,  were 
put  by  the  Jews  into  a  boat  without 
oars,  sail,  or  rudder,  and  committed  to 
the  sea,  with  the  intention  that  they 
should  all  perish ;  the  boat,  however, 
arrived  safely  at  Marseilles,  of  which 
Lazarus  became  the  first  bishop,  and 
Maximus,  bishop  of  Aix.  Martha  con 
verted  a  great  number  of  persons  by  her 
preaching.  A  large  district  on  the  bank 
of  the  Rhone  suffered  great  loss  and 
terror  from  a  dreadful  dragon  named 
Rasconus ;  Martha  killed  it,  and  the 
town  of  Tarascon,  which  in  the  course 
of  years  grew  up  on  the  spot,  bears  the 
name  of  the  monster,  to  this  day.  St. 
John  xi.,  xii.  R.M.  AA.SS.  Villegas. 
Mrs.  Jameson, 

St.  Martha  (2),  Feb.  23,  V.  M.  251 
or  252.  In  the  time  of  Deoius,  a  ruler 
named  Paternus  came  to  Astorga  in 
Asturias.  There  he  summoned  all  the 
people  to  a  great  feast  to  sacrifice  to  the 
gods.  A  certain  Christian  virgin,  named 
Martha,  of  noble  birth  and  great  riches, 
absented  herself ;  he  had  her  seized  and 
commanded  her  to  worship  idols.  On 
her  refusal  she  was  placed  on  the  rack 
and  beaten  with  knotted  sticks.  After  a 
time  Paternus  told  her  that  if  she  would 
renounce  her  religion,  she  should  marry 
his  son ;  if  not,  she  should  be  pnt  to 
death.  As  she  disregarded  his  promises 
and  threats,  she  was  stabbed  and  her 
body  thrown  on  a  heap  of  rubbish.  A 
charitable  matron  buried  her.  B.M. 
AA.SS.  Baronius. 

St.  Martha  (3),  DOMINICA  (1). 

St.  Martha  (4),  Feb.  24,  M.  at 
Nicomedia  in  Bithynia  with  many  others. 
AA.SS. 


ST.  MARTHA 


St.  Martha  (5),  Jan.  19,  20,  +  270 
or  800.  Wife  of  Maris  or  Marius,  a 
nobleman  of  Persia.  They  sold  their 
possessions,  gave  all  to  the  poor,  and 
with  their  sons,  Audifax  and  Abacum, 
travelled  to  Rome,  where  they  devoutly 
assisted  the  persecuted  Christians  and 
buried  those  who  were  put  to  death, 
until  they  were  apprehended  by  Mari- 
anus,  under  the  emperor  Aurelian. 
Maris  and  his  sons  were  tortured  in 
various  ways,  Martha  being  compelled 
to  stand  by  and  see  them  ;  they  were 
then  beheaded,  and  she  dipped  her 
finger  in  the  blood  and  made  the  sign 
of  the  cross  on  her  forehead.  She  was 
finally  taken  to  Santa  Ninfa,  the  sacred 
pools,  thirteen  miles  from  Rome,  and 
there  drowned.  The  date  and  the  name 
of  the  reigning  emperor  are  matters  of 
dispute,  but  the  story  is  accepted  as 
true.  KM.  Villegas.  Baillet.  Butler. 
Martin.  Canisius. 

SS.  Martha  (6)  and  Mary,  Feb.  8, 
VV.  MM.  They  were  sisters.  La- 
herius,  in  his  Menologio  Virginum,  says 
they  lived  and  died  in  Asia,  but  Bol- 
landus  declares  the  date  and  place  of 
their  death  to  be  unknown.  As  the  pre 
fect  of  the  province  was  passing  through 
the  place  where  they  lived,  they  looked 
out  of  the  windows  and  cried  out  that 
they  were  Christians ;  he  pitied  their 
youth  and  would  have  let  them  retract 
their  words  and  escape  death,  but  they 
said  martyrdom  was  not  death,  but  the 
beginning  of  an  endless  life.  A  boy 
of  the  name  of  Lycarion  or  Bycarion, 
their  pupil,  was  martyred  with  them. 
They  were  all  three  hung  upon  crosses 
and  pierced  with  swords.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Martha  (7)  and  Mary,  June  6, 
VV.  MM.  Honoured  in  the  Greek 
Church  with  three  companions,  VV. 
MM.,  not  known  where  or  when.  AA.SS. 

St.  Martha  (8).  (See  THECLA  (16).) 

St.  Martha  (9),  Sep.  20,  is  com 
memorated  with  SUSANNA  (13).  ll.M. 

St.  Martha  (JO),  May  l,  22.  V.^of 
Auxerre,  end  of  4th  century.  Wife 
of  St.  Amator  of  Auxerre.  Both  were  of 
high  rank  and  great  wealth.  On  their 
wedding-day  their  room  was  splendidly 
decked  for  them  with  silk  and  gold,  ivory 
and  precious  stones ;  the  bride's  dress 


was  magnificent;  a  large  gathering  of 
friends  assembled  for  the  festive  oc 
casion.  St.  Valerian  (May  6),  the  aged 
bishop  of  Auxerre,  having  been  invited, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  to 
bless  the  house  of  the  newly  united  pair, 
instead  of  the  marriage  blessing  read  by 
mistake  the  prayers  for  the  dedication  of 
a  priest.  As  no  one  present  understood 
Latin  except  Amator  and  Martha,  the 
mistake  passed  unremarked.  When  the 
young  couple  were  alone,  Amator  said 
to  his  bride,  "  Did  you  understand  what 
the  bishop  read  while  we  knelt  before 
him  ?  "  "I  did,"  answered  Martha,  "  and 
I  was  afraid  it  would  now  be  sinful  to 
lead  the  worldly  life  we  contemplated." 
From  that  time,  they  considered  them 
selves  set  apart  for  the  service  of  God. 
They  were  encouraged  in  their  resolu 
tion  by  an  angel  who  appeared  to  them. 
The  venerable  Valerian  was  soon  suc 
ceeded  by  St.  Eladius,  to  whom  Amator 
and  Martha  went  for  advice  and  instruc 
tion.  He  ordained  Amator  a  priest  and 
gave  the  sacred  veil  to  Martha.  'On  the 
death  of  Eladius,  Amator  succeeded  to 
the  bishopric,  and  on  his  death,  in  418, 
he  begged  to  be  succeeded  by  St.  Germain. 
Martha  died  some  years  before  her  hus 
band  and  was  buried  by  him.  These 
four  bishops  of  Auxerre  are  universally 
considered  saints,  and  Martha  is  so  called 
by  Saussaye,  Arturus  and  others,  although 
her  worship  is  not  authorised.  AA.SS., 
Prsetcr. 

St.  Martha  (11)  with.  SAULA  E.M., 
perhaps  5th  century. 

St.  Martha  (12),  Sept.  1  (MATANA, 
MAHTHANA),  -f  c.  428.  Mother  of  St. 
Simeon  Stylites  the  Elder  or  St.  Simeon 
in  Mandra.  He  was  born  at  Sisan  on 
the  borders  of  Cilicia  and  Syria,  in 
388.  When  he  was  about  sixteen,  he 
disappeared  from  his  home  and  his 
parents  did  not  know  what  had  become 
of  him,  until  his  extreme  asceticism  and 
his  repute  for  miraculous  powers  at 
tracted  so  much  attention  even  in  distant 
countries  that  his  mother  discovered  his 
whereabouts.  Meantime  he  had  been 
sent  away  from  one  monastery  on  account 
of  his  excessive  austerities  and  had  lived 
some  time  in  another  monastery,  an  ex 
ample  of  humility  and  devotion.  At 


ST.  MARTHA 


last,  in  413  he  settled  in  a  cell  of  his  own 
near  Antioch,  where  a  number  of  devout 
men    gathered   round   him.      Although 
he  lived  shut  up  in  a  cell,  he  was  con 
tinually  disturbed  by  persons  who  came 
to  consult  him  on  all  subjects,  so  in  42:5, 
to  escape   from    these   interruptions  he 
built  himself  a  pillar,  of  no  great  height 
at  first ;   but  as  this  innovation  in  the 
customs  of  the  anchorites  drew  crowds 
to  see  this  wonderful  man,  he  gradually 
built  the  column  higher  and  higher  to  be 
out  of  their  reach.    Round  the  pillar  was 
a  wall  to  keep  off  intruders,  especially 
women :  the  enclosure  thus  formed  was 
called  Mandra,  a  word  signifying  a  fold 
for  sheep  or  cattle.     The  emperor  Theo- 
dosius  II.,  his  wife  Eudoxia,  his  sisters, 
sundry  bishops  and  other  potentates  sent 
to  consult  him  on  divers  matters.     Some 
of  them  begged  him,  in  vain,  to  descend 
for  a  time  from  his  pillar  and  come  to 
visit  them.    His  new  form  of  self-mortifi 
cation  profoundly  impressed  the  age  and 
he  had  imitators,  both  in  the  Church  and 
in  heretical  bodies.     He  is  credited  with 
the  conversion  of  many  Arabs  and  other 
heathens.      Pilgrims  came  in  great  num 
bers  from  all  directions,  some  from  Spain 
and  Britain ;  so  that  a  house  for  their 
entertainment  was  built  in   the  neigh 
bourhood,  the  ruins  of  which  are  there 
to  this  day.     As  far  as  the  curiosity  and 
devotion  of  the  world  would  allow  him, 
he  spent  his  time  in  perpetual  adoration. 
He  wrote  several  epistles  and  addresses, 
and  although  they  are  not  extant,  ex 
tracts  from  them  are  preserved  in  the 
works  of  reliable  authors,  and  many  of 
the  wonderful  things  told  of  him  by  his 
early  biographers  are  confirmed  by  the 
latest  explorations.     In  428  Martha  dis 
covered  in  this  marvellous  man  her  long 
lost  son  and  sought  an  interview  with 
him.      This   he   declined,    saying    that 
they   would   meet   in   the    next    world. 
This  answer  only  quickened  his  mother's 
desire  ;  she  wished  to  ascend  by  a  ladder, 
the  better  to  see  and  hear  him ;  but  this 
he  absolutely  forbade.     However,  as  she 
entreated  the  more  earnestly,    he  bade 
her  wait  patiently  for  a  short  time  and 
then  he  would  see  her.     She  sat  down 
within  the  Mandra  and  immediately  died 
Then  he  directed  those  who  stood  by  to 


bring  her  nearer ;  they  laid  her  at  the 
foot  of  his  column,  and  he  prayed  God 
to  receive  her  soul.  Upon  this,  the 
happy  mother  moved  in  her  death-sleep 
and  a  smile  irradiated  her  face.  AA.SS. 
Guerin.  Compare  with  "  Simeon  Stylites  " 
in  Smith  and  Wace. 

St.   Martha  (13),  May  24,  +  551. 
Mother  of  St.  Simeon  Stylites  the  Younger, 
who  is  called  also  the  Thaumastorite,  or 
according  to  Dr.  Stokes,  Maumastoritos. 
Martha  was  a  native  of  Antioch ;    her 
husband  came  from  Edessa  in  Mesopo 
tamia,  and  her  son  was  born  at  Antioch 
in  521,  and  died  in  596.     He  was  the 
second  of  three  SS.  Simeon  Stylites.    He 
early  became  a  monk  in  a  monastery  at 
the  foot  of  a  mountain   near  Antioch, 
under  St.  John  the  Stylite,  who,  when  he 
considered  him  sufficiently  advanced   in 
holiness,  allowed  him  to  come  on  to  his 
pillar.     The  two  led  a  life  of  penance, 
standing  together  on  the  pillar  for  some 
time.     Afterwards  Simeon   had  another 
pillar  constructed  for  himself  in  a  small 
monastery,  hewn  out  of  a  single  rock  in 
the  mountain.     On  this  pillar  he  stood 
until  his  death  at  a  great  age.     Some 
accounts  say  he   stood  on   a  pillar  for 
sixty-eight  years.     He  is  mentioned  by 
the  contemporary  historian  Evagrius,  who 
bears  witness  to  some  of  his  miracles. 
He  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  Emperor 
Justinian.    Few  particulars  are  recorded 
of  the  life  of  Martha.     She    spent  her 
whole   time   in  works   of  devotion  and 
charity,  and  such  was  her  reverence  for 
sacred  places  and  services  that  she  was 
never  known  either  to  sit  down  in  church 
or  to  exchange  a  word  with  any  one  while 
there.     She  was  very  humble,  and  when 
Simeon  wrought  miracles  she  impressed 
on  him  that  he  must  remember  his  own 
worthlessness  and  give  God  the  glory. 
When  she  knew  that  her  death  was  near, 
she  went  to  her  son  to  ask  his  prayers, 
and  seeing  her  approaching,  he  called  out 
to  her,  "  Mother,  I  commend  myself  to 
thy  prayers,  for  thou  art  going  hence  to 
God."     She  exhorted  him  to  remember 
her  in  all  his  prayers  after  her  death, 
and  reminded  him  that  she  had  always 
prayed  for  him.     She  was  venerated  as  a 
saint  during  the  life  of  her  son,  and  is 
commemorated  with  him  in  the  Greek 


ST.  MARTHA 


Church.  AA.SS.  Baillet,  "  St.  Simeon 
Stylites."  Guerin. 

St.  Martha  (14),  June  24,  M., 
honoured  in  the  Abyssinian  and  Coptic 
Churches.  Not  the  same  as  any  other 
Martha.  AA.SS. 

St.  Martha  (15),  abbess  of  Kildare, 
who  died  in  753.  Colgan. 

B.  Martha  (1C)),  May  24,  10th  cen 
tury.  Abbess  of  Malvasia  in  the  Pelo 
ponnesus.  One  day  while  she  was 
praying  in  the  church  of  her  monastery, 
an  aged  monk  came  up  to  her  and  begged 
her  to  give  him  her  jacket.  She  an 
swered  him,  "As  the  Lord  liveth, brother, 
I  have  but  two  jackets,  one  is  at  the 
wash,  and  on  account  of  my  infirmity, 
I  cannot  do  without  the  other,  which  I 
am  now  wearing.  Were  it  otherwise,  I 
would  gladly  give  it  to  you."  The  man, 
however,  continued  to  beg,  in  the  name 
of  Christ,  that  she  would  give  him  one. 
At  last  she  did  so.  He  instantly  disap 
peared,  and  from  that  moment  she  was 
cured  of  her  infirmity  and  had  no  need 
for  warm  clothing.  Every  one  perceived 
that  the  beggar  must  have  been  St.  John 
the  Evangelist.  AA.SS. 

B.  Martha  (17),  July  5,  Cistercian 
nun  at  La  Cambre  near  Brussels.  She 
ministered  with  great  charity  and  patience 
to  ADELAIDE  (10)  when  she  had  the 
leprosy.  Called  "  Blessed  "  by  Henriquez, 
Bucelinus  and  others.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Martha  (18),  Nov.  8,  also  called 
MARY,  -f  1300.  Daughter  of  the  Grand- 
duke  Demetrius,  who  was  closely  related 
to  Alexander  Nevski,  grand-prince  of 
Russia.  She  married  Dormont,  duke  of 
Pskov.  After  his  death  she  renounced 
the  world  and  led  a  religious  life.  She 
was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  where  she  is  honoured  with 
public  worship.  Slavonic  Calendar  in 
the  AA.SS.,  Oct.  vol.  xi. 

St.  Marthana(l).  A  holy  deaconess 
or  abbess  who,  in  the  4th  century,  pre 
sided  over  a  community  of  Renuntiants 
at  Seleucia.  She  went  to  Jerusalem  to 
pray  at  the  holy  places,  and  there  made 
the  acquaintance  of  ST.  SILVIA  ;  they 
became  dear  friends  and  met  again  with 
great  joy  when  Silvia  visited  Seleucia  on 
her  way  to  Constantinople,  probably 
about  385.  These  Renuntiants  were  an 


extremely  self-denying  sect,  who  re 
nounced  all  private  property.  Pilgrimage 
of  St.  Silvia. 

St.  Marthana  (2),  MARTHA  (12). 

St.  Martia  or  MARCIA-MATIDIA, 
March  3.  Her  name  is  the  first  in  a 
list  of  martyrs  in  eighteen  of  the  oldest 
and  most  reliable  martyrologies.  Martia 
and  her  companions  are  mentioned  in 
an  ancient  Anglo-Saxon  edition  of  St. 
Jerome,  discovered  in  the  seventh  cen 
tury.  They  suffered  perhaps  in  Spain, 
perhaps  in  Africa.  Some  writers,  con 
founding  her  with  Matidia  Augusta,  have 
called  her  a  sister  of  the  Emperor 
Trajan  and  disciple  of  St.  Clement,  but 
Trajan  had  no  sister  who  was  a  Christian. 
His  niece,  Matidia,  was  the  wife  of 
Adrian.  AA.88. 

St.  Martina,  Jan.  1,  15,  30,  Dec. 
31,  +  230.  Patron  of  Rome.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  a  consul  of  Rome  and 
deaconess  in  the  Christian  church  in  the 
time  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  Severus 
and  Pope  Urban  I.  She  was  ordered  to 
sacrifice  to  Apollo,  and  replied,  "  Com 
mand  me  to  sacrifice  to  Jesus  Christ, 
that  will  I  do,  but  to  no  other  God." 
They  dragged  her  to  the  altar  of  Apollo, 
and  she  prayed  that  his  image  might 
perish.  Immediately,  part  of  the  temple 
fell  down,  destroying  the  statue  of  the 
god,  killing  the  priests  and  causing  the 
devil  to  depart  shrieking  from  the  idol's 
shrine.  She  was  struck  on  the  mouth, 
and  eight  executioners  were  commanded 
to  inflict  divers  tortures  on  her,  but  she 
was  defended  by  four  angels  who  avenged 
on  the  eight  men  each  injury  they  did 
to  the  young  saint.  They  tore  off  her 
eyelids  and  the  angels  tore  off  theirs. 
She  prayed  for  their  conversion,  which 
occurred  while  they  were  tearing  her 
with  hooks ;  they  declared  themselves 
Christians,  and  were  immediately  hung 
up  and  torn  with  hooks  by  other  execu 
tioners.  She  was  condemned  to  be  killed 
by  a  lion;  but  instead  of  hurting  her, 
he  crouched  at  her  feet.  Then  she  was 
hung  on  four  stakes  and  cut  with  swords, 
and  at  last  she  was  beheaded.  At  the 
moment  of  her  death,  a  great  earthquake 
shook  the  city:  a  circumstance  which 
increased  the  number  of  converts  from 
paganism.  Her  martyrdom  occurred 


ST.  MARY 


37 


Jan.  1,  but  her  festival  is  the  3()th. 
E.M.  Canisius,  Mart.  Da-  Kirchen 
Kalcndftr.  Flo*  Sanctorum.  Leggendario. 
AA.SS.  Baillet  (Jan.  30)  says  her  Acts 
are  not  authentic,  but  that  she  was  held 
in  veneration  at  Rome  from  the  time  of 
her  martyrdom,  and  a  chapel  was  erected 
in  her  honour,  over  her  tomb  at  the  foot 
of  the  Capitoline  Hill,  where  multitudes 
resorted  on  the  1st  of  January,  although 
the  festival  was  afterwards  changed  to 
other  days,  to  avoid  interfering  with 
commemorations  of  greater  importance. 
Before  the  finding  of  her  relics,  the 
monks  of  St.  Francis  of  Araceli  boasted 
that  they  possessed  St.  Martina's  head. 
Her  bones  were  said  to  be  at  Sta. 
Maria  Maggiore,  and  her  whole  body  at 
Piacenza  ;  but  in  the  time  of  Urban  VIII. , 
1 634,  her  body  was  found  in  a  ruined 
vault  under  her  church.  She  was  in  a 
sarcophagus  of  terra  cotta,  placed  on  a 
long  slab  of  stone,  enclosed  between 
two  walls  and  covered  with  earth  and 
pebbles.  In  the  same  sarcophagus  were 
other  bodies  separated  by  partitions,  one 
of  which  was  of  lead,  one  of  marble,  and 
one  of  earth  like  a  large  tile ;  the  names 
of  SS.  Martina,  Concordius  and  Epi- 
phanius  were  inscribed  respectively  on 
three  of  the  compartments,  the  other 
was  not  named;  but  the  epitaph  de 
scribed  them  all  as  having  suffered  death 
in  the  cause  of  Christianity.  The  head 
of  Martina  was  separate  from  the  body, 
in  a  rusty  iron  bowl,  and  was  easily 
ascertained  to  be  that  of  a  young  girl. 

Her  Acts  are  almost  identical  with 
those  of  PRISCA  and  TATIANA,  neither 
of  which  are  authentic :  those  of  Prisca 
are  supposed  to  be  the  oldest  of  the 
three  and  the  basis  on  which  the  other 
two  were  written. 

St.  Martiniana.     (See  IRENE  (4).) 

St.  Martyria  (1)  or  MARTYRIUS, 
May  21,  M.  at  Ravenna.  AA.SS. 
Henschenius  from  Bede  and  other 
martyrologies. 

St.  Martyria  (2),  June  20,  M.  at 
Tomis.  AA.SS. 

St.  Marvenne,  MERWIN. 

St.  Marvia,  perhaps  MERWIN. 

St.  Mary  (1),  the  Prophetess,  July  1 
(MARIAMXE,  MIRIAM).  The  Martyrolcxjy 
of  Salisbury  says,  "  St.  Mary  the  Pro 


phetess,  sister  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  As 
Moses  was/guyder  of  the  meu/amonge/ 
ye/childer  of/israell,  so  was  she  of  the 
women."  When  Moses  was  born  in 
Egypt,  the  cruel  edict  of  Pharaoh  was 
in  force,  condemning  every  male  child 
among  the  Hebrews  to  death.  His 
mother  concealed  him  for  three  months, 
and  then  being  no  longer  able  to  do  so, 
put  him  in  "  an  ark  of  bulrushes "  and 
laid  it  in  the  flags  by  the  river's  brink ; 
Miriam,  his  sister,  stood  at  a  little  dis 
tance  to  see  what  would  happen.  When 
Pharaoh's  daughter  found  the  child  and 
had  compassion  on  him,  Miriam  sug 
gested  that  she  should  employ  one  of 
the  Hebrew  women  to  nurse  him  ;  and 
fetched  his  mother  (Exodus  ii.).  Miriam 
next  appears  after  the  crossing  of  the 
Red  Sea  (Exodus  xv.  20),  where  she  is 
styled  Miriam  the  prophetess,  the  sister 
of  Aaron.  She  headed  the  Hebrew 
women  in  a  great  service  of  praise  and 
song.  In  Numbers  xii.  we  find  that 
Miriam  and  Aaron  spoke  against  Moses 
because  he  had  married  an  Ethiopian 
woman.  As  a  punishment  Miriam  was 
smitten  with  leprosy.  When  Aaron 
confessed  the  wickedness  of  himself  and 
his  sister  and  prayed  to  Moses  for  her 
restoration,  Moses  interceded  with  God 
and  was  promised  that  she  should  re 
cover  in  seven  days.  During  that  time 
the  whole  nation  halted  for  her  while 
she  was  kept  outside  the  camp.  She 
died  at  Kadesh  in  the  desert  of  Zin 
(Numbers  xx.  1).  Her  tomb  was  shown 
in  the  time  of  St.  Jerome.  The  prophet 
Micah  (vi.  4)  mentions  her  as  one  of 
the  great  leaders  and  deliverers  of  the 
Israelites.  Josephus  numbers  her  among 
the  old  Testament  Saints.  The  Christian 
Calendars  honour  her,  July  1,  with 
her  nephew  Eleazar,  and  great-nephew 
Phineas.  According  to  Josephus,  she 
had  a  husband  named  Hur.  Moham 
medan  legend  makes  her  identical  with 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  says  she 
was  miraculously  kept  alive  to  fulfil  her 
blessed  destiny.  Smith's  Die.  of  the 
Bible.  Stadler,  Lcxikon.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mary  (2)>  1st  century,  Mother 
of  the  Saviour,  March  25  Annunciation, 
Aug.  1~>  Assumption,  Feb.  2,  July  2 
Visitation  (to  Elisabeth),  Aug.  5  Our 


ST.  MARY 


Lady  of  the  Snow,  Sept.  8  her  nativity, 
Sept.  12  her  name,  Sept.  24  Our  Lady  of 
Mercede  for  the  Kedemption  of  Captives, 
Nov.  21  Presentation  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  in  the  temple  in  her  childhood ; 
this  feast,  originally  observed  Feb.  14, 
is  the  oldest  festival  in  her  honour,  Dec. 
8  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Oct.  7 
Our  Lady  of  Victory,  instituted  by 
Pius  V.  in  honour  of  the  victory  of  the 
Christians  over  the  Turks  at  Lepanto ; 
this  victory  was  ascribed  to  her.  All 
these  days  and  a  few  more  are  marked 
in  the  R.M.  Many  others  are  set  apart 
by  different  Churches  and  Orders  in 
honour  of  certain  events  and  relics  con 
nected  with  the  Mother  of  the  Lord. 
The  month  of  May  is  the  month  of 
Mary.  By  the  Seven  Dolours  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  March  7,  are  generally 
meant  (1)  the  agony  of  grief  that  Mary 
felt  when  Simeon  prophesied  that  this 
Child  should  be  for  the  fall  and  rising 
again  of  many,  and  that  a  sword  should 
pierce  through  her  own  soul;  (2)  when 
the  angel  told  Joseph  to  flee  into  Egypt 
because  Herod  would  seek  the  Child's 
life,  and  she  saw  from  this  how  ill  He 
would  be  received  on  earth ;  (3)  when 
He  stayed  behind  at  Jerusalem  with  the 
doctors  and  she  lost  Him  ;  (4)  when  she 
met  Him  carrying  His  cross ;  (5)  when 
she  saw  Him  crucified ;  (6)  when  He 
was  taken  down  from  the  cross  and  she 
took  Him  in  her  arms;  (7)  when  they 
took  Him  from  her  arms  to  bury  Him. 

St.  Mary  has  many  aliases,  amongst 
others,  The  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the 
Virgin,  our  Lady,  the  Mother  of  God ; 
the  Madonna;  the  Queen  of  Heaven 
and  Hell ;  the  Star  of  the  Sea  ;  the  Gate 
of  Heaven;  the  Mother  of  Mercy;  the 
Refuge  of  the  Lost ;  the  Mediatrix ;  the 
Protector  from  Divine  justice  and  from 
the  devil ;  the  Ladder  of  Paradise ;  the 
Door ;  the  Ark  ;  Theotokos,  Deipara, 
Deigenitrix,  Bogoroditza.  la,  Mariarnne, 
Merg,  Miriam,  Mury,  are  identical  with 
Mary. 

She  is  patron  of  women  named 
Annunciata,  Candelaria,  Concepcion, 
Dolores,  etc.  Cahier  gives  a  long  list 
of  places,  communities  and  industries  of 
which  she  is  patron.  Among  the  coun 
tries  are  England,  France,  and  Portugal  ; 


among  the  towns,  Lincoln,  Salisbury, 
Paris,  Hampstead,  and  Montreal  which 
was  founded  by  the  Sulpicians  under 
the  name  of  Villemarie.  Among  the  re 
ligious  orders  are  the  Cistercians  and  the 
Order  of  Mercede  for  the  Redemption 
of  Captives.  The  newspaper-carriers 
of  Paris  and  ribbon-makers  are  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Annunciation ;  the 
fish- sellers  of  Paris  specially  honour 
her  Assumption.  The  Conception  is 
the  patron  of  Spain  and  the  Spanish 
Indies;  the  Nativity,  of  many  places 
in  Paris,  of  restaurants,  cooks,  fish- 
women,  makers  and  sellers  of  ribbons, 
fringes,  gold  and  silver  cloth.  As  Our 
Lady  of  tlie  Snow,  she  is  patron  of 
embroiderers,  lace-makers,  bleachers  of 
linen  and  spinners  of  thread  for  lace ; 
this  is  probably  on  account  of  the  perfect 
whiteness  aimed  at  in  these  arts. 

If  the  genealogy  of  our  Lord  given 
by  St.  Luke,  is  that  of  His  mother, 
her  father's  name  was  Ileli,  which  is  a 
variant  oi  Joachim,  and  the  tradition 
that  her  mother's  name  was  Anna  is  of 
great  antiquity,  and  very  likely  to  bo 
true. 

All  that  we  know  of  St.  Mary  from 
contemporary  history  is  the  little  that  is 
told  in  the  Bible,  but  that  little  was  soon 
amplified  and  gradually  grew  to  a  story 
of  considerable  length,  most  of  which  is 
to  be  found  in  the  apocryphal  gospels. 

According  to  the  traditions,  Mary  was 
the  daughter  of  SS.  Joachim  and  ANNA. 
For  the  story  of  their  long  childlessness 
and  the  wonderful  circumstances  of  the 
birth  of  Mary,  see  ANNA  (3). 

When  Mary  was  nine  months  old, 
Anna  set  her  on  the  ground  to  see 
whether  she  could  walk,  and  she  walked 
nine  steps.  By  another  account,  she  was 
first  set  down  at  three  months  and  walked 
three  steps.  Her  mother  caught  her  up 
and  said,  "As  the  Lord  liveth  thou 
walkest  no  more  on  this  earth  until  I 
bring  thee  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord." 
So  she  made  her  chamber  a  holy  place 
and  suffered  nothing  common  or  unclean 
to  come  near  her,  but  invited  certain  well- 
reputed  daughters  of  Israel  to  keep  her 
company. 

When  she  was  a  year  old,  Joachim 
made  a  great  feast  and  invited  all  the 


ST.   MARY 


priests,  scribes,  and  elders,  and  many 
others.  At  tho  feast  he  made  an  offer 
ing  of  his  daughter  to  the  chief  priests. 
They  blessed  her,  saying,  "  The  God  of 
our  fathers  bless  this  girl  and  give  her 
a  name  famous  and  lasting  through  all 
generations.'*  All  the  people  cried, 
"  Amen." 

When  she  was  two  years  old,  Joachim 
proposed  to  Anna  to  take  her  to  tho 
temple  in  fulfilment  of  their  vow;  but 
Anna  said  they  would  wait  one  more 
year  that  the  child  might  know  her 
parents.  When  she  was  three  years  old 
they  took  her  to  the  temple,  accompanied 
by  several  young  women,  each-  carrying 
a  lamp  lest  the  child  should  be  frightened. 
They  delivered  her  to  the  priest,  who 
"  set  her  on  the  third  step  of  the  altar, 
and  the  Lord  gave  her  grace,  and  she 
danced  with  her  feet,  and  all  the  house 
of  Israel  loved  her."  Her  parents  left 
her  with  the  other  virgins  who  were  to 
be  brought  up  in  the  temple,  and  returned 
home. 

During  the  years  of  her  childhood  and 
education  there,  she  was  daily  visited 
and  fed  by  angels.  When  she  was 
twelve — or  fourteen,  or  eighteen,  for  the 
accounts  vary — the  priests  ordered  that 
all  the  virgins  who  were  of  suitable  age 
should  return  to  their  families  and  "  ac 
cording  to  the  custom  of  their  country 
endeavour  to  be  married."  They  all 
received  the  command  gladly,  except 
Mary,  who  was  vowed  by  her  parents 
to  the  service  of  God  for  life ;  besides 
which,  she  had  herself  made  a  vow  of 
virginity,  so  that  she  could  not  marry. 
Then  the  priests,  after  asking  counsel 
in  the  usual  way,  made  a  proclamation 
that  all  the  marriageable  men  of  the 
house  of  David — or  by  another  account, 
all  tho  widowers — should  bring  their 
rods  to  the  altar,  when  it  would  be  made 
known  by  a  sign  from  heaven  which  of 
them  should  be  the  husband  of  Mary. 
So  the  criers  went  out  through  all  Judea, 
and  the  men  assembled  and  presented  their 
rods.  The  high-priest  prayed,  and  after 
wards  returned  to  each  man  his  rod  ;  but 
no  sign  followed.  The  high-priest  again 
sought  Divine  instruction,  and  it  was 
revealed  to  him  that  the  man  who  was 
destined  to  marry  Mary  had  kept  back 


his  rod  when  the  others  were  pre 
sented.  Thus  Joseph  was  betrayed,  and 
had  to  produce  his  rod.  No  sooner  had 
the  high-priest  taken  it  than  it  burst 
forth  into  flower  and  a  dove  from  heaven 
lighted  on  it — or,  according  to  the  Prot- 
evangelion,  a  dove  flew  out  of  the  rod 
and  lighted  on  the  head  of  Joseph.  He, 
however,  refused  to  marry,  saying  that 
he  was  eighty  years  old,  and  had  grown 
up  children,  and  that  ho  would  become 
ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  all  people  if  he 
married  a  young  girl.  The  high-priest 
reminded  him  what  an  evil  fate  befel 
Korah,  Dathan,  arid  Abirarn  when  they 
refused  to  do  the  bidding  of  tho  inspired 
rulers  of  Israel.  So  Mary  was  espoused 
to  Joseph  the  Carpenter.  He  took  her 
to  his  house  and  left  her  there  while  he 
went  to  attend  to  his  trade  of  building. 
Now  the  priests  decided  to  make  a  new 
veil  for  the  temple,  and  they  sent  for 
seven  virgins  of  the  tribe  of  David,  and 
when  they  were  come,  Mary  being  one 
of  them,  the  high-priest  said,  "  Cast  lots 
before  me,  who  of  you  shall  spin  the 
golden  thread,  who  the  blue,  who  the 
scarlet,  who  the  fine  linen,  and  who 
the  true  purple."  The  purple  fell  to  the 
lot  of  Mary,  and  she  went  away  to  her 
own  house  to  spin  it.  One  day  she  went 
out  to  draw  water,  and  as  she  went  she 
heard  a  voice  saying  to  her.  "  Hail,  thou 
that  art  full  of  grace,  the  Lord  is  with 
thee,  thou  art  blessed  among  women ! " 
She  looked  round,  trembling,  and  went 
back  into  her  house,  and  putting  down 
her  pitcher,  she  sat  down  to  work  at  the 
purple.  Then  she  saw  the  angel  Gabriel 
standing  by  her,  and  he  told  her  she  was 
highly  favoured  and  that  she  should  be 
come  the  mother  of  a  Holy  Child,  the 
Son  of  God  Whom  she  was  to  call  Jesus 
(St.  Luke  i.  26-37).  At  the  same  time 
ne  told  her  that  her  cousin  (ST.)  ELISA 
BETH,  who  was  old  and  had  been  called 
barren,  was  in  the  sixth  month  of  her 
pregnancy.  Mary  finished  working  the 
purple  for  the  veil  and  carried  it  to 
the  high-priest,  who  blessed  her,  and 
she  went  a  great  distance  from  Nazareth 
to  visit  and  congratulate  Elisabeth,  who 
lived  at  Hebron  or  Juttah,  about  twenty 
miles  south  of  Jerusalem. 

Elisabeth    received    her    with    great 


; 


ST.   MARY 


joy  and  blessed  her  and  was  the  first 
to  hail  her  as  the  mother  of  the  Lord 
(St.  Luke  i.  42).  In  answer  to  the 
salutation  of  Elisabeth,  Mary  uttered 
the  song  which  we  know  as  the  Mag 
nificat  (St.  Luke  i.  46-55).  It  shows 
that,  whether  the  priests  in  the  temple 
or  her  parents  at  Nazareth  brought  her 
up,  she  had  been  instructed  in  the  scrip 
tures.  The  song  is  taken  largely  from 
that  of  Hannah  (ANNA  (1)),  mother  of 
Samuel  (1  Sam.  ii.  1-10).  The  rest  of 
it  is  almost  entirely  from  the  Psalms  and 
the  books  of  Moses  and  the  Prophets. 

When  Mary  returned  to  her  husband's 
house,  it  became  manifest  that  she  was 
with  child.  While  Joseph  was  grieved 
and  perplexed,  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
appeared  to  him  in  a  dream  and  told 
him  that  she  was  about  to  become  the 
mother  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
They  both  suffered  some  suspicion  and 
abuse  from  the  priests,  but  they  rejoiced 
because  they  were  favoured  by  God. 

Soon  they  set  out  for  Bethlehem,  in 
obedience  to  the  decree  of  the  Emperor 
Augustus  that  all  the  Jews  should  be 
taxed. 

The  Virgin  Mother  brought  forth  her 
son  in  a  cave  used  as  the  stable  of  the 
overcrowded  inn.  At  the  moment  of 
the  Lord's  birth  everything  stood  still : 
the  clouds  were  astonished,  the  birds 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  their  flight, 
people  sitting  at  table  did  not  move 
their  hands  to  feed,  and  those  who  had 
meat  in  their  mouth  did  not  go  on  eat 
ing  ;  but  all  faces  were  looking  upwards  ; 
the  kids  that  had  their  mouths  touching 
the  water  did  not  drink.  Then  came 
SALOME  and  would  not  believe  that  a 
virgin  had  brought  forth  a  child;  and 
her  hand  withered,  but  she  acknowledged 
her  fault,  repented  of  her  presumption, 
and  worshipped  the  new-born  King ;  she 
was  allowed  to  carry  the  Child,  and  as 
soon  as  she  took  Him  in  her  arms,  her 
hand  was  made  well.  One  of  the  legends 
of  the  Nativity — popular  in  Spain — was 
that  the  cow  and  the  ass  in  the  stable 
were  quiet  to  let  the  Madonna  rest,  but 
the  ox  and  the  mule  made  their  noises 
and  disturbed  her,  and  that  is  the  reason 
that  the  ox  and  the  mule  never  have  any 
young  ones  to  this  day. 


Next  came  the  Wise  Men  from  the 
East,  led  by  a  star  of  wondrous  bright 
ness,  to  the  place  where  the  young  Child 
and  His  mother  were.  They  worshipped 
the  Child  and  presented  their  gifts  and 
returned  to  their  own  country.  The 
shepherds  in  the  fields  and  SS.  Simeon 
and  ANNA  (2)  in  the  temple  acknow 
ledged  the  Divinity  of  the  new-born 
Saviour,  and  Simeon  foretold  to  the 
B.  Y.  Mary  the  martyrdom  of  grief 
that  she  was  to  suffer.  Then  Herod, 
fearing  that  a  rival  king  of  Judea  was 
born  in  Bethlehem,  sent  men  to  kill  all 
the  children  there  of  two  years  old  and 
under.  Mary  was  afraid,  wrapped  her 
Child  in  swaddling  clothes  and  hid  Him 
in  an  ox-manger ;  but  Joseph,  warned  of 
God  that  Herod  was  seeking  to  kill  the 
Child,  fled  into  Egypt,  taking  his  wife 
and  her  Infant  on  an  ass  while  he  and 
his  son  Simeon  walked  beside  them. 
Many  legendary  details  of  this  journey 
are  told  in  the  various  apocryphal  books. 
As  the  holy  family  sat  resting  under  a 
tree,  the  divine  Child  commanded  the 
branches  to  bend  down  that  His  mother 
might  gather  the  fruit  to  refresh  herself. 
When  dragons  and  other  monsters  came 
out  to  trouble  them,  He  stood  before 
them  and  they  went  peacefully  away. 
Lions  and  wild  asses  carried  the  baggage 
the  little  party  brought  with  them. 

During  part  of  their  journey  they 
were  pursued  by  Herod's  men,  and  at 
one  place  they  passed  through,  the  in 
habitants  were  sowing  corn  in  the  fields. 
Mary  said  to  them,  "  If  people  come  here 
asking  for  us,  tell  them  we  passed  through 
your  place  when  you  were  sowing  corn." 
They  promised  to  do  so.  The  corn  grew 
up  and  ripened  in  one  night.  Next  day, 
when  the  same  men  were  reaping  it, 
Herod's  soldiers  arrived  and  asked  them 
whether  a  young  woman  with  an  infant 
and  an  old  man  had  passed  that  way. 
They  said,  "Yes,  they  passed  through 
when  we  were  sowing  this  corn."  The 
soldiers  thought  that  must  have  been 
months  ago,  but  a  wicked  black  beetle 
lifted  up  its  head  and  said,  "  Yesterday, 
yesterday."  However,  nobody  listened 
to  it,  and  the  soldiers  gave  up  the  pur 
suit  as  hopeless.  I  have  heard  an 
amiable  French  child  say,  "  Kill  that 


ST.   MARY 


beetle,  always  kill  a  beetle,  it  comes 
from  hell."  Peasants  in  our  own  country 
a  generation  ago  would  say  to  a  beetle 
in  the  fields,  with  an  accent  of  reproof 
or  menace,  '*  Yesterday,  beetle,  yester 
day." 

Once  the  holy  family  drew  near  to  a 
great  city  where  there  were  many  images 
of  false  gods.  They  all  fell  down  at  the 
approach  of  the  true  God  and  His  mother. 
Mary  was  afraid  that  as  Herod  had  sought 
to  kill  the  Saviour,  much  more  would 
the  Egyptians  be  jealous  of  Him  when 
they  heard  that  their  great  idol  had 
fallen  down  at  His  coming.  They  went 
therefore  to  the  wild  places  where  rob 
bers  lived.  The  robbers  at  their  approach 
heard  a  noise  as  of  a  king  with  a  great 
army  coming,  they  were  terrified  and 
fled  in  haste,  leaving  all  their  booty. 
Upon  this,  the  prisoners  whom  they  had 
taken,  arose  and  loosened  each  other's 
bonds,  and  each  taking  his  own  property, 
went  off.  They  met  Joseph  and  Mary, 
and  asked  where  the  king  and  the 
soldiers  were  who  had  frightened  away 
the  robbers.  Again  they  passed  through 
a  region  infested  with  robbers,  and  saw 
a  number  of  them  lying  asleep,  two  were 
lying  on  the  road.  Their  names  were 
Titus  and  Dumachus.  (The  Gospel  of 
Nicodemus  calls  them  Dimas  and  Gestas.) 
Titus  said  to  Dumachus,  "  Let  these 
persons  go  safely  on  their  way  and  do 
not  awake  our  companions."  Dumachus 
refused,  and  Titus  said,  "  I  will  give 
thee  forty  groats.  Here,  take  my  girdle 
as  a  pledge,"  and  he  gave  it  him  at  once 
that  Dumachus  might  not  speak  or  make 
any  noise.  When  Mary  saw  the  kind 
ness  of  the  good  robber,  she  said,  "  The 
Lord  God  will  receive  thee  at  His  right 
hand  and  grant  thee  pardon  for  thy  sins." 
Then  the  Lord  Jesus  said  to  His  mother, 
"  When  thirty  years  have  passed,  the 
Jews  will  crucify  me  at  Jerusalem,  and 
these  two  men  will  be  crucified  with  me, 
Titus  on  my  right  hand  and  Dumachus 
on  my  left,  and  Titus  shall  go  with  me 
into  Paradise  that  day."  She  said,  "  God 
forbid  that  this  should  be  Thy  lot." 

They  next  went  to  another  city  where 
there  were  many  idols,  and  as  soon  as 
they  came  near  it,  the  city  was  turned 
into  heaps  of  sand.  Thence  they  went 


to  a  sycamore  tree,  and  there  the  Lord 
caused  a  well  to  spring  forth  in  which 
Mary  washed  her  Son's  coat.  A  balsam 
grows  in  that  country  from  the  sweat 
which  ran  down  from  our  Lord. 

A  great  many  miraculous  cures,  espe 
cially  of  leprosy  and  demoniacal  posses 
sion,  were  performed  by  Mary,  by  means 
of  the  water  in  which  she  had  washed 
her  Son  or  His  clothes.  She  defeated 
many  cruel  sorceries :  one  was  in  connec 
tion  with  a  young  man,  the  only  pro 
tector  of  his  sisters.  A  malignant  sor 
cerer  had  changed  him  into  a  mule,  but 
his  sisters  having  hospitably  received 
the  holy  travellers,  revealed  their  grief 
to  a  young  girl  whom  Mary  had  cured  of 
leprosy  and  who  had  begged  leave  to 
remain  with  her  and  attend  upon  her. 
The  Blessed  Mary  took  her  Son,  set  Him 
on  the  mule's  back,  and  bade  Him  re 
store  the  animal  to  his  true  form  ;  which 
he  instantly  did.  The  grateful  sisters, 
with  Mary's  consent,  married  their 
brother  to  the  girl  who  had  had  the 
honour  of  being  her  servant  and  had 
induced  them  to  seek  her  aid. 

After  the  return  of  the  Holy  Family 
to  their  own  country,  they  lived  at  Na 
zareth,  and  many  incidents  are  told  of 
the  next  few  years  there  and  of  the  child 
hood  of  the  Saviour.  That  of  the  Child 
Jesus  tarrying  behind  in  Jerusalem  when 
Joseph  and  Mary  had  taken  Him  there 
on  their  yearly  visit,  at  the  feast  of  the 
passover,  and  His  talking  with  the  Eab- 
bis  there,  and  being  missed  and  found 
again  by  His  parents,  is  told  both  in  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Luke  (ii.  41-50)  and  in 
the  first  Apocryphal  Gospel  of  the  In 
fancy,  with  the  addition  (in  the  latter) 
that  the  doctors  said,  "  Oh,  happy  Mary, 
who  hast  borne  such  a  son !  " 

From  this  time  until  the  beginning  of 
our  Lord's  ministry,  little  is  recorded  of 
St.  Mary.  Smith's  Dictionary  says  that 
she  was  probably — at  all  events  from  the 
time  of  Joseph's  death — living  with  her 
sister  MARY  (o),  who,  contrary  to  the 
legendary  account  of  St.  Anne  and  her 
family,  was  older  than  the  Blessed  Virgin 
and  whose  children  were  much  older 
than  the  Lord. 

St.  Mary  was  at  the  wedding-feast  in 
Cana  of  Galilee,  where  our  Lord's  first 


42 


ST.  MARY 


public  miracle  provided  wine  for  the 
occasion.  The  marriage  was  apparently 
that  of  a  relation,  as  she  seems  to  have 
had  some  authority  in  the  household 
(St.  John  ii.  1-11).  Soon  after  this,  she 
and  her  sister  and  nephews  heard  that 
He  was  going  about  teaching  and  doing 
good  and  had  no  leisure  so  much  as  to 
eat,  and  in  their  anxiety  for  His  health 
and  safety  they  determined  to  remon 
strate  with  Him.  They  could  not,  for  the 
crowds  of  people,  gain  access  to  Him. 
It  was  told  Him  that  His  mother  and  His 
brethren  stood  without,  desiring  to  see 
Him.  He  gave  the  answer  that  we  know, 
St.  Matt.  xii.  4-6 ;  St.  Mark  iii.  31 ;  and 
St.  Luke  viii.  19.  St.  Mary  is  next  met 
with  at  the  time  of  the  Crucifixion  (St. 
John  xix.  25,  26,  27),  when  the  dying 
Saviour  saw  His  mother  and  St.  John 
standing  by  the  Cross,  and  commended 
her  to  the  care  of  the  disciple  "  whom 
He  loved,"  "  and  from  that  hour  that 
disciple  took  her  to  his  own  home." 
They  are  both  named  among  those  who, 
after  the  Lord's  Ascension,  continued  at 
Jerusalem  in  prayer  and  supplication 
(Acts  i.  14).  It  is  probable  that  she 
spent  the  rest  of  her  life  there,  although 
one  account  says  that  she  accompanied 
St.  John  to  Ephesus  and  died  there  in 
the  year  48. 

Concerning  her  death,  her  burial  and 
assumption  into  Paradise,  the  Syriac 
Apocrypha  says  that  when  the  apostles 
dispersed  to  preach  in  all  the  world, 
Mary,  still  in  great  sorrow,  was  constant 
in  prayer  every  hour  at  the  tomb  and  at 
Golgotha ;  and  as  those  who  had  cruci 
fied  her  Son  and  Lord  hated  her,  they 
wished  to  kill  her  also,  and  set  people 
to  watch  for  her  with  orders  to  stone  her 
if  she  went  there  to  pray.  Therefore 
Mary  prayed  to  her  Son  to  take  her  out 
of  the  world,  and  when  the  spies  tried  to 
speak  to  her  or  touch  her,  they  could  not 
for  they  saw  the  angel  of  God  talking 
to  her.  The  Jews  then  begged  her  to 
depart  from  Jerusalem,  so  she  went  to 
her  own  house  at  Bethlehem,  and  the 
three  virgins  who  dwelt  with  her  and 
who  were  daughters  of  the  chief  men  of 
Jerusalem,  went  with  her.  She  knew 
that  she  was  soon  to  die  and  she  wished 
to  see  her  Son  and  all  the  Apostles  be 


fore  she  departed  out  of  the  world.  St. 
John  was  going  into  church  at  Ephesus 
and  was  warned  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to 
go  and  see  his  adopted  mother.  He  was 
conveyed  to  her  house  instantly  in  a 
cloud  of  light.  St.  Peter  was  brought 
from  Eome,  St.  Paul  from  Tiberias,  St. 
Matthew  from  Beyrout,  St.  Bartholomew 
from  Armenia,  St.  Thaddc^ous  from  Lao- 
dicea,  and  St.  James  from  the  cave  of 
fiion.  Five  of  the  Apostles  were  dead, 
but  they  were  awakened  and  brought  to 
Bethlehem,  and  she  took  leave  of  them 
and  blessed  them.  They  carried  her  on 
a  litter  to  Jerusalem.  One  of  the  priests 
of  the  Jews  tried  to  throw  down  the 
litter  into  the  valley  that  she  might  be 
burnt,  but  an  angel  smote  off-iris  arms  ; 
the  merciful  Mary,  however,  forgave  him 
and  bade  St.  Peter  give  him  back  his 
arms.  Then  came  EVE,  HANNA,  ELISA 
BETH,  the  patriarchs  and  the  angels. 
The  Saviour  took  her  soul  and  the 
Apostles  carried  her  body  to  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat,  St.  John  going  first  and 
carrying  the  palm  branch  which  an 
angel  had  brought  to  her  from  heaven 
before  her  death.  They  laid  her  in  a 
new  tomb  and  sat  at  the  mouth  of  it  as 
the  Lord  Jesus  had  commanded  them. 
He  then  asked  them  what  He  should  do, 
and  they  prayed  Him  to  raise  up  the 
body  of  His  mother  and  take  it  with  Him 
to  Heaven,  and  He  did  so.  St.  Thomas 
was  in  India,  and  when  he  was  called  was 
in  the  act  of  baptizing  the  king's  nephew 
(see  ST.  MIGDONIA).  Therefore  he  did 
not  arrive  in  time  to  see  all  the  wonders 
that  the  others  had  seen.  He  begged 
them  to  tell  him  everything,  and  when 
they  had  done  so,  he  said  he  must  see 
the  empty  tomb,  "For  I  am  Thomas, 
and  you  know  that  unless  I  see,  I  cannot 
believe/'  They  showed  him  the  tomb ; 
the  body  of  the  blessed  woman  was  not 
there,  but  instead  (says  the  Portuguese 
tradition)  the  grave  was  quite  full  of 
roses.  Then  Thomas  confessed  that  he 
had  seen  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  the 
mother  of  the  Saviour  being  carried  to 
Heaven  by  angels,  and  that  as  he  had 
not  been  able  to  come  and  stand  with  the 
others  beside  her  deathbed,  she  had 
given  him  her  girdle. 

Another  legend  is  that  she  died  and 


ST.  MARY 


43 


was  buried  at  Antioch,  and  that  when 
they  sought  for  her  body  in  the  tomb  it 
was  not  there,  but  crowds  of  beautiful 
lilies  were  growing  in  the  place  where 
the  Blessed  Virgin  had  lain. 

Tillemont  (Hist.  Ecc.  I.  4(5;})  says  that 
although  the  tradition  of  her  being 
brought  up  in  the  temple  is  founded  en 
tirely  on  apocryphal  writings,  it  is  clear 
from  2  Kings  xi.  2,'>,  2  Chron.  xxii.  11, 
12,  and  St.  Luke  ii.  ;>7,  that  under  some 
circumstances  women  did  live  in  the 
temple  and  bring  up  children  there. 
Exodus  xxxviii.  8  appears  to  have  been 
taken  by  St.  Ambrose  to  mean  that  there 
were  women  set  apart  for  the  service  of 
the  house  of  God.  Tillemont  further 
says  that,  although  the  Jewish  traditions 
quoted  by  Epiphanius  and  Gregory  were 
supposed  to  imply  that  the  Virgin  con 
secrated  to  God  was  to  remain  a  virgin, 
and  although  the  story  of  her  marriage 
takes  for  granted  not  only  that  she  had 
a  vow  of  celibacy  but  that  such  a  vow 
was  of  ordinary  occurrence,  "  or  I'un  et 
lautre  est  sans  apparence" 

Whereas  the  Jewish  writers  disparaged 
Mary  and  stigmatized  her  Son  as  illegiti 
mate,  Mohammedan  tradition  makes  her 
identical  with  Miriam,  the  sister  of 
Moses  and  Aaron,  and  says  that  she  was 
miraculously  kept  alive  for  centuries  in 
order  to  be  the  mother  of  Christ.  It 
represents  her  as  a  holy  virgin  dedicated 
to  God  before  her  birth,  by  her  mother 
Hannah ;  educated  by  the  priests  in  the 
temple,  where  angels  ministered  to  her 
and  where  St.  Gabriel  appeared  to  her 
with  the  salutation,  "  O  Mary !  verily 
God  sendeth  thee  good  tidings  that  thou 
shalt  bear  the  Word  proceeding  from 
Himself.  He  shall  be  called  Christ  Jesus 
the  son  of  Mary."  Her  child  was  born 
under  a  palm  tree,  and  there  God  provided 
a  stream  of  water  for  her  and  ripe  dates 
fell  from  the  tree  for  her  to  eat.  The 
holy  Infant  spoke  and  taught  and  de 
clared  His  mission.  "  This,"  continues 
the  story,  "  was  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary, 
concerning  whom  they  doubt."  Neither 
Mary  nor  her  Son  were  guilty  of  sin 
like  other  children  of  Adam,  for,  at 
their  birth,  God  placed  a  veil  between 
them  and  the  evil  spirit,  because  Mary's 
mother  Hannah  had  prayed  that  they 


should  be  protected  from  Satan.  This 
is  the  germ  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Im 
maculate  Conception.  During  the  first 
six  centuries  this  doctrine  was  not  heard 
of.  So  far  was  Mary  from  being  con 
sidered  faultless,  that  the  "  sword " 
which  was  to  "  pierce  through  her  own 
soul "  was  interpreted  by  St.  Basil,  in 
the  fifth  century,  to  mean  the  pang  of 
unbelief  in  her  Son's  divinity  that  she 
experienced  when  she  witnessed  His  cruci 
fixion  ;  and  her  going  with  her  nephews 
to  try  to  interrupt  His  preaching  and 
labours  was  attributed  by  St.  Chry- 
sostom  to  arrogance  and  ambition.  St. 
Ambrose  describes  her  as  a  pattern  of  a 
young  girl.  St.  Augustine  says  she  was 
under  original  sin,  but  that  perhaps  the 
grace  of  God  protected  her  entirely  from 
actual  sin. 

The  observance  of  a  feast  of  the  Im 
maculate  Conception  is  said  to  have 
been  established  in  England  by  St. 
Anselm,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in 
1109.  St.  Bernard  opposed  the  inno 
vation.  From  the  14th  century  the 
Mohammedan  belief  in  Mary's  entire 
sinlessness  grew  and  spread,  until  a 
decree  of  Pius  IX.,  in  1854,  established 
it  as  a  dogma  of  the  Church.  As  her 
worship  increased,  many  passages  in  the 
scriptures  were  discovered  to  be  pro 
phetic  or  mystical  references  to  her. 
She  was  the  Bride  of  Solomon's  Song ; 
the  Woman  clothed  with  the  Sun  ;  the 
East  Gate  of  Ezekiel's  Temple,  by  which 
the  Prince  of  the  people  entered  once, 
and  which  was  shut  for  evermore  (Eze- 
kiel  xliv.  2) ;  Jacob's  ladder  (Gen. 
xxviii.  12);  the  burning  bush  (Exodus 
iii.  2) ;  Aaron's  rod  (Numbers  xvii.  8) ; 
Gideon's  fleece  (Judges  vi.  37). 

The  Church  of  St.  Mary  in  Trastevere, 
in  Home,  claims  to  stand  on  the  site  of 
one  built  about  222  by  Pope  Calixtus. 
Other  places  claim  to  have  had  the  first 
church  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary, 
but  it  is  thought  that  the  worship  of 
Diana,  virgin-nurse  of  the  universe,  was 
transferred  to  St.  Mary  and  led  to  the 
building  of  the  first  church  at  Ephesus, 
in  the  fourth  century,  when  "  the  Peace 
of  the  Church "  was  granted  by  Con- 
stantine.  Until  that  time  monuments 
were  erected  to  martyrs  only.  After 


44 


ST.   MARY   MAGDALENE 


the  council  of  Ephesus,  many  churches 
were  called  by  her  name.  St.  PULCHERIA, 
the  empress,  built  four  great  churches  in 
Constantinople  in  her  honour. 

As  to  relics,  no  part  of  her  body  ever 
was  to  be  had,  because  it  had  been  taken 
to  heaven ;  but  in  many  places  there 
were  articles  held  in  great  veneration, 
as  having  belonged  to  her ;  many  locks 
of  her  hair  were  shown  in  divers  places, 
and  a  festival  in  honour  of  one  at 
Oviedo  was  held  on  May  2.  Her  robe, 
her  sash,  her  ring,  each  had  a  fete ;  and 
her  veil,  scarf,  cloak,  distaff,  combs, 
gloves,  bed,  and  many  small  household 
articles  were  treasured.  Some  of  these 
were  found  near  Jerusalem  in  the  fifth 
century.  When  her  comb  and  her  sash 
were  worshipped  her  husband  could  not 
escape:  St.  Joseph's  day  is  March  19. 
His  name  began  to  be  inserted  in  the 
martyrologies  towards  the  end  of  the 
ninth  century.  Some  of  the  traditions 
of  the  childhood  of  St.  Mary  are  of  the 
second  century. 

E.M.  Apocryphal  Gospels.  Smith, 
Die.  of  the  Bible.  Butler.  Baillet. 
Tillernont,  Hist.  Eccles.  Trench,  Mediae 
val  Church  History.  For  "  Merg  "  as  one 
of  her  names,  my  authority  is  Miss 
Eckenstein's  Woman  under  Monasticism. 

St.  Mary  (3)  Magdalene,  MADE 
LEINE,  or  MADDALENA,  July  22,  1st 
century.  The  first  person  to  whom 
our  Lord  appeared  after  His  resurrection. 
One  of  "  Les  trois  Maries"  the  others 
being  Mary  (5)  and  Mary  (6).  Mary 
Magdalene  is  the  patron  of  penitent 
women,  and  of  Provence  and  Marseilles. 

Eepresented  with  great  quantities  of 
fair  hair ;  often  in  a  desert  place,  lying 
or  kneeling  on  the  ground  ;  frequently 
in  tears ;  with  a  vase  of  ointment  near 
her  ;  sometimes  carried  by  angels. 

The  sign  for  her  day,  in  ancient 
Norwegian  calendars,  is  a  chair,  from 
the  legend  that  on  her  arrival  in  heaven, 
the  BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY  rose  and 
gave  her  own  chair  to  Mary  Magdalene. 

In  St.  Luke  viii.  1,  2,  we  read  that 
our  Lord  "  went  throughout  every  city 
and  village  preaching  .  .  .  and  the 
twelve  were  with  him  and  certain  women 
which  had  been  healed  of  evil  spirits 
and  infirmities,  Mary  called  Magdalene 


out  of  whom  went  seven  devils,  and 
JOANNA  .  .  .  and  SUSANNA,  and  many 
others,  which  ministered  unto  Him  of 
their  substance."  Such  attendance  on 
a  beloved  and  revered  Rabbi  and  such 
contributions  to  his  maintenance  were 
quite  in  accordance  with  the  customs 
of  the  time  and  country.  The  associa 
tion  of  Mary  Magdalene  with  these 
women  of  honourable  station  makes  it 
unlikely  that  she  had  been  until  that 
time  "  a  notorious  evil  liver." 

The  next  Biblical  mention  of  Mary 
Magdalene,  refers  to  the  day  of  the 
Crucifixion.  She  is  spoken  of  at  one 
time  as  standing  afar  off  (St.  Matt. 
xxvii.  55,  56 ;  St.  Mark  xv.  40) ;  at 
another  as  close  to  the  Cross  (St.  John 
xix.  25).  With  "  the  other  Mary,"  she 
watched  the  entombment  (St.  Mark 
xv.  47),  and  when  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
departed  in  the  evening,  he  left  them 
sitting  by  the  grave  (St.  Matt,  xxvii.  61). 
Through  the  sabbath  day  that  followed, 
the  GalilsBan  women  "rested"  (St. 
Luke  xxiii.  56),  but  "very  early  in 
the  morning"  (St.  Mark  xvi.  2)  of 
Easter  Day,  they  made  their  way 
back  to  the  sepulchre.  They  found  it 
open,  the  stone  rolled  to  one  side  and 
angel-watchers  without  and  within  (St. 
Matt,  xxviii.  2 ;  St.  Mark  xvi.  5 ;  St. 
Luke  xxiv.  4).  The  anointing  spices 
which  they  had  brought  were  needless, 
for  they  learnt  that  their  Lord  was  risen 
(St.  Matt,  xxviii.  6  ;  St.  Mark  xvi.  6  ; 
St.  Luke  xxiv.  6).  They  "fled  from 
the  sepulchre,"  says  St.  Mark,  "  they 
trembled  and  were  amazed,  neither  said 
they  anything  to  any  man"  (xvi.  8). 
St.  Matthew's  account  is  different ;  he 
tells  us  that  they  departed  "  with  fear 
and  great  joy,  and  did  run  to  bring  His 
disciples  word "  (St.  Matt,  xxviii.  8). 
"As  they  went  to  tell  His  disciples, 
behold,  Jesus  met  them,  saying,  All 
hail."  And  they  "  held  Him  by  the  feet 
and  worshipped  Him."  From  His  own 
lips  they  received  the  command  to  carry 
His  message  to  His  brethren.  No 
further  mention  of  Mary  Magdalene  is 
found  in  the  New  Testament,  although 
she  is  doubtless  included  among  the 
women  referred  to  in  Acts  i.  14. 
Tradition  has  added  many  details,  and 


ST.  MARY 


it  is  a  disputed  point  whether  Mary 
Magdalene,  Mary  of  Bethany,  and  the 
"  woman  who  was  a  sinner  "  were  three 
different  persons  or  not. 

The  Legenda  Aurea  says  that  St. 
Mary  Magdalene  was  to  have  been 
married  to  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and 
that  Christ  called  him  from  the  wedding. 
To  compensate  them  for  the  loss  of 
domestic  happiness,  Ho  bestowed  upon 
each  of  them  an  abundant  love  toward 
God.  The  same  legend  says  that  after 
the  Ascension  of  the  Lord,  Mary, 
MARTHA,  Lazarus,  Maximus  or  Maxi- 
minus,  and  MARCELLA  were  set  adrift  by 
the  Jews  in  a  boat  without  sails  or  oars. 
They  were  driven  ashore  at  Marseilles, 
where  the  inhabitants  refused  them  food 
or  shelter.  They  took  refuge  in  the 
porch  of  a  heathen  temple,  and  there 
Mary  preached  to  the  people  who,  after 
a  time,  were  touched  by  her  eloquence, 
and  by  the  miracles  performed  by 
Lazarus  and  the  others.  Mary  con 
verted  the  King  and  Queen,  and  per 
suaded  them  to  destroy  the  temples 
and  build  Christian  churches.  Lazarus 
was  unanimously  chosen  bishop  of  Mar 
seilles,  and  Maximian  bishop  of  Aix. 

Mary  then  withdrew  to  a  cave  (la 
Sainte  Beaume)  in  a  treeless,  waterless 
desert,  where  she  lived  in  prayer  and 
penance  for  thirty  years.  She  was  fed, 
from  time  to  time,  by  angels,  and  at 
every  canonical  hour  they  lifted  her 
from  the  earth  and  she  heard  the  songs 
of  the  blessed  with  her  bodily  ears. 
When  her  death  was  near,  the  angels 
carried  her  to  the  oratory  of  St.  Maxi 
mian  on  Easter  Monday.  He  saw  them 
holding  her  two  or  three  cubits  above 
the  ground.  She  begged  him  to  give 
her  the  holy  sacrament,  which  he  did 
in  presence  of  many  priests.  She  im 
mediately  died,  and  they  buried  her 
honourably  at  the  place  now  called  St. 
Maximin.  This  and  la  Sainte  Beaume, 
the  tomb  of  Martha  at  Vezelay,  of 
Lazarus  at  Autun,  of  Mary  (5)  and 
(6)  at  Aries  and  Tarascon  were  famous 
places  of  pilgrimage  in  the  middle  ages. 
EM.  Mrs.  Jameson.  Villegas.  The 
Golden  Legend.  Smith,  Die.  of  the  Bible. 
Pere  Lacordaire.  Paul  Lacroix,  Vie 
reJigieuse  au  moyen  age,  "  Pelerinages." 


St.  Mary  (4)  of  Bethany,  July  29, 
is  the  pattern  of  the  contemplative  re 
ligious  life,  as  MAKTHA  is  of  the  active. 
Twice  reproached  as  unpractical  or 
wasteful,  our  Lord  in  both  cases  ap 
proved  the  course  she  took.  She  was 
sister  of  SS.  Lazarus  and  Martha.  All 
three  were  beloved  by  the  Saviour.  The 
first  mention  of  the  sisters  is  in  St.  Luke 
x.  JJ8-42.  Martha  received  Him  into 
her  house  and  "  was  cumbered  about 
much  serving,  but  Mary  sat  at  His  feet 
and  heard  His  word."  Martha  com 
plained  that  her  sister  was  not  helping 
her,  and  Christ  gave  her  the  memorable 
answer,  "Martha,  Martha,  thou  art 
careful  and  troubled  about  many  things, 
but  .  .  .  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good 
part  which  shall  not  be  taken  away 
from  her."  St.  John  xi.  tells  of  the 
death  and  resurrection  of  Lazarus.  St. 
John  xii.  1-8,  tells  how,  after  the 
raising  of  Lazarus,  and  six  days  before 
the  Passover,  the  Lord  again  paid  a 
visit  to  the  family  at  Bethany  and 
they  made  a  feast  for  Him,  Lazarus 
sitting  with  Him  at  the  table,  Martha 
again  serving.  "  Then  took  Mary  a 
pound  of  ointment  of  spikenard  very 
costly  and  anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
and  wiped  his  feet  with  her  hair  :  and 
the  house  was  filled  with  the  odour  of 
the  ointment."  Judas  blamed  her  as 
wasteful,  but  the  Lord  commended  her 
action.  In  the  legends  she  is  identified 
with  Mary  Magdalene  and  with  the 
"  sinner  "  of  St.  Luke  vii.  o7,  but  the 
circumstances  of  the  anointing  in  St. 
Luke  are  quite  different  from  those  of 
the  incident  recorded  by  St.  John. 
Compare  with  MARTHA  (1)  and  MARY 
MAGDALENE. 

St.  Mary  (5)  of  Clopas,  April  y, 
May  2:>  (MAUY  JACOBI  or  JACOBE,  MARY 
UNGUENTIFERA  (MS.  Syuaxary  at  Dijon  j), 
one  of  those  who  brought  spices,  etc., 
to  embalm  the  body  of  the  Lord ;  one  of 
"  les  trois  Manes"  (See  MARY  (3).) 

Represented  carrying  a  vase. 

In  the  Bible  she  is  called  the  "  wife 
of  Cleophas,"  but  modern  criticism  says 
the  name  is  Clopas,  which  is  identical 
with  Alphaaus,  and  different  from 
Cleopas  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  xxiv.  8, 
at  Emmaus.  Tradition  calls  her  sister 


46 


ST.  MAJEIY  SALOME 


of  the  VIRGIN  MARY,  and  from  a  com 
parison  of  St.  John  xix.   25,  St.  Matt. 
xxvii.    50,    St.    Mark  xv.  40,  it   would 
appear  that  she  was  so,  but  it  is  not 
certain.     Mary  was  the  mother  of  Joses 
or  Joseph  and  of  St.  James  the  Less — 
the  apostle  who  was  the  first  bishop  of 
Jerusalem — and     probably   step-mother 
of  Simon,  and  of  St.  Jude  or  Thaddeus. 
Compare   St.    Mark   vi.  3,  and  xv.   40. 
She  is  also   said  to   have  had   several 
daughters  ;  St.  Epiphanius  mentions  two, 
whom  he  calls  Mary  and  Salome.    Other 
accounts  speak  of  Mary  Salome  as  one 
person    and     sister    of    Mary    Clopas. 
(Compare    SALOME.)      Some   traditions 
say  Mary  was  married  first  to  Alphseus, 
who  was  the  father  of  St.  James ;  and 
secondly  to  Clophas  or  Clopas,  who  is 
said    to    be    the    brother    of     Joseph, 
husband   of  the   Virgin  Mary.     Hege- 
sippus    identities    Simon,    the    son    of 
Clopas,   with    Symeon,    second    bishop 
of  Jerusalem,   who   was   put   to   death 
under   Trajan,   as   being   of  the  house 
of  David   and  a  relation  of  the  Lord 
Jesus    Christ.      Mary   followed    Christ 
during  the  three  years  of  His  ministry, 
assisting    Him    in    His    journeys    and 
listening  to  His  teaching ;  she  followed 
Him  to  Calvary  and  stood  by  His  cross 
with  His  mother  and  Mary  Magdalene. 
She  was  one  of  those  who  followed  Him 
to  the  grave  and  beheld  where  He  was 
laid  ;  then,  with  Mary  Magdalene  and 
Mary  Salome,  she  prepared  spices  and  all 
that  was  necessary  to  embalm  His  sacred 
body ;    and  having  rested  the   Sabbath 
day,    according   to    the    commandment, 
they  came  to  the  sepulchre  before  day 
break,  to  fulfil  this  last  duty  of  love  and 
reverence.      There  they  saw  the  angels, 
and  hearing  from  them  that  the  Lord 
was  risen,  they  returned  to  the  city  with 
fear  and  great  joy.     On  the  way  they 
met  Him  and  embraced  His  feet.     They 
then  went  to  tell  the  disciples  what  had 
happened ;  but  they  at  first  would  not 
believe  them. 

It  has  been  pretended,  without  au 
thority,  that  the  bodies  of  Mary  of 
Clopas,  and  Mary  Salome  are  preserved 
at  a  little  town  called  Les  Trois  Maries 
near  the  mouths  of  the  Rhone ;  and 
that  Mary  Clopas  and  Mary  Salome 


settled  at  Varoli  in  Italy,  after  the 
death  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  also  that 
Mary  Clopas  went  to  Spain  with  MARY 
MAGDALENE  and  died  at  Ciudad  Eodrigo. 
The  legend  of  St.  ANNE  says  that  Mary 
Clopas  was  the  daughter  of  ANNA  (3)  by 
her  second  husband,  consequently  she 
was  younger  than  the  mother  of  our 
Lord ;  but  Smith's  Dictionary  says  she 
was  probably  older  than  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  and  her  children  very 
much  older  than  our  Saviour.  He  adds 
that  Clopas  was  probably  dead  before  the 
ministry  of  the  Lord  began ;  St.  Joseph 
was  also  probably  dead.  The  two 
widowed  sisters  lived  together;  their 
children  were  therefore  regarded  as 
brothers  and  sisters,  in  a  more  decided 
sense  than  that  in  which  southern  and 
eastern  nations  call  all  cousins  bro 
thers.  Possibly  the  B.  V.  Mary  lived 
with  her  sister  before  her  marriage  or 
on  her  return  from  Egypt.  St.  Matt, 
xii.  47,  and  xiii.  55  show  that  they  were 
one  household.  R.M.  Baillet. 

St.  Mary  (6)  Salome,  SALOME  (2). 
St.  Mary  (7),  June  29.  1st  century. 
Mother  of  John  whose  surname  was 
Mark.  She  has  been  called  the  sister 
of  St.  Barnabas,  but  was  more  probably 
his  aunt,  for,  according  to  Bishop  Light- 
foot  and  the  Revised  Version  of  the 
Bible,  the  expression  "  sister's  son  to 
Barnabas"  (Colossians  iv.  10)  does  not 
mean  that  Mark  was  son  of  the  sister  of 
Barnabas,  but  that  Barnabas  and  Mark 
were  sons  of  two  sisters.  Sister's  son  is 
the  common  name  in  the  East  for  first 


cousin. 


It  is  related  of  Mary  that  having  heard 
of  the  holy  teaching  and  miracles  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  she  at  once  perceived  that 
He  was  the  Messiah,  and  leaving  what 
she  had  in  her  hands,  went  directly  to 
the  temple,  and  throwing  herself  at  His 
feet,  prayed  Him  to  come  to  her  house 
that  His  entrance  there  might  bless  her 
and  her  family;  that  He  accepted  her 
hospitality  then  and  every  time  He  came 
to  Jerusalem ;  and  that  in  her  house  He 
instituted  the  sacrament  of  the  Last 
Supper.  These  things  are  not  told  in 
the  New  Testament  nor  in  any  of  the 
oldest  ecclesiastical  histories.  She  is 
mentioned  Acts  xii.  12,  where  we  learn 


.  MAIlY 


that  on  St.  tjeter*s  miraculous  release 
from  prison,  he  came  to  her  house,  where 
many  were  gathered  together  praying. 
In  verse  5  of  the  same  chapter,  it  is  said 
that  while  St.  Peter  was  in  prison, 
"  prayer  was  made  without  ceasing  of  the 
Church  unto  God  for  him." 

It  seems  that  St.  Mary's  house  was, 
if  not  the  chief,  still  one  of  the  principal 
places  where  the  Christians  were  in  the 
habit  of  assembling  for  prayer.  It  was 
probably  on  her  account  that  St.  Mark 
withdrew  from  his  companionship  with 
SS.  Paul  and  Barnabas,  on  the  first 
missionary  journey;  and  when  later, 
Barnabas  and  Mark  went  to  Cyprus, 
Mary  is  said  to  have  gone  with  them  and 
died  there.  Later  tradition  said  that  it 
was  in  the  house  of  Mary,  that  the 
tongues  of  fire  descended ;  that  it  stood 
on  the  upper  slope  of  Zion,  escaped  the 
general  destruction  of  the  city  by  Titus, 
and  was  still  used  as  a  church  in  the 
fourth  century.  Stadler  and  others, 
however,  say  that  it  is  almost  certain  the 
house  was  not  on  the  hill  of  Zion,  but  in 
an  obscure  street  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  city,  not  far  from  the  walls,  near  the 
present  Syrian  monastery. 

Mary  is  honoured  on  St.  Peter's  day 
on  account  of  her  having  received  him 
in  her  house.  It  has  been  said  that  she 
was  related  to  St.  Peter,  but  there  is  no 
very  clear  ground  for  the  supposition, 
St.  Peter  calling  Mark  his  son  (1  Pet.  v. 
13)  probably  refers  to  his  being  his  dis 
ciple  and  amanuensis,  the  Gospel  written 
by  St.  Mark  being  dictated  by  St.  Peter. 

The  idea  that  Mary  died  at  Alexandria, 
where  St.  Mark  the  Evangelist  took  up 
his  residence,  is  grounded  on  the  belief 
that  her  son  Mark  was  the  same  person 
as  St.  Mark  the  Evangelist.  This 
identity  is  assumed  by  most  commen 
tators,  but  is  opposed  to  the  tradition  that 
the  Evangelist  never  saw  our  Saviour 
and  was  converted  by  St.  Peter  after  the 
Ascension ;  whereas  John  Mark,  the  son 
of  Mary,  must  have  been  familiar  with 
Him  and  His  apostles  during  the  years 
of  His  Ministry. 

EM.  AA.SS.  Smith,  Die.  of  the  Bible. 
Butler.  Stadler  und  Heim. 

St.  Mary  (8),  the  slave,  Nov.  1, 
March  17,  May  13,  19.  She  was  the 


only  Christian  in  the  house  of  the  senator 
Tertullus  in  the  persecution  falsely  at 
tributed  to  Marcus  Aurelius.  It  was 
perhaps  in  the  time  of  Hadrian  117-138  ; 
or  in  the  reign  of  Diocletian  that  her 
martyrdom  occurred ;  perhaps  in  Rome 
or  the  neighbourhood ;  but  according  to 
other  accounts,  in  Cappadocia.  Tertullus 
valued  her  for  her  fidelity,  and  when 
a  strict  order  was  promulgated  that  all 
Christians  must  be  killed,  he  tried  to 
make  her  save  herself  by  apostasy,  but 
in  vain.  He  made  a  great  feast  on  his 
son's  birthday  in  honour  of  his  gods: 
Mary  would  not  partake  of  the  feast  nor 
join  in  the  games.  Her  master  therefore 
shut  her  up  in  a  dark  cell  and  starved 
her  for  a  time  :  until  being  in  danger  of 
punishment  for  harbouring  a  Christian, 
he  reluctantly  gave  her  up.  The  populace 
demanded  her  death,  and  she  died  on  the 
rack.  Another  version  of  the  story  says 
the  spectators  pitied  her  and  induced  her 
judge  to  put  a  stop  to  the  tortures  that 
she  was  already  undergoing.  He  there 
upon  condemned  her  to  free  imprison 
ment;  i.e.  a  certain  degree  of  liberty 
under  the  custody  of  a  soldier.  The 
Christian  maiden  was  more  afraid  of  her 
guard  than  of  death,  so  she  availed  her 
self  of  a  chance  of  escape,  and  hid  among 
some  rocks,  one  of  which  is  said  to  have 
opened  and  received  her. 

R.M.,  Nov.  I.  AA.SS.  Baluze,  Mis- 
cdlanics.  Ado.  Bede.  Usuard.  Stadler. 
Baillet.  Butler. 

St.  Mary  (9),  Dec.  2,  Nov.  30,  +  257, 
daughter  of  SS.  Adrias  and  PAULINA  (1) 
and  M.  shortly  after  her  mother  and 
before  her  father. 

KM.,  Dec.  2.  Lightfoot,  Hippolytus 
of  Portus. 

St.  Mary  ( 1 0),  daughter  of  Saturniuus. 
V.  M.  with  VICTOKIA  OF  AVITINA. 

SS.  Mary  (11-28);  MM.  various 
dates  and  places. 

St.  Mary  (29),  March  22  or  17, 
V.  M.  in  Persia,  in  346,  with  her  brother 
St.  James.  He  was  a  priest  and  she 
a  consecrated  virgin  of  Telaschlila,  a 
small  town  in  Assyria.  They  were  seized 
by  order  of  Narses  Thamsapor,  and  as 
they  persisted  in  their  religion,  he  had 
them  beheaded  by  an  apostate  Christian, 
at  Teldara  on  the  Euphrates.  Stadler. 


ST.  MARY 


St.  Mary  (30)  of  Egypt,  April  2, 
called  the  Gipsy,  la  JwmVrme,  Egyptiaca, 
Segiptiaca,  lived  in  the  4th  century. 

Generally  represented  with  long  black 
or   gray   hair,   often   as    a   wasted   old 
woman;    and    sometimes   with   a   large 
round  hat  and  holding  a  vase  of  perfumes. 
Towards  the  year  of  our  Lord  3G5, 
there    dwelt    in   Alexandria   a   woman, 
whose  name  was  Mary,  and  who  in  the 
infamy  of  her  life  far  exceeded  St.  Mary 
Magdalene.      After    passing    seventeen 
years  in  every  species  of  vice,  it  happened 
that   one   day,  while  roving   along  the 
seashore,  she  beheld  a  ship  ready  to  sail 
and  a  large  company  preparing  to  embark. 
She   inquired   where   they  were    going. 
They  said,  "  To  Jerusalem,  to  celebrate 
the  feast  of  the  true  Cross."     She  was 
seized  with  a  sudden  desire  to  accom 
pany  them ;  and  as  she  had  no  money, 
she  paid  the  price  of  her  passage    by 
selling  herself  to  the  sailors  and  pilgrims, 
whom  she  allured  to  sin  by  every  means 
in  her  power.     On  their  arrival  at  Jeru 
salem,  she  joined  the  crowds  of  worship 
pers  who   had   assembled   to  enter  the 
church   that   stood   on   the   spot   where 
HELEN  (3)  had  found  the  cross  of  Christ. 
All  Mary's  attempts  to  pass  the  thres 
hold  were  in  vain  ;  whenever  she  thought 
to  enter  the  porch,  a  supernatural  power 
drove   her   back   in   shame   and   terror. 
Struck  by  the  remembrance  of  her  guilt, 
and  filled  with  repentance,  she  humbled 
herself  and  prayed  for  help,  vowing  that 
if  she   might   look   upon  the   cross   of 
Christ,  which  was  exposed  to  view  in  the 
church,  she  would  never  more  be  guilty 
of  those   sins   to   which  she  had  been 
addicted.      The   unseen   hindrance   was 
removed,  and  she  entered  the  church  of 
God,  crawling  on  her  knees.     Thence 
forward  she  renounced  her  shameful  life. 
She   bought   at    a   baker's   three   small 
loaves,  and  wandered  forth  into  solitude, 
and  never  stopped  or  reposed  until  she 
had  penetrated  into  the  deserts  beyond 
the   Jordan.      Here    she    remained    in 
severest   penance,  living   on   roots   and 
fruits    and    drinking   water   only;    her 
garments  dropped  away  in  rags  piece 
meal,  leaving  her  unclothed;    and  she 
prayed    fervently   not   to   be   left   thus 
exposed.     Suddenly   her   hair   grew   so 


long  as  to  form  a  covering  for  her  whole 
person ;  or,  according  to  another  version, 
an  angel  brought  her  a  garment  from 
heaven.     Thus  she  dwelt  in  the  wilder 
ness,  in  prayer  and  penance,  supported 
only  by  her  three    small  loaves,  which, 
like  the  widow's  meal,  failed  her  not. 
After  the  lapse  of  forty-seven  years  she 
was  discovered  by  a  priest,  named  Zozi- 
mus.     Of  him  she  requested  silence,  and 
that  he  would  return  at  the  end  of  a 
year  and  bring  with  him  the  elements 
of  the  holy  sacrament,  that  she  might 
confess  and  communicate  before  she  was 
released   from  earth.     Zozimus  obeyed 
her,  and  returned  after  a  year.     As  he 
was  not   able  to  pass  the  Jordan,  the 
penitent,  supernaturally  assisted,  passed 
over  the  water  to  him;  and  having  re 
ceived    the   sacrament   with   tears,   she 
desired  the  priest  to  leave  her  once  more 
to  her  solitude  and  to  return  in  a  year 
from  that  time.     When  he  returned  he 
found  her  dead,  her  hands  crossed  on 
her  bosom.   He  wept  greatly,  and  looking 
round,  he  saw  written  in  the  sand,  these 
words :  "  0 !  Father  Zozimus,  bury  the 
body  of  the  poor  sinner,  Mary  of  Egypt. 
Give  earth  to  earth,  and  dust  to  dust  for 
Christ's  sake."    He  endeavoured  to  obey 
this  last  command;    but  being  full  of 
years  and  troubled  and  weak,  his  strength 
failed  him,  and  a  lion  came  out  ^of  the 
wood  and  aided  him,  digging  with  his 
paws    until    the   grave  was   sufficiently 
large  to  receive  the  body  of  the  saint. 

Villegas  places  her  date  in  the  sixth 
century,  but  Papebroch  says  her  story  is 
very  much  older  than  is  commonly  sup 
posed.  The  legend  is  of  much  earlier 
date  than  that  of  Mary  Magdalene,  and 
it  is  known  by  contemporary  evidence 
that  a  woman  lived  a  hermit's  life  for 
many  years  in  the  desert  beyond  Jordan 
at  that  time. 

EM.  AA.SS.  Sylva  Anaclioretica. 
Le'gende  Doree.  Villegas.  Pilgrimage  of 
tlie  Eussian  Allot  Daniel.  Leggendario. 
St.  Mary  (31),  the  Penitent,  Oct. 
29.  4th,  5th,  or  6th  century.  Niece  of 
the  hermit  St.  Abraham  of  Chidane,  in 
Mesopotamia,  and  confided  to  his  care  at 
the  age  of  seven.  He  built  a  cell  for 
her  close  to  his  own,  and  through  a 
little  window  between  the  cells,  he 


ST.  MARY 


taught  her  to  say  her  prayers  and  sing 
hymns  and  psalms  and  say  the  responses 
to  his  prayers,  and  daily  instructed  her 
to  hate  and  despise  all  the  pleasures 
and  vanities  of  the  world.  Her  father 
had  left  her  a  fortune  sufficient  for  her 
dowry,  but  Abraham  gave  it  all  to  the 
poor.  When  Mary  was  twenty,  a  young 
hermit  came  repeatedly  to  visit  her  uncle 
and  receive  instruction  from  him.  One 
day,  as  Abraham  was  singing  the  even 
ing  prayers  and  psalms,  he  suddenly 
perceived  that  Mary  was  not  saying  the 
responses ;  he  thought  she  had  fallen 
asleep ;  he  called  in  vain,  and  at  last 
with  great  difficulty  got  out  of  the  cell 
in  which  he  was  immured  and  went 
round  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 
Mary  was  not  there.  Abraham  pondered 
and  wondered  for  a  long  time  before  he 
was  able  to  entertain  the  idea  that  she 
might  have  gone  away  with  the  young 
hermit.  The  old  man  blamed  himself 
much  for  having  lost  the  lamb  entrusted 
to  him,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  could  not  hope  to  be  forgiven,  unless 
he  recovered  the  erring  soul ;  so  he 
walked  off  in  search  of  her,  and  after 
much  wandering  he  found  that  she  was 
living  in  a  certain  city,  rich  with  the 
gifts  of  her  lovers  and  the  wages  of  sin. 
He  obtained  an  interview  and  spoke  so 
earnestly  to  her  of  her  wicked  life,  that 
she  was  alarmed,  but  said  she  had  sinned 
past  forgiveness  and  she  had  nowhere  to 
go,  no  one  to  guide  or  befriend  her. 
Then  he  made  himself  known  and  said 
he  would  take  all  her  sin  and  penance 
on  himself.  She  was  touched  by  his 
anxiety  for  her,  the  trouble  he  had  taken 
to  find  her,  and  the  sacrifice  of  his 
solitude,  and  agreed  to  return  with  him. 
He  made  a  great  heap  of  all  her  jewels 
and  beautiful  robes  in  the  court-yard 
of  the  house,  and  set  fire  to  them,  and 
when  they  were  reduced  to  ashes,  the 
pair  went  back  to  their  desert,  where 
they  spent  fifteen  years  in  penance  and 
prayer.  Mary  attained  to  great  holiness, 
and  when  she  died,  angels  became  visible 
and  carried  her  soul  to  heaven.  Abra 
ham  survived  her  a  few  years. 

Her  conversion  is  commemorated  in 
the  Greek  Church,  Oct.  29.  Mary  and 
Abraham  are  honoured  together  on  that 

VOL.  n. 


day  and  on  March  16.  Golden  Legend. 
Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred  and  Legendary 
Art.  Stadler.  Baillet. 

St.  Mary  0*2),  the  Captive,  V. 
Daughter  of  Eudaemon,  a  Roman  noble 
man  in  Africa.  She  was  taken  by  the 
Vandals  in  the  fifth  century  and  sold 
into  slavery  with  her  maid,  who  continued 
to  serve  her  in  captivity.  Euinart. 

St.  Mary  (33),  Jan.  26,  lived  in  the 
r>th  century  at  Constantinople,  with  her 
husband  St.  Xenophon  and  their  sons, 
SS.  Arcadius  and  John.  They  were  of 
senatorial  rank  and  great  wealth.  Their 
sons  were  studying  law  at  Beyrout, 
when  Xenophon  fell  dangerously  ill  and 
sent  for  them.  After  a  short  time,  how 
ever,  feeling  that  his  illness  would  pro 
bably  be  of  long  duration,  he  advised 
them  to  return  to  Beyrout,  and  promised 
that  before  their  next  visit  he  would 
arrange  for  their  marriage.  He  recovered 
almost  immediately,  and  very  soon  after 
wards,  a  report  reached  Constantinople 
that  Arcadius  and  John  were  ship 
wrecked.  Their  father  and  mother,  in 
great  anxiety,  set  off  to  look  for  them. 
After  long  wandering,  they  found  their 
sons  monks  at  Jerusalem,  and  both  took 
the  habit  of  that  quiet  life,  and  having 
attained  to  great  sanctity  and  the  grace 
of  miracles,  "  emigrated  to  God."  Table 
of  Russian  and  Greek  Saints  in  AA.SS. 
Mail  1.  Stadler. 

St.  Mary  (34)  of  Antioch,  May  29, 
V.  It  is  uncertain  which  Antioch. 
Daughter  of  a  poor  widow  who  decided 
that  a  celibate  life  was  rather  to  be 
chosen  for  her  child  than  marriage,  as 
being  free  from  care  in  this  world  and 
full  of  joy  in  the  next :  therefore  they 
frequented  the  churches,  singing  and 
praying  night  and  day.  The  devil, 
being  displeased  at  their  piety,  stirred 
up  a  wicked  man  named  Anthemius,  one 
of  the  chief  men  of  the  city,  to  love 
Mary,  watch  her  wherever  she  went,  and 
try  to  tempt  her  and  her  mother  to  sin 
and  disgrace  by  every  kind  of  bribe, 
including  a  promise  of  marriage.  As 
they  rejected  all  his  advances  he  swore 
to  obtain  possession  of  Mary,  if  it  should 
cost  him  all  he  had.  At  the  end  of  two 
years  he  was  no  further  advanced  with 
his  suit  than  at  the  beginning.  He 


50 


.  MARY 


confided  his  wicked  purpose  to  a  skilled 
magician  named  Magnus,  and  asked  his 
assistance.  Magnus  said,  "  Show  me  the 
house  where  these  women  live,  and  be 
under  no  further  anxiety ;  to-morrow 
night  I  will  bring  Mary  to  you."  Anthe- 
mius  spent  many  hours  in  impatient 
expectation  ;  Mary  came  not.  In  the 
morning  he  went  to  the  magician  to 
complain  of  his  disappointment.  "  I 
quite  forgot  you  last'night,"  said  Magnus, 
"  but  be  comforted ;  to-night  without 
fail  Mary  shall  be  yours."  Again 
Anthemius  waited  in  sleepless  eager 
ness.  Mary  came  not.  In  the  morning 
he  again  went  to  the  magician  and  said, 
"  If  it  is  too  difficult  for  you  to  bring 
Mary  to  my  house,  compel  her  and 
her  mother  at  least  to  admit  me  to  talk 
with  them."  "  Be  quiet,"  said  the  wizard, 
"  I  had  some  very  important  business 
last  night,  I  was  not  able  to  attend  to  your 
affairs,  but  to-night,  I  promise  you  the 
girl  shall  come  to  you  whether  she  will 
or  not."  Magnus  then  went  to  the 
widow's  house  and  stationed  two  devils 
in  it,  with  orders  to  take  Mary  to  Anthe 
mius  and  with  threats  of  vengeance  in 
case  of  disobedience.  The  devils  dis 
turbed  the  good  women  with  evil  dreams. 
Presently  the  mother  awoke  and  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  and  said,  "  Arise, 
daughter,  let  us  go  to  church,  for  I 
dreamed  that  that  wicked  man  had  caught 
you  and  wanted  to  take  you  away  from 
me ;  as  I  held  you  fast  and  he  would 
not  leave  you,  I  saw  priests  coming  with 
a  crowd  of  people  and  the  archbishop, 
and  we  got  safely  into  the  temple  of 
God  and  gave  Him  thanks.  Therefore, 
let  us  now  go  and  place  ourselves  under 
the  protection  of  the  Lord  and  his  saints." 
Mary  also  had  been  disturbed  by  dreams 
of  her  dreaded  lover,  so  she  willingly 
got  up  to  accompany  her  mother  to  church. 
When  they  came  to  the  end  of  one  street 
and  were  just  going  to  turn  into  the  next, 
the  two  devils  got  between  them,  and  one 
taking  the  form  of  the  mother,  said  to 
the  daughter,  "  Come  this  way,  my  child." 
Mary,  thinking  she  was  following  her 
mother,  let  him  lead  her  to  the  house  of 
Anthemius,  and  when  he  had  placed  her 
beside  the  bed  he  left  her.  The  other 
demon  took  the  form  of  the  daughter 


and  went  with  the  mother  into  the 
church.  Authemius,  when  he  saw  that 
Mary  indeed  stood  beside  him,  exclaimed, 
"  How  is  this  ?  How  many  times  have 
I  entreated  you  to  come  to  me  and  you 
always  refused ;  and  now  at  last  you 
have  come  of  your  own  free  will!" 
Mary  trembled  and  called  upon  God  to 
help  her.  Anthemius  showed  her  quan 
tities  of  silver  and  gold,  rich  furniture 
and  costly  apparel,  saying  that  all  these 
should  be  hers  and  she  and  her  mother 
should  have  as  many  servants  as  they 
could  order  about,  if  she  would  only 
promise  to  be  his  wife  ;  but  if  she  would 
not,  she  should  not  go  safely  away  from 
where  she  stood.  Mary  fell  at  his  feet 
and  said,  "  My  lord,  as  I  am  in  your 
power  and  can  by  no  means  escape,  I 
will  tell  you  the  whole  truth.  We  are 
poor  women  and  we  have  no  alms  to 
give,  no  money  wherewith  to  do  works 
of  mercy,  but  we  offer  to  God  our  prayeis 
and  vigils  and  my  virginity  tha,t  we  may 
find  mercy  in  the  last  day.  My  mother 
says  that  if  I  marry  I  shall  have  to  leave 
her  and  shall  fall  into  sin  and  misery 
and  be  condemned  by  the  judgment  of 
God,  so  we  wish  to  live  together  piously 
and  enter  together  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven.  This  is  why  we  never  would 
listen  to  your  persuasions ;  but  now,  as 
you  offer  to  let  my  mother  be  with  me,  I 
am  willing  to  be  your  servant ;  only  I 
pray  you  do  me  no  harm  ;  I  will  go  and 
try  and  persuade  my  mother  to  come, 
and  if  she  will  not  consent,  I  will  give 
myself  up  to  you."  Anthemius  consented 
to  let  her  go  away  and  leave  the  matter 
undecided  for  fifteen  days.  Mary  went 
to  the  church  where  her  mother  was 
praying  for  her,  much  disturbed  by  her 
disappearance.  She  told  her  all  that  had 
happened  and  they  prayed  for  help. 

Meanwhile,  Anthemius  thought  over 
all  that  had  happened  and  wondered 
beyond  measure  at  the  power  of  Magnus, 
who  had  compelled  Mary  against  her 
will  to  come  to  him.  He  thought  a 
man  with  such  power  was  to  be  envied 
above  all  others,  and  resolved  to  offer 
him  all  his  possessions  if  he  would  give 
him  this  power  in  return,  for  then  he 
might  have  and  might  do  whatever  he 
chose. 


ST.  MARY 


51 


As  soon  as  it  was  light,  be  went  with 
his  request  to  Magnus,  who  told  him 
he  could  never  become  a  magician  be 
cause  he  had  received  Christian  baptism. 
Anthemius  said  he  would  renounce  his 
baptism  and  the  name  of  Christian. 
Magnus  then  said  he  would  not  be  able 
to  keep  the  rules  of  the  Magi,  and  that 
if  he  did  not  do  so,  he  would  get  into  a 
miserable  state  from  which  there  would 
be  no  escape.  But  seeing  his  great 
persistence,  the  wizard  handed  him  a 
small  letter  and  gave  him  these  direc 
tions  :  "  Take  this  letter  and  go  out  of 
the  city,  fasting,  at  nightfall,  and  stand 
on  the  bridge.  There,  an  immense 
crowd  will  pass  over  about  midnight, 
making  a  frightful  noise,  with  their 
prince  sitting  in  a  car,  but  take  care 
that  you  feel  no  fear  and  sustain  no 
injury,  however  slight,  while  you  are 
carrying  my  letter ;  hold  it  up  on  high 
that  it  may  be  seen.  Then  if  they  ask 
you,  '  What  are  you  doing  here  at  this 
hour  ? '  say,  '  The  Lord  Magnus  sends 
me  to  my  Lord  the  Prince,  to  bring 
him.  this  letter.'  But  beware  that  you 
do  not  feel  afraid  or  make  the  sign  of 
the  cross  or  call  upon  Christ." 

Anthemius  took  the  letter,  and  when 
it  was  dark  he  went  out  of  the  town  and 
stood  on  the  bridge,  holding  the  paper 
up  in  his  hand.  At  midnight  a  great 
troop  of  horsemen  arrived  with  the 
prince  in  a  chariot  in  the  midst  of  them. 
When  the  foremost  came  to  Anthemius, 
they  said,  "  Who  is  this  standing  here  ?  " 
He  answered,  "  My  Lord  Magnus  sends 
mo  to  carry  this  letter  to  the  Prince." 
So  they  took  the  letter  and  gave  it  to 
the  prince,  who  was  sitting  in  his 
chariot.  He  read  it,  wrote  a  few  words 
in  it,  and  ordered  it  to  be  given  back 
to  Anthemius  to  give  to  his  friend  the 
magician. 

Next  morning  Anthemius  took  the 
letter  to  Magnus,  who  said,  "  Would 
you  like  to  know  what  he  says?  Just 
what  I  told  you  he  would  say.  '  This 
man  is  a  Christian.  I  never  will  admit 
one  of  them  unless  he  will  renounce  his 
religion,  according  to  our  customs.'" 
"  Master,"  replied  Anthemius,  "  I  have 
already  abjured,  and  I  now  abjure  again 
the  name  and  faith  of  the  Christians 


and  their  baptism."  Then  the  wizard 
wrote  a  new  letter  and  gave  it  to 
Anthemius  to  take  to  the  same  place 
the  next  night.  He  went  to  the  bridge 
at  night,  and  again  the  crowd  of  people 
came,  and  when  they  saw  him  they  said, 
"  What  have  you  come  back  for  ?  "  He 
replied  that  Magnus  had  sent  him  with 
another  letter.  The  prince  read  the 
letter  and  wrote  an  answer,  which 
Antheinius  took  next  day  to  the  ma 
gician.  "Do  you  know  what  he  says 
now  ?  "  said  Magnus  ;  "  I  told  him  that 
you  had  renounced  your  Christianity 
and  your  baptism  before  me,  but  he 
says  he  will  not  admit  you  unless  he 
has  your  renunciation  written  by  your 
own  hand."  Then  the  wretched  An 
themius  said,  "I  am  ready  to  write  it," 
and  he  sat  down  and  wrote — 

"I,  Anthemius,  abjure  Christ  and 
His  faith.  I  abjure  also  His  baptism, 
and  the  cross  and  the  name  of  Christian, 
and  I  promise  never  to  make  the  sign 
of  the  cross,  or  to  call  on  the  name  of 
Christ." 

While  he  was  writing  he  was  bathed 
in  perspiration  from  head  to  foot  and 
his  under-garment  was  wet.  Never 
theless  he  went  on  writing,  and  when  he 
had  finished  the  paper  he  gave  it  to 
Magnus  to  read.  Magnus  said,  "It  is 
well.  Go  back  now,  for  he  will  admit 
you;  and  when  he  has  done  so,  say 
reverently  to  him,  'I  pray  you,  O  my 
Lord,  to  give  mo  some  spirits  who  shall 
be  at  my  beck  and  call,'  and  he  will 
give  you  as  many  as  you  please.  I 
forewarn  you,  however,  not  to  accept 
more  than  one  or  two,  for  if  you  have 
more,  they  will  give  you  no  rest,  con 
stantly  troubling  you,  night  and  day, 
to  supply  them  with  employment." 

Anthemius  went  back  and  met  the 
procession  as  before,  and  the  one  who 
walked  first  called  out  to  the  prince, 
"  Magnus  has  scut  this  man  back  again 
with  orders."  The  prince  bade  him 
come  near  ;  and  he  went,  full  of  misery 
and  grief,  and  gave  him  his  profession 
of  abjuration.  When  the  prince  had 
read  it,  he  lifted  up  his  hands  and 
began  to  call  out,  "  Christ  Jesus,  behold 
thy  late  disciple,  Anthemius,  hath  cursed 
Thee  in  writing!  I  am  not  the  author 


52 


ST.   MAKY 


of  the  deed,  but  he  himself,  in  order 
to  become  a  magician,  hath  written  the 
profession  of  abjuration  of  his  own  free 
will,  and  brought  it  to  me:  therefore 
Thou  hast  no  charge  of  him  from  hence 
forth."  He  called  this  out  three  times. 
Anthemius,  when  he  had  heard  these 
dreadful  words,  began  to  tremble  all 
over  and  to  exclaim,  "  Give  me  back  my 
writing ;  I  am  a  Christian :  I  pray,  I 
entreat ;  I  will  be  a  Christian  ;  give  me 
back  the  confession  I  so  wickedly  wrote." 
As  the  unhappy  man  went  on  in  this 
way,  the  prince  said  to  him,  "  You  cannot 
have  that  paper  back  now,  but  I  will 
bring  it  in  the  dreadful  day  of  judgment. 
You  are  mine  from  this  moment.  I 
have  you  in  my  power."  Anthemius 
lay  on  his  face  on  the  ground,  groaning 
and  weeping  until  morning.  After  much 
agony  of  mind  he  shaved  his  hair,  put 
on  a  rough  tunic  and  sackcloth  and 
decided  to  go  and  confess  everything  to 
a  very  holy  bishop,  who  was  living  some 
miles  from  Antioch ;  he  was  ashamed 
to  confess  his  sins  in  his  own  city. 
When  he  arrived  he  threw  himself  at 
his  feet  and  said,  "I  implore  you  to 
baptize  me."  The  bishop  replied,  "Have 
you  not  already  been  baptized  ?  "  Then 
with  many  tears,  Anthemius  told  his 
story  and  said,  "In  that  unhappy  hour 
when  I  wrote  the  renunciation  of  my 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  immediately  a  copious 
sweat  broke  from  me,  so  that  the  clothes 
I  had  on  my  body  were  soaked  with  it ; 
from  that  time,  I  believe  that  as  I  abjured 
Him,  so  He  has  deserted  me.  Now,  O 
venerable  father,  help  me,  for  I  repent 
of  the  ruin  I  have  wrought  for  myself." 
When  the  servant  of  God  heard  this,  he 
threw  himself  also  on  the  ground  and 
lay  there  weeping  and  praying  beside 
Anthemius.  After  a  long  time  he  arose 
and  said  to  Anthemius,  "I  dare  not 
absolve  by  baptism  one  who  is  already 
baptized.  There  is  no  second  baptism 
among  Christians,  except  the  baptism 
of  tears.  But  do  not  despair  of  your 
salvation  nor  of  Divine  mercy;  but 
rather  give  yourself  to  God,  praying  to 
Him  all  the  rest  of  your  life.  Hope 
not  for  any  better  way  to  recover 
your  Christianity,  for  no  other  can  be 
found." 


Then  Authemius  went  away,  weeping 
and  lamenting  his  crime.  He  sold  all  his 
goods,  gave  liberty  to  all  his  slaves  of 
both  sexes,  and  distributed  all  his  money 
to  the  churches  and  to  the  poor,  by  the 
hands  of  faithful  servants  ;  to  the  mother 
of  the  girl  for  love  of  whom  he  had 
desired  to  become  a  servant  of  the  devil, 
he  gave  three  pounds  of  gold  and  pro 
cured  her  a  place  of  abode  in  one  of  the 
churches,  begging  her  to  pray  for  him 
and  promising  that  they  should  never 
be  molested  by  him  any  more  as  he  was 
going  away,  he  knew  not  whither,  to 
rely  entirely  on  the  mercy  of  God  and 
to  weep  away  his  sins.  After  this,  he 
was  seen  no  more.  Thus  Mary  and  her 
mother  were  delivered  from  the  fear  of 
their  persecutor,  and  from  the  promise 
that  Mary  had  made  to  him  and  the  fear 
of  breaking  it. 

AA.SS.  from  her  Acts,  written  from 
local  tradition  long  afterwards  and  pre 
served  in  a  Greek  MS.  in  the  Medicasian 
Library  at  Florence. 

St.  Mary  (35),  GOLINDUCA. 

St.  Mary  (36),  Aug.  9,  M.  730,  at 
Constantinople.  She  was  the  wife  of  a 
patrician.  The  Emperor  Constantino 
set  a  great  statue  of  Christ  over  the 
brazen  gate  of  his  palace  in  Constanti 
nople.  It  stood  there  until  the  icono 
clastic  rage  broke  out  in  the  eighth 
century :  then  Leo,  the  Isaurian,  ordered 
every  image  to  be  thrown  down,  and 
when  the  destruction  of  this  famous 
statue  was  attempted,  a  riot  ensued, 
which  was  punished  with  great  severity ; 
not  only  the  rioters  but  persons  sus 
pected  of  favouring  the  preservation  of 
images  were  condemned  to  death  ;  among 
them,  Mary  with  her  two  sons,  and 
several  others.  AA.SS.  compare  THEO- 

DOSIA  (8). 

St.  Mary  (37),  the  Consoler,  V., 
Aug,  1,  8th  century.  Sister  of  Hanno, 
bishop  of  Verona.  She  was  buried  in  a 
church  dedicated  in  her  honour  in  that 
city.  Represented  holding  in  her  right 
hand  a  lily,  and  in  her  left,  balances, 
in  one  of  which  are  two  bodies,  in  the 
other  a  ring. 

The  city  of  Verona  suffered  the  horrors 
of  famine  in  consequence  of  a  drought 
that  had  lasted  for  sever.il  years.  Hanno, 


ST.   MARY   TORRIBIA 


53 


the  bishop,  and  his  sister  Mary  endea 
voured  to  bring  rain  by  their  prayers  and 
tears.  It  was  revealed  to  Mary  that 
there  would  be  no  rain  until  the  bodies 
of  the  martyrs,  Firmus  and  Eusticus, 
were  brought  to  Verona,  the  scene  of 
their  martyrdom.  Inquiries  were  im 
mediately  set  on  foot  to  discover  where 
these  precious  relics  lay,  and  it  was 
ascertained  that  they  were  at  Capra,  in 
Istria,  but  the  inhabitants  would  not  give 
them  up  for  less  than  their  weight  in 
gold.  Mary  collected  all  the  gold  she 
could,  which  consisted  in  a  great  mea 
sure  of  the  jewels  of  the  Veronese  matrons, 
and  she  went  to  Istria  to  purchase  the 
holy  bodies.  When  they  were  placed  in 
the  balance  they  became  so  miraculously 
light  that  a  small  part  of  the  gold  she 
had  brought  sufficed  to  buy  them.  She 
set  sail  with  the  bodies  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  gold ;  but  the  Istrians  re 
pented  of  their  bargain  and  pursued  her. 
Her  escape  was  assisted  by  a  miracle, 
the  Istrian  ships  being  unable  to  steer 
in  the  right  direction  when  they  tried 
to  follow  her.  When  she  arrived  with 
her  treasures  at  Verona,  all  the  people 
came  and  worshipped  the  holy  martyrs, 
and  the  whole  neighbourhood  was  im 
mediately  blessed  with  fertilizing  rain. 
AA.8S. 

B.  Mary  (38)  of  Carinthia,  Feb.  5. 
Beginning  of  9th  century.  Wife  of  B. 
Domitian  or  Tuitian,  duke  of  Carinthia, 
who  converted  the  people  to  Christianity 
and,  with  Mary's  help,  destroyed  the  thou 
sand  idol  statues  from  which  Milstadt 
on  the  Drave  is  said  to  have  taken  its 
name.  They  there  founded  a  Benedic 
tine  church  and  monastery,  where  they 
were  buried.  AA.8S. 

St.  Mary  (39)  of  Cordova,  Nov.  24, 
V.  M.  H;>1.  Daughter  of  a  Christian 
father  and  Mohammedan  mother  who, 
however,  was  ultimately  converted  by 
her  husband.  To  avoid  hindrances  to 
the  observance  of  their  religion,  they 
left  Cordova  and  went  to  Froniano, 
where  Mary's  brother  Walabonsus  was 
entrusted  to  Salvador,  abbot  of  the 
Monastery  of  St.  Felix,  to  be  educated. 
At  the  same  time  Mary  was  placed,  by 
her  parents,  at  Cuteclara,  under  the  care 
of  a  holy  woman  named  Artemia,  whose 


two  sons,  Adolphus  and  John,  had  been 
put  to  death  for  the  Christian  faith.  In 
S51  Walabonsus,  then  a  deacon  of  the 
Christian  Church,  received  the  crown  of 
martyrdom;  and  soon  afterwards  Mary 
met  ST.  FLORA  in  the  church  of  St.  Acis- 
clus  at  Cordova.  (See  FLORA  (3).)  BM. 
AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Mary  (40),  MLADA. 

St.  Mary  (41)  Torribia,  called 
MAUIA  DE  LA  CABEZA  (Mary  of  the 
head),  Sep.  8,  i),  and  with  her  husband, 
May  10.  12th  century.  Patron  of  Madrid 
and  Toledo. 

Represented  crossing  a  stream  on  her 
apron,  or  mantilla,  carrying  a  lantern  or 
torch  and  a  cruse  of  oil. 

Wife  of  St.  Isidore,  one  of  the  patrons 
of  Spain.  They  lived  at  Tordelaguna, 
near  Madrid.  Mary  was  a  maid-servant  ; 
Isidore  was  a  ploughman  in  the  service 
of  Juan  de  Vargas,  at  a  farm  supposed 
to  be  Caramancha.  He  always  did 
much  more  work  than  all  his  fellow 
servants  who,  therefore,  were  jealous  of 
him  and  told  their  master  that  he  always 
came  late  to  his  work.  Juan  de  Vargas 
got  up  very  early  to  see,  and  found  Isi 
dore  in  church,  while  an  angel  held  the 
plough  for  him.  The  servants  again 
complained  and  again  Juan  went  to  see. 
This  time  he  saw  Isidore  plodding  along 
with  his  plough,  with  an  angel  on  each 
side  of  him  ploughing,  so  that  he  got 
through  as  much  work  as  any  three  of 
the  other  workmen.  Their  jealousy  in 
creased  and  they  again  carried  mis 
chievous  tales  to  their  master.  Isidore 
said,  •'  Wait,  master,  see  whose  field  will 
be  best  in  harvest  time."  And  indeed 
when  harvest  came,  Isidore's  field  had 
three  times  as  fine  a  crop  as  any  of  the 
others.  So  Juan  de  Vargas  made  him 
superintendent  of  the  whole  farm.  Isi 
dore  was  very  kind  to  his  horses  and  to 
all  animals.  Once  when  he  and  Mary 
had  given  all  their  food  to  some  poor 
people,  another  beggar  arrived  and  they 
fetched  the  pot  which  had  been  emptied, 
and  lo !  it  was  full  of  excellent  meat,  so 
they  had  a  good  dinner  for  their  new 
friend  and  for  themselves.  Isidore  was 
invited  to  a  party.  He  went  to  church 
on  the  way.  When  he  arrived  at  the 
house,  followed  by  a  crowd  of  beggars, 


54 


ST.   MARY 


the  feast  was  over;  everything  was 
eaten  except  a  small  portion  which  they 
had  reserved  for  him.  He  said,  ':  It  is 
enough  for  me  and  for  the  poor  of 
Christ."  The  dish  was  brought  and 
was  found  to  be  full  of  the  best  of  food. 
They  had  one  little  boy  who  fell  into  a 
very  deep  well  and  was  drowned.  They 
prayed  for  his  restoration,  and  the  water 
rose  miraculously  to  the  level  of  the 
ground,  floating  up  the  body  of  the  child, 
alive  and  well.  In  their  gratitude,  they 
made  a  vow  of  perpetual  chastity,  after 
which  they  lived  in  separate  houses. 
Mary  went  to  a  hermitage  at  Caraquiz, 
and  she  used  to  go  very  early  in  the 
morning  to  a  chapel  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Xamara,  where  she  had  under 
taken  to  keep  the  light  burning.  Gos 
siping  neighbours  began  to  wonder  why 
she  was  out  before  daybreak.  They 
tried  to  set  her  husband  against  her,  as 
they  had  formerly  tried  to  set  his  master 
against  him.  He  had  not  the  smallest 
doubt  of  her  virtue,  but  by  perpetual 
teazing  they  persuaded  him  to  watch 
with  them  one  night.  It  happened  that 
there  was  a  flood  in  the  river,  which 
swelled  in  a  few  hours  to  a  raging,  im 
passable  torrent.  They  saw  Mary  come 
to  the  bank,  quietly  take  off  her  mantilla, 
spread  it  out,  and  making  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  step  on  to  it.  They  saw  it  carry  her 
safely  across  the  stream,  and  they  saw  her 
step  off  her  improvised  boat  and  proceed 
on  her  way  to  the  chapel.  They  were 
much  humiliated  to  see  how  far  superior 
to  themselves  was  the  woman  they  had 
suspected  and  maligned.  Some  say  her 
family  name  was  Cabeza ;  but  it  is  gene 
rally  supposed  she  goes  by  this  name 
because  her  head  is  carried  in  proces 
sion  in  case  of  fevers  and  other  misfor 
tunes,  and  sometimes  placed  on  the  head 
of  the  patient  with  good  effect. 

In  1211  Isidore  appeared  in  a  dream 
to  a  lady  and  ordered  her  to  have  his 
body  raised  from  the  earth  :  this  implied 
canonization.  He  appeared  to  Alfonso 
of  Castile  and  showed  him  a  path  by 
which  to  fall  upon  the  Moors  at  Las 
Navas  de  Losa,  where,  in  consequence  of 
Isidore's  guidance,  he  gained  a  great 
victory.  Philip  III.  having  been  cured 
of  a  mortal  disease  by  the  body  of  St, 


Isidore  being  brought  into  his  room,  de 
manded  his  formal  canonization,  which 
was  completed  by  Gregory  XV.  in  1622, 
with  that  of  SS.  Ignatius,  Francis  Xavier, 
TERESA  and  Philip  Neri:  they  were  called 
"  The  Five  Saints."  Isidore  was  wor 
shipped  as  one  of  the  tutelary  saints  of 
Spain  and  as  patron  of  Madrid  long 
before  his  canonization  by  the  Pope. 
Mary  was  called  "  Blessed  "  in  Eome ; 
"  Saint"  in  Spain  ;  and  her  worship  \vas 
approved  by  Innocent  XII.  in  1697. 

Martin.  Cahier.  Baillet.  Ott.  Moroni, 
Die.  Eccles. 

St.  Mary  (42)  of  Alzira,  in  Valencia, 
Aug.  21,  22,  V.  M.  c.  1180.  Patron  of 
Algeziras.  Mary  and  her  sister  GRATIA 
( 1 )  were  daughters  of  Almanzor,  a  Saracen 
chief.  They  were  converted  to  Christi 
anity  by  their  brother  St.  Bernard,  and 
made  a  vow  of  virginity  at  his  instiga 
tion.  Before  their  baptism  their  names 
were  ZORAIDA  and  ZAIDA,  and  Bernard's 
name  was  Amethe.  All  three  were  put 
to  death  by  their  relations,  in  a  wood 
near  Populetum,  because  they  would  not 
return  to  the  faith  of  Mohammed.  Some 
say  Almanzor  was  king;  others,  that 
he  was  a  subject  of  Zaen,  king  of  Pin- 
tarrafes  and  Carlete,  in  Valencia.  Ber 
nard  was  a  Cistercian  monk,  therefore 
they  are  all  commemorated  in  the  Bene 
dictine  calendar.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mary  (43)  of  Oignies,  Jan.  23, 
24,  1177-1213.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  wealthy  parents  at  Nivelle  in  Brabant. 
She  was  married,  at  fourteen,  to  a  very 
pious  man.  They  led  an  ascetic  and  chari 
table  life,  devoting  themselves  especially 
to  the  service  of  lepers  in  a  quarter  of 
Nivelle  called  Villembroke.  Mary  was 
very  strong  by  nature,  and  could  undergo 
long  fasts  and  great  privations  without 
any  injury  to  her  health.  One  whole 
winter  she  slept  every  night  in  the 
church  and  never  suffered  from  the  cold, 
although  the  wine  in  the  chalice  froze. 
She  once  spent  thirty-five  days  without 
tasting  food  and  without  speaking  a  word. 
As  her  holiness  was  much  talked  about, 
she  left  Villembroke  about  1206  and 
joined  the  Beguines  at  Oignies. 

About  1209,  Jacques  de  Vitry,  who 
afterwards  became  her  confessor  and 
biographer  and  eventually  a  bishop  and 


ST.   OR   B.   MARY 


55 


cardinal,  was  a  young  man,  studying 
theology  at  the  University  of  Paris  ;  and 
hearing  of  the  wonderful  holiness  of 
Mary,  he  left  Paris  for  the  purpose  of 
visiting  her.  A  friendship  sprang  up 
between  them,  and  he  ever  afterwards 
regarded  her  with  the  highest  reverence. 
He  returned  to  Paris,  and  when  he  had 
finished  his  studies  and  taken  holy  orders, 
he  came  back  to  Oignies  and  said  his 
first  mass  in  the  church  of  the  canons 
there.  Mary  influenced  and  assisted  him 
much  by  her  advice,  and  he  attended  her 
in  her  last  moments  and  attributed  to 
her  prayers  his  great  eminence  in  preach 
ing.  Many  visions  and  miraculous  in 
cidents  are  told  by  her  biographer.  She 
saw  the  massacre  of  the  German  crusaders 
at  Montjoie  in  1 20i>.  She  correctly  fore 
told  the  period  of  her  own  death  six 
years  before  it  occurred.  She  was  so 
scrupulous  and  of  such  a  tender  con 
science  that  she  used  to  confess  with 
tears  little  things  that  her  confessor 
said  were  not  worthy  of  any  attention. 
AA.SS.  Crane.  Exempla  of  Jacques 
de  Vitry.  Baillet.  Butler.  Preger, 
Dnitsclie  Mi/stik. 

St.  Mary  (44),  a  Russian  princess, 
M.  1230,  was  daughter-in-law  of  AGATHA 
(6). 

B.  Mary  (45)  of  Brabant,  called  St. 
Mary,  Queen  and  Martyr,  Jan.  18,  Dec. 
31,  -f-  1206.  Represented  decapitated, 
her  confessor  standing  by.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Henry  the  Magnani 
mous,  duke  of  Brabant,  and  grand 
daughter,  maternally,  of  the  Emperor 
Philip.  She  married,  1253,  Louis  the 
Severe,  palatine  of  the  Rhine,  and  duke 
of  Bavaria,  who  had  succeeded  in  the 
same  year  to  half  the  dominions  of  his 
father,  Otho  II.  Mary  is  the  original 
of  the  legend  of  GENEVIEVE  OF  BRABANT. 

The  neighbourhood  of  the  Rhine  was 
infested  by  brigands.  Louis  determined 
not  to  suffer  them  in  his  dominions,  and 
in  1250  he  set  out  to  put  them  down, 
leaving  Mary  with  his  sister  Elizabeth, 
widow  of  the  Emperor  Conrad  IV.  at 
the  castle  of  Donauwerth  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Danube. 

One  day  Mary  wrote  two  letters, 
one  to  her  husband,  the  other  to 
his  cousin  and  companion  -  in  -  arms, 


Count  Ruchon  of  Wittelsbach.  Her 
messenger  could  not  read,  so  she 
told  him  that  the  letter  with  the  red 
seal  was  for  his  master  and  that  with 
the  black  was  for  Count  Wittelsbach. 
The  man  delivered  the  wrong  letter  to 
Louis,  with  most  disastrous  conse 
quences.  Louis,  without  a  moment's 
reflection,  imagining  the  worst  about 
his  wife,  ran  his  sword  through  the 
messenger,  and  rushed  back  to  Donau 
werth.  The  governor  of  the  castle  came 
to  receive  him,  and  was  instantly  stabbed. 
Louis  then  made  for  the  apartments  of 
his  sister  Elizabeth,  where  the  first 
person  he  met  was  Helice  de  Brennen- 
berg,  one  of  his  wife's  ladies-in-waiting. 
Believing  her  to  be  an  accomplice,  he 
seized  her  and  precipitated  her  from  the 
tower.  Mary  and  Elizabeth  wept  and 
expostulated  in  vain.  The  duke  would 
hear  no  explanation,  and  Mary  was 
beheaded.  The  same  night  his  hair 
and  beard  turned  white,  although  he 
was  only  twenty-seven.  Count  Ruchon 
hearing  of  the  tragedy,  fled,  but  pub 
lished  everywhere  the  innocence  of  the 
duchess,  which  was  attested  by  miracles. 

Louis,  seized  with  remorse,  buried 
her  with  great  honour  in  the  monastery 
of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Donauwerth.  Then 
he  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  and 
sought  absolution  of  Pope  Alexander 
IV.,  who  ordered  him  to  build  a  monas 
tery  for  twelve  monks  of  St.  Bruno. 
Louis  built  it,  but  as  there  were  no 
Carthusian  monks  in  Germany,  he  put 
in  Bernardines. 

Mary  is  called  "  Blessed  "  by  Rader 
in  Bavaria  Sancta,  but  according  to  the 
Bollandists,  her  worship  was  never 
authorized. 

Many  legends  are  founded  on  the  Life 
of  Genevieve  of  Brabant,  written  in 
1472  by  Matthew  Emich,  a  Carmelite 
monk,  afterwards  Bishop  Auxiliary  of 
Mayence.  This  work  is  an  amplifica 
tion  of  the  story  of  Mary  of  Brabant. 
AA.SS.  Ram,  Hag.  Nat.  de  Bdyiquc. 
Guenebault. 

St.  or  B.  Mary  (46),  the  Sorrowful, 
June  1 8,  V.  M.  of  chastity,  c.  1290.  She 
lived  first  at  Woluwe-Saint-Pierre  and 
then  as  a  recluse  at  the  church  of  Notre 
Dame,  probably  at  Stockel  in  Brabant. 


56 


ST.  MARY   DE  SOCOS 


She  made  a  vow  of  poverty  and  virginity 
and  worked  hard  for  her  living,  still 
giving  much  time  to  prayer.  A  rich 
man  tried  to  persuade  her  to  leave  her 
retreat  and  break  her  vow.  When  he 
was  exasperated  by  her  persistent  refusal, 
he  hid  a  valuable  silver  cup  in  her  cell 
and  accused  her  of  having  stolen  it. 
She  was  condemned  to  death.  She 
prayed  for  her  accuser  and  for  her 
own  salvation.  The  executioner  en 
treated  her  with  tears  to  forgive  him 
and  to  pray  for  him  when  she  arrived 
in  heaven,  as  he  knew  she  would  be 
there  immediately.  He  then  cut  off 
her  hands  and  feet,  and  she  was  empaled, 
and  instead  of  Christian  burial,  she 
was  thrown  into  a  pit  and  some  earth 
thrown  over  her.  Her  accuser  was  pos 
sessed  by  a  devil  and  was  taken  to  the 
shrine  of  ST.  DYMPNA  and  to  many  other 
shrines,  but  the  evil  spirit  declared 
there  was  only  one  saint  who  could  cast 
him  out  and  that  was  St.  Mary,  the 
innocent  woman  who  had  died  as  a  thief. 
Accordingly,  seven  years  after  her  death, 
he  was  taken  to  her  grave.  When  they 
had  prayed  to  her  and  obtained  the  cure 
of  the  demoniac,  she  was  taken  up  from 
the  ground  and  buried  under  the  altar 
of  the  church  at  Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, 
and  the  people  called  her  St.  Mary  the 
Unfortunate,  in  Flemish  Die  Ellendige. 
A  chapel  was  built  there  in  her  honour 
in  13G3,  and  it  still  stands  almost  un 
changed.  AA.SS.  from  contemporary 
authority.  Biog.  Nat.  Beige. 

St.  Mary  (47)  de  Soc'os  (of  Help), 
Sept.  25,  10,  Dec.  31,  +  1290.  She 
was  of  the  Order  of  St.  Mary  de  Mereede 
(Ransom)  for  the  Redemption  of  Cap 
tives. 

Once  on  a  time,  Don  Rodrigo  Guillen, 
the  second  son  of  the  noble  house  of 
Cervellon  in  Barcelona,  married  a  good 
woman  of  equal  rank ;  having  no 
children,  they  gave  all  their  substance 
to  the  Order  of  St.  Mary  de  Mereede. 
Through  the  prayers  of  B.  Peter 
Nolasco,  they  had  a  beautiful  daughter 
whom  they  christened  Mary,  in  honour 
of  the  BLESSED  VIRGIN.  They  brought 
her  up  piously,  and  when  she  was 
eighteen  she  chose  a  life  of  celibacy, 
charity  and  devotion,  and  went  three 


times  a  week  to  the  hospital  with  her 
mother.  She  wished  to  serve  God  in 
His  people,  but  had  not  yet  decided 
how  best  to  do  so,  when  B.  Bernard  of 
Corbaria  preached  a  sermon  on  the 
miseries  and  dangers  of  the  Christian 
captives  who  were  slaves  to  the  Turks. 
Mary  was  so  touched  by  the  picture 
of  their  woes  that  she  thought  of 
nothing  but  how  she  could  help  them. 
After  her  father's  death  she  lived  for 
some  years  very  quietly  with  her  mother, 
near  the  church  of  the  Brothers  of 
Mereede.  She  considered  herself  a  steward 
for  the  poor  of  the  ample  provision  left 
her  by  her  father.  Except  the  three 
regular  portions  of  each  day  which  she 
gave  to  prayer,  she  spent  all  her  time  in 
working  hard  for  her  poor,  preparing 
food  for  them,  releasing  many  prisoners, 
befriending  shipwrecked  mariners  and 
travellers,  and  omitting  no  act  of 
mercy. 

About  1265,  two  childless  widows  of 
exalted  station  in  the  province  of  Barce 
lona  took  a  house  near  that  of  the 
Brothers  of  St.  Mary  de  Mereede,  and 
accompanied  by  a  few  girls  of  kindred 
disposition,  spent  their  time  in  exercises 
of  devotion  and  in  working  for  the  poor. 
Mary,  who  had  already  had  several 
years'  experience  in  every  branch  of 
charitable  work,  and  whose  mother  was 
dead,  became  a  member  of  the  little 
community.  B.  Bernard  of  Corbaria, 
prior  of  the  monastery,  was  their  spiritual 
director.  No  women  had  hitherto  been 
made  members  of  the  Order,  and  they 
had  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  his 
permission  to  wear  the  habit  of  the 
brotherhood  and  to  be  constituted  a 
Third  Order,  in  imitation  of  the  Ter- 
tiaries  of  St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominic. 
As  soon  as  they  succeeded,  they  unani 
mously  elected  Mary  their  first  superior. 
She  was  already  greatly  beloved  by  the 
afflicted,  and  was  found  so  helpful  in 
all  sorts  of  trouble,  that  her  family 
name  was  lost  in  that  glorious  name  of 
Socos,  by  which  she  is  honoured  to  this 
day  in  her  own  country. 

Besides  the  usual  vows  of  Third 
Orders,  the  members  of  the  Order  of 
Mereede  promised  to  pray  for  the 
Christian  slaves,  to  pity  their  sufferings 


B.   MARY   STORIOM 


57 


and  to  accompany  in  spirit  the  brothers 
who  went  to  visit  them.  Mary  had 
great  gifts  of  God.  She  was  credited 
with  miracles  during  her  life  and  after 
her  death  ;  especially  in  aid  of  those  in 
peril  on  the  sea :  Barcelona  in  those 
days  had  no  harbour,  and  wrecks  were 
frequent  on  the  coast. 

She  was  buried  in  the  church  of  the 
Brothers  of  Santa  Maria  de  Merced  in 
Barcelona.  Her  immemorial  worship 
was  sanctioned  by  the  Pope  in  1(592. 

E.M.  AA.SS.  Ribadeneira,  Sept. 
2.").  Lambertini.  Helyot. 

St.  Mary  (48)  Hurtado,  O.S.D., 
suffered  so  much  unkindness  from  her 
husband,  often  nearly  losing  her  life, 
that  after  many  years  the  religions 
authorities  of  Valladolid  sanctioned  her 
leaving  him  and  taking  the  veil  in  the 
Convent  of  St.  Catharine.  She  was  sent 
hence  to  govern  the  Convent  of  Peni 
tence.  She  performed  a  miraculous 
cure  by  her  prayers  with  the  aid  of 
a  crucifix  to  which  she  had  a  great 
devotion.  She  died  covered  with  horrible 
wounds,  which  became  clean  and  sweet 
the  moment  she  was  dead.  Lopez, 
Sittoria  de  Sancto  Domingo  y  de  su  or  den. 

B.  Mary  (49)  of  Jesus,  a  nun  at 
Burgos  in  the  14th  century.  One  of 
the  oldest  convents  in  Burgos  was  that 
of  the  most  Holy  Trinity,  built  by  St. 
John  of  Matha,  founder,  c.  1200,  of  the 
Order  of  the  Trinity  for  the  Redemption 
of  Captives.  In  1306,  during  the  war 
between  King  Peter  the  cruel  and  his 
brother  Henry  of  Trastamar,  this  con 
vent  was  ordered  to  be  destroyed,  as  it 
stood  outside  the  walls  and  was  a  danger 
to  the  town  and  its  inhabitants,  be 
cause  it  could  be  used  as  a  fortress  by 
the  enemy.  When  they  began  to  pull 
it  down,  a  stone  fell  on  the  head  of 
a  crucifix  over  the  altar,  which  there 
upon  shed  drops  of  blood.  B.  Mary  of 
Jesus  and  several  other  innocent  and 
devout  young  nuns  were  present,and  the 
blood  fell  on  the  clothes  of  some  of 
them ;  several  drops  on  Mary's  veil,  as 
well  as  on  the  altar  cloth.  They  col 
lected  all  they  could,  and  the  crucifix 
told  them  that  the  small  house  in  which 
they  were  living  would  become  a  great 
convent.  The  blood-stained  veil  was 


preserved  by  the  community,  and  the 
crucifix  was  removed  to  another  church, 
where  it  continued  to  work  miracles. 
In  158(3  a  good  house  and  garden  in 
Burgos  were  provided  for  the  successors 
of  those  nuns.  Florez,  Espaua  Sagrada. 

B.  Mary  (50)  Spesalasta,  of  Pisa, 
O.S.D.,  -f-  c.  1393.  When  a  baby  and 
ill,  she  was  put  by  her  nurse  in  her  bed 
in  the  balcony.  An  angel  told  her  to 
have  herself  carried  away,  as  the  balcony 
and  porch  were  going  to  fall,  and  when 
she  was  taken  away,  they  fell.  At  five, 
she  was  taken  in  spirit  to  the  prison  of 
Peter  Gambacorta,  governor  of  Pisa,  and 
father  of  CLARA  (8).  The  VIRGIN  MARY 
told  her  she  should  say  five  aves  daily 
for  him.  She  had  two  husbands  and 
eight  children.  When  she  had  lost  her 
second  husband,  four  sons,  and  her 
mother,  an  angel  informed  her  of  their 
salvation,  so  she  did  not  mourn.  Christ 
appeared  to  her  as  a  poor  man,  and  she 
washed  His  wounded  legs.  The  crucifix 
bowed  to  her.  Pio.  Razzi. 

B.  Mary  (51)  Storioni  of  Venice, 
July  2,  1379-1399, 0.S.D.  The  daughter 
of  Nicholas  Storioni,  she  was  of  noble 
birth,  rich  and  beautiful.  She  was 
married  at  fourteen  to  a  dissipated 
young  nobleman,  named  Giannino  della 
Pla^a.  A  few  days  after  the  marriage, 
he  went  off  to  the  war  then  raging 
between  the  Lord  of  Mantua  and 
the  Duke  of  Milan.  Mary  remained 
at  Venice  and  went  to  live  with  her 
mother,  whose  house  was  close  to  the 
Dominican  church  of  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul.  She  attended  many  sermons  there, 
and  was  particularly  touched  by  those  of 
B.  Thomas  of  Siena.  At  sixteen  she 
made  a  general  confession  and  began  at 
once  to  renounce  her  vanities  and 
luxuries.  She  went  to  her  own  room 
at  the  top  of  her  mother's  house,  pulled 
out  her  beautiful  lace  and  fashionable 
dresses  and  set  to  work  to  cut  them  all  to 
pieces.  Her  mother  found  her  thus 
employed  and  said,  "  If  you  are  deter 
mined  not  to  wear  these  things  yourself, 
you  might  at  least  have  given  them  to 
me  for  your  sisters  who  are  going  to  be 
married."  Mary  said  she  did  not  dare 
to  leave  it  in  her  own  power  to  resume 
those  vanities.  She  secretly  joined  the 


58 


B.   MARY 


Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  She  dressed 
henceforth  like  an  old  lady  and  made 
herself  useful  in  many  ways  about  the 
house,  waiting  dutifully  on  her  father 
who  suffered  from  gout.  From  the  time 
of  her  conversion  she  wore  a  cilicium, 
never  tasted  meat,  slept  very  little,  and 
that  little  in  her  clothes,  used  a  scourge, 
and  lived  like  a  nun.  She  found  time 
to  learn  to  write  and  to  copy  out 
many  of  the  sermons  of  B.  Thomas 
of  Siena.  There  was  some  difficulty 
about  her  becoming  a  nun  in  the  absence 
of  her  husband ;  but  at  last,  at  the  age 
of  twenty,  with  her  parents'  consent,  she 
was  openly  enrolled  in  the  Third  Order 
of  St.  Dominic.  She  was  already  in 
poor  health,  and  was  very  soon  struck 
down  by  the  pestilence  which  ravaged 
Italy  in  1399.  Hernando  del  Castillo. 
Pio. 

B.  Mary  (52).  (See  JANE  (12).) 
B.  Mary  (53)  de  Maillac,  March  28, 
April  27,  V.  1331-1414,  was  named 
Jeanne  at  her  baptism,  and  Marie  at 
her  confirmation.  Daughter  of  Har- 
douin,  seigneur  de  Maillac,  a  nobleman 
of  Tours.  After  her  father's  death,  she 
married  Robert  de  Silleye,  a  good  young 
man  whom  she  had  known  from  child 
hood  and  whom  she  had  saved  by  her 
prayers  from  drowning  in  a  pond.  He 
knew  that  she  had  made  a  vow  of 
celibacy.  Her  grandfather,  who  had 
arranged  and  greatly  desired  this  mar 
riage,  died  the  day  it  was  solemnized. 
While  King  John  of  France  was  a 
prisoner  in  England,  the  English  laid 
waste  the  country  and  took  many  cap 
tives,  among  them  Robert  de  Silleye, 
who  was  imprisoned  at  Gravelles.  Mary 
sold  her  jewels  and  horses  and  raised 
three  thousand  florins,  with  the  assist 
ance  of  her  friends,  but  as  there  was 
some  delay  in  sending  the  ransom, 
Robert  was  kept  in  a  dungeon  without 
food  for  nine  days,  and  was  then  liberated 
by  the  VIRGIN  MARY  in  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  his  wife.  After  this,  they 
devoted  themselves  more  than  ever  to 
the  service  of  Christ  and  His  poor. 
They  took  three  orphans  and  brought 
them  up  carefully.  After  Robert's  death, 
Mary  was  expelled  from  his  house  and 
was  deprived  of  all  his  property.  She 


took  refuge  in  the  cottage  of  one  of  her 
servants,  and  having  no  table-cloth,  she 
ventured  to  share  that  of  the  maid,  who 
ungraciously  took  it  from  her.  Mary 
gave  it  up  without  a  murmur  or  a  blush. 
She  was  now  about  thirty  years  old. 
She  returned  to  Maillac  to  live  with 
her  mother  and  learned  to  make  oint 
ment  to  heal  wounds  and  diseases,  and 
after  a  time  went  to  Tours  and  lived 
near  the  church  of  St.  Martin,  devoting 
herself  to  the  service  of  the  poor.  One 
day  an  angel  came  among  them  to  eat 
at  her  table.  Once  when  she  was  pray 
ing  before  the  altar  of  the  church  at 
Tours,  a  mad  woman  threw  a  stone  at 
her,  which  broke  her  back.  Every  one 
thought  she  was  killed,  and  the  most 
skilful  doctors  despaired  of  her  cure ; 
but  she  recovered  by  the  special  assist 
ance  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  She  gave 
her  house  at  Roche  St.  Quentin  (where 
she  was  born)  to  the  Carthusians,  and 
to  become  really  poor,  she  gave  up  all 
her  property.  She  was  despised  by  her 
friends  and  relations  for  her  love  of 
poverty,  and  suffered  the  greatest  humilia 
tions  and  privations,  sometimes  taking 
shelter  at  night  in  a  ruin.  She  took  as 
a  companion,  Jeanne,  a  nun  of  Belmont. 

Louis,  duke  of  Anjou,  and  Mary  of 
Bretagne,  his  wife,  acknowledged  her 
sanctity  and  chose  her  as  godmother  to 
their  infant  son.  She  was  anxious  to 
instil  pious  ideas  into  her  godson,  and 
often  recited  prayers  and  portions  of 
the  Bible  to  him.  When  she  told  him 
about  Paradise  and  the  glory  of  the 
saints,  he  clapped  his  hands  sj,nd  stamped 
his  little  feet  with  delight. 

When  she  was  fifty-five  she  was  re 
ceived  into  a  Franciscan  convent  in 
Tours.  During  her  whole  life  the 
Passion  of  Christ  was  always  present 
to  her  mind.  Once  as  she  was  medi 
tating  on  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen, 
she  felt  in  spirit  the  stones  that  struck 
him,  and  became  a  partaker  of  his  passion. 

A.EM.,  April  27.     AA.8S. 

B.  Mary  (54)  MANCINI,  Dec.  22, 
Jan.  22,  -f  1431,  O.S.D.  Daughter  of 
Bartholomew  Mancini,  of  a  distinguished 
family  of  Pisa.  She  was  christened 
Catherine.  She  was  still  young  when 
she  lost  her  second  husband  and  all 


B.   MARY   ANTONIA   BAGNESI 


59 


her  children.  Thenceforth  she  spent  her 
time  and  money  in  pious  and  charitable 
works,  and  her  house  became  the  resort 
of  the  poor.  At  this  time  CATHERINE 
(3)  came  to  Pisa,  and  by  her  advice 
Mary  joined  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Dominic.  She  went  to  reside  at  the 
convent  of  the  Holy  Cross,  where  each 
nun  lived  at  her  own  expense.  Mary 
had  six  companions  whom  she  main 
tained  there.  She  left  that  house  with 
CLARA  (8)  and  became  a  nun  in  the 
convent  Clara's  father  built  in  honour 
of  St.  Dominic.  She  succeeded  Clara  as 
superior,  and  attained  to  great  holiness ; 
she  worked  several  miracles,  and  died 
at  a  great  age.  Pius  IX.  approved  her 
worship,  and  granted  an  office  in  her 
honour  to  the  diocese  of  Pisa  and  to 
the  Dominican  Order.  A.R.M.,  Dec.  22. 
Guerin.  Civil ta  GattoUca.  Stadler. 

B.  Mary  (55)  de  Ajofin,  July  17, 
4-  1489,  a  nun  in  the  Jeronimite  con 
vent  of  St.  Paul  at  Toledo,  where  her 
body  is  kept  in  great  veneration.  For 
many  years  this  convent  was  called  San 
Pablo  de  las  Beatas  de  Maria  Garcias.  It 
was  built  sixty  or  seventy  years  before  the 
days  of  Mary  de  Ajofin,  by  the  saintly 
Mary  Garcias,  on  her  own  estate.  Her 
nuns  assumed  a  dress  and  rule  like  those 
of  the  monks  of  St.  Jerome,  but  not  until 
they  had  been  living  several  years  as 
a  religious  community  did  they  take 
regular  vows ;  hence  the  name  "  Beatas," 
which  in  Spain  still  implies  women  de 
voted  to  a  religious  life,  whether  singly 
or  in  community,  without  being  actually 
nuns.  Helyot.  AA.SS.,  Prspter. 

B.  Mary  (56)  Bartholomea  Bag- 
nesi,  May  28,  April  6,  Oct.  18, 1514- 
1577,  ord  O.S.D.  Her  father  was  Carlo  de 
Rinieri  Bagnesi;  her  mother,  Alessandra 
Bartolommea  Orlandini ;  both  of  noble 
families  in  Florence.  They  entrusted 
her  to  a  nurse  at  Impruneta,  six  miles 
from  Florence,  who  was  not  only  very 
poor,  but  had  concealed  from  the  Bagnesi 
the  more  important  fact  that  she  had  no 
milk  to  give  the  baby.  The  child  would 
have  been  starved  to  death  but  for  the 
charity  of  some  poor  neighbours  who 
gave  the  nurse  some  eggs  with  which 
to  feed  the  infant.  As  soon  as  she  was 
old  enough  to  have  her  hands  out  of 


swaddling  bands,  she  used  to  pick  up 
little  crumbs  from  the  ground  to  feed 
herself,  so  that  she  learnt  abstinence 
and  poverty  from  the  very  beginning. 
She  used  to  be  taken  to  see  her  sister, 
a  nun  at  Faventino,  who  was  very  fond 
of  her  and  taught  her  to  sing ;  she 
would  say,  "Marietta,  whom  will  you 
have  for  a  husband  ?  "  The  child  used 
to  answer,  "  Jesus  Christ."  At  her 
mother's  death  she  had  to  undertake 
all  the  housekeeping  and  did  it  well, 
although  but  a  child.  When  she  was 
seventeen,  her  father  asked  her  if  she 
would  become  a  nun  or  remain  in  the 
world.  She  was  startled  by  the  sudden 
question  and  could  not  answer ;  her 
blood  seemed  to  freeze,  and  she  never 
recovered  her  health  during  the  forty- 
five  remaining  years  of  her  life,  and 
was  therefore  never  able  to  become  a 
nun.  Some  years  after,  when  she  was 
about  thirty-three  and  very  ill,  her 
father  wishing  to  give  her  the  only 
satisfaction  possible,  proposed  to  her 
that  as  she  was  not  in  a  state  to  leave 
her  bed  and  go  to  a  convent,  she 
should  take  the  Dominican  habit  of  ST. 
CATHERINE  (3)  OF  SIENA.  Mary  was  de 
lighted,  and  became  a  member  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  Her  health 
immediately  improved,  and  she  went  on 
foot  to  several  churches.  But  she  again 
relapsed  into  ill  health.  After  some 
years  of  great  suffering  and  greater 
sanctity,  during  which  many  experienced 
the  good  effect  of  her  prayers  and  advice, 
she  died,  and  so  great  was  the  popular 
opinion  of  her  holiness  that  an  immense 
crowd  assembled  to  pay  their  respects  to 
the  dead  saint.  Her  body  was  placed 
on  a  table,  dressed  in  the  habit  of  the 
Order  and  crowned  with  a  wreath  of 
flowers  made  of  silk  and  gold,  round 
her  head  were  four  candles  blessed  by 
the  Pope  and  preserved  by  her  for  this 
purpose.  She  was  buried  by  her  own 
request  in  the  Carmelite  church  of  Sta. 
Maria  degli  Angeli.  B.M.  Breviary, 
O.S.D.  AA.SS.  Agostino  Campi,  Vita. 
Cappoccio,  Vita. 

B.  Mary  (57)  Antonia  Bagnesi, 
Apr.  G  or  Oct.  18,  O.S.F.  Date  unknown. 
A  nun  of  St.  Clara  at  Florence,  she 
attended  those  stricken  with  the  plague. 


60 


B.   MARY   OF   THE   RESURRECTION 


She  is  perhaps  the  same  as  MARY  (56), 
who  is  claimed  by  the  Dominicans  as  a 
member  of  their  Order.  Stadler. 

B.  Mary  (58)  of  the  Resurrection, 
Oct.  12.  16th  century.  Nun  of  the 
Order  of  our  Lady  of  Mercy  (or  Kan- 
som),  in  the  convent  of  the  Assumption 
at  Seville.  Helyot. 

St  Mary(59)Magdalene  de'  Pazzi, 
May  25,  27,  1566-1607.  Eepresented 
in  the  dress  of  a  Carmelite  nun,  wearing 
a  crown  of  thorns  and  holding  a  flaming 
heart.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Camillo 
de'  Pazzi,  and  his  wife  Maria  del  Monte. 
The  name  given  her  in  her  baptism  was 
Catherine.  She  showed  extraordinary 
piety  from  a  very  tender  age.  She  used 
to  assemble  as  many  of  the  poor  children 
as  she  could  and  teach  them.  She  passed 
the  prison  daily  on  her  way  to  school, 
and  gave  her  luncheon  to  the  prisoners. 
Her  parents,  to  encourage  her  charity, 
often  gave  their  alms  through  her.  Soon 
she  began  to  distress  herself  about  the 
sins  of  others  as  well  as  about  their 
poverty,  and  to  pray  earnestly  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners  and  heretics.  She 
became  a  nun  in  the  Carmelite  convent 
of  Santa  Maria  degli  Angeli  at  Borgo 
San  Fridiano,  in  Florence ;  and  took  the 
name  of  Mary  Magdalene.  After  the 
year  of  her  novitiate  she  had  a  long  ill 
ness.  The  nuns  thinking  her  at  the 
point  of  death,  made  her  take  the  veil 
and  then  put  her  back  into  her  bed, 
which  was  a  sack  of  straw.  She  was 
favoured  with  visions  for  forty  days,  and 
after  that  she  recovered.  During  some 
of  her  ecstasies  she  received  from  the 
Saviour  rules  for  a  holy  life.  In  the 
church  of  the  monastery  where  she  was 
living  was  the  stone  sarcophagus  in  which 
lay  the  body  of  MARY  (56).  Mary 
Magdalene  de'  Pazzi  had  a  great  devo 
tion  to  her,  and  often  visited  her  tomb 
and  made  earnest  prayers  to  that  holy 
soul.  In  her  ecstasies  she  repeatedly 
saw  her  in  Paradise,  sometimes  on  a 
jewelled  throne.  Mary  Magdalene  was 
very  clever  in  embroidery  and  in  paint 
ing.  The  Carmelites  of  Parma  preserve 
with  great  veneration  and  affection  a 
picture  by  her,  called  il  Torcolare ;  it 
represents  the  Saviour  under  torture. 

Her  sister  nuns  saw  her  painting  and 


working  or  illuminating,  with  her  eyes 
fixed  on  the  cross.  They  could  not  un 
derstand  ;  they  darkened  the  window, 
they  threw  a  veil  over  her  face,  but  still 
she  went  on  with  her  work  and  did  it 
as  well  as  if  her  whole  attention  had 
been  absorbed  by  it.  Although  she  had 
a  delicate  skin  and  felt  the  cold  ex 
tremely,  she  went  barefooted  to  the  well 
and  about  the  garden  ;  her  fasts  were 
excessive,  and  some  of  her  charitable 
acts  and  miracles  imply  a  complete  con 
quest  of  all  selfish  inclinations,  as  when 
she  cured  Mary  Orlandini  of  leprosy  by 
licking  it  with  her  tongue.  She  was 
declared  Blessed  in  1626  and  canonized 
1660. 

There  was  a  picture  of  St.  Mary  Mag 
dalene  de'  Pazzi  by  Dandini,  from  which 
an  engraving  was  made  in  the  eighteenth 
century  by  Pietro  de  Pazzi. 

BJf.  Puccini,  Vita.  Ticozzi,  Dizi- 
onario  dei  Pittori,  etc.  Leggendario. 
Modern  Saints,  by  the  Fathers  of  the 
Oratory  in  London. 

B.  Mary  (60)  Victoria  Fornari 
Strata,  Sept.  12,  1562-1617,  was  foun 
der,  in  1604,  and  first  superior  of  the  nuns 
of  the  Celestial  Annunciation  under  the 
rule  of  St.  Augustine  ;  they  were  called 
Torchine  (blue  nuns).  She  is  represented 
standing  praying  before  a  large  crucifix. 
She  married,  at  seventeen,  Angelo  Strata, 
who  appreciated  her  extreme  goodness 
and  piety.  He  said  she  was  an  excellent 
wife,  good  for  nothing  but  praying  and 
housekeeping,  to  which  two  matters  she 
gave  her  whole  attention,  avoiding  com 
pany  and  amusements.  She  had  four 
sons  and  two  daughters.  After  nine 
years  of  married  life,  her  husband  died, 
and  she  grieved  so  much  for  him  that 
her  sorrow  was  almost  sinful.  One  of 
the  characteristics  of  her  Order  was  such 
complete  seclusion  that  the  nuns  were 
only  allowed  to  speak  to  their  nearest 
relations  through  the  parlour  grating, 
and  that  only  once  a  year.  They  were 
to  imitate  especially  the  humility  of  the 
BLESSED  VIRGIN,  and  were  to  wear  her 
colours.  Their  dress  was  a  white  gown 
and  handkerchief  with  sky-blue  band,  a 
cloak,  and  shoes.  Mary  (60)  was  Prioress 
for  the  first  seven  years  of  the  existence 
of  the  Order,  and  then  became  a  simple 


B.  MARY  ANNA 


61 


nun.  She  performed  some  miraculous 
cures  and  had  other  wonderful  gifts. 
Her  body  was  still  fresh  in  1828,  when 
she  was  solemnly  beatified. 

The  rule  of  her  Order  forbade  the  use 
of  silk  or  gold,  even  for  the  furniture  of 
the  church ;  it  forbade  also  music,  vocal 
or  instrumental ;  but  these  points  were 
set  aside  for  the  occasion  of  her  beatifica 
tion,  by  the  Pope,  at  the  request  of  many 
persons  who  wished  to  do  great  honour 
to  her  by  having  the  festival  as  magnifi 
cent  as  possible.  An  immense  concourse 
of  clergy  were  present,  and  every  priest 
wanted  to  celebrate.  There  were  only 
five  altars  in  the  church  of  the  Annun 
ciation,  so  they  had  to  use  the  other 
churches  that  stood  near.  The  festival 
lasted  three  days,  on  the  evenings  of 
which,  all  the  neighbouring  buildings 
were  illuminated. 

Diario  di  Roma,  March  5,  1828,  and 
Sept.  19,  1829.  Gyneazum.  Stadler. 
Guerin. 

B.  Mary  (61),  Aug.  16,  a  member  of 
the  confraternity  of  the  Rosary,  M.  1620, 
at  Cocura  in  Japan.  Wife  of  B.  Thomas. 
They  were  crucified  with  their  little  boy. 
The  prince  tried  between  blows  and 
promises  to  pervert  the  child  ;  but  the 
plucky  little  fellow  said,  "  You  think 
you  can  frighten  me.  Here  is  my  heart ! 
Here  is  my  neck!  Strike!  Kill  me, 
but  I  die  a  Christian."  He  lived  two 
days  on  the  cross,  and  died,  pierced  with 
a  lance.  Authorities,  same  as  for  LUCY 
DE  FHEITAS. 

B.  Mary  (62)  of  Fingo,  Sept.  1.0, 
M.  1622.  She  was  niece  of  the  Governor 
of  Nangasaki  and  married  Andrew  To- 
couan  Mourayama,  a  Brother  of  the 
Rosary.  They  sheltered  Father  de 
Morales  in  their  house.  Andrew  was 
put  to  death  as  a  Christian  while  they 
were  both  young.  On  account  of  her 
high  birth,  Mary  was  left  at  liberty  for 
a  few  years.  She  lived  in  perpetual 
preparation  and  expectation  of  the 
martyr's  death.  At  last,  a  messenger 
was  sent  to  her  house  to  summon  her  to 
the  presence  of  Goncorou,  the  governor, 
to  answer  to  the  charge  of  being  a  Chris 
tian.  She  answered  that  she  would  not 
go  to  hear  impieties,  and  would  never 
abjure  her  faith,  but  that  she  would  go 


to  the  place  of  execution  without  any 
summons  or  any  armed  men  to  bring 
her.  She  did  not  appear  at  the  trial,  but 
next  day  she  put  off  her  mourning  and, 
arrayed  in  white  velvet,  she  seemed  to 
have  regained  the  health  and  strength 
that  she  had  lost  during  her  widowhood, 
and  walked  in  the  van  of  those  who 
presented  themselves  for  martyrdom, 
looking  radiant  in  her  recovered  youth 
and  beauty  and  in  the  joy  of  going  to 
rejoin  her  husband  and  take  a  place 
among  the  martyrs.  (Sec  LUCY  DE 
FREITAS.) 

B.  Mary  (63),  Sept.  10,  M.  1622,  at 
Nangasaki,  with  her  husband,  B.  Paul 
Tanaca.  (Sec  LUCY  DE  FREITAS.) 

B.  Mary  (64),  Sept.  10,  M.  1622,  at 
Nangasaki,  with  her  children  and  LUCY 
DE  FKEITAS.  Mary  was  widow  of  B.  John 
Xoum  or  Choonn,  who  was  burnt  Nov.  18, 
1619.  Pages  calls  her  MARINA. 

B.  Mary  (65)  Tanaura,  Sept.  10, 
M.  1622,  at  Nangasaki,  with  LUCY  DE 
FREITAS. 

B.  Mary  (66),  Sept.  10,  a  Japanese,  M. 
in  1622,  with  her  sous,  John  aged  twelve, 
and  Peter  aged  three.  She  was  the  wife 
of  the  Corean  martyr  Antony,  a  catechist 
of  the  .Jesuit  fathers.  Authorities  as  for 
LUCY  DE  FREITAS. 

B.  Mary  (67)  Anna  of  Jesus,  April 
17,  1565-1624.  Daughter  of  Luis  Na- 
varra  de  Gunvara,  who  held  an  office  at 
the  Court  of  Madrid,  and  Juanna  Romero 
his  wife.  After  her  mother's  death,  her 
father  and  step  mother  wished  her  to 
marry  and  resorted  to  unkindness  of 
divers  sorts  to  induce  her  to  do  so  and 
to  prevent  her  becoming  a  nun,  but  as 
she  was  desirous  of  sharing  the  suffer 
ings  of  Christ,  she  found  it  easy  to  bear 
those  she  encountered  in  her  own  home. 
She  sought  admittance  now  to  one  con 
vent,  now  to  another,  but  was  refused 
everywhere,  as  the  nuns  feared  to  draw 
upon  themselves  the  anger  of  a  powerful 
man.  At  last,  when  she  was  forty-two,  her 
father  losing  hope  of  establishing  her  by 
a  good  marriage,  consented  to  let  her  join 
the  Order  of  St.  Mary  de  Mcrcede  for 
the  Redemption  of  Captives.  Here  she 
had  to  pass  through  eight  years  of  proba 
tion  before  she  was  allowed  to  take  the 
habit,  and  in  1614  she  took  the  vows. 


B.   MARY  VAZ 


She  was  declared  Blessed  by  Pius  VI.  in 
1783.     A.EM.     Startler. 

B.  Mary  (68)  Vaz,  Aug.  17,  3rd 
O.S  F.,  M.  in  1627,  at  Nangasaki.  She 
was  the  wife  of  Gaspar  Vaz.  A.E.M. 
and  the  authorities  for  LUCY  DE  FREITAS. 

Yen.  Mary  (GO)  Coronel,  May  24, 
V.  O.S.F.,  1602-1665.  She  was  abbess 
of  the  Conceptionist  convent  at  Agreda. 
She  wrote  a  Life  of  St.  Anne  and  a 
more  famous  book  called  Tlie  Mystical 
City  of  God,  which  has  passed  through 
many  editions  in  divers  languages.  Her 
renown  for  holiness  spread  beyond  the 
bounds  of  her  own  country.  Many  eccle 
siastical  and  secular  personages  sent  to 
consult  her  and  ask  for  her  prayers. 
She  was  for  many  years  the  correspondent 
and  adviser  of  Philip  IV.  king  of  Spain 
(1621-1665) ;  but  he  had  not  courage  to 
follow  the  advice  of  this  strong-minded 
woman,  who  has  been  called  "  almost 
the  only  man  at  the  time  in  all  Spain." 
Notwithstanding  the  miracles  that  oc 
curred  at  her  tomb  and  the  general 
belief  in  the  Divine  origin  of  her  reve 
lations,  the  books  she  wrote  were 
disapproved  by  the  Church  and  her 
canonization  was  thrown  out.  Analccta. 
Biog.  universclle.  Stadler.  Kelly,  Hist. 
of  Spanish  Literature.  Her  works  edited 
by  Silvela  in  Ribadeneyra's  Autores 
Espanoles. 

B.  Mary  (70)  of  the  Angels,  Dec.  16, 
19,  -f-  1717.  She  was  a  barefooted  Car 
melite,  founder  of  Moncalieri.  Her 
name  was  Marianna  Fontanella.  She 
was  the  tenth  child  of  Giovanni  Donato 
Fontanella,  count  of  Baldissero,  who  held 
honourable  offices  in  the  public  service  at 
Turin.  From  her  birth  she  showed  points 
of  resemblance  to  THEHESA  CEFEDA,  that 
great  saint  whose  Order  she  was  destined 
to  adorn.  When  Marianna  was  six  years 
old  she  was  much  interested  in  the  lives 
of  the  saints,  particularly  those  who  lived 
in  the  desert.  She  arranged  with  one 
of  her  little  brothers  to  steal  away  from 
home  and  go  to  the  desert  and  there  live 
in  caves  among  the  wild  beasts.  They 
furnished  themselves  with  as  much  bread 
and  wine  as  they  thought  they  would 
want  on  the  journey,  for  they  supposed 
that  once  arrived  in  the  desert,  God 
would  provide  for  all  their  wants.  Their 


great  difficulty  was  how  to  get  away  from 
their  father's  house  unperceived ;  but  one 
night,having  discovered  and  appropriated 
the  key,  they  determined  to  set  off  before 
the  rest  of  the  family  were  awake.  They 
already  fancied  themselves  in  some  hor 
rible  cave  doing  penance  for  their  sins, 
and  great  was  their  vexation  and  many 
were  their  tears  when  on  the  appointed 
morning  they  awoke  at  the  usual  time 
and  found  they  had  missed  the  long 
coveted  opportunity.  For  a  long  time 
their  parents  and  nurses  could  not  un 
derstand  the  cause  of  Marianna's  grief, 
but  when  they  discovered  her  little  store 
of  provisions  they  got  her  to  confess  her 
plot,  and  were  delighted  with  her  piety. 
Rather  more  than  a  year  after  this,  the 
child  was  very  dangerously  ill  and  her 
parents  were  in  great  distress.  A  Fran 
ciscan  monk  exhorted  the  Countess  to 
revive  her  faith  in  the  Virgin  Mary  and 
ask  her  to  cure  the  child  for  the  sake 
of  her  immaculate  conception.  He  also 
advised  that  the  invalid  should  swallow 
a  vigUettino  of  the  conception.  She  took 
his  advice  ;  went  to  her  daughter's  bed 
and  gave  her  the  vigUettino  to  swallow, 
saying,  "My  dear  child,  recommend 
yourself  to  the  most  holy  Virgin."  The 
little  girl,  who  until  then  appeared  to 
be  at  the  point  of  death,  instantly  aroused 
herself  and  said,  "  Mary,  help  me  !  "  Then 
she  had  a  vision  of  the  Virgin  Mary  pray 
ing  for  her  to  Christ,  Who  refused  her 
prayer  at  first,  saying  that  Marianna 
would  be  ungrateful  to  Him,  but  granted 
the  child's  life  to  His  mother's  persist 
ence.  Marianna  was  perfectly  cured. 
She  considered  herself  bound  to  show 
her  thankfulness  by  a  life  devoted  to 
her  Saviour.  Before  long  her  mother 
made  her  learn  dancing  and  required 
her  to  be  nicely  dressed  and  to  go  into 
society.  She  obeyed,  but  it  was  pain 
ana  grief  to  her.  One  day  she  found  a 
broken  image  of  the  crucified  Lord  with 
out  the  cross.  She  kissed  it,  and  cried 
over  it  and  said  it  had  been  cruelly 
treated.  It  replied  that  site  was  the 
person  who  was  cruel  to  her  Lord.  She 
was  in  great  distress  and  felt  she  must 
give  up  all  considerations  except  the 
service  of  Christ.  She  went  to  the  glass 
to  arrange  her  dishevelled  hair,  and  saw 


B.  MARY  OF  THE  ANGELS 


instead  of  herself,  Christ  crowned  with 
thorns  and  blood  dropping  from  His 
wounds.  She  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  Virgin 
Mary,  how  could  you  let  me  live  to  be 
EO  ungrateful  to  my  Lord  ? "  She  had 
a  book  on  the  Passion,  on  which  subject 
she  meditated  deeply.  She  was  much 
affected  by  reading  that  the  Lord  was 
struck  on  the  face  in  the  house  of 
Caiaphas.  She  prayed  that  she  might 
partake  this  suffering,  and  her  prayer 
was  granted  in  a  singular  manner.  One 
evening,  soon  after  this,  she  went  with 
her  sister  and  others  to  benediction  at 
the  parish  church  and  found  a  mad  man 
kneeling  next  her.  She  felt  a  shudder 
of  disgust,  but  said  to  herself  that  his 
soul  might  be  more  precious  in  the  sight 
of  God  than  her  own.  After  benediction, 
when  the  priest  turned  to  the  altar  and 
the  people  began  to  move,  the  man  gave 
Marianna  such  a  blow  on  the  face  that 
it  resounded  through  the  whole  church. 
A  great  hubbub  ensued  ;  the  maniac  ran 
off;  all  the  men  flew  after  him  with 
drawn  swords,  while  the  women  flocked 
round  Marianna,  shocked  and  sympathis 
ing.  One  said,  "  I  am  sure  her  jaw  is 
broken ; "  another,  "  I  am  sure  all  her 
teeth  are  knocked  out."  "As  for  me," 
said  another,  "  1  thought  she  was  killed." 
II  or  sister  wept  and  sobbed,  but  the 
young  saint  knew  Who  had  sent  her  the 
blow,  and  rejoiced  that  the  poor  lunatic 
was  suffered  to  escape. 

One  of  her  sisters  took  the  veil  in  the 
Cistercian  convent  of  Eifreddo  at  Saluzzo. 
Marianna  and  her  mother  went  to  wit 
ness  her  profession.  Marianna  was  per 
mitted  to  go  inside  the  convent  during 
the  service,  and  to  sing  a  verse  or  two 
with  the  nuns.  When  the  ceremony  was 
over,  the  Countess  Baldissoro  went  to  take 
leave  of  the  nuns  and  of  one  daughter 
and  called  the  other  to  accompany  her 
home;  but  Marianna  refused  to  return, 
saying  she  had  gone  with  the  intention 
of  staying  and  serving  God  in  that  house. 
The  signora  was  very  angry  and  tried 
to  insist.  The  nuns  persuaded  her  to 
give  in,  and  Marianna  was  allowed  to 
remain  for  a  year  amongst  other  young 
girls  who  were  being  educated.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  her  father  died,  and  her 
mother  felt  the  necessity  of  attending  to 


her  own  soul  and  could  no  longer  bear 
the  whole  burden  entailed  on  the  mis 
tress  of  the  establishment,  so  her  son 
Giambatista  took  Marianna  home  and 
made  her  his  housekeeper,  an  office  in 
which  she  acquitted  herself  very  well 
and  gave  proof  of  great  humility  and 
patience.  By-and-bye  she  renewed  her 
request  to  be  allowed  to  take  the  veil, 
but  the  widowed  Countess  could  not  bear 
the  idea  of  such  complete  separation  from 
her  youngest  and  favourite  child.  Already 
five  of  her  daughters  were  nuns,  the  other 
was  married  into  the  family  of  the  Counts 
of  Lodi  da  Capriglio,  and  Marianna  was 
her  treasure,  so  obedient,  so  cheerful,  so 
gentle.  Her  mother's  dearest  wish  was 
to  have  her  happily  married  and  living 
with  her  or  close  by.  She  found  an  alli 
ance  suitable  in  every  way,  and  one  day 
when  they  were  alone  in  their  vineyard, 
she  took  Marianna  for  a  longer  walk 
than  usual  and  tried  to  induce  her  to 
accept  this  apparently  happy  destiny,  but 
her  wisest  reasoning  and  her  tenderest 
persuasions  failed  to  carry  her  point,  and 
seeing  her  daughter  entirely  bent  on  a 
religious  life,  she  gave  up  the  argument, 
exclaiming,  "  Then  may  God  make  you 
a  great  saint!"  and  she  never  more 
troubled  her  on  the  subject.  After  a 
short  time  she  offered  her  daughter  to 
the  Cistercians  of  Saluzzo,  with  whom 
she  had  lived.  They  were  charmed  at 
the  proposal,  but  she  felt  called  to  a  life 
of  greater  austerity.  It  happened  that 
the  holy  sindonc,  i.e.  the  linen  cloth  in 
which  our  Saviour  was  wrapped  for  burial, 
was  to  be  exhibited  from  a  balcony  at  the 
Palazzo  Madama,  and  Marianua's  mother 
sent  her  to  see  it  from  a  balcony  oppo 
site.  Two  Carmelite  friars  were  there, 
one  of  whom  was  a  great  servant  of  God 
—  Father  Francesco  Antonio  di  Sant' 
Andrea.  He  sheltered  her  with  his  cape 
during  a  little  shower  of  rain,  and  dis 
cerning  in  her  a  beautiful  soul,  he  asked 
whether  she  had  a  vocation  to  be  a  nun. 
"It  is  rather  soon  to  decide,"  she 
answered ;  but  he  continued  the  conver 
sation  and  she  admitted  that  she  had 
been  accepted  by  the  Cistercian  nuns  at 
Saluzzo  but  was  not  quite  satisfied,  and 
in  spite  of  having  intended  to  be  very 
reserved,  she  felt  compelled  to  confide 


B.  MARY   OF  THE  ANGELS 


in  him.  "  Then  why,"  said  he,  "  do  yon 
not  go  rather  to  the  Carmelite  nuns  of 
St.  Christina?"  She  had  never  heard 
of  this  convent,  but  she  asked  him  to 
tell  her  more,  and  he  described  their 
holy  life  so  sympathetically  that  she  felt 
fascinated  by  that  Order.  She  thanked 
the  monk  for  his  kindness  and  asked 
him  to  pray  for  her,  after  which,  she 
went  home  so  happy  that  she  could  not 
help  shouting  out,  "  I  am  going  to  be  a 
Carmelite.  I  am  going  to  be  a  Car 
melite." 

Her  mother  thought  her  too  delicate 
for  the  hard  life  and  poor  food  of  the 
Carmelites,  but  at  last,  after  much  con 
sultation,  she  took  her  to  Santa  Cristina 
della  Priora.  As  the  Countess  raised 
objections  about  her  dowry,  nothing  was 
settled  tbat  day.  By-and-bye,  the  nuns 
becoming  interested,  the  prioress  invited 
her  mother  to  an  interview  in  which  the 
money  difficulties  were  finally  smoothed 
over,  and  Marianna  began  her  novitiate 
Nov.  19,  1676,  at  the  age  of  sixteen, 
taking  the  name  of  Mary  of  the  Angels. 
As  soon  as  she  was  left  alone  in  the 
convent  she  remembered  with  regret  every 
caress  and  endearing  quality  of  her 
mother,  and  this  regret  became  worse 
and  worse  as  the  Countess  often  came 
to  see  her  and  told  her  she  missed  her 
so  dreadfully  that  she  could  neither  eat 
nor  sleep  and  had  no  peace.  The  devil 
then  tempted  Mary  with  hatred  of  the 
strict  rule,  the  penances,  her  sister  nuns, 
and  especially  the  mistress  of  the  novices. 
At  the  end  of  her  year's  novitate  she 
took  the  veil. 

For  the  first  seven  years  the  Lord  hid 
Himself  from  her  and  she  suffered 
acutely.  When  she  was  thirty-three  and 
had  been  seventeen  years  a  nun  and  for 
some  time  mistress  of  the  novices,  she 
was  made  prioress.  She  held  this  office 
four  times.  Her  cell  as  prioress  was  the 
same  as  the  others,  but  so  situated  as  to 
be  easy  of  access  for  all  the  nuns.  The 
furniture  of  a  cell  consisted  of  a  board, 
which  when  placed  on  the  knees  of  the 
nun  would  do  for  a  table  ;  a  straw  chair  ; 
a  rough  pallet  with  a  wooden  cross  at 
the  head  and  a  little  print  of  some  sacred 
subject.  She  used  to  say  to  her  nuns, 
"  Manage  always  to  be  without  some 


thing  that  you  want,  in  order  to  taste 
poverty."  Although  she  loved  poverty 
and  wore  the  old  clothes  of  the  other 
nuns,  she  was  always  clean.  Once  when 
the  nuns  were  determined  to  make  her 
a  new  dress,  they  found  it  impossible  to 
get  a  chance  of  taking  her  measure ;  they 
had  to  measure  and  fit  one  of  themselves 
who  was  about  her  size,  and  then  to  get 
the  superior  of  the  Order  to  command 
her  to  wear  it.  Her  veil  she  always 
made  herself,  of  rags  and  scraps.  She 
made  a  vow  never  to  look  any  one  in  the 
face,  and  only  distinguished  her  nuns  by 
their  voices.  When  she  was  paralysed 
she  would  not  let  anybody  undress  her, 
although  she  could  not  do  it  herself.  In 
this  strait,  ST.  THERESA  appeared  and 
waited  on  her. 

Victor  Amadeus  II.,  then  duke  of 
Savoy,  afterwards  king  of  Sardinia,  used 
to  visit  her  and  consult  her  on  affairs  of 
importance.  Her  humility  made  this 
honour  distasteful  to  her.  Once  he  asked 
if  he  could  do  anything  for  her.  She  fell 
on  her  knees  and  begged  him  not  to 
visit  that  poor  sinner  again.  The  ladies 
of  the  Court  came  and  condoled  that  the 
king  no  longer  would  come,  and  she 
only  answered,  "  Well,  what  can  I  do 
about  it  ?  " 

In  1702  she  founded  the  convent  of 
Moncalieri  and  hoped  to  hide  herself 
there,  but  the  Court  and  everybody  in 
sisted  on  having  her  back  in  Turin. 
The  devil  appeared  to  her  under  various 
forms,  often  as  a  cat  or  several  cats.  He 
tempted  her  to  destroy  herself,  etc.  She 
was  consoled  by  heavenly  apparitions. 
Christ  told  her  that  the  time  of  her 
purification  was  over,  and  embraced  and 
kissed  her,  and  asked  her  what  she  would 
like ;  whereupon  she  prayed  that  she 
might  suffer  with  Him  as  B.  John  of  the 
Cross  did.  In  the  year  1702  she  made 
a  vow  always  to  seek  to  please  her 
heavenly  Spouse.  She  had  a  great 
devotion  to  the  mysteries  of  the  Trinity 
and  the  Incarnation  ;  to  the  Passion  and 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar ;  and  showed 
great  pity  for  poor  sinners,  whom  she 
constantly  recommended  to  the  prayers 
of  her  nuns.  She  prayed  and  did 
penance  a  whole  year  for  one  conversion. 
After  communion  she  used  to  go  into 


B.   MARY   OF  THE  ANGELS 


65 


ecstasies,  and  when  recovering  from  ill 
ness,  the  infirmarian  forbade  her  to  stay 
in  heaven  more  than  half  an  hour  at  a 
time  for  fear  of  exhaustion,  and  used  to 
go  up  to  her  very  softly  in  church,  and 
only  in  thought  exhort  her  to  return  to 
her  senses  ;  she  at  once  obeyed  as  if  she 
had  been  shaken  or  loudly  commanded. 
As  a  Carmelite  nun  she  could  not  do 
much  for  the  poor,  but  she  was  very 
kind  to  any  of  the  nuns  who  were  ill, 
especially  one  who  suffered  from  cancer, 
and  she  was  able  to  be  charitable  to  the 
wounded  in  the  siege  of  Turin,  1706. 

She  was  often  consulted  by  B.  Sebas 
tian  Valfre  of  the  Oratory.  The  people 
having  deserved  a  pestilence,  her  prayers 
procured  a  mitigation  and  they  had 
instead  a  cattle  plague,  from  which  they 
applied  to  her  to  release  them. 

In  1713,  after  the  peace  of  Utrecht, 
Victor  Amadeus  became  king  of  Sicily, 
as  well  as  duke  of  Savoy.  In  1719  he 
lost  Sicily  and  became  king  of  Sardinia. 
While  in  Sicily,  he  wrote  to  Mary  to 
pray  for  him.  Her  answer  only  promises 
the  prayers  of  the  community,  expresses 
her  great  regard  for  him,  and  give§  a 
little  advice.  Afterwards  she  wrote  to, 
beg  the  life  of  a  deserter.  The  king 
refused.  She  prayed  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  saying,  "  Oh,  if  I  had  come  to  You 
first !  "  Very  soon  after,  the  king  sent 
her  the  pardon  she  had  asked  for.  She 
was  elected  prioress  for  the  third  time 
in  1706.  In  the  same  year  the  French 
besieged  Turin.  The  royal  family  were 
sent  to  Geneva,  but  before  they  went 
they  called  on  the  saint  and  recommended 
themselves  to  her  prayers.  Many  persons 
consulted  her  as  to  whether  they  should 
go  away.  She  said  to  them,  "  If  you  have 
provision  for  four  months,  you  can  stay." 
And  sure  enough,  in  four  months  exactly, 
the  town  was  relieved. 

Among  her  other  writings,  Father 
Anselmo  reproduces  a  most  sympathetic 
letter  to  the  king  on  the  death  of  his 
son,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  ;  and  later, 
the  queen  writes  to  beg  her  prayers,  and 
Mary,  in  a  letter  full  both  of  humility 
and  tenderness,  tells  her  that  Christ 
wishes  her  to  console  herself  with  His 
love,  and  that  the  great  gift  of  comforting 
souls  He  has  reserved  to  Himself. 

VOL.  n. 


The  story  of  the  foundation  of  the 
Nunnery  of  Moncalieri  is  thus  told  by 
her  biographer : — 

A  certain  pious  widow,  Anna  Maria 
Sapino,  died  there  in  1700,  leaving  her 
house,  by  will,  to  be  given  for  a  convent 
to  the  first  nuns  who  should  come  and 
establish  their  Order  in  Moncalieri. 
One  of  her  executors,  the  Prebendary 
Kavero,  thought  the  house  was  much  too 
small  to  be  used  as  intended  by  the 
widow.  He  went  to  Turin  and  consulted 
B.  Sebastian  Valfre, — who  knew  that 
Mary  had  long  had  it  in  her  mind  to 
found  a  new  house  of  her  Order, —  and 
said  to  Kavero  that  he  thought  this  a 
special  interposition  of  God  in  favour  of 
her  pious  intention,  and  thereupon  took 
him  to  St.  Christina's.  Mary  was 
delighted  and  at  once  began  to  take 
measures  for  the  work  she  had  at  heart ; 
but  there  was  considerable  delay  in 
getting  all  the  necessary  permissions  : 
first  the  consent  of  the  superiors  of  the 
Order,  then  that  of  the  king  had  to  be 
procured  with  due  formalities.  In  1702 
the  convent  was  begun.  She  had  to 
build  a  little  church,  as  well  as  to  alter 
the  house.  She  borrowed  money,  and 
when  any  one  asked  her  how  she  expected 
to  pay  her  debt,  she  said  that  St.  Joseph 
would  not  leave  her  in  the  lurch.  She 
set  up  a  bag  for  alms ;  fabulous  sums 
came  out  of  the  bag ;  the  building  went 
on,  and  in  1703  the  nuns  took  possession. 
Three  of  the  holiest  and  most  capable 
were  chosen  from  St.  Christina's  to  pre 
side.  They  set  off  from  Turin  in  one  of 
the  royal  carriages,  accompanied  by  two 
ladies  of  the  Court — the  Marchionesses 
Pallavicino  and  Tana.  They  were  fol 
lowed  by  the  provincial  of  the  Order, 
and  other  ecclesiastics,  and  by  many 
ladies  and  gentlemen ;  the  procession 
being  closed  by  musicians.  They  entered 
Moncalieri  to  the  sound  of  bells,  amid 
the  applause  of  the  citizens,  and  went 
first  to  the  palace  of  a  certain  count, 
where  the  Sindaco  and  Decurioni  and 
other  personages  were  waiting  for  them. 
Then  there  followed  a  grand  religious 
ceremony  and  sermon.  All  the  monks 
and  multitudes  of  people  went  in  pro 
cession  to  the  new  church,  and  after  the 
benediction  the  host  was  placed  on  the 

F 


66 


B.  MARY  MAGDALENE   MART1NENGO 


altar  for  the  first  time.  The  foundresses 
renewed  their  solemn  profession,  and  the 
provincial  pronounced  the  new  monas 
tery  to  be  that  of  St.  Joseph.  Mary  was 
not  present.  She  would  have  liked  to 
hide  herself  in  her  new  house,  but  the 
king  and  the  people  desired  her  presence 
in  Turin,  so  she  had  to  remain  at  St. 
Christina's,  and  direct  the  new  com 
munity  for  fourteen  years  from  thence. 

Her  dying  illness  was  very  edifying. 
She  had  often  recovered  in  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  her  superiors.  At  last, 
seeing  her  in  perfect  peace  and  ready 
for  death,  the  nuns  knowing  there  was 
no  hope  of  her  recovery,  asked  the  con 
fessor  to  let  her  depart,  begging  only 
that  she  might  wait  until  she  had  first 
blessed  them  all.  He,  holding  the 
crucifix  in  his  hand,  said  to  her,  "  Mother 
Mary  of  the  Angels,  you  have  lived 
until  now  for  the  sake  of  obedience.  If 
the  good  Jesus  wants  to  have  you  with 
Him  in  everlasting  glory,  in  the  name 
of  obedience,  go."  So  he  spoke  and  she 
died  instantly. 

She  had  already  long  been  looked  on 
as  a  saint  and  credited  with  miraculous 
gifts  of  clairvoyance,  prophecy  and  heal 
ing  ;  and  as  soon  as  her  death  was  known, 
crowds  flocked  to  the  convent,  bringing 
crosses  and  rosaries  with  which  they 
entreated  the  nuns  to  touch  the  blessed 
corpse.  The  funeral  was  impeded  by 
the  concourse  of  devotees.  The  Court 
musicians  came  to  play  and  sing  at  the 
mass.  The  belief  in  her  sanctity  was  so 
widely  spread  that  her  canonization 
began  the  very  next  year  to  be  discussed 
in  high  quarters  ;  but  divers  causes  com 
bined  to  put  it  off  for  more  than  a 
century,  when — her  miracles  increasing 
and  her  "  heroic  virtue  "  having  already 
been  testified  by  Pius  VI.  in  1777 — she 
was  solemnly  beatified  by  Pius  IX.  in 
1865.  Her  day  in  the  Mart,  of  her 
Order  is  Dec.  19. 

A.E.M.  Her  Life  by  Padre  Anselmo 
di  San  Luigi  Gonzaga,  Definitor  Generale 
dei  Carmelitani  Scalzi.  Eome,  1865. 

B.  Mary  (71)  Magdalene  Martin- 
engo  da  Barco,  July  27,  1687-1737, 
O.S.F.,  was  a  native  of  Brescia.  In 
1705  she  became  a  nun  and  afterwards 
abbess  in  the  Capuchin  convent  of  Santa 


Maria  della  Neve,  where  she  spent  the 
rest  of  her  life.  She  had  a  deep  de 
votion  to  the  sacred  crown  of  thorns 
and  secretly  wore  a  crown  of  needles, 
which  torture  was  only  discovered  after 
her  death.  The  Count  and  Countess 
Martinengo  and  other  members  and  re 
lations  of  this  distinguished  family  were 
present  at  her  beatification,  on  June  9, 
1900,  by  Leo  XIII.  The  Tablet,  June  16, 
1900. 

St.  Mary  (72)  Frances  of  the  Five 
Wounds,  Oct.  6,  was  born  at  Naples  in 
1715  and  died  there  in  1791,  O.S.F. 
She  was  christened  Anna  Maria  Rosa 
Nicoletta.  Daughter  of  Francesco  Galla 
and  Barbara  Businsin.  Her  father  dealt 
in  gold  embroidered  ribbons,  and  she 
helped  industriously  to  make  them  and 
also  to  do  all  kinds  of  housework.  At 
sixteen  he  ordered  her  to  marry  a  rich 
young  man  who  proposed  for  her;  but 
she  was  for  the  first  time  disobedient, 
for  she  had  chosen  the  immortal  Bride 
groom.  Galla,  an  ill-tempered  man, 
was  furious.  He  locked  her  up,  and 
only  when  a  long  term  of  punishment 
and  disgrace  had  failed  to  change  her 
resolution,  did  he,  in  1731,  consent  that 
she  should  be  enrolled  under  the  strict 
rule  of  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara,  which 
was  a  branch  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi,  and  called  the  Strictest 
Observance  or  Minori  Scalzi.  She  re 
mained  in  her  father's  house  and  con 
tinued  to  work  as  hard  for  her  parents 
as  before.  She  spent  more  time  in 
prayer  and  less  in  work  than  her  sisters, 
but,  to  their  astonishment,  she  accom 
plished  a  great  deal  more  work  than  all 
of  them.  She  was  often  ill  in  conse 
quence  of  overwork.  Her  father  and 
some  priests  and  others  considered  her 
a  hypocrite.  She  bore  their  scorn  and 
unkindness  with  the  greatest  humility. 
After  the  death  of  her  mother,  whom 
she  nursed  with  devoted  tenderness,  her 
confessor  let  her  go  and  live  with  Maria 
Felice,  an  estimable  woman  of  the  same 
Order.  Here  she  had  more  time  for 
prayer  and  contemplation.  She  received 
the  five  wounds  more  unmistakably  than 
almost  any  one  else.  She  prayed  that 
she  might  suifer  the  death  agony  and 
the  pains  of  purgatory  instead  of  her 


ST.   MATILDA 


67 


father,  and  tins  was  granted.  She  had 
great  love  for  her  fellow  creatures,  was 
wonderfully  kind  to  the  sick  and  the 
poor,  and  gave  good  counsel  to  all  who 
sought  it. 

Among  the  favours  granted  her  by 
God  was  that  of  communicating  during 
her  illness,  by  the  ministry  of  angels, 
in  the  sacrifice  of  priests  who  were 
celebrating  mass  in  another  place.  This 
is  testified  by  the  Venerable  Philip 
Bianchi,  superior  of  the  College  of 
Portanova  at  Naples,  who  calls  her, 
"  that  humble  and  fervent  tertiary." 

After  her  death  people  thronged  to 
visit  her ;  one  woman  came  on  crutches 
and  went  away  walking  actively. 

Mary  was  pronounced  "  Venerable  " 
in  1803  by  Pius  VII.  Her  miracles 
increased,  and  in  1843  she  was  beatified 
by  Gregory  XVI.  In  1867  she  was 
canonized  by  Pius  IX. 

EM.  Analecta.  Stadler.  Butler, 
"  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara."  Leon.  Her 
Life  was  written  by  Laviosa  and  dis 
tributed  with  her  picture  on  the  occasion 
of  her  canonization. 

B.  Masalda,  Aug.  7,  is  a  misprint 
for  MAFALDA. 

St.  Masenza,  MAXENTIA. 

St.  Masilla,  May  6,  M.  at  Milan 
with  many  others,  in  the  reign  of 
Maximian.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Massa  Candida,  Aug.  24, 
three  hundred  martyrs,  precipitated  into 
quicklime,  in  Utica,  in  258.  AA.SS. 

St.  Massaria,  Dec.  17,  M.  in  Africa. 
Guerin. 

St.  Mastidia,  MASTHIDIA  or  MATHIE, 
May  7,  V.  Her  body  is  known  to  have 
been  publicly  exposed  for  veneration  in 
the  cathedral  of  Troyes,  in  Champagne, 
in  the  9th  century  ;  but  how  long  before 
that  time  she  lived  is  not  known.  She 
and  ST.  MAURA  are  among  the  chief 
patron  saints  of  Troyes.  AA.SS.  Martin. 
Cahier  and  Chatelain  say  she  is  the  same 
as  MATTHIA  (1). 

St.  Mastilla,  June  2,  one  of  227 
Roman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
this  day  in  the  Martyrolony  of  St.  Jerome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Materiana  is  honoured  with 
MAUCELLI.NA  as  patron  of  the  church  of 
Tintagel.  Miss  Arnold  Foster  (Dedi 


says  nothing  is  known  about 
Materiana,  but  considers  that  this  Mar- 
cellina  is  the  sister  of  St.  Ambrose. 
Materiana  is  possibly  the  same  as  MADRUN. 

St.  Materna  (1)  or  MAGRINA.  (See 
PECINNA.) 

SS.  Materna  (2,  3),  MM.  of  Lyons. 
(See  BLANDINA.) 

St.  Mathana,  MARTHA  (12). 

St.  Mathia  or  MATHIASE,  MATTHIA 

CO- 
st.  Mathilda  or  MATHILDIS,  MATILDA. 
St.  Mathithia  or  MATHITIA  is  men 
tioned  in  a  litany  used  in  England  in 
the    7th    century.      Mabillon.      Migne. 
English  Mart. 

St.  Matho,  MATILDA. 
St.  Matidia,  MATTIDIA. 
St.  Matilda  (1),  March  14,  807-968 
(MAHAULT,  MAHTILD,  MATHILDIS,  MAUDE, 
MECHTHILD,  METHILDIS),  Queen  of  Ger 
many.  Wife  of  Henry  I.  called  the 
Fowler  and  the  Town-builder  (919-936). 
She  was  daughter  of  Count  Theodoric, 
a  mighty  prince  of  Saxony,  who  with 
his  wife  Reinhilda  lived  in  the  castle 
of  Enger,  and  here  Matilda  was  born. 
Not  many  miles  from  Enger  stood  the 
Benedictine  abbey  of  Herford.  It  was 
the  oldest  foundation  in  Saxony,  and 
was  then  ruled  by  Matilda,  mother  of 
Theodoric.  While  yet  in  her  infancy 
Matilda  (1)  was  placed  under  the  care 
of  her  grandmother  to  be  educated  at 
the  monastery.  Here  she  was  taught 
all  the  useful  arts  that  a  good  housewife 
of  that  day  had  to  practise  and  to  teach. 
She  was  diligently  instructed  in  such 
parts  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the 
nuns  had  in  their  library  and  in  all  the 
history  they  knew.  She  learned  to  read 
and  write  Latin  and  to  say  and  sing 
prayers  and  hymns.  She  excelled  in 
embroidery,  and  perhaps  painted  those 
exquisite  miniatures  and  ornaments  with 
which  the  transcribers  illustrated  their 
careful  and  beautiful  copies  of  the  sacred 
books.  It  seems  that  either  the  pupils 
in  monasteries  were  much  more  seen  by 
visitors  than  in  later  times,  or  that 
Matilda  paid  occasional  visits  to  her 
father's  house ;  for  the  fame  of  her 
beauty,  ability  and  goodness  spread 
throughout  the  whole  land  of  the  Saxons 
and  reached  the  ears  of  Duko  Otho  the 


68 


ST.  MATILDA 


Illustrious,  who  was  casting  about  for 
a  wife  for  his  son  Henry. 

Otho  was  the  richest  and  most  power 
ful  man  in  Saxony.  He  was  descended 
on  his  father's  side  from  Eckbert,  on 
his  mother's  from  Charlemagne.  His 
son  Henry  the  Fowler  was  distinguished 
by  unusual  gifts  of  mind  and  beauty  of 
person.  He  seems  to  have  been  on 
active  service  nearly  all  the  days  of  his 
youth  and  to  have  won  and  worn  his 
laurels  nobly.  He  refused  to  join  with 
his  brothers  in  robbing  the  church  at 
Gandersheim,  richly  endowed  by  his 
father.  He  made  a  pilgrimage  for  his 
sins  to  Home,  mostly  on  foot,  at  the 
age  of  twenty.  Returning  victorious 
from  his  wars,  he  fell  in  love  with 
Hatheburg,  a  young  and  beautiful  widow, 
who  had  taken  the  veil  at  Altenburg, 
and  without  waiting  for  his  father's 
consent  or  the  advice  of  his  counsellors, 
married  her.  The  Church  declared  the 
marriage  null  and  they  agreed  to  separate 
in  909. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Court  it  was 
imperative  that  Henry  should  marry 
again.  Duke  Otho,  moved  by  the  fame 
of  Matilda's  beauty,  talent  and  virtue, 
sent  Count  Thietmar,  who  had  been 
Henry's  tutor,  to  the  abbey  to  see  her. 
Thietmar  brought  a  favourable  report, 
and  Henry  went  himself  to  Herford, 
accompanied  by  a  stately  band  of  young 
nobles.  They  encamped  in  the  fields, 
and  Henry,  with  a  few  of  his  com 
panions,  in  disguise,  gained  admission 
into  the  church  and  saw  Matilda  reading 
the  psalms  with  deep  devotion.  Struck 
with  her  beauty  and  dignity,  he  went 
after  service  to  speak  with  the  Abbess, 
who  conducted  him  to  her  own  room 
and  remained  there  long  with  him  in 
conversation.  At  last  Matilda  was  sent 
for.  When  Henry  saw  her  and  heard 
her  sweet  voice,  he  begged  that  she 
might  be  betrothed  to  him  at  once.  Her 
grandmother  demurred,  hesitating  to 
dispose  of  the  lady  without  the  consent 
of  her  parents,  but  was  at  length  talked 
over  by  the  charming  young  man,  whose 
noble  lineage  weighed  much  with  her  in 
his  favour.  The  next  day  Henry  set 
out  with  his  bride  for  Saxony.  All  the 
way  they  were  welcomed  with  great 


demonstrations  of  respect,  and  soon 
afterwards  the  wedding  feast  was  held 
with  royal  splendour  at  Wallhausen. 
For  three  blissful  years  he  rested  from 
his  wars  and  for  Matilda  the  cares  of 
maternity  began.  Their  happiness  was 
almost  perfect. 

In  912  Henry  succeeded  his  father 
as  Duke  of  the  Saxons,  and  on  the  death 
of  Conrad,  in  918,  he  was  chosen  King 
of  Germany.  Herbert,  bishop  of  Mainz, 
demanded  to  be  allowed  to  anoint  and 
crown  the  new  king.  Henry  declined : 
"It  is  enough,"  said  he,  "that  I  have 
been  chosen  king  and  bear  that  title  ;  no 
Saxon  before  me  has  attained  so  much. 
I  thank  God's  grace  and  your  love.  Let 
anointing  and  crowning  be  kept  for  a 
better  man." 

In  the  sixth  year  of  his  reign  he  com 
pleted  the  great  work  of  uniting  all  the 
German  lands  into  one  kingdom  :  he  had 
succeeded  in  that  for  which  his  prede 
cessor  Conrad  had  so  long  and  vainly 
striven.  Euotger,  who  wrote  the  life 
of  Henry's  youngest  son  Bruno,  says 
the  day  would  not  be  long  enough  to 
tell  how  Henry  caused  "  die  schonste  und 
herrlichste  Friede  "  to  bloom  in  the  king 
dom  which  he  found  in  the  most  deplor 
able  state,  constantly  attacked  on  all  sides 
by  hostile  neighbours  and  torn  by  the 
most  savage  internal  feuds  between  blood 
relations. 

Matilda  lived  as  queen  the  self-deny 
ing  life  of  the  convent.  Her  hand  was 
always  open  to  the  poor  and  her  lips  to 
plead  for  the  oppressed  and  the  unfortu 
nate.  Often  did  she  rise  in  the  dead  of 
the  night  and  pour  out  her  soul  in  prayer, 
to  "renew  her  friendship  with  God." 
The  king  believed  that  whatever  she 
did  was  right,  and  lent  her  his  aid  in 
all  her  undertakings.  She  had  several 
children,  who  were  distinguished  by  their 
beauty,  ability  and  good  qualities.  On 
account  of  his  extreme  likeness  to  his 
father,  Matilda  loved  her  second  son 
Henry  better  than  her  other  children, 
and  earnestly  desired  that  he  should 
succeed  to  the  throne. 

In  928,  Bruno  was  born,  and  in  the 
following  year  her  eldest  son  married 
EDITH  (5),  daughter  of  Edward  the 
Elder,  king  of  England. 


ST.   MATILDA 


After  a  reign  of  seventeen  years, 
Henry,  now  sixty  years  old,  was  seized 
with  his  last  illness  at  the  palace  at 
Membleben.  Calling  the  queen  to  him 
as  he  felt  his  death  approaching,  he 
spoke  with  her  a  long  time  in  private, 
and  then  said  aloud  :  "  0,  most  faithful 
and  beloved,  I  thank  Christ  that  you  sur 
vive  me.  No  one  ever  had  a  better  wife." 
He  thanked  her  for  all  her  help  in  re 
straining  his  anger,  in  leading  him  to 
justice  and  mercy  in  his  governing,  aiid 
in  always  admonishing  him  to  take  the 
part  of  the  oppressed.  He  commended 
her  and  her  children  and  his  parting 
soul  to  God,  Saturday,  July  2,  936. 
Ever  after,  the  widowed  queen  observed 
Saturday  as  a  day  of  works  of  mercy. 
After  hearing  the  .king's  last  words,  she 
went  into  the  church  to  pray,  and  was 
kneeling  there  when  the  news  of  his 
death  was  brought  to  her.  It  is  re 
corded  as  one  of  her  miracles  that  she 
immediately  struck  off  a  pair  of  curious 
gold  bracelets  that  she  wore,  although  it 
had  always  been  believed  that  they  could 
not  be  rerrfoved  without  the  help  of  a 
goldsmith  ;  she  gave  them  to  a  priest  for 
the  first  mass  for  her  husband's  soul. 

Henry  was  buried  at  Quedlinburg, 
which  he  and  his  wife  had  founded. 
His  grave  is  still  to  be  seen  there  in 
the  crypt  now  called  the  "  Old  Minster." 
Great  and  universal  was  the  mourning 
for  the  king.  Widukind  of  Corvei  says, 
"he  was  the  greatest  king  of  his  time 
in  Europe,  inferior  to  none  in  mental 
and  bodily  gifts,  but  he  left  behind  him 
a  son  [Otho]  greater  than  himself." 

Matilda  had  for  her  widow's  portion,  all 
Henry's  property  in  Quedlinburg,  Pohlde, 
Nordhausen,  Grona  and  Duderstadt. 

The  land  was  once  more  distracted 
by  wars  and  the  struggle  between  the 
brothers  for  the  crown.  Most  of  the 
nobles  agreed  with  the  late  king's  wish 
for  the  election  of  Otho  ;  but  many  were 
resolved  to  stand  by  Henry,  duke  of 
Bavaria,  Matilda's  favourite. 

All  the  Frankish  and  Saxon  nobles  who 
favoured  Otho  met  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
where  he  was  crowned  and  anointed  king. 

Henry  remembered  that  his  having 
been  born  when  his  father  was  on  the 
throne,  gave  him,  in  the  opinion  of  some 


of  his  countrymen,  an  advantage  over 
his  elder  brother,  and  presuming  on  his 
mother's  preference  for  him,  he  continued 
for  five  years  to  push  his  claim.  At 
length,  under  their  mother's  influence,  the 
brothers  made  a  lasting  peace. 

One  of  the  first  things  they  did  was 
to  join  in  persecuting  their  mother.  In 
fluenced  by  mischief-makers,  they  accused 
her  of  robbing  the  Crown  of  its  revenue 
and  spending  it  on  the  poor.  To  stop 
her  almsgiving,  they  sent  out  spies 
who  heaped  ignominy  on  her  almoners. 
She  bore  all  their  misdoings  with  patient 
humility,  and  actually  gave  up  most  of 
her  possessions  that  her  sons  might  be 
spared  the  sin  of  taking  them  away. 
Meanwhile,  nothing  prospered  with  the 
undutiful  brothers,  until  Queen  Edith 
persuaded  the  king  to  bring  his  saintly 
mother  into  honour  again.  Peace  and 
prosperity  were  restored. 

Matilda,  once  more  at  Court,  gave 
larger  alms  than  ever.  She  visited  the 
poor  and  the  hospitals,  and  had  large 
fires  lighted  in  winter  in  the  public 
places  for  the  comfort  of  the  poor. 
Otho  rejoiced  his  mother's  heart  by  his 
zeal  for  religion,  being,  like  his  father, 
passionately  fond  of  relics.  During 
Queen  Edith's  life,  although  he  was 
generous  in  endowing  her  foundations 
and  those  of  his  mother,  their  zeal  and 
liberality  seemed  to  him  excessive ;  but 
after  the  death  of  his  wife,  he  found 
comfort  in  these  works,  and  allowed 
himself  to  be  entirely  led  in  them  by 
Matilda. 

In  951  Otho  married  ADELAIDE  (3) 
and  became  virtually  king  of  Itlay. 

In  955  Matilda  suffered  the  heaviest 
sorrow  that  had  ever  fallen  upon  her  in 
the  last  illness  and  death  of  her  son 
Henry.  This  seems  almost  to  have 
broken  her  heart.  He  was  in  the  prime 
of  life,  not  yet  forty.  He  had  groat 
virtues  and  great  defects,  so  that  his 
contemporaries  did  not  know  whether  to 
praise  or  blame  him  most.  He  had 
something  of  his  father's  beauty  and 
charm,  but  he  was  imperious  and  had 
the  defect — more  unpopular  than  any 
vice — of  being  shy  and  reserved,  so  that 
he  did  not  win  hearts  as  Otho  did. 
Few  loved  him,  but,  for  this  reason,  his 


70 


ST.   MATILDA 


mother  loved  him  the  more.  Matilda 
was  at  Quedlinburg  when  she  heard  of 
his  death.  She  called  the  nuns  into  the 
church  and  bade  them  pray  for  his  soul. 
She  knelt  before  the  altar  and  suppli 
cated — "  Lord,  have  mercy,  have  mercy 
on  the  soul  of  Thy  servant.  Remember 
how  all  his  days  were  full  of  sorrow 
.  .  .  how  little  joy  he  had  in  life.  ..." 
She  prayed  for  pardon  for  his  sins,  and 
peace  for  his  soul.  Then  she  arose  from 
the  altar  and  went  to  her  husband's  grave, 
and  laying  her  head  on  it,  she  talked  to 
him  who  slept  beneath  the  stone.  She 
said  she  was  glad  he  had  not  lived  to 
suffer  this  bereavement.  She  entreated 
him  to  pray  for  the  soul  of  the  son  who 
had  his  face  and  form  and  his  name. 
Until  now  she  had  worn  the  royal  scarlet 
robe,  but  from  this  day  she  laid  it  aside 
and  was  only  seen  in  mourning,  wearing 
no  gold  nor  ornaments  of  any  kind. 
She  never  more  took  part  in  any  games, 
although  she  used  to  like  them ;  nor 
allowed  any  but  devotional  songs  to  be 
sung  to  her.  One  of  her  consolations 
was  to  have  with  her  Henry's  little  boy 
Otho,  now  Duke  of  Bavaria.  He  was 
a  very  beautiful  child,  and  repaid  his 
grandmother's  affection  with  the  most 
endearing  confidence  and  love. 

In  965,  the  whole  royal  family,  in 
cluding  Matilda's  children  and  grand 
children,  met  round  the  aged  queen  for 
the  last  time  on  earth,  at  Bruno's  palace 
at  Cologne.  Bruno's  former  tutor, 
Bishop  Balderech  of  Utrecht,  stood  up 
in  the  joyous  family  circle  and  blessed 
the  grey-haired  queen,  saying  that  in 
her  were  fulfilled  the  words  of  Psalm 
cxxviii.,  "  The  Lord  will  bless  thee 
out  of  Zion,  that  thou  mayest  see  the 
happiness  of  Jerusalem  all  thy  life  long, 
and  see  thy  children's  children." 

When,  in  900,  Otho  was  going  for  the 
third  time  to  Italy,  he  paid  a  visit  to 
his  mother,  who  was  living  quietly  and 
piously  at  Nordhausen.  He  stayed  with 
her  several  days,  and  when  he  was  going 
away,  they  went  to  mass  together. 
Feeling  she  should  never  see  him  again, 
she  got  him  to  promise  sundry  things 
concerning  which  she  was  anxious.  She 
went  with  him  to  the  gate  and  saw  him 
mount  and  ride  off,  and  then  she  re 


turned  into  the  church,  and  kneeling 
down,  she  kissed  the  place  where  he  had 
stood.  Some  of  the  attendants  ran  after 
the  Emperor  and  told  him  of  this  proof 
of  his  mother's  affection.  He  hastened 
back  and  found  her  weeping  where  they 
had  knelt  together.  He  threw  himself 
down  beside  her,  expressing  the  tenderest 
gratitude  for  her  love  and  solicitude ; 
again  and  again  they  embraced  with 
tears  until  at  last  the  mother  said,  "  We 
are  only  making  ourselves  unhappy.  Go, 
in  the  peace  of  Christ."  So  they  parted 
for  the  last  time. 

In  908,  while  making  the  round  of 
the  land  to  visit  the  religious  houses 
she  had  built,  the  Queen  was  seized, 
at  Nordhausen,  with  fever.  The  devoted 
nuns  begged  her  to  stay  with  them  that 
her  relics  might  be  their  possession  ;  but 
she  preferred  to  die  at  Quedlinburg  and 
rest  by  her  husband.  As  death  was 
approaching,  she  sent  for  the  Abbess 
Richburg  of  Nordhausen,  her  former 
chamber- woman  and  confidante,  and 
spoke  long  with  her.  Otho's  illegitimate 
son  William,  archbishop  bf  Maintz, 
attended  the  dying  saint  and  heard  her 
last  confession.  She  wished  to  give 
him  something  in  remembrance  of  her, 
but  her  attendants  reminded  her  that 
she  had  given  away  everything  to  the 
poor,  except  the  sheets  which  had  been 
reserved  for  her  burial.  She  ordered 
them  to  be  given  to  the  archbishop, 
saying  he  would  want  them  before  she 
did,  for  a  difficult  journey  he  must 
shortly  undertake.  This  proved  true, 
for  he  died  suddenly,  twelve  days  before 
his  grandmother,  on  his  way  to  his 
diocese. 

On  the  Saturday  of  her  death,  she 
called  her  people  about  her  and  dis 
missed  them  with  advice  and  blessing. 
She  talked  for  a  long  time  with  her 
gifted  grand-daughter  MATILDA  (2), 
abbess  of  Quedlinburg,  comforting  her 
with  the  assurance  that  Otho  had  pro 
mised  for  himself  and  his  descendants  to 
protect  this  monastery. 

At  the  point  of  death,  Matilda  had 
her  hair-cloth  spread  on  the  ground, 
made  the  attendants  lift  her  on  it,  and 
strewing  ashes  on  her  head,  said  :  "  Only 
in  sackcloth  and  ashes  is  it  meet  for  a 


B.  MATILDA 


71 


Christian  to  die."  So  she  died  and  was 
buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Servatius  at 
Quedlinburg,  by  the  side  of  her  husband. 

Besides  other  children  undistinguished 
in  history,  Matilda  had  :  (1  )  Otho  I., 
king  of  'Germany,  <>;>»>;  of  Italy,  9,">1  ; 
Emperor,  902  ;  called,  for  his  beauty 
and  charming  disposition,  "  Amor 
Muwti"  for  his  noble  deeds  and  suc 
cessful  rule,  "  the  Great ;  "  he  married 
(1st)  in  929,  B.  EDITH  of  England; 
(2ndly)  ST.  ADELAIDE  of  Burgundy  ;  (2) 
Henry,  duke  of  Bavaria  ;  (X)  St.  Bruno, 
born  928,  archbishop  of  Cologne,  chan 
cellor  of  the  empire;  called  the  Duke 
Archbishop,  because  he  held  for  a  time, 
in  his  brother's  interests,  the  dukedom 
of  Lorraine ;  he  is  called  by  Widukind 
of  Corvei,  "  the  great  Bishop ; "  Bruno 
was  a  very  learned  man,  and  as  capable 
and  faithful  a  servant  and  subject  as  any 
king  ever  had:  he  died  Oct.  11,  9ii."> ; 
(4)  Gerberga,  married  (1st)  in  928, 
Gislebert,  duke  of  Lorraine,  and  (2ndly) 
Louis  IV.,  king  of  France,  called 
d'Outremer;  (5)  Hed wig,  married  Hugh, 
count  of  Paris,  they  had  a  son  Hugh 
Capet,  ancestor  of  the  kings  of  France. 

Matilda's  chief  foundations  were 
monasteries  at  Quedlinburg,  Nordhausen 
(to  benefit  the  souls  of  her  husband  and 
her  son  Henry),  Enger  and  Polden. 
Quedlinburg  as  well  as  Herford,  where 
she  was  brought  up,  enjoyed  the  privi 
lege  of  RdchsunmittelbarJcvit,  that  is,  none 
but  the  Emperor  had  authority  over  it. 
This  privilege  ceased  only  with  the 
dissolution  of  the  empire  in  1802. 

AA.SS.  Giesebrecht,  Deutschlands 
Kaiserzait.  Claras,  Die  Heilige  Mathilde. 

B.  Matilda  (2),  Feb.  6  or  7,  +  999. 
Eldest  child  of  Otho  the  Great  by  his 
second  wife  ADELAIDE  (3).  Matilda  was 
abbess  of  Quedlinburg,  founded  in  966 
by  her  grandmother  MATILDA  (1).  It 
was  one  of  the  great,  rich,  important 
monasteries,  whose  abbess  was  almost 
always  a  princess  of  the  royal  or  im 
perial  family  and  was  ex  officio  a 
powerful  personage,  having  a  seat  in 
the  diets  and  councils  of  the  empire. 
Her  nephew  Otho  III.  made  her  Eegent 
of  Germany  during  his  absence  in  Italy  ; 
which  office  she  filled  with  great  wisdom 
and  dignity.  She  died  with  reputation 


of  eminent  piety,  a  few  months  before 
her  mother,  who  leaned  much  on  her 
for  advice  and  comfort.  She  is  called 
Saint  by  Lahier.  Stadler. 

B.   Matilda  (:J),  May  21,  Nov.  4, 
-f-   c.    1025.     The    Emperor   Otho   II., 
son     of    ADELAIDE     (3),    married     the 
beautiful   and   learned    princess   Theo- 
phano  and  had  one  son,  Otho  III. ;  and 
three  daug  liters,  Adelaide,  Sophia  and 
Matilda.     By  their  mother's  wish,  Ade 
laide    and    Sophia    took    the    veil    and 
became  abbesses  of  the  two  grand  monas 
teries  of  Quedlinburg  and  Gandersheim, 
a  dignity  which  gave  to  each  a  seat  in 
the  imperial  diet  and  made   of  each  a 
great    power    in    the   empire.      Matilda 
lived  with  her  brother,  the  young  and 
beautiful  Emperor.     No  prince   at   his 
court,  no  neighbouring  king  was  great 
enough  to  aspire  to  her  hand ;    never 
theless,    Count    Ehrenfried    loved    her. 
One  of  Otho's  favourite  companions,  he 
was   of  noble    Saxon   descent   and    ex 
celled  in  every  accomplishment  of  the 
youth    of    that   time.      Otho    was   pas 
sionately   fond   of  chess,    and   was   ac 
counted    the    best    player    in    Europe. 
Ehrenfried    was    one    of    the   few   who 
nearly  equalled  him.     They  had  played 
many  games  together  for    high   stakes  ; 
Ehrenfried   sometimes   won,  but    much 
more  often  the  Emperor  was  the  victor. 
At  last  they  agreed  to  try  who  should 
win  three  games  in  succession,  the  victor 
to  choose  what  gift  he  would  have  from 
his  opponent.      Ehrenfried  commended 
himself  to  the  Holy  Trinity.     He  won 
two   of  the    games   and  the   third  was 
played  in  breathless  anxiety.     They  sat 
long  at  the  board,  until  the  game  was 
nearly  done  and  the  Emperor  thought 
himself  sure  of  victory.     It  was  Ehren- 
fried's  turn  to  move.     Could  he  win  ? 
His  head  swam,  he  shut  his  eyes  and 
lifted    up  his  soul  and  prayed  for  the 
success   of  his   love.     Then    stretching 
out  his  hand  he  moved  his  piece,  and 
lo !    he    had  checkmated  the    Emperor. 
According  to    the   agreement,   he    was 
bidden  to  ask  what  gift  he  chose.     "  I 
ask  for  your  sister,  the  Princess  Matilda 
for  my  wife."     The  Emperor  was  both 
surprised  and  displeased,  for  Ehrenfried 
was  scarcely  a  match  for  her,  but  his 


72 


ST.  MATILDA 


word  was  pledged.  The  princess  was 
sent  for  and  asked  whether  she  would 
marry  Count  Ehrenfried.  She  said  she 
would.  All  the  Emperor  could  do  to 
make  the  marriage  less  unequal  was 
to  give  additional  rank  and  estates  to 
his  future  brother-in-law.  They  be 
came  Count  and  Countess  Palatine. 
They  had  three  sons  distinguished  in 
German  history:  Ludolph,  who  died 
before  his  parents,  Otho,  Duke  of 
Swabia,  Herman,  Archbishop  of  Cologne 
and  Chancellor  of  Italy;  and  seven 
daughters,  one  of  whom  was  ST.  RIXA, 
queen  of  Poland,  the  rest  were  nuns. 
It  is  said  that  Otho  on  his  death-bed 
gave  the  regalia  to  Archbishop  Heribert 
to  give  to  Ehrenfried. 

Ehrenfried  and  Matilda  founded  the 
monastery  of  St.  Nicholas  at  Bruwylre 
or  Brawiller  near  Cologne,  where  their 
eldest  son  Ludolph  was  buried.  Ehren 
fried  survived  Matilda  about  ten  years ; 
both  died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity  and 
miracles  honoured  their  tombs.  They 
are  commemorated  with  their  daughter 
Rixa,  May  21,  and  Matilda  is  honoured 
alone,  Nov.  4.  AA.SS.,  May  21.  Giese- 
brecht.  Ditmar. 

St.  Matilda  (4)  or  MALD,  Queen  of 
England,  May  1,  April  30,  June  10, 
Aug.  7,  Sept.  18,  Dec.  26,  "the  Good 
Queen  Maude,"  "the  Holy  Queen,"  c. 
1082-1118.  It  is  said  that  she  was 
christened  Edith  and  took  the  name 
of  Maud  or  Matilda  on  her  marriage. 
Daughter  of  Malcolm  III.,  king  of 
Scotland,  and  his  second  wife,  MARGARET 
(6).  As  soon  as  possible  after  the 
death  of  Malcolm  and  Margaret  (in 
1093)  Edgar  the  Atheling,  brother  of 
Margaret,  consigned  their  daughters, 
Matilda  and  Mary,  to  the  care  of  his 
sister,  CHRISTINA  (7),  in  the  Benedictine 
monastery  of  Rumsey.  With  her  they 
remained  until  1100,  when  Henry  I. 
succeeded  to  the  throne,  and  took  the 
politic  step  of  linking  himself  with  the 
family  of  the  Saxon  kings  whom  his 
father  William  the  Conqueror  had 
ousted  and  married  Matilda.  Christina, 
who  hoped  to  make  both  her  nieces 
nuns,  strenuously  opposed  the  marriage, 
but  the  young  princesses  never  intended 
to  be  nuns.  William  of  Malmesbury, 


who  was  nearly  contemporary,  says  that 
they  had  worn  the  dress  of  the  cloister 
by  their  aunt's  wish  and  for  protection, 
that  they  might  not  be  given  in  marriage 
to  any  one  of  inferior  rank.  When  the 
king's  offer  was  made,  Matilda  declared 
that  she  had  never  professed  nor  taken 
any  vows  ;  that  her  father  had  never 
wished  her  to  be  a  nun,  but  had  said 
she  was  to  marry ;  that  her  aunt,  who 
was  a  despotic  woman,  had  insisted  on  her 
wearing  the  black  veil  and  had  enforced 
her  command  with  blows  and  violent 
language,  but  that  when  she  was  not 
present,  she,  Matilda,  had  torn  it  off, 
and  trampled  on  it. 

Later  writers,  Matthew  Paris,  Robert 
of  Gloucester  and  others  living  long 
after  her  time,  say  that  she  was  a  nun, 
and  that  she  married  unwillingly  and 
invoked  a  curse  upon  her  offspring, 
which  was  fulfilled  in  the  drowning  of 
her  son  in  1120. 

To  go  back  to  1100,  Archbishop  An- 
selm  called  a  chapter  in  which  it  was 
decided  that  Matilda  was  free  and  should 
be  married  to  the  king.  The  wedding 
was  solemnized  with  great  magnificence. 
Anselm  always  remained  one  of  the  chief 
friends  of  the  queen.  During  the  long 
quarrel  between  the  king  and  the  arch 
bishop  she  wrote  to  the  latter  begging  him 
to  come  back  to  England.  Dean  Hook 
(Archbishops  of  Canterbury)  says :  "  The 
letters  of  Queen  Matilda  evince  an  inti 
mate  acquaintance  with  Scripture;  and  on 
scriptural  grounds,  though  in  terms  the 
most  respectful,  she  presses  upon  the 
archbishop  the  paramount  duty  of  re 
turning  to  his  diocese."  She  apologizes 
for  characterizing  his  conduct  as  hard 
hearted,  and  says  that  she  desires  his 
return  with  all  her  heart.  The  corre 
spondence  is  preserved  in  the  third  and 
fourth  books  of  Auselm's  epistles. 

She  was  universally  beloved  and 
"  revered  for  her  curtesie,  humilitie, 
scileus,  and  othir  good  manneris."  She 
walked  in  the  steps  of  her  holy  mother. 
She  was  extremely  charitable,  not  only 
giving  to  the  poor  but  serving  them  with 
her  own  hands.  In  1101,  soon  after  her 
marriage,  she  established  a  hospital  for 
forty  lepers,  under  the  patronage  of  St. 
Giles,  who  was  much  venerated  in  her 


ST.   MATILDA 


73 


native  country.  She  founded  Christ's 
Hospital  and  the  Priory  of  St.  Augustine 
at  Aldgate,  1108.  She  built  "a  faire 
stone  bridge  over  the  Lue  at  Stratford- 
upon-Bow,  and  gave  goodly  mannours 
and  lands  to  the  abbey  of  Barking  in 
Essex  for  maintayning  of  the  same." 

Her  brother,  David  I.,  king  of  Scot 
land,  when  on  a  visit  to  her,  reproved 
her  for  washing  and  feeding  the  beggars 
and  lepers  and  kissing  their  sores  ;  but 
she  said  it  became  mortal  kings  and 
queens  to  kiss  the  feet  of  the  King  of 
kings  in  the  person  of  His  beggars  and 
lepers. 

She  was  buried  at  Westminster  and 
worked  miracles.  She  had  two  children: 
William,  who  was  drowned  in  1  1 2<  >,  in 
crossing  over  from  Normandy ;  and 
Matilda,  who  married  first,  Henry  V. 
Emperor,  secondly  Geoffrey,  son  of 
Fulk,  Count  of  Anjou.  The  son  of 
this  second  marriage  was  Henry  Planta- 
genet,  afterwards  Henry  II. 

Matilda  was  never  canonized,  but  she 
appears  in  Watson's  English  Martyrology 
and  is  called  Saint  by  several  writers, 
among  whom  are  Bucelinus,  Paul  La- 
croix,  in  at  least  two  of  his  books,  Vie 
Militaire  and  Louts  XII. ;  Mayhew, 
Trophea  Anglicana ;  Wion,  Lignum  Vitse; 
Migne,  the  Manipulus  given  by  the 
students  of  the  English  College  at  Rome 
to  Christina,  Queen  of  Sweden,  in  1055  ; 
Analecta.  Other  authorities  for  her 
history  are  Turgot's  Life  of  her  mother 
St.  Margaret,  tr.  by  Mr.  Forbes  Leith. 
Butler,  "  St.  Margaret."  Skene,  Chron. 
of  the  Scots.  Matt.  Paris.  Eadmer. 
William  of  Malmsbury.  Miss  Ecken- 
stein.  Hume.  Memorial  of  Ancient 
British  Piety. 

St.  Matilda  (5)  of  Spanheim,  Feb.  2(3 
(MECHTHILD,  MELCHTIDE),  O.S.B.  +  1 1 54. 
Daughter  of  Eberhard,  friend  and  vassal 
of  Stephen,  count  of  Spanheim.  Her 
mother's  name  was  Hiltrude.  Matilda 
had  a  brother  Bernhelm,  a  monk  of 
St.  Alban's  near  Maintz  ;  as  long  as  he 
remained  there,  she  lived  in  a  tell 
near  the  same  monastery.  When  Count 
Stephen  built  a  monastery  at  Spanheim, 
and  appointed  Bernhelm  abbot  of  it, 
Matilda  with  permission  of  the  bishops 
of  both  places,  removed  to  a  hermitage 


close  to  the  new  monastery.  Several 
holy  maids  wished  to  join  her.  She 
chose  five  of  them.  Ferrarius  thinks 
she  is  the  same  as  MATILDA  (0).  Hen- 
schenius  considers  that  unless  this  sup 
position  is  correct,  there  is  no  ground 
for  including  her  among  the  Saints ; 
she  is,  however,  so  included  by  Wion 
(Lignum  Vitse),  Bucelinus,  and  other 
hagiographers. 

St.  Matilda  (6)  of  Andechs,  May  ;J  1 , 
July  (5,  +  1100,  abbess  of  Diessen  and 
Oettelstettin. 

Three  times  did  the  counts  of  Andechs 
found  a  monastery  at  Diessen  in  Bavaria. 
In  li:>2,  Count  Berthold  and  Sophia  his 
wife  gave  their  castle  of  Diessen  for  a 
double  monastery,  of  which  Hartwick 
was  the  first  abbot.  Their  daughter 
Matilda  was  five  years  old  when  they 
placed  her  there,  and  she  eventually 
became  the  first  abbess.  Only  once  in 
her  life  did  she  eat  meat  and  drink 
wine ;  it  was  when  her  father  came  to 
pay  a  visit  to  Abbot  Hartwick  and  the 
monks,  and  at  Matilda's  request,  gave 
them  an  estate  which  was  to  have  been 
her  dowry.  The  abbot  invited  her  and 
her  mistress  and  other  nuns  to  dine  with 
the  monks  to  meet  her  father.  They 
went,  and  by  command  of  the  abbot, 
whom  she  was  bound  to  obey,  she  ate 
meat  and  drank  wine.  Like  Daniel, 
she  looked  as  well  and  as  pretty  on  her 
scanty  fare  as  those  who  had  the  best 
and  most  varied  food.  She  insisted  as 
much  on  cleanliness  as  on  seclusion. 
When  she  had  ruled  the  nuns  of  Diessen 
for  a  few  years,  it  happened  that  the 
ancient  monastery  of  Oettelstettin,  iu 
Swabia,  had  sunk,  under  gross  mis 
management,  to  a  deplorable  state,  both 
as  to  its  worldly  and  spiritual  affairs. 
The  princes,  nobles,  bishops,  and  nuns 
interested  in  it  held  a  council  and  sent 
a  request  that  Matilda  would  come  and 
take  it  in  charge.  She  declined,  and 
nothing  less  than  a  papal  brief  induced 
her  to  yield.  The  nuns  were  in  the 
habit  of  receiving  numerous  visitors  of 
both  sexes,  a  custom  quite  contrary  to 
their  Rule,  but  Matilda  reformed  this 
and  other  abuses.  She  found  that  during 
the  time  of  neglect  that  preceded  her 
coming,  some  property  belonging  to  the 


B,  MATILDA 


monastery  had  been  seized  by  neigh 
bouring  potentates.  She  appealed  to 
the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa.  At 
first  he  would  not  move  in  the  matter ; 
then,  as  he  was  anxious  to  see  a  woman 
so  famed  for  her  good  qualities,  he  said, 
"  If  my  cousin  has  anything  to  ask  of 
me,  let  her  come  herself  and  pay  me  a 
visit."  So  Matilda  had  to  go  to  the 
court  at  Begensburg  and  stay  there  some 
time.  She  sat  at  the  Emperor's  table 
with  the  other  guests,  but  arranged  to 
be  served  with  vegetables  and  water ; 
the  water  turned  into  wine  for  her. 
When  she  had  completed  the  business 
about  which  she  went,  she  returned  to 
Oettelstettin. 

About  1160,  finding  herself  dying, 
she  begged  the  nuns  to  take  her  back 
to  Diessen  to  die  and  be  buried  with 
her  own  family. 

She  had  splendid  hair  of  extraordinary 
length :  a  proof,  says  Wattembach,  that 
she  was  not  under  any  strict  Rule.  She 
concealed  it  all  her  life,  but  after  her 
death  it  was  regarded  as  a  precious 
relic  and  used  to  be  hung  out  from  a 
high  tower  to  ward  off  storms.  Several 
miraculous  cures  were  attributed  to  her 
during  her  life. 

Besides  her  sister  EUPHEMIA  (14)  and 
her  brother  St.  Otho,  bishop  of  Barn- 
berg,  many  saints  came  of  the  same 
family.  HEDWIG  (3)  was  a  daughter  of 
the  house  of  Andechs.  AA.SS.  Kuen, 
Collectio  Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum. 
AVattembach,  Dcutscldands  Gescliicltts- 
quellen. 

B.  Matilda  (7),  V.  of  Lapion,  April 
12,  +  c.  1200  or  rather  later.  She  was 
daughter  of  a  King  of  Scotland,  and  had 
four  brothers ;  a  duke,  who  left  his  wife 
and  went  into  voluntary  poverty  and 
exile  ;  a  count,  who  became  a  hermit ; 
an  archbishop,  who  left  that  office  to 
become  a  Cistercian  monk;  the  fourth 
was  Alexander,  who  succeeded  to  the 
kingdom  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Matilda, 
who  was  twenty,  said  to  him,  "  All  your 
brothers  are  going  to  save  their  souls  ; 
ijou  have  nothing  but  an  earthly  king 
dom.  It  is  very  pleasant  to  be  a  king, 
but  you  are  losing  your  soul."  So  they 
went  away  together  and  she  taught  him 
to  milk  cows  and  make  butter  and  cheese. 


They  went  to  Fogny  in  the  diocese  of 
Laon,  and  there  she  placed  him  as  a 
dairy  boy  and  he  was  found  to  excel  in 
making  cheese,  and  was  taken  by  the 
monks  as  a  lay-brother.  Matilda  repre 
sented  to  him  that  their  gain  was  great 
in  having  left  their  country,  family,  and 
rank,  but  that  it  was  incomplete  as  long 
as  they  did  not  also  separate  from  each 
other.  He  wept,  for  he  felt  this  to  be 
harder  than  all  the  sacrifices  he  had 
hitherto  made,  but  he  was  accustomed 
to  be  led  by  her.  She  went  to  Lapion, 
arid  lived  in  a  little  hut  and  maintained 
herself  by  the  labours  of  her  hands. 
She  would  not  glean  with  the  other 
poor  people,  but  after  them,  among  the 
pigs.  She  used  no  pillow,  and  had 
scarcely  anything  to  lie  upon  between 
her  and  the  ground.  She  took  her  food 
on  her  horny  knees.  She  spent  all  her 
time  in  devotion  and  gave  her  whole 
soul  and  attention  to  prayer,  to  such 
an  extent  that  during  a  tremendous 
storm  she  neither  heard  the  thunder  nor 
saw  the  lightning.  She  was  recognized 
nine  years  before  her  death  by  some 
soldiers  who  had  seen  her  in  Scotland ; 
whereupon  she  would  have  fled  from 
Lapion,  but  the  people  insisted  on  her 
remaining  amongst  them.  She  wrought 
miracles  both  before  and  after  her  death. 

Only  on  his  death-bed  did  Alexander, 
at  the  command  of  the  prior,  reveal  his 
history.  Colgan,  Jan.  1,  Brit.  Sancta. 
Wilson,  English  Mart.  AA.SS. 

B.  Matilda  (8)  de  Bierbeke,  May  7, 
+  1272.  She  was  third  abbess  of  the 
Cistercian  cloister  of  Florival.  She  is 
called  Blessed  in  Gallia  Christiana. 
Stadler. 

St.  Matilda  (9)  or  MECHTILD  of 
Magdeburg,  1212-1277.  She  was  born 
in  her  father's  castle  near  Magdeburg, 
and  was  brought  up  at  Court.  She  had 
a  brother  Baldwin,  a  Dominican  monk 
of  Halle.  She  was  too  clever  and  sin 
cere  to  be  content  with  the  lukewarm 
religion  and  the  abuses  in  practice  which 
prevailed.  When  she  was  twenty-four 
she  fled  from  her  home  and  desired  to 
become  a  nun  in  her  own  town,  but  she 
would  not  tell  who  she  was,  and  as  they 
would  not  receive  an  unknown  person 
into  any  monastery,  she  took  refuge 


ST.  MATILDA 


75 


with  tbe  Beguines,  and  lived  among 
them  for  thirty  years,  during  which  she 
preached,  nursed  the  sick,  and  took  a 
lively  interest  in  all  things  in  the  outer 
world.  She  saw  visions,  and  besides 
songs  and  other  verses,  she  wrote  de 
nunciations  of  the  clergy  and  the  abuses 
in  the  Church.  A  peculiarity  of  her 
spiritual  impressions  was,  that  instead  of 
one  guardian  angel,  she  had  two  good 
angels  and  two  devils  in  constant  attend 
ance  on  her.  One  devil  tempted  her 
to  desire  to  be  honoured  as  a  saint  on 
account  of  her  visions ;  the  other  tempted 
her  with  animal  instincts.  She  wrote  a 
book  called  Mittheilungen,  in  which  she 
describes  the  torments  of  hell  and  purga 
tory  and  the  bliss  of  paradise ;  speaks  of 
the  Holy  Trinity,  the  creation,  redemp 
tion,  etc.,  and  points  out  signs  of  the 
end  of  the  world.  She  boldly  and  earn 
estly  denounced  the  degenerate  clergy 
of  Magdeburg.  She  wrote  a  letter  to 
Dietrich,  the  newly  elected  dean,  in 
which  she  recommended  him  to  wear 
hard  stuif  next  his  skin,  to  sleep  on 
straw,  to  keep  two  brooms  beside  him 
with  which  to  beat  himself  on  awaking. 
In  this  way,  she  made  enemies  of  many 
persons  in  authority  and  they  threatened 
to  burn  her  book,  which,  however,  was 
not  done.  She  did  not  fear  this,  as  she 
said  "  No  one  could  burn  Truth."  When 
she  had  been  thirty  years  a  Beguine,  her 
failing  health  and  her  troubles  made  her 
decide  to  be  a  nun.  She  entered  the 
Cistercian  nunnery  of  Helfta  in  1265. 
The  sixth  and  seventh  parts  of  her  book 
were  written  about  this  time.  Her 
sympathies  grew  larger  and  wider,  and 
she  longed  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  the 
heathen,  like  JUTTA  or  SANGERSHAUSEX, 
whom  she  had  known  and  whose  example 
greatly  impressed  her;  but  it  was  re 
vealed  to  her  that  her  book  was  her 
mission,  and  was  sent  to  all  religious 
persons,  bad  and  good.  She  wrote  to 
the  end  of  the  sixth  part  with  her  own 
hand,  and  did  not  mean  to  write  any 
more,  but  her  revelations  continued  and 
she  was  compelled  to  go  on,  although 
she  no\v  had  to  avail  herself  of  the  eyes 
and  hands  of  others.  By  Divine  direc 
tion,  she  called  the  book  Das  fliexsende 
Liclit  ch'r  Gottheit.  It  is  thought  to  have 


been  used  by  Dante,  and  conjecture  has 
it  that  it  was  Matilda  of  Magdeburg 
whom  he  saw  gathering  flowers  in  Para 
dise.  Preger,  Deutsche  Mystik  im  Mit- 
telaltcr. 

St.  Matilda  (10)  or  MECHTILDIS  of 
Sweden,  July  1,  V.  O.S.D.  +  1LW. 
In  the  time  of  Pope  Martin  IV.,  Kudolph, 
king  of  the  Romans,  and  Berger  II., 
king  of  Sweden,  lived  Matilda,  a  virgin 
of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  families  in 
Sweden.  She  was  given  in  marriage 
against  her  will,  having  made  a  vow  of 
celibacy.  She  fled  a  few  hours  after  her 
marriage,  with  the  assistance  of  INGRID, 
whom  she  joined  in  her  pilgrimage.  On 
their  return  Matilda  lived  and  died  a 
nun  in  Ingrid's  convent.  Vastovius, 
Vitis  Aquilonia. 

St.  Matilda  (11)  or  MECHTHILD  of 
Wippra,  Nov.  19,  Aug.  15,  +  1299. 
She  was  the  chief  teacher  of  the  excel 
lent  school  in  the  Cistercian  convent  of 
Helfta,  under  ST.  GERTRUDE  of  Hacke- 
born,  the  second  Abbess.  In  this  school 
Latin,  music  and  painting  were  taught, 
and  that  beautiful,  careful  writing  which, 
in  the  middle  ages,  anticipated  the  use 
of  printing.  Matilda  had  an  uncommon 
gift  of  teaching ;  she  was  very  eloquent, 
had  a  charming  voice,  a  clear  and  per 
suasive  manner  of  giving  her  lessons, 
and  was  much  beloved.  She  had  a 
special  talent  for  singing,  and  this  pro 
bably  implies  that  she  was  a  composer 
as  well  as  a  teacher  of  her  art.  Two  of 
her  pupils,  Sophia  and  Elisabeth,  were 
daughters  of  Hermann,  count  of  Mans- 
feld. 

On  the  death  of  St.  Gertrude,  Sophia 
von  Querfurt  succeeded  as  third  abbess. 
She  withdrew  from  the  command  in 
1298  and  died  1299.  From  some  un 
recorded  circumstances,  a  successor  was 
not  appointed  until  1303.  Meantime 
the  reins  were  held  by  Matilda  von 
Wippra. 

When  she  lay  dying,  all  the  nuns 
weeping  and  praying  around  her,  the 
nun  St.  Gertrude  saw  her  soul  in  the 
form  of  a  lovely  maiden,  breathing  into 
the  heart  of  Christ  through  the  wound 
in  His  side,  which  He  rewarded  by 
shedding  a  dew  of  grace  over  the  whole 
of  Christendom,  and  especially  over  the 


76 


ST.  MATILDA 


convent  of  Helfta.  This  was  her  reward 
for  her  anxiety  for  the  salvation  of  the 
living  and  the  dead.  Then  Gertrude 
saw  the  Lord  crown  her  with  a  brilliant 
diamond  ornament.  Matilda  von  Wippra 
had  visions  and  ecstasies,  but  was  chiefly 
distinguished  for  her  accomplishments 
and  her  power  of  teaching.  Preger, 
Deutsche  Mystlk.  Compare  with  SS. 
GERTRUDE  (12  and  13)  and  the  other 
MATILDAS  of  Helfta. 

St.  Matilda  (12)  MATHILDIS,  MECH- 
TILD  or  MELCHTIDE  von  Hackeborn,  April 
10,  1240-1310,  commemorated  with  her 
sister  GERTRUDE  of  Helfta,  Nov.  15,  17. 
She  was  bom  at  the  castle  of  Helfta  when 
Gertrude  was  already  a  nun  in  the 
Cistercian  monastery  of  Rodarsdorf, 
afterwards  removed  to  Helfta.  When 
Matilda  was  seven  years  old,  her  mother 
went  to  see  her  elder  daughter  Gertrude 
at  the  monastery,  taking  with  her  the 
little  Matilda  to  be  amused  and  edified 
by  the  visit.  The  child  was  so  charmed 
with  the  place  and  the  chapel  and  the 
nuns  that  she  would  not  come  away. 
She  ran  and  hid  among  the  nuns  and 
implored  them  to  keep  her.  She  wept, 
she  prayed,  she  declared  she  must  re 
main  for  ever  in  that  holy  house  ;  until 
at  last  the  mother  had  to  go  home  alone, 
leaving  both  her  daughters  to  be  nuns. 
Matilda  received  a  good  education  in  the 
convent,  thanks  partly  to  her  more 
talented  sister  Gertrude,  for  whom  she 
had  a  great  admiration,  and  whom  in  all 
her  visions,  she  always  saw  immeasurably 
superior  to  herself.  From  the  age  of 
twenty-five,  she  was  under  the  influence 
of  MATILDA  (9)  OF  MAGDEBURG,  and 
through  her,  of  Dominican  monks. 
This  influence  encouraged  her  leaning 
to  a  contemplative  life;  and  promoted 
the  wonderful  converse  with  the  Divine 
which  her  book  shows.  Always  gentle 
and  lovable,  she  was  of  a  refined  and 
emotional  character,  and  does  not  appear 
to  have  had  any  of  those  combats  with 
sensual  nature  that  troubled  so  many  of 
the  saints.  It  was  easy  to  her  to  free  her 
self  from  outward  things.  During  dinner 
she  did  not  know  she  was  eating,  or 
what  she  ate.  The  nuns  made  innocent 
jokes  on  her  absence  of  mind.  She 
neglected  her  dress,  she  lived  in  the 


spirit.  Thoughts  moved  her  more  than 
sights ;  the  visible  image  was  to  her 
only  the  symbolic  clothing  of  the  thought. 
Her  thought-world  is  not  very  deep  and 
rich,  but  it  has  a  charm  because  it  shows 
her  peculiarly  delicately  strung  charac 
ter.  She  sang  sweetly,  and  was  often  in 
ecstasy ;  her  nervous  temperament  made 
her  inspirations  take  this  form.  She 
once  had  frightful  headache  for  a  whole 
month  and  then  a  sense  of  being  forsaken 
by  God  for  a  week,  during  which  she 
screamed  and  was  heard  all  over  the 
house  ;  then  she  had  a  period  of  comfort 
and  sweetness  and  often  lay  in  a  blissful 
state  from  Matins  to  Prime  and  from 
Prime  to  Nones.  In  this  state  she  had 
visions  and  revelations  of  holy  mysteries, 
and  at  last  the  feeling  of  bliss,  of  being 
so  near  the  Lord,  so  overruled  her  that 
the  graces  she  had  hidden  for  so  many 
years  were  now  proclaimed  to  all  who 
came  to  her,  not  only  the  sisters,  but 
guests  and  strangers.  At  this  time, 
Gertrude,  her  sister,  died  ;  therefore  we 
gather  that  these  manifestations  began 
1291.  Perhaps  it  implies  that  while  the 
practical  Gertrude  lived,  she  kept  her 
more  excitable  sister  quiet,  and  that  she 
gave  way  to  her  natural  impulses  when 
this  restraint  was  withdrawn. 

Matilda  suffered  much  pain  for  thirty 
years,  and  all  that  time  went  on  reveal 
ing  her  visions  until  1310,  when  it  is 
probable  she  died.  While  she  suffered 
so  dreadfully  from  headache  and  com 
plained  of  sleeplessness,  the  sisters 
thought  she  made  a  mistake  as  she  often 
lay  quiet  for  hours  with  her  eyes  shut ; 
but  she  explained  that  her  soul  was  then 
swimming  in  the  Godhead,  like  a  fish  in 
the  water,  and  that  the  only  difference 
between  the  union  of  her  soul  with  God 
and  that  of  the  souls  of  the  saints,  was 
that  they  were  in  joy  and  she  in  extreme 
anguish.  She  was  very  sympathetic,  and 
had  comforting  visions  concerning  her 
friends  who  were  in  sorrow  or  difficulty. 

Her  book,  Speculum  Spiritualis  Gratise, 
shows  a  fluency  in  Latin  rare  among 
the  women  of  that  time.  Preger,  Deutsche 
Mystik  der  Mittel  Alter.  In  most  of  the 
collections  of  lives  of  Saints  she  is  hope 
lessly  confused  with  SS.  Matilda  (9  and 
11)  who  were  her  sister-nuns,  and  with 


ST.  MATRONA 


77 


SS.  MATILDA  (5  and  (>)  who  lived  more 
than  a  century  earlier.  She  is  not  in 
the  Roman  Martyrology,  but  in  many 
German  and  other  calendars.  Compare 
with  SS.  GERTRUDE  (12,  13). 

St.  Matriana,  July  24,  a  nun  at 
Albi,  mentioned  in  the  history  of  ST. 
SIGOLENA  in  the  AA.SS. 

St.  Matricia,  PATRICIA  (2),  Mother 
of  ST.  MODESTA. 

St.  Matrona  (1),  May  8  (MATRONICA, 
MATRONIDA),  M.  with  Acacius.  (See 
AGATHA  (2). ) 

St.  Matrona  (2),  March  l,5th, 
March  17,  M.  Servant  to  a  Jewess  of 
Thessalonica,  named  Plautilla  or  Pan- 
tila.  Matrona  went  daily  by  stealth  to 
church,  until  at  last  she  was  found  out 
by  her  mistress  and  beaten  to  death  with 
cudgels.  E.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Matrona  (3),  May  20,  V.  M. 
with  THECUSA.  EM. 

St.  Matrona  (4)  or  PATRONA,  March 
20,  M.  with  ALEXANDRA  (3).  E.M. 

St.  Matrona  (5),  Feb.  22,  M.,  sup 
posed  to  be  mother  of  PEREGRINA  ;  both 
martyred  with  ANTIGA. 

SS.  Matrona  (6-15).  Besides  all 
those  of  whom  something  is  known,  ten 
martyrs  named  MATRONA  occur  in  the 
calendars,  many  of  them  in  long  lists  of 
martyrs  who  suffered  at  one  time  and 
place. 

St.  Matrona  (10),  March  15,  V.  M. 
Patron  of  Barcelona.  An  orphan  girl 
of  Barcelona,  brought  up  by  a  rich  uncle 
who  took  her  to  Italy  and  settled  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Kome.  A  persecution 
soon  arose,  and  she  could  not  be  restrained 
from  visiting  her  fellow  Christians  and 
frequenting  their  assemblies.  She  was 
soon  seized  by  the  governor  gf  the  place, 
starved  for  several  days  in  prison  and 
then  subjected  to  cruel  tortures  under 
which  she  died.  This  legend  is  given  by 
Henschenius  and  Papebroch  from  a  col 
lection  of  the  Saints  of  Catalonia,  printed 
in  the  dialect  of  that  province  in  1549. 
In  the  1  7th  century  her  relics  were  kept 
in  a  Capuchin  convent  near  Barcelona,  but 
nothing  was  known  there  with  any  cer 
tainty  about  her  date  or  history.  AA.SS. 
MATRONA  (17)  of  Capua  and  MATRONA  (2) 
of  Thessalonica  are  commemorated  on  the 
same  day. 


St.    Matrona  (17),  V.  of  Capua, 

March  15,  supposed  in  the  5th  century. 
Princess  of  Portugal.  Patron  against 
dysentery.  This  is  perhaps  the  MATRONA 
or  MADRONA  who  is  patron  of  Badajos. 
Called  daughter  of  a  king  of  Portugal, 
but  it  was  not  a  kingdom  in  those  days. 
For  twelve  years  she  was  afflicted  with 
dysentery.  Her  father  tried  every  pos 
sible  treatment  for  her,  but  in  vain. 
At  last  it  was  said  to  her  in  a  vision, 
"Matrona,  go  to  Italy  and  stop  in  the 
Via  Aquaria  near  Capua,  and  there  you 
will  meet  two  young  unbroken  horses ; 
doubt  not  the  will  of  God,  but  take  a 
rope  with  which  to  catch  the  colts,  who 
every  day  separate  themselves  from  the 
flock  and  go  without  fail  to  a  certain 
spot.  Dig  carefully  in  the  spot  and  you 
will  find  the  body  of  St.  Priscus,  bishop 
and  martyr,  a  disciple  of  Christ  in  an 
cient  times.  When  you  have  taken  out 
the  relics  and  touched  them,  you  shall 
be  cured  of  your  infirmity."  Matrona 
related  her  dream  to  her  parents  who, 
delighted,  chose  twelve  maidens  and 
some  very  trustworthy  men  to  accom 
pany  her.  They  arrived  at  Capua,  found 
the  colts  and  the  relics,  and  Matrona  was 
cured.  She  then  went  to  Borne  to  obtain 
leave  from  the  Pope  to  build  a  church 
in  honour  of  St.  Priscus.  She  lived  at 
Capua  with  her  companions  until  she 
died.  She  was  buried  in  a  magnificent 
tomb  of  polished  marble,  out  of  which, 
through  a  little  hole  in  the  shrine,  manna 
flowed  from  the  body  of  St.  Matrona. 

This  story  was  not  written  by  any 
contemporary  writer,  nor  is  the  place  or 
date  of  her  birth  known.  The  legend 
was  represented  in  a  series  of  pictures 
on  the  walls  of  the  church  she  built  and 
was  well  known  around  Capua,  but  being 
very  much  resorted  to,  the  church  was 
enlarged  and  the  pictures  destroyed. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Matrona  (18),  of  Perga  in  Pam- 
phylia,  is  also  called  OSSIA,  Nov.  8,  5th 
century.  She  was  born  at  Perga,  married 
a  nobleman  named  Domitian-,  and  had  a 
daughter  Theodota,  whom  she  dedicated 
to  God  from  her  birth,  and  who  was  still 
a  little  child  when  they  removed  to  Con 
stantinople.  Here  Matrona  associated 
herself  with  ST.  EUGENIA  and  spent  her 


78 


ST.   MATRONICA 


days  in  the  churches.  Her  husband  did 
not  like  her  giving  the  whole  of  her  time 
to  devotion,  and  forbade  her  to  go  out 
of  the  house.  After  a  time,  however, 
she  persuaded  him,  on  one  pretext  or 
other,  to  let  her  go  out.  She  flew  to 
the  church  of  the  Holy  Apostles,  and 
having  shaved  her  head  and  assumed 
male  attire,  she  presented  herself  to  St. 
Bassianus  and  was  received  into  his 
monastery  under  the  name  of  Babylas. 
She  remained  there  some  time,  until  the 
abbot  discovered  her  sex.  As  he  could 
not  keep  her  in  the  house  any  longer, 
he  sent  her  to  Jerusalem.  Thence  she 
went  to  a  nunnery  at  Emesa,  where  she 
became  abbess,  and  afterwards  returned 
to  Jerusalem.  Her  husband  meantime 
traced  her  from  place  to  place  and  fol 
lowed  her  everywhere.  She  lay  hidden 
for  many  days  in  a  ruined  heathen  temple 
at  Berytus.  After  her  husband's  death, 
she  returned  to  Constantinople,  accom 
panied  by  two  deaconesses.  Having  now 
attained  to  great  holiness  and  asceticism, 
she  cured  diseases  of  mind  and  body. 
The  Empress  Yerena  showed  her  great 
esteem  and  kindness.  She  died  at  the 
age  of  a  hundred.  Menolocjy  of  Basil. 

St.  Matronica  or  Matronida, 
MATRONA  (1). 

St.  Matthia  ( 1 ),  MATHIA,  or  MATHIASE, 
was  the  servant  or  slave  of  a  baker,  and 
used  to  give  bread  to  the  poor.  One 
day  her  master  suspecting  what  she  was 
carrying,  angrily  seized  her  bundle  and 
pulled  it  open.  Behold,  the  loaves  were 
changed  into  flowers !  She  is  thus  repre 
sented.  Cahier  says  she  is  the  same  as 
MASTIDIA,  patron  of  Troyes  in  Cham 
pagne. 

B.  Matthia  (2)  de'  Nazarei,  June  30, 
March  1,  Dec.  28,  +  1300,  was  born  at 
Matellica.  She  wished  to  become  a  nun 
in  the  Franciscan  convent  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalene,  but  the  abbess,  being  a 
member  of  the  same  family,  was  afraid 
to  give  her  the  habit  lest  Matthia's 
parents  should  be  offended.  Matthia 
shaved  her  own  head  and  put  on  rags. 
Her  father  was  extremely  angry,  but  at 
last  consented  to  her  becoming  a  nun. 
She  was  chosen  abbess.  Centuries  after 
her  death,  a  bloody  sweat  exuded  from 
her  body.  A.R.M.,  Romano  Seraphic 


Martyrology.  The  lessons  for  her  day 
in  the  Officia  Propria  of  the  O.S.F.  Her 
story  is  to  be  given  by  the  Bollandists, 
Dec.  28. 

St.  Matthia  (3)  of  Meaco,  O.S.F. 
Feb.  5,  M.  in  Japan.  A.EM. 

St.  Mattidia,  the  legendary  mother 
of  St.  Clement.  His  real  parentage  is 
unknown.  She  is  called  a  relation  of 
the  Emperor  Trajan,  and  wife  of  Faustus, 
a  near  relation  and  foster-brother  of  the 
Emperor.  Mattidia  and  Faustus  had 
twin  sons,  Faustinus  and  Faustinianus ; 
and  another  son,  many  years  younger, 
who  was  St.  Clement.  Mattidia  was 
pursued  by  the  unholy  attentions  of  her 
husband's  brother ;  to  escape,  she  feigned 
to  be  acting  in  obedience  to  a  dream,  and 
taking  the  twins,  set  out  for  Athens. 
They  were  wrecked  on  the  coast  of 
Palestine.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
children  were  drowned ;  but,  in  fact, 
they  were  captured  and  sold  to  Justa, 
the  Syrophoenician  woman,  who  brought 
them  up  as  her  own,  calling  them  Aquila 
and  Nicetes.  They  became  disciples  of 
St.  Peter.  After,  some  years  Faustus 
went  to  the  East  to  look  for  them,  and 
Clement  being  left  alone,  set  off  on  his 
travels  and  met  St.  Peter.  The  whole 
family  met  at  Laodicea.  Faustus  was 
the  last  to  become  a  Christian.  The 
legend  is  very  old,  but  has  no  claim  to 
authenticity.  Bishop  Lightfoot,  Clement. 

St.  Matura,  June  3,  Eoman  martyr. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Matutina,  March  27,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.S8. 

St.  Mauberta,  MADELBERT. 

St.  Maud,  MATILDA. 

St.  Maugina,  a  nun  at  Clogher  in 
Ireland,  -f-  593.  Perhaps  MANCINA  ;  per 
haps  MUGIANA.  Forbes.  Lanigan. 

St.  Maura  (1),  Feb.  13,  patron  of 
Torcello  and  of  good  children.  Nurse 
of  ST.  FOSCA  and  martyred  with  her, 
about  202,  at  Eavenna. 

St.  Maura  (2),  May  3,  Dec.  19,  M. 
3rd  or  4th  century.  Wife  of  Timothy, 
a  reader  of  the  little  town  of  Perapis  in 
Thebais  and  son  of  Poecile,  who  seems 
to  have  been  the  chief  Christian  priest 
of  the  place.  Maura  was  the  daughter 
of  a  smith  or  carpenter.  She  was  fifteen 
years  old  and  had  been  married  less  than 


ST.  MAURA 


three  weeks  when  the  persecution  ordered 
by  the  Emperors  Diocletian  and  Maxi- 
mian  reached  Perapis.  Timothy  was 
accused  of  being  a  Christian  and  was 
commanded  by  Arian  --  the  governor 
of  Thebais,  afterwards  a  convert  and 
martyr  —  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods  ;  he 
answered  that  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ 
dwelling  in  him,  forbade  him  to  do  so. 
Arian  ordered  him  to  deliver  up  the 
sacred  books  of  the  Christian  Church, 
as  the  Emperor's  edict  commanded  them 
all  to  be  burnt.  Timothy  replied  that 
he  would  sooner  give  up  his  children  if 
he  had  any.  The  judge,  irritated  by 
the  boldness  of  the  answer,  ordered  his 
eyes  to  be  burnt  out  with  hot  irons,  in 
order  that  he  might  have  no  hope  of 
being  able  ever  again  to  read  his  books. 
As  he  persisted  in  his  refusal,  he  was 
hung  up  by  the  feet.  Some  one  told  the 
judge  that  Timothy  was  newly  married, 
so  he  sent  for  Maura  to  persuade  him  to 
yield  to  the  law.  She  was  much  attached 
to  her  husband  and  as  yet  weak  in  her 
devotion  to  Christianity ;  so  at  first  she 
tried  to  persuade  him  to  save  his  life, 
adding  to  the  bitterness  of  his  trial  by 
her  lamentations  and  by  her  lukewarm- 
ness  'in  religion,  but  he  reproached  her 
for  her  love  of  the  perishable  world  and 
exhorted  her  to  seek  for  a  place  in  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  and  for  the  crown 
of  martyrdom.  He  succeeded  so  well 
that  she  followed  the  Governor,  who 
had  by  that  time  gone  home,  and  told 
him  she  and  her  husband  were  willing 
to  die  for  their  faith ;  at  the  same  time 
she  brought  him  back  the  money  that 
had  been  given  to  her  as  an  inducement 
to  shake  her  husband's  resolution.  Arian 
at  first  misunderstood  her  motives  and 
bade  her  not  regret  the  loss  of  this  hus 
band  as  he  would  provide  her  with  a 
better  one ;  but  she  said  that  Christ  was 
more  to  her  than  all  earthly  considera 
tions  and  that  she  was  ready  to  suffer 
everything  for  Him.  After  some  vain 
endeavours  to  pervert  her  from  her  reso 
lution,  Arian  condemned  them  both  to 
be  crucified  within  sight  of  each  other, 
and  so  fastened  on  their  crosses  that 
they  should  remain  as  long  as  possible 
alive  ;  they  lived  several  days  —  some 
say  nine,  encouraging  each  other  and 


rg 

praying ;  and  on  the  tenth  an  augel  camo 
for  their  souls.  There  are  two  versions 
of  their  Arts,  both  given  by  Papebroch  in 
the  AA.SS.  In  the  shorter  account  they 
are  said  to  have  been  nailed  to  the  wall, 
instead  of  on  crosses.  RM.  Bullet 
Kingsley's  poem  Santa  Maura  is  based 
on  the  story  of  these  two  martyrs. 

St.  Maura  (3),  worshipped  in  Con 
stantinople.  Marrast,  Vie  Byzantine, 
regards  her  as  a  heathen  goddess  in  the 
guise  of  a  Christian  saint. 

St.  Maura  (4).     (See  DOMXINA  (6).) 

St.  Maura  (">),  Jan.  15,  with  IJKI<;II> 
(14),  July  i;j. 

In  ^  the  sixth  century  there  was  near 
the  city  of  Tours  a  mound  in  the  centre 
of  a  thicket  of  thorns  and  weeds.  Lights 
were  sometimes  seen  near  the  place  at 
night,  and  popular  tradition  said  that 
two  holy  virgins  were  buried  at  the  spot. 
They  appeared  in  a  dream  to  a  man  of 
that  district  and  told  him  they  could  no 
longer  endure  to  have  the  rain  beating 
into  their  grave  and  the  wind  howling 
round  their  bones,  and  they  must  have  a 
proper  tomb  and  a  church,  or  at  least  a 
chapel.  He  awoke  and  went  about  his 
daily  avocations  and  forgot  his  dream. 
The  holy  virgins  came  again,  and  said 
that  unless  he  attended  to  their  wants, 
he  should  die  within  the  year.  He  went 
immediately  to  the  place  with  an  axe 
and  a  spade,  found  the  sacred  bodies  and 
with  all  haste  built  a  chapel.  As  soon 
as  it  was  ready,  he  went  to  Eutropius, 
the  bishop,  and  begged  him  to  come  and 
bless  the  new  building.  Eutropius  was 
old  and  feeble  and  the  weather  was  ex 
tremely  wet  and  cold,  so  that  he  said  he 
was  unable  to  come  out.  Xext  night  the 
two  saints  appeared  to  him  and  re 
proached  him  for  his  neglect.  He  then 
sent  for  several  of  his  clergy,  and  con 
fessed  his  fault  to  them,  and  they  went 
and  held  a  service  in  honour  of  the  holy 
maidens,  who  immediately  brought  lino 
weather,  so  that  the  aged  prelate  was 
able  to  go  and  bless  the  church.  Martin, 
French  Mart. 

St.  Maura  (10),  Sept.  21,  V.  +  c.  850. 
Daughter  of  Marianus  and  Sedulia. 
Born  at  Troyes  in  Champagne,  about 
827.  She  was  brought  up  in  luxury, 
but  preferred  solitude  and  austerity  to 


80 


ST.  MAURA 


all    the    comforts  of  this   world.     Her 
example    and    influence    converted   her 
father  from  a  worldy  and  careless  life ; 
after  his  death  she  remained  with  her 
mother,  spending  her  time  in  prayer  and 
deeds  of  charity,  and  in  work  of  divers 
kinds  for  the    churches.     She  made  an 
alb    for    St.    Prudentius,    after   having 
bleached  and  spun  the  flax  with  her  own 
hands.     She   had  a    brother  Eutropius, 
whom    she  led  to  a  holy  life.     Maura 
used  to  spend  whole  days  in  church  and 
walk  barefooted  to  other  churches  some 
miles   from   Troyes.     She  was  remark 
able  for  her  gift  of  tears  ;  she  had  only 
to  throw  herself  on  her  knees  and  they 
streamed  from  her  eyes  in  torrents.    She 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  saying 
that    SS.    Peter,    Paul,    Gervasius,    and 
Protasius   were    standing    at    the    four 
corners   of    her    bed,   keeping    off    the 
demons  who  desired  to  have   her  soul. 
AA.SS.,  from  a  sermon   by  Prudentius, 
bishop  of  Tours,  who  had  heard   from 
eye-witnesses  all  that  he  had  not  himself 
seen.     Butler.     Baillet.     Mesenguy. 

St.  Maura  (7)  or  MAUKE,  Nov.  2, 
V.  +  899.  "  In  Scotland  quhomfra 
kilmaures  in  cuninghame  is  callit,  vnder 
k  donald."  She  used  to  visit  ST.  VEY  in 
the  island  of  Cumbne  and  receive  in 
struction  from  her,  which  she  afterwards 
imparted  to  the  nuns  under  her  care. 
She  died  at  Kilmavoris  or  Kilmaur. 
After  her  death  her  sanctity  was  attested 
by  miracles.  Canisius.  Adam  King,  Ane 
catechism.  Forbes,  Scottish  Kalendars. 

SS.  Maurella  and  Nirilla,  May  21, 
MM.  with  others,  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Maxellenda,  Nov.  13,  V.  M.  670. 
In  the  time  and  diocese  of  St.  Vindi- 
cianus,  bishop  of  Cambray,  lived  a 
beautiful  girl  and  nobly  born,  who  had 
a  vow  of  virginity.  A  young  nobleman, 
named  Hard  win,  tried  in  vain  to  persuade 
her  to  marry  him.  He  got  together  a 
band  of  his  companions,  and  choosing 
a  time  when  her  parents  were  gone  to  a 
feast,  carried  her  off.  Enraged  at  her 
determined  resistance,  he  murdered  her 
at  the  spot  where  now  stands  the  Basilica 
of  All  Saints.  As  soon  as  he  saw  her 
blood  he  was  struck  blind.  She  was 
buried  in  the  church  of  SS.  Peter,  Paul 
and  Sulpicius,  in  a  neighbouring  village 


of  Pomeriolas.  Three  years  afterwards 
a  noble  matron,  Amaltrude,  by  Divine 
direction  went  to  St.  Vindicianus  and 
had  the  holy  virgin  translated  to  the 
spot  of  her  martyrdom,  which  was  al 
ready  distinguished  by  miracles.  Hard- 
win,  who  had  repented  during  his 
blindness,  went  to  meet  the  procession, 
and  throwing  himself  before  the  bier, 
confessed  and  lamented  his  crime,  where 
upon  the  departed  saint  forgave  him 
and  restored  his  sight.  Le  Mire,  Fasti. 
Chroniques  Beiges. 

St.  Maxentia  (1)  or  MASENZA,  April 
30,  4-  c.  400.  Patron  of  Trent.  A  noble 
Roman  lady  who  went  from  Rome  with 
her  three  sons,  SS.  Vigilius,  Claudian, 
and  Majorian,  when  they  went  to  preach 
Christianity  at  Trent,  in  the  Alps. 
Vigilius  became  bishop  of  that  place,  and 
Maxentia  was  buried  there.  AA.SS. 

St.  Maxentia  (2),  Oct.  24,  Nov.  2, 
20,    April     16     (MASENZA,    MAIXENCE, 
MESSENCE    and    MESSENE),    V.  M.     Her 
legend  is  that  she  went  from  Scotland  or 
Ireland  to  France  and,  after  crossing  the 
river  Oise  dry-shod,  settled  at  a  place  on 
its  bank,  now  called  Pont  Ste.  Maixence, 
where  she  led  an  ascetic  life  and  was 
favoured  with  visions.     Here  she  even 
tually  suffered  martyrdom  at  the  hands  of 
a  Spanish  Moor  or  of  a  prince  who  had  fol 
lowed  her  from  her  own  country  to  compel 
her  to  be  his  wife.  She  is  said  to  have  been 
the  daughter  of  a  King  of  the  Scots  who 
is  variously  called  Malcolm,  Solnathius 
and    Mordacus.     She    had  a  maid    ST. 
ROSEBIE,  and  a  man-servant   St.  Barban 
or   Brabantius,    who  shared    her  flight. 
Her  date   varies   from  the    time  of  St. 
Patrick  to  that  of  Charles  Martel.     She 
was  honoured  in  the  diocese  of  Beauvais 
in  very  early  times,  and  the  ford  of  St. 
Maxentia  is  said  by  Baillet  to  be  men 
tioned  by  Fredegarius  in  describing  the 
wars  of  Ebroin,    637.      Bishop  Forbes 
says  the  name  of  the  place  called  Pont 
Ste.    Maixence  is  derived  from  that  of 
the  Irish  bishop  Maximus  or  Mo-Easconn. 
MAXELLENDA   is    perhaps   the    same    as 
Maxentia.     Brit.   Sancta.     Adam  King. 
Camerarius.     Butler.     Baillet. 

St.  Maxima  (1),  Sep.  2,  M.  in  the 
time  of  Diocletian.  Godmother  of  St. 
Ansanus,  Dec.  1,  who  was  instructed  and 


ST.  MAXIMA 


81 


baptized  without  his  parents'  knowledge, 
by  Protasius,  a  Christian  priest  at  Rome. 
The  father  of  St.  Ansanus  denounced 
his  son  and  Maxima  as  Christians,  and 
she  was  scourged  to  death.  RM. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Maxima  (2),  Oct.  l,  V.  M.  c. 
.'in.!,  at  Lisbon,  with  her  brother  and 
sister,  SS.  Verissimus  and  JULIA  (23). 
R.M.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Maxima  (3)  and  MACARIA  (1), 
April  8,  MM.  in  Africa  with  St.  Janu- 
arius.  R.M. 

St.  Maxima  (4),  March  2(5,  M.  in 
the  time  of  the  Emperor  Maximian. 
Wife  of  St.  Montanus,  a  priest ;  taken 
with  him  and  forty  other  Christians  at 
Sirmium,  the  capital  of  Pannonia,  and 
thrown  into  the  Save  ;  their  bodies  were 
found  about  nine  miles  from  the  city. 
These  martyrs  are  erroneously  claimed 
for  Spain.  R.M. 

St.  Maxima(5J  or  MEME  of  Chartres, 
Aug.  25,  V.  M.  Patron  of  Ste.  Maxime, 
near  Dourdan.  Daughter  of  Dordauus,  a 
heathen  king  of  Chartres.  When  she 
was  fourteen  her  father  seized  a  certain 
Christian,  kept  him  prisoner  in  his  house 
and  ill-treated  him  on  account  of  his 
religion.  Maxima  secretly  received  in 
struction  from  the  prisoner  and  adopted 
his  faith  ;  her  father  tried  by  threats  and 
promises  to  make  her  change  her  mind, 
promising  among  other  inducements  to 
marry  her  to  the  king  of  Castile.  All 
arguments  being  in  vain,  her  twin  brother 
Maxirninius  drew  his  sword ;  Maxima 
gathered  up  her  hair  and  presented  her 
neck  and  her  brother  cut  off  her  head  : 
he  afterwards  became  a  Christian,  did 
penance,  led  a  holy  life  and  became 
bishop  of  Orleans.  Pinius,  the  Bollan- 
dist,  judges  the  whole  story  to  be  fictitious. 
AAJ38. 

St.    Maxima    (6;.      (See    CAMILLA 

St.  Maxima  (7),  Oct.  Hi,  V.  5th 
century.  After  the  death  of  the  aged 
St.  Deogratias,  bishop  of  Carthage,  457, 
Genseric,  king  of  the  Vandals,  an  Arian, 
continued  to  persecute  the  Catholics  and 
to  make  many  martyrs.  A  Vandal 
officer  of  his  army,  who  commanded  a 
regiment  of  1000  men,  had  for  slaves 
four  brothers,  two  of  whom  were  SS. 

VOL.  II. 


Martiniau  and  Saturuian  ;  he  had  also  u 
female  slave  named  Maxima,  a  beautiful 
girl  and  a  clover  and  faithful  servant, 
who  had  the  charge  of  his  house.  He 
had  a  great  regard  for  Martinian,  who 
was  his  armour-bearer,  and  he  thought 
if  he  married  him  to  Maxima,  both  would 
have  additional  reason  to  devote  them 
selves  to  his  service.  Martinian  was 
young,  and  as  he  had  always  intended  to 
marry  some  day,  he  was  well  pleased 
with  the  arrangement ;  but  Maxima  had 
made  a  vow  of  celibacy,  so  when  they 
were  married  she  said  to  him,  "  Brother 
Martinian,  I  have  already  dedicated 
myself  to  Jesus  Christ,  therefore  having 
a  God  for  a  husband  I  can  never  bo  the 
wife  of  a  mortal  man,  but  if  you  will 
follow  my  advice,  you  will  consecrate 
yourself  to  the  same  Master,  and  you  will 
think  yourself  happy  in  spending  your 
life  in  His  service."  Martinian  became 
a  Catholic,  converted  his  three  brothers, 
and  they  all  determined  to  save  them 
selves  by  flight.  The  four  men  went  to 
the  monastery  of  Tabraca  on  the  borders 
of  Numidia,  and  Maxima  took  refuge  in 
a  convent  which  was  near.  In  time  they 
were  discovered  and  brought  back  to 
their  master,  who  treated  them  with  great 
cruelty  and  tried  to  compel  them  to 
receive  Arian  baptism.  When  they  were 
put  to  various  tortures  their  wounds 
were  miraculously  healed,  and  some  of 
the  instruments  designed  t>  inflict  new 
sufferings  on  them  fell  to  pieces. 
The  Vandal,  blind  to  this  interposition 
of  Providence,  was  smitten  by  Divine 
vengeance,  and  died  suddenly,  as  did  all 
his  children,  horses  and  cattle.  His 
widow  made  haste  to  rid  herself  of  the 
slaves  who  had  brought  so  much  trouble 
upon  her,  by  presenting  them  to  Sersaon, 
a  relative  of  Geuseric,  but  they  seemed 
to  bring  ill  luck  to  his  family  also  ;  all 
his  children  and  servants  were  afflicted 
in  one  way  or  another,  and  he  thought 
the  new  slaves  must  have  brought  evil 
demons  into  his  house;  he  applied  to 
Genseric,  who,  to  save  himself  all  further 
trouble  with  these  slaves,  presented  the 
four  brothers  to  Capsur,  a  king  of  the 
Moors,  a  people  more  barbarous  even 
than  the  Vandals  ;  as  for  Maxima,  he  set 
her  at  liberty,  and  she  betook  herself  to 


82 


ST.   MAXIMA 


a  nunnery,  of  which  she  eventually 
became  abbess.  In  their  new  abode 
Martinian  and  his  brothers  preached 
Christianity  to  hundreds  who  until  then 
had  never  heard  of  it :  they  made  many 
converts.  Capsur  sent  an  account  of 
their  proceedings  to  Genseric,  who 
ordered  them  to  be  seized  and  each  tied 
by  the  feet  to  the  tail  of  a  wild  horse 
which  was  then  made  to  gallop  through 
thorns  and  thickets  and  over  rough 
ground  until  they  were  killed.  Maxima 
has  a  special  worship  at  the  church  of 
the  Petits  Augustins  at  Paris.  These  five 
martyrs  are  commemorated  with  St. 
Deogratias. 

Eibadeneira  gives  this  story  with  an 
account  of  the  unbounded  charity  and 
self-immolation  of  the  aged  Bishop 
Deogratias  and  his  exertions  for  the 
relief  of  the  sufferers  after  the  capture  of 
Rome  by  Genseric.  H.M.  Baillet,  from 
Victor  de  Vite's  history  of  the  persecu 
tion  of  the  Church  of  Africa  by  the 
Vandals. 

St.  Maxima  (8),  May  16,  V.,  sup 
posed  to  have  been  the  superior  of  the 
nuns  among  whom  she  lived,  in  a  country 
house  at  Galliano  or  Calidiano,  in  the 
diocese  of  Friuli.  She  died  in  peace, 
distinguished  by  many  virtues.  R.M. 
AA.SS. 

SS.  Maxima.  Besides  the  above, 
about  twenty  martyrs  of  the  same  name 
appear  in  the  calendars,  at  various  places 
and  on  different  days.  AA.SS. 

St.  Maximilla,  Feb.  19,  one  of  twelve 
martyrs  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Maximiliana,  mentioned  by  Pope 
Alexander  III.,  in  1173.  Guerin. 

St.  Mayot,  MAZOTA.     Forbes. 

St.  Mayra,  July  28,  V.  M.,  occurs 
in  a  book  of  Spanish  antiquities;  but 
as  no  account  of  her  exists  and  she  is 
not  mentioned  by  the  Spanish  hagiolo- 
gists,  she  is  supposed  to  be  the  same 
as  MERA.  AA.SS.,  Preeter. 

St.    Mazachia,    V.   M.    with    BA- 

HUTA. 

St.  Mazota,  MAYOT,  or  MAKIE,  Dec. 
23.  Perhaps  8th  century.  MOCHOAT 
is  probably  the  same.  The  most  dis 
tinguished  of  the  nine  holy  maidens 
who  came  from  Ireland  to  Scotland  with 
BRIGID  (3)  when,  by  the  invitation  of 


Graverdus,  king  of  the  Picts,  Brigid 
settled  at  Abernethy  on  the  Tay. 
Mazota  and  her  companions  remained 
at  this  place  for  the  rest  of  their  lives 
and  were  buried  there.  Mazota  ex 
celled  them  all  in  sanctity,  and  many 
miracles  were  performed  at  her  grave. 
Bishop  Forbes,  from  the  Aberdeen 
Breviary. 

Dempster,  who  gives  Boethius  as  his 
authority,  says  the  nine  maidens  were 
the  daughters  of  St.  Donald,  the  first 
Scottish  anchorite,  who  brought  up  all 
his  children  to  the  same  ascetic  life. 
Several  holy  men  joined  Donald  and 
they  lived  at  Ogilvy.  After  his  death 
Mazota  and  her  sisters  obtained  from 
King  Granard  an  estate  near  Abernethy. 
Mazota  was  buried  at  the  foot  of  a  great 
oak,  c.  717,  and  the  place  was  much 
frequented  by  pilgrims. 

St.  Mechtild,  MATILDA. 

St.  Mechtund  or  MONEGUND.     (See 

CUNEGUND  (1).) 

St.  Medana  (1),  Nov.  19,  an  Irish 
V.  who  fled  from  a  soldier  lover  to 
Eyndis  in  Galloway,  Scotland,  accom 
panied  by  two  maids.  They  lived  in 
poverty  by  their  labour.  The  soldier 
followed  them.  They  floated  thirty 
miles  on  a  stone  to  a  place  called 
Fames.  The  soldier  still  pursuing 
Medana,  passed  her  house  without  see 
ing  it,  but  his  attention  was  called  to 
it  by  the  crowing  of  a  cock.  Medana 
climbed  a  tree  to  get  away  from  him. 
Finding  that  her  eyes  were  what  en 
chained  the  heart  of  the  soldier,  she 
plucked  them  out;  he  repented.  As 
she  came  down  from  the  tree,  a  fountain 
sprang  from  the  earth  and  in  it  she 
washed  her  eyes.  She  died  Oct.  31, 
but  her  day  is  the  "  2nd  of  the  Octave  " 
of  St.  Martin.  She  is  perhaps  the 
same  as  MIDHNAT.  Mr.  Skene  says  she 
is  possibly  MODWENNA,  who  was  called 
EDANA.  Forbes. 

St.  Medana  (2),  March  7,  V.  of 
Tuain,  mentioned  in  the  Irish  Mar- 
tyrologies,  is  perhaps  the  same  as 
MEDANA  (1)  or  perhaps  to  be  identified 
with  one  of  the  SS.  Medan,  Middan,  or 
Modan,  who  preached  among  the  Picts 
and  Scots  about  800,  and  who  seem  to 
be  men.  Forbes,  "  Modan." 


ST.   MELANIA 


St.  Medrissina,  MEDRYSYME. 

St.  Medrysyme,  Nov.  22  (MADE- 
RASMA,  MAREME,  MEDRISSINA),  V.  hon 
oured  at  Soissens.  The  Marty  rology  of 
Salisbury  has  on  this  day,  "The  feest 
of  saynt  MEDRYSYME,  V.  moche  gloryous 
in  myracles." 

St.  Medula,  Jan.  25,  M.,  burnt  with 
a  companion.  Guerin. 

St.  Mefrida,  MINVKR. 

St.  Megetia,  MERETIA,  MIGENA  or 
MIGETIUS,  June  15,  M.  at  Constantinople. 
AAJ38. 

St.  M^gine,  April  29,  M.  at  Perugia. 
Guerin. 

St.  Meille,  who  gives  name  to  a 
church  in  the  diocese  of  Ausche,  is 
perhaps  EMILIA  or  EMILIANA.  Chastelain, 
Voc.  Hag. 

St.  Melana,  MELANIA. 

St.  Melangel!  or  MONACELLA,  May 
27,  patron  of  hares.  Founder  and 
patron  of  the  church  of  Pennant  Melan- 
gell,  near  Llangnnog  in  Montgomery 
shire.  The  chancel  and  nave  of  this 
church  were  divided  by  a  carved  screen, 
on  which  was  represented  the  legend  of 
the  tutelar  saint. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  an  Irish 
monarch ;  she  had  a  vow  of  celibacy 
and  fled  to  Wales  to  avoid  being  married 
to  a  nobleman  of  her  own  country.  She 
lived  unseen  for  fifteen  years  until  604, 
when  Brochwel  Yseythrog,  prince  of 
Powys,  hunting  in  the  neighbourhood, 
ran  a  hare  into  a  thicket  and  found  it 
nestling  in  her  dress ;  she,  deep  in 
prayer  and  meditation,  had  not  heard 
the  dogs  or  the  horn.  The  prince  in 
vited  her  to  leave  her  solitude,  but  as 
that  was  not  her  wish,  he  gave  her  the 
adjacent  lands  on  which  to  build  a 
church.  All  the  hares  went  to  her  for 
safety  and  followed  her  about.  Hares 
were  thence  called  Wyn  MelangeU,  Mona- 
cella's  lambs.  For  centuries  no  one 
would  kill  a  hare  in  the  parish,  and  if 
any  one  shouted  after  a  hunted  hare, 
"God  and  Monacella  be  with  thee,"  it 
was  sure  to  escape.  Blackwood's  Maga 
zine,  November  1875,  "Legends  and 
Folk-lore  of  North  Wales."  Eees, 
Welsh  Saints,  p.  209,  says  she  was  a 
Welsh  woman,  her  mother  Irish,  and 
that  her  cell  is  to  be  seen  in  a  rock 


near  the  church.     Her  relics  were  still 
shown  in  1811. 

St.  Melania  (1),  MELANA  or  ME- 
LANIUM,  Oct.  22,  Dec.  30,  and  perhaps 
June  8,  -f  c.  410,  commonly  called  the 
Elder.  A  Roman  lady  of  Spanish  de 
scent,  very  rich  and  highly  connected, 
the  daughter  or  grand-daughter  of  Mar- 
cellinus,  who  had  been  consul.  She 
was  left  a  widow  at  twenty-two;  two 
of  her  three  children  died  in  the  same 
year  as  her  husband.  According  to  the 
custom  of  the  time,  she  made  a  great 
funeral  for  them  and,  carrying  her  only 
remaining  child  in  her  arms,  she  followed 
to  the  family  mausoleum,  the  bier  on 
which  lay  the  two  little  corpses.  She 
did  not,  however,  devote  herself  to  her 
son.  The  motherly  instinct  was  not  so 
strong  in  her  as  the  inclination  to  as 
ceticism  and  the  attraction  of  the  East 
with  its  holy  places  of  pilgrimage.  She 
left  the  infant  Publicola  to  the  caro  of 
the  Urban  Prastor,  an  officer  who  had 
the  charge  of  orphans;  and  thanking 
God  that  she  was  free,  she  set  off  to 
see  the  places  and  persons  who  BO 
strongly  engaged  her  sympathies.  Her 
action  was  much  discussed  in  Rome. 
Many  of  the  Christians  disapproved, 
and  many  who  were  hesitating  between 
Christianity  and  Paganism,  liaviug  been 
half-won  over  by  the  admirable  lives 
of  the  Christian  women,  decided  against 
a  religion  which  seemed  less  favourable 
to  domesticity  than  the  ancient  Roman 
customs.  She  travelled  with  a  con 
siderable  retinue.  In  her  suite  was  a 
certain  Rufinus,  who  seems  to  have  had 
some  influence  over  her,  and  who  spent 
many  years  in  her  service.  At  Alex 
andria  she  made  the  acquaintance  of 
St.  Athanasius,  who  presented  her  with 
the  sheep-skin  that  had  been  worn  by 
the  holy  Marcarius.  The  desert  of 
Nitria  was  the  resort  of  innumerable 
hermits  and  communities  of  monks ; 
holes  in  the  banks  were  used  for  cells, 
and  hymns  could  be  heard  when  no 
human  form  was  to  be  seen.  Melania 
obtained  access  to  many  of  these  saintly 
persons,  begging  their  prayers  and  bless 
ing  and  making  offerings  such  as  they 
would  accept.  Among  others  she  visited 
the  Abbot  Pambo,  and  found  him  plaiting 


84 


ST.  MELANIA 


palm-leaves;  she  presented  him  with 
some  silver  plate  of  the  value  of  300 
Roman  pounds.  The  saint,  without  look 
ing  up  from  his  work,  said  to  her,  "  May 
God  reward  you !  "  Then  he  told  his 
steward  to  take  what  this  lady  had  given 
and  distribute  it  to  all  the  brothers  in 
Libya,  and  in  the  islands  where  the 
monasteries  were  poor,  but  not  to  give 
any  in  Egypt  where  the  country  was 
rich.  Melania  watched  him  working, 
and  stood  waiting  for  him  to  give  her 
his  blessing  or  to  say  something  com 
plimentary  about  her  gift.  At  last,  as 
he  took  no  notice  of  her,  she  said, 
"  Father,  I  wish  you  to  know  that  there 
are  300  pounds  of  silver  there."  Pambo, 
without  so  much  as  looking  at  the 
cases  which  contained  the  silver,  replied, 
"  Daughter,  He  for  whom  you  brought 
it  has  no  need  to  be  told  the  quantity. 
He  can  weigh  the  mountains  and  forests 
in  His  balance.  If  you  made  this  present 
to  me  it  might  be  well  to  tell  me  the 
weight  and  the  value,  but  if  you  offer 
it  to  God,  Who  did  not  disdain  a  gift  of 
two  mites,  be  silent." 

She  saw  the  aged  St.  Or,  the  father 
of  a  thousand  monks,  and  after  spending 
six  months  in  these  interesting  and  con 
genial  visits  she  returned  to  Alexandria 
to  see  Didymus,  the  blind  philosopher 
who  influenced  Rufinus  and,  through  him, 
eventually  tainted  her  with  the  doctrines 
of  Origen. 

From  Egypt  Melania  went  to  Palestine, 
and  there  she  had  an  opportunity  of 
exercising  great  charity  and  liberality 
towards  the  Catholics,  who  were  suffering 
cruelly  at  this  time  at  the  hands  of  the 
Arians,  under  the  Emperor  Valens.  At 
one  time  she  was  obliged  to  disguise 
herself  as  a  slave,  in  order  to  obtain 
admission  to  the  prisons  of  some  of  the 
confessors.  She  was  arrested,  but  on 
making  known  her  name  and  rank  she 
was  immediately  liberated,  treated  with 
all  possible  deference,  and  permitted  to 
visit  whomsoever  she  chose.  She  built 
a  monastery  at  Jerusalem,  and  presided 
there  for  twenty-seven  years,  much  as 
sisted  by  Rnfinus  in  all  her  arrangements. 

Meanwhile,  her  son  Publicola  had 
grown  up  and  married  ALBINA  (6),  an 
exemplary  young  Christian  lady  of  one 


of  the  noblest  Roman  families,  and  sister 
of  Volusianus,  prefect  of  Rome.  They 
had  a  son  Publicola,  and  a  daughter 
MELANIA  the  Younger. 

Melania  the  Elder  had  been  more  than 
thirty-five  years  absent  from  Rome  when, 
about  404,  she  thought  herself  called 
upon  to  return,  in  order  to  strengthen 
the  holy  purposes  entertained  by  her 
grand-daughter.  A  number  of  illustrious 
persons  came  to  Naples  to  meet  her  and 
escort  her  home.  The  Appian  way  was 
filled  with  the  gilded  carts  (carrucse)  of 
great  ladies,  and  with  the  magnificent 
carriages  and  gold-embossed  trappings 
of  the  horses  and  mules  of  nobles,  her 
relations  and  friends.  The  carrucde  used 
by  so  many  of  the  rich  Romans  were 
sometimes  of  solid  silver  or  covered 
with  silver  or  gold.  Melania,  the  object 
of  this  gorgeous  reception,  in  her  rough 
coarse  gown  on  a  poor  horse,  headed  the 
procession. 

Her  first  visit  was  to  her  nephew  or 
cousin,  St.  Paulinus  and  his  wife  TAKASIA, 
at  Nola  on  the  way  to  Rome.  She  was 
the  bearer  of  a  priceless  gift  from  the 
Patriarch  of  Jerusalem  to  Paulinus  — a 
piece  of  the  Cross  of  Christ.  After 
spending  a  short  time  with  her  family 
she  again  went  to  Africa,  and  while 
there  she  heard  of  the  death  of  Publi 
cola.  She  returned  to  Rome  and  found 
her  grandson-in-law  and  granddaughter 
so  congenial  to  her  tastes  that  she  lived 
some  years  with  them  in  Rome,  but  find 
ing  the  noise  and  the  number  of  visitors 
distracting,  not  long  before  the  Gothic 
invasion  of  Rome,  she  returned  to  Jeru 
salem  and  died  thei^,  aged  about  sixty. 

St.  Jerome  in  several  letters  calls  her 
the  holy  and  devout  Melania,  but  after 
his  quarrel  with  Rufinus,  as  she  sided 
with  her  own  friend,  he  speaks  of  her 
as  "she  whose  name  of  blackness  attests 
the  darkness  of  her  perfidy." 

It  is  often  asserted  that  the  elder 
Melania  has  never  been  placed  by  the 
Church  among  the  Saints,  partly  on 
account  of  her  sympathy  with  Origen, 
who  although  reckoned  among  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church,  is  never  styled 
Saint.  Melania  is  called  Venerable  by 
Guerin.  She  is  highly  commended  by 
St.  Augustine  and  St.  Paulinus,  and  her 


ST.   MELAXIA 


life  is  in  every  collection.  She  is  per 
haps  the  St.  Melania  commemorated 
June  8  in  a  MS.  calendar  mentioned  by 
Chiffletius  and  quoted  by  Fapebroch  and 
Assemani.  She  appears  with  her  grand 
daughter  in  the  Martyrology  of  Salixbury, 
Oct.  22,  and  in  the  Grseco  Slavonian 
Calendar,  Dec.  30. 

Same  authorities  as  MELANIA  (2). 

St.  Melania  (2)  the  Younger,  Dec. 
31,  Oct.  22,  c.  383-430.  Granddaughter 
of  MELANIA  THE  ELDER,  being  the  only 
daughter  of  her  sonPublicola,who  married 
ALBJNA  (6),  sister  of  Volusianus,  prefect  of 
Rome.  The  young  Melania  was  brought 
up  to  regard  her  grandmother  as  a  very 
holy  and  venerable  person ;  she  was 
married  at  thirteen  to  Pinian  or  Apini- 
anus,  who  was  about  seventeen.  Their 
wealth  was  prodigious ;  they  had  wn- 
mense  estates  in  Italy,  Spain,  Gaul, 
Britain,  Sicily  and  Africa.  They  had  a 
son  and  a  daughter,  both  of  whom  died 
in  infancy.  Soon  after  the  loss  of  her 
two  children,  Melania,  who  was  hardly 
more  than  a  child  herself,  fell  danger 
ously  ill.  Pinian  made  earnest  prayers 
and  vows  for  her  recovery,  which  being 
granted,  the  young  couple  dovoted  them 
selves  entirely  to  the  service  of  God, 
the  Church  and  the  poor.  It  was  at 
this  point  in  their  lives  that  the  elder 
Melania,  hearing  of  the  holy  disposi 
tions  of  her  granddaughter,  determined 
to  return  to  Rome  to  strengthen  her  in 
her  pious  resolve,  lest  other  influences 
should  hold  her  back  amid  the  interests 
of  the  great  gay  world  which  for  the 
moment  she  was  disposed  to  leave.  She 
wished  the  pair  to  separate.  This  they 
refused  to  do.  They  made  vows  of 
celibacy,  but  continued  to  live  together, 
helping  and  encouraging  each  other  in 
asceticism.  As  long  as  Publicola  lived 
he  would  not  allow  them  to  leave  Rome 
entirely  or  betake  themselves  to  the  life 
of  hermits  ;  but  they  denied  themselves 
every  luxury  and  enjoyment,  fasting  to 
excess,  making  their  house  a  refuge  for 
pilgrims  and  paupers,  visiting  the  prisons 
and  releasing  those  who  were  detained 
there  for  debt.  They  built  monasteries  ; 
they  spent  lavishly  on  churches  and 
church  ornaments  and  on  all  kinds  of 
charity,  sending  help  to  sufferers  in  Asia 


and  Africa  as  well  as  to  those  nearer 
home.  Among  the  pilgrims  who  shared 
their  hospitality  were  several  priests  and 
learned  men  from  distant  places  ;  one 
of  these  was  Pulladius,  bishop  of  Heleno- 
polis  and  author  of  the  Lnusinca  ;  his 
taste  for  asceticism  and  admiration  for 
its  votaries  drew  them  together,  and 
doubtless  had  its  influence  on  the  young 
pair,  and  he  remained  their  gnest  for 
nearly  a  year.  Pinian's  brother  and 
heir  was  seriously  alarmed  when  he  saw 
the  prodigality  with  which  the  family 
possessions  were  being  squandered.  He 
seized  upon  some  of  the  estates.  The 
Empress  Mary,  wife  of  Honorius,  having 
a  great  regard  for  Melania,  offered  to 
have  him  compelled  to  restore  the  pro 
perty  ;  but  Melania,  perhaps  seeing  some 
justice  in  his  complaint,  begged  that  he 
might  be  allowed  to  keep  what  he  had 
taken.  After  the  death  of  Publicola 
they  sold  a  great  deal  of  their  property 
in  Italy ;  they  tried  to  sell  their  palace, 
but  no  one  was  rich  enough  to  buy  it. 

About  4<>7,  Melauia,  Albina  and  Piuian 
being  free  to  follow  their  inclination,  and 
much  impressed  by  a  prophecy  that  Rome 
would  be  sacked  about  this  time,  went 
first  to  Nola  to  visit  their  kinsman  St. 
Paulinus,  whom  they  regarded  as  their 
spiritual  father,  then  to  Sicily  to  sell 
their  estates  there.  Sicily  was  much  im 
poverished  by  the  mal-admiuistration  of 
its  prefects,  and  they  found  great  need 
for  their  usual  charity.  Thence  they 
sailed  for  Carthage.  A  frightful  storm 
came  on.  Melania  thought  it  was  the 
will  of  God  that  they  should  go  some 
where  else,  and  so  she  ordered  the 
sailors  to  let  the  ship  go  wherever  the 
winds  might  drive  it.  They  came  to 
an  island,  probably  Malta,  where  they 
found  a  number  of  slaves  who  had  been 
taken  by  pirates  ;  these  they  set  free, 
and  after  bestowing  their  charity  on  all 
in  the  island  who  stood  in  need  of  it, 
they  resumed  their  voyage  to  Carthago 
with  a  favourable  wind.  Afterwards 
they  visited  Tagaste,  where  St.  Alipius, 
friend  of  St.  Augustine,  was  bishop  ;  they 
stayed  there  some  time  and  built  two 
monasteries,  one  for  men  and  the  other 
for  women.  St.  Augustine,  hearing  that 
they  wished  to  make  his  acquaintance, 


86 


ST.   MELANIA 


sent  them  a  warm  invitation.  They 
went  with  Alipius  to  Hippo  (now  Bona), 
to  visit  him.  Here  the  clergy  and  people 
rose  in  tumult  and  demanded  that  Pinian 
should  become  their  priest;  Augustine  re 
fused  to  ordain  him  against  his  will,  but 
Pinian  was  compelled  to  promise  that  he 
would  remain  at  Hippo  and  would  not 
be  ordained  in  any  other  church.  Soon 
afterwards  they  were  robbed  of  the  greater 
part  of  their  African  estates  by  Hera- 
clian,  the  rebel  count  of  Africa,  and  being 
then  very  much  poorer,  their  presence 
was  no  longer  so  eagerly  desired  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Hippo,  and  they  were  suf 
fered  to  depart. 

Melania  increased  her  austerities  and 
spent  much  of  her  time  in  reading  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  with  which  she  became 
perfectly  familiar.  She  particularly  ex 
celled  in  transcribing,  and  made  many 
copies  of  the  sacred  books.  Her  conver 
sation  was  so  edifying  that  philosophers 
sought  her  acquaintance.  Her  example 
impressed  a  number  of  young  people ; 
and  she  converted  many  heretics  and 
idolaters.  The  subject  of  slavery  at  this 
time  excited  great  compassion  amongst 
Christians,  and  many  of  them  liberated 
numbers  of  their  own  slaves  and  re 
deemed  many  captives.  Melania  is  said 
to  have  given  liberty  to  eight  thousand. 
At  last,  not  being  content  with  her 
mortifications,  she  had  a  cell  built  for 
her  so  low  that  she  could  not  stand  up 
right  in  it,  and  so  narrow  that  she  could 
hardly  turn  round.  She  had  a  little  hole 
in  the  wall  through  which  she  talked  to 
those  who  came  to  receive  her  instruc 
tions.  She  lived  for  about  a  year  in  this 
manner. 

In  417,  after  spending  seven  years  in 
Africa,  Albina,  Pinian  and  Melania  went 
to  Jerusalem.  Passing  through  Alex 
andria,  they  visited  St.  Cyril.  On  their 
arrival  in  Palestine,  they  gave  away  the 
last  of  their  riches  and  lived  henceforth 
on  what  Melania  earned  by  transcribing 
books.  Pinian  and  Melania  then  visited 
the  hermits  in  Egypt ;  but  Albina,  find 
ing  herself  unable  to  join  the  expedition, 
remained  at  Jerusalem.  She  built  a  her 
mitage  for  her  daughter  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives ;  Melania,  on  her  return  shut  her 
self  up  there,  only  receiving  visits  once 


a  week  from  her  mother,  husband,  and 
a  cousin,  probably  AVITA  (2),  whom  she 
had  induced  to  follow  her  example.  Here 
she  remained  fourteen  years,  but  on  the 
death  of  her  mother  in  433,  she  retired 
to  another  cell  more  secluded  dnd  more 
uncomfortable.  Here  she  passed  a  year. 
She  could  not  prevent  the  fame  of  her 
sanctity  from  attracting  a  number  of  ad 
miring  imitators,  so  that  she  was  obliged 
to  build  a  monastery,  into  which  she 
received  ninety  virgins  and  a  great 
number  of  women  who  wished  to  re 
nounce  the  vanities  of  the  world.  She 
prescribed  rules  of  heavenly  wisdom  for 
the  guidance  of  her  community,  but 
absolutely  refused  to  take  any  authority 
of  precedence  over  them.  St.  Pinian 
died  about  this  time  (435),  and  she  wished 
to  build  another  monastery  for  men  in 
his  honour  that  she  might  be  useful  not 
only  to  her  own  sex.  She  had  no  money 
but  holy  persons  provided  what  was 
needful. 

About  437  her  uncle  Volusianus  was 
at  Constantinople,  whither  he  had  been 
sent  by  Valentinian  III.  to  negotiate  his 
marriage  to  Eudocia,  the  only  daughter 
of  Theodosius  II.  Volusianus  had  dis 
cussed  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  with 
St.  Augustine,  but  had  never  definitely 
accepted  them.  His  sister  Albina  (6) 
and  her  family  had  tried  to  influence 
him,  and  he  had  been  almost  per 
suaded  to  be  a  Christian.  He  was 
growing  old  and  in  failing  health.  He 
sent  an  urgent  invitation  to  his  niece 
Melania  to  come  to  him.  She  went  and 
was  received  with  great  consideration 
and  lodged  in  one  of  the  palaces,  as  a 
relation  of  the  imperial  family  and  a 
person  deserving  of  the  highest  respect 
for  her  virtues  and  piety.  During  her 
residence  there  she  awoke  in  the  Empress 
Eudoxia  a  desire  for  the  life  of  devotion 
and  proximity  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre 
which  made  the  joy  of  Melaiiia's  own 
life.  She  found  Volusianus  very  ill 
and  longing  for  her  gentle  presence  and 
consolation.  She  had  the  happiness  of 
leading  him  to  complete  conversion, 
and  in  this  she  was  much  assisted  by  the 
holy  patriarch  Proclus,  of  whom  Volu 
sianus  said  that  if  there  were  three  such 
men,  paganism  would  cease  to  exist. 


ST.   MEXADINA 


87 


Proclus   baptized   him,  and   he   died  a 
Christian. 

Melania  then  returned  to  Jerusalem. 
Before  very  long  the  Empress  Eudoxia 
followed  her  ;  she  fell  ill  and  was  cured 
by  Melania.  In  439,  Melania  went  from 
her  convent  in  Jerusalem  to  spend 
Christmas  Day  at  the  Holy  Crib  at  Beth 
lehem.  There  she  took  a  chill,  and  on 
her  return  became  very  ill.  Many  monks 
and  holy  persons  came  to  see  her  and 
hear  her  last  words.  She  died  on  the 
last  day  of  that  year. 

R.M.,  Dec.  3 1 .  Mart,  of  Salislury, 
Oct.  22.  Greek  Meneas.  Baillet.  PJba- 
deneira.  Lecky,  Morals  of  Europe.  Gre- 
gorovius,  Aihenais. 

St.  Melari,  NONNA,  mother  of  St. 
David. 

St.  Meld,  MELLA. 

St.  Melechilde,  MENEHOULD. 

St.  Melitina,  Sept.  15,  M.  2nd  or 
3rd  century.  She  was  found  preaching, 
and  having  confessed  that  she  was  a 
Christian,  she  was  beaten,  then  led  to 
the  temple  to  sacrifice ;  but  the  idol  fell 
down  and  was  broken,  in  answer  to  her 
prayers.  In  consequence  of  this,  many 
of  the  spectators  were  converted,  among 
them  the  wife  of  the  Governor.  Meli 
tina  was  again  scourged,  and  after  being 
imprisoned  for  some  time  and  horribly 
tortured  and  insulted,  she  was  led  back 
to  the  temple.  Again  the  idols  fell  down 
and  were  broken.  She  was  then  be 
headed  at  Marcianopolis  in  Thrace.  A 
good  man  of  Macedonia,  named  Acacius, 
begged  to  have  her  body  to  take  to  his 
own  country ;  he  died  at  sea,  and  the 
sailors  buried  the  two  corpses  at  the 
island  of  Lemnos.  EM.  AA.SS. 
Menology  of  Basil. 

St.  Meila,  MELD,  or  MELLE,  March  9, 
31,  Gth  or  8th  century.  Abbess  of  Doire 
Melle,  i.e.  the  oak  grove  of  Melle.  She 
was  of  the  family  of  Macgnai  or  Macnae, 
and  was  mother  of  two  saints,  Cannech 
or  Kenneth  a  priest,  one  of  the  great 
Irish  saints,  and  Tigernach  an  abbot. 
On  the  death  of  her  husband,  Tiger 
nach  resigned  to  her  his  monastery  on 
Lough  Melve  or  Melge  in  Leitrim.  She 
there  collected  a  number  of  pious  women 
whom  she  governed  for  many  years,  ac 
cording  to  Colgaii,  in  the  8th  century. 


Another  MELLA  was  mother  of  St.  Abban 
and  sister  of  St.  Coemgin,  early  in  the 
Gth  century ;  and  there  was  a  St.  Mel,  a 
man,  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick.    Lanigau. 
Colgan.     Forbes.     Mart.  <>f  Tallaght. 
St.  Melosa,  Juno  1,M.  with  ACCEOA. 
St.  Mema,  MEMMA  (1),  Jan.  21  or 
24,  M.     AA.SS. 

^  B.  Memalia,  May  13,  22,  sister  of 
St.  Servais,  tenth  bishop  of  Tongres. 
Chron.  of  Baldwin  of  Ninove.  Chroii. 
Beiges. 

St.  Meme,  May  7,  V.  M.  Under  this 
name  MAXIMA  (f>j  is  honoured  at  Dour- 
dan  near  Paris.  Cahier. 

St.  Memesse,  V.  mentioned  by 
Jocelin.  Guerin.  Perhaps  MAXIMA. 

St.  Memma  (1)  or  MEMA,  Jan.  21 
or  24,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Memma  (2)  or  MEMMIA,  Oct.  17, 
M.  in  Mauritania,  probably  304.  AA.SS. 
St.  Memma  (3),  V.  In  1243,  on 
the  4th  of  the  Kalends  of  June  (May 
29),  the  church  of  St.  Memma  the  Vir 
gin  was  dedicated,  at  Sconin,  by  the 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrews.  Bishop  Forbes 
says  she  is  perhaps  HODWENNA.  Cosmo 
Innes,  Lectures  on  Scotch  Legal  Antiqui 
ties,  "Register  of  the  Priory  of  St. 
Andrews." 

St.  Memmea,  MAMEA  or  MAMMEA, 
Oct.  9,  M.  Queen.  Mother  of  the  Em 
peror  Alexander.  AAJSS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Memmia  (1),  Aug.  8,  March  10, 

M.  3(J3,  with  JULIANA  (G ),  CYKIACIDE  and 

DOXATA,  disciples  of  St.  Cyriacus,  deacon. 

Memmia  and  Juliana  were  put  to  death 

at   Rome   by  their   affianced   husbandly 

Tarpeius  and  Persius,  because  they  would 

neither  be  married  to  them  nor  sacrifice 

to  the   gods.      Their   faithful   servants 

Largus  and  Smaragdus  shared  their  fate. 

Then  Tarpeius  and  Persius  were  afraid 

that  Cyriacus  would   have   their  crime 

punished  as  it  deserved,  so  they  lay  in 

wait   for   him  and   beat   him  to  dea'h. 

These  martyrs  were  among  those  buried 

bySx.LuciNA.   AA.SS.   Butler.  Baillet. 

St.  Memmia  (2),  NIMOMA. 

St.  Memmia  (3;  or  MEMMA,  Oct.  17, 

M.  in  Mauritania,  probably  304.    AA.SS. 

St.  Memmia  (4).    (See  SOTERIS  (2).) 

St.  Memoe  or  MKMOIE,  NEOMADIA. 

St.    Menadina,   May  20.    Guerin. 

Perhaps  same  as  MINDINIA. 


88 


ST.   MENEHOULD 


St.  Menehould,  MAGENHILD,  MANE- 
CHILD,  MANEHILD,  MANEHOULD,  MATILDA, 
MELECHILDE,  MENEHILD,  MENEHOU,  or 
MENOU,  Oct.  14.  5tli  or  6th  century. 
Menehould  is  patron  of  Orgonne  or 
Argonne,  and  of  a  little  town  called  by 
her  name.  She  was  the  youngest  of  the 
seven  sainted  daughters  of  Sigmar.  Ca- 
hier.  Baillet.  Collin  de  Plancy.  Com 
pare  with  SS.  LUTRUDE,  HOYLDA,  etc. 
Menehould  may  signify  MENXA  and 
HOULD. 

St.  Menifride,  MINVER. 
St.  Menna  or  MANNA  is  mentioned 
in  a  Litany  used  in  England  in  the  7th 
century.     Mabillon,  Vetera  Anal  <  eta. 

SS.    Menodora,   Metrodora  and 
Nymphodora,    Sept.    10,  VY.    MM. 
They  were  very   beautiful    sisters    who 
lived  as  recluses  in  a  tumulus  at  Pythiis, 
where    there    are    hot   springs.       Many 
persons   resorted    to    the    saints,    to    be 
cured  of  diseases  and  evil  spirits  and  to 
be  edified  by  their  conversation.     Fronto, 
the  assessor  of  Maximian,  sent  for  them, 
and  after  the  usual  threats  and  bribes, 
finding  they  were  devoted  to  each  other 
and  willing  to  suffer  martyrdom  together, 
he  had  the  two  youngest  led  away  and 
had  Menodora  beaten  to  death  by  four 
lictors,  who   from  time  to  time  advised 
her  to  givo  way  and  accept  the  clemency 
of  the  assessor.    .She  neither  winced  nor 
uttered  a  cry,  until  finding  her  life  de 
parting,  she  called  out  to  her  Saviour  to 
receive  her,  and   so   died.     After   four 
days  Metrodora  and  Nymphodora  were 
brought  again  before  Fronto.     He   or 
dered  the  naked  and  disfigured  corpse  of 
their  sister  to  be  laid  at  their  feet.     In 
stead   of  being  frightened   or   grieved, 
they  rejoiced  as  if  they  had  come  to  their 
sister's  bridal,  knowing  that  she  was  a 
martyr  and  that  they  would  soon  share 
that   honour   with    her.      Nevertheless, 
Fronto  still  hoped  to  persuade  them  to 
abjure  their  religion,  telling  them  that  if 
they  would  sacrifice,  he  would  instantly 
write  to  the  Emperor,  who  would  endow 
them  with  riches  and  find  them  husbands 
worthy  of  their   beauty.     As    they  re 
mained  firm,  Metrodora  and   Nympho 
dora  were  tortured  for  some  hours  and 
finally  broken   and   crushed    with    iron 
bars. 


A  Greek  hymn,  addressed  to  these 
holy  martyrs  for  the  day  of  their  fete, 
says,  "  Therefore,  0  Martyrs,  you  were 
admitted  with  the  five  virgins  into  the 
nuptial  chamber  in  heaven,  and  you 
remain  constantly  before  the  King  of 
kings  with  the  angels." 

H.M.  Pitzipios,  Eglise  oriental e.  Men. 
Basilii.  AA.SS.  Metaphrastes. 
St.  Menoil,  MENEHOULD. 
St.  Mera,  July  20,  V.  said  to  have 
suffered  martyrdom  at  Auscios  in  Spain. 
A  church  at  Lectora  in  Aquitaine  is 
named  after  her.  She  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  older  Martyrologies,  but  in  the 
Breviary  of  the  Auscitanian  Church, 
printed  1533.  AA.SS.  Probably  same 
as  MAYRA. 

St.  Meraele  or  EMRAILA,  Jan.  9,  M. 
in  Ethiopia.     Cahier.     Guerin. 
St.  Mercuria.     (See  AMMONAEIA.) 
Ste.  Mere.     In  Guienne   the  name 
of  a  man    St.  Eniere  is  corrupted  into 
Ste.  Mere.     Chastelain,  Voc.  Hag.    Com 
pare  with  MERA. 

St.  Merence,  EMERENTIANA.  Guerin. 
St.  Meretia,  MEGETIA. 
St.  Merewenna,  MERWIN. 
St.   Merita  (1)   or    EMERTTA.     (See 
DIGNA  and  MERITA.) 

St.  Merita  (2),  Aug.  20  (MARETA  or 
MARTHA),  eldest  daughter  of  BRIGID  (19) 
of  Sweden  and  sister  of  CATHERINE  (4) 
of  Sweden.  Married  and  had  children 
and  died  in  Norway.  Vastovius. 

St.  Mermina,  Oct.  29,  Abbess. 
Guerin. 

St.  Merofleta,  Jan  16,  Y.    AA.SS., 
Prseter. 
SS.  Merona,  Sodepha,  Rodofia 

(EODAFIA,    EODOLIA,    EODOSIA,    EoDASIA), 

July  5,  MM.  at  Tomis  in  Scythia.  AA.SS. 
The  EM.  calls  the  Martyrs  of  Tomis 
in  Scythia,  Marinus,  Theodotus,  and 
SEDOPHA. 

St.  Merpwyn,  Feb.  10,  Y.  "in 
the  territory  of  Eone."  Mart,  of  Salis 
bury.  Perhaps  same  as  MERWIN  (2). 

St.  Merryn,  MERWIN  (1). 

St.  Meruvina,  MERWIN. 

St.  Merwin  (1)  or  MERRYN.  Same 
as,  or  sister  of  MORWENNA. 

St.  Merwin  (2),  April  27,  May  13, 
Oct.  29  (MAREWYNNA,  MERUVINA,  MER- 
WINNA,  perhaps  MERPWYN),  Y.  Abbess 


B.    MIC  1 1  KM  N  A 


SO 


4-  c.  070.  Appointed,  about  007,  by 
King  Edgar  tbe  Pacific,  abbess  of  a 
convent  at  Romsey,  founded  by  his 
grandfather  Edward  the  Elder.  ELFLKDA 
(3)  was  her  pupil;  they  are  com 
memorated  together,  Oct.  20.  AA.SS. 
Wilson,  Eng.  Mart.  May  1  3.  Bucelinus, 
April  27. 

St.  Messalina,  Jan.  23,  V.  M.  c. 
254,  a  native  of  Foligno,  and  pupil  of 
St.  Felician.  When  she  was  about 
eighteen,  the  Emperor  Decius  came  to 
Foligno  on  his  way  to  Rome,  for  his 
triumph  after  the  victory  over  the  Modes 
and  Persians.  Charmed  with  the  beauty 
of  the  place  and  the  richness  of  the 
surrounding  country,  he  tarried  there 
awhile.  During  that  time  he  heard  that 
Felician  led  away  many,  not  only  at 
Foligno  but  in  all  parts  of  Italy,  to 
renounce  the  worship  of  evil  spirits  and 
idols  and  become  followers  of  the  One 
God.  Deeitis  cast  Felician  into  prison, 
and  ordered  that  no  one  should  visit 
him  or  bring  him  food,  on  pain  of 
torture  and  death.  No  one  dared  to 
succour  him  except  Messalina,  who 
showed  her  gratitude  to  her  master  by 
ministering  to  his  wants,  counting  it 
gain  if  she  should  lose  her  life  in  his 
service.  She  prayed  in  the  church  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist  (which  Felician 
had  built)  for  courage  and  strength,  that 
her  tender  years  and  her  sex  and  her 
small  strength  might  not  prevent  her 
carrying  out  her  pious  intention.  She 
went  daily  to  the  prison,  and  managed 
to  obtain  access  to  the  holy  man.  She 
envied  him  the  chains  he  wore  for 
Christ's  sake,  and  fortified  with  his 
blessing,  she  dedicated  herself  to  God, 
hoping  to  be  found  worthy  to  be 
numbered  among  the  martyrs.  Very 
soon  she  was  caught  by  the  gaolers 
in  the  act  of  carrying  food  to  their 
prisoner.  At  first  they  offered  to  let 
her  go  in  consideration  of  her  youth, 
provided  she  would  renounce  her  re 
ligion;  but  as  she  bravely  refused  to  do  so, 
they  beat  her  to  death.  The  Christians 
took  her  and  buried  her  in  the  church 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  afterwards  called 
the  Cathedral  of  St.  Felician.  AA.SS. 

St.  Messence,  MAXENTIA,  Nov.  20. 

St.   Metrodora,  Aug.  8,  Sept.    in, 


V.   M.   at   Nicomedia.      B.Jf.     AA.SS. 
Guerin. 

St.  Metrona,  April  20,  M.  at  Peru 
gia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Meuris,  Dec.  10,  M.  250.  A 
holy  woman  of  Gaza,  tortured  with  ST. 
THKA,  in  the  persecution  under  Decius. 
Meuris  died  in  the  hands  of  the  tor 
mentors,  but  Thoa  lived  in  prison  tome 
time  afterwards.  Their  relics  were 
deposited  in  the  church  of  St.  Timothy 
at  Constantinople.  It  has  been  sup 
posed  that  Meuris  is  MAURA  (2),  and 
that  Thea  is  St.  Thea,  companion  of  St. 
Valentine,  the  relics  of  all  of  whom  may 
have  been  transported  to  Gaza,  and  after 
wards  to  Constantinople.  A  St.  Timothy 
was  martyred  at  Gaza  3<>4,  and  a  church 
in  his  name  was  there  in  the  4th  century. 
E.M.  Butler,  "St.  Nemesion,"  from  a 
Life  of  St.  Porphyry  of  Gaza,  written 
in  the  4th  century. 

St.  Mica,  June  16,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJ3S. 

St.  Micca,  Jan.  17,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJ3S. 

B.  Michele  of  Fiesole  had  the  reve 
lation  of  the  Corona  del  Signore,  which 
the  Church  has  so  liberally  indulgencecl. 
Faber,  Essay  on  Lives  of  the  Saints. 

B.  Michelle,  MICHKLINA. 

B.  Michelina  or  Mi<  H^LINA,  in 
French  MICHELLE.  Jnne  10,  widow, 
O.S.F.,  +  1350.  Patron  of  Pesaro  in 
Urbino. 

Michelina  was  born  in  1:510,  of  a 
wealthy  family  in  Pesaro,  where  the 
women  are  famed  for  their  beauty.  She 
married  in  1328  and  had  one  son. 
became  a  widow  at  the  age  of  twenty, 
having  been  married  eight  years.  At 
that  time  (about  1330)  a  good  and 
religious  woman,  a  member  of  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Francis,  came  as  a  pilgrim 
to  Pesaro.  She  called  herself  Syriaiw, 
and  was  probably  a  native  of  Syria,  or 
one  who  had  long  been  in  that  country, 
and  who,  having  renounced  earthly  re 
lationships,  wished  ttMConceal  her  name. 
She  devoted  herself  to  works  of  piety, 
begging  her  bread  from  door  to  door  m 
the  town.  She  would  then  pass  the 
night  in  the  house  of  some  charitable 
person,  arising  at  midnight  for  prayer 
and  meditation,  and  while  praying  very 


90 


ST.   MIDA 


earnestly,  she  was  sometimes  seen  to  be 
miraculously  raised  from  the  earth.  One 
day,  when  Syriana  was  begging  as  usual, 
she  accepted  the  hospitality  of  the  young 
widow  Michelina,  and  as  she  prayed, 
her  hostess  was  deeply  impressed  by 
seeing  her  repeatedly  suspended  above 
the  earth. 

On  the  feast  of  Pentecost,  Michelina 
observed  that  her  guest  remained  pray 
ing  with  her  eyes  fixed  on  heaven,  and 
as  she  forgot  to  take  her  food,  she  said 
to  her,  "  Why  do  you  not  eat  to-day  ? 
This  is  a  feast  day ;  it  is  not  right  to 
fast."  Syriana  replied,  "  Oh  !  Miche 
lina,  if  you  could  only  taste  for  a  little 
while  the  gifts  of  God,  the  things  of  the 
world  would  appear  bitter  to  you.  You 
would  despise  them  and  study  more 
how  to  please  God  and  to  receive  a 
crown  in  paradise  when  this  life  is 
over."  Michelina  answered  that  this 
talk  was  all  nonsense,  and  showing  the 
box  in  which  her  money  and  jewels 
were  kept,  added,  "Paradise  lies  in 
these  things.  I  never  saw  any  one  come 
back  from  the  dead  to  persuade  me  of 
the  truth  of  what  you  say."  Syriana 
said  so  much  to  her  of  the  vanity  of 
earthly  things,  that  at  last  Michelina 
said  that  but  for  the  love  of  her  child, 
she  could  renounce  the  world  and  her 
riches  and  give  herself  entirely  to  the 
service  of  God.  Syriana  proposed  that 
they  should  pray  to  God  that  the  boy 
should  live  if  it  were  best,  and  that 
if  not,  he  should  die.  They  went  to 
gether  to  St.  Francis's  church  and 
prayed  before  the  crucifix,  until  they 
heard  a  voice  from  the  image  of  Christ, 
saying  to  Michelina,  "I  will  %t  thy 
son  be  with  Me  in  paradise,  and  thus 
I  set  thee  free  from  the  love  of  him  ;  go 
in  peace."  Michelina  went  home,  much 
frightened,  and  hastened  to  her  child's 
room,  where  she  had  left  him  sleeping. 
Here  she  saw  two  shining  angels,  carry 
ing  his  innocent  soul  to  heaven.  She 
took  his  lifeless  body  in  her  arms  and 
said  to  herself,  "  What  dost  thou  hope 
for  in  this  world,  Michelina?"  Then, 
by  the  advice  of  her  friend  Syriana,  she 
took  the  habit  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis  and  gave  all  her  wealth  to  the 
poor.  Her  relations  were  very  angry, 


but  Christ  told  her  that  all  she  had 
done  for  the  poor  was  done  for  Him. 
She  begged  from  door  to  door,  and  was 
often  sent  away  with  rude  and  abusive 
words.  She  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Jeru 
salem,  and  during  a  storm  on  the  way 
home  she  saved  the  ship  by  her  prayers. 
She  cured  with  a  kiss  a  leper  whom  no 
one  else  dared  to  approach. 

In  the  early  days  of  her  conversion, 
she  was  seized  with  a  great  longing  for 
some  roast  pork.  As  she  was  accus 
tomed  to  good  living,  she  begged  some 
of  a  rich  neighbour,  who  willingly 
bought  it  for  her  as  she  could  not  get 
it  for  herself.  While  it  was  roasting, 
she  smelt  it  and  began  to  enjoy  it  in 
anticipation  ;  but  all  at  once,  remember 
ing  the  life  of  self-denial  on  which  she 
had  entered,  she  resolved  not  to  turn 
back  to  sensual  pleasures,  so  when  it 
was  ready  and  the  maid  called  her  to  eat 
it,  instead  of  going  to  the  dining-room, 
she  went  to  her  own  room  and  beat 
herself  with  an  iron  chain  until  the 
blood  ran  down,  reviling  herself  for 
her  sensuality  and  saying  with  each 
blow,  "  Dost  thou  still  want  roast  pork, 
Michelina  ?  Oh !  sinner,  dost  thou 
want  any  more  roast  pork  ?  "  The  vice 
of  gluttony  then  departed  from  her  for 
ever.  She  died  at  the  age  of  forty,  and 
many  cures  were  wrought  at  her  tomb. 

Syriana  is  never  heard  of  from  the 
time  she  procured  the  conversion  of 
Michelina,  and  is  therefore  believed 
by  some  to  have  been  an  angel  in  the 
guise  of  a  pilgrim,  and  is,  by  Arturus, 
called  Blessed,  and  commemorated  Dec. 
;n.  A.E.M.  Papebroch  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Mida,  ITA  (1). 

St.  Midabaria,  Feb.  15,  22  or  23, 
sister  of  St.  Fintan,  afterwards  called 
Berach,  abbot  and  bishop  of  Glendalough 
in  the  ancient  Irish  Church.  Date 
uncertain,  perhaps  6th  century.  AA.SS. 
Colgan. 

St.  Midhnat,  Nov.  18,  Y.  of  Cill 
Liuchaine,  now  Killucan  in  West  Meath. 
Possibly  the  same  as  MEDANA  (1).  Forbes. 

St.  Mietia,  July  16,  appears  in  the 
Mart.  Augustanum.  AA.SS. 

St.  Migdonia  or  MYGDONIA,  May  27. 
1  st  century.  One  of  the  converts  of  St. 
Thomas  in  India.  She  was  the  wife  of 


ST.    M1GDOMA 


Karish,  a  kinsman  of  Mazdai  the  king. 
She  was  very  beautiful,  possessed  of  great 
wealth  and  of  greater  ability  than  her 
husband.      Hearing   of  the   miraculous 
actions  and  the  wonderful  teaching  of 
the  apostle,  she  went  in  her  palauquin, 
amongst  the  multitude,  "  to  see  the  new 
sight  of  the  new  God  who  was  preached 
and  the  new  apostle  who  was  come  to  their 
country."     She  could  not  get  near  the 
preacher  at  first,  on  account  of  the  dense 
crowd,  but  having  sent  to  her  husband 
for   more  servants,  at   last,  by  dint   of 
trampling  down  and    beating  back  the 
people,  they  carried  her  to  St.  Thomas. 
He  protested  against  this  ill-treatment 
of  the  people,  and  she  alighted  from  her 
palanquin  and  threw  herself  at  his  feet, 
thinking  that  he  was  the  Lord  Jesus  of 
Whom  he  had  been  speaking.     She  was 
inspired  with  the  desire  to  lead  a  new 
and  holy  life,  and  she  went  daily  to  hear 
him  and  lost  all   taste  for  her  former 
occupations.  Karish  was  much  distressed 
by   the  change,  which  undermined   his 
influence  over  her,  but  he  seems  to  have 
treated  her  with  great  forbearance  and 
kindness,   affectionately   entreating    her 
not  to  leave  his  society  and  go  after  this 
strange  man  whom  he  considered  as  a 
sorcerer.      Mazdai  and   Karish   had   St. 
Thomas  arrested  and  beaten,  but  he  sang 
in  the  prison  and  Migdonia  went  with 
Narkia,  her  nurse,  and  bribed  the  gaolers 
to  let  her  visit  him  there.     Treptia,  the 
wife  of  King  Mazdai,  remonstrated  with 
Migdonia,  characterizing  her  conduct  as 
unworthy  of  her  free  birth ;  but  Migdonia 
reasoned  with  her  so  well  that  she  went 
away  half  converted.     Migdonia  begged 
Narkia  to  bring  with  her  one  whole  loaf 
of  bread,  a  mingled  draught  of  wine  and 
water  and  a  little  oil,  "  even  if  it  be  but 
in  a  lamp."     But  as  they  were  setting 
out,  they  met  St.  Thomas,  who  had  been 
miraculously   released   from   prison   on 
her  account.     The  apostle  anointed  her 
head  with  the  oil.     He  baptized  her  "  in 
the  basin  of  the  conduit,"  and  after  that 
he  let  her  partake  of  the  table  of  the 
Messiah  and  of  the  cup  of  the  Son  of 
God.      Narkia   also  was   baptized,  and 
the  apostle  having  given  them  his  bless 
ing,   returned   to  his    prison,  where  he 
found  the  doors  open  and  the  watchmen 


asleep.     In    the   morning   Karish   went 
to  see  what  Migdonia  was  doing,  and 
found  her  and  Narkia  praying  and  Ray 
ing,  "  New  God,  Who  hast  come  hither 
by  a  strange  man,  Who  art  hidden  from 
all   the   Indians  .  .  .  save   us  from  the 
anger  of  Karish  ;  stop  his  lying  month 
and  cast  him  beneath  the  feet  of  Thy 
believers."     Karish,  although   naturally 
annoyed    on   hearing   this   prayer,   still 
tried    the    tenderest    persuasions  ;    but 
when    she    had    lectured    him   and    had 
again  utterly  refused  to  return  to  con 
jugal    life,   he   went   to    the    king   and 
together   they  visited   St.  Thomas   and 
entreated  him  to  remove  his  spells  from 
Migdonia,  threatening  him   with  death 
in  case  he  did  not  do  so ;  but  Thomas 
only  went  to  his  other  converts  and  bap 
tized  and  strengthened  them.     The  king 
related  the  whole  affair  to  his  wife,  and 
she  went  to  her   friend   Migdonia  and 
found  her  sitting  on  the  ground  in  sack 
cloth  and  ashes,  praying  for  forgiveness 
of  all  her  sins  and  a  speedy  release  from 
this  world.     Treptia  reproached  her  and 
affectionately  begged  her  to  consider  her 
family  and  have  pity  on  her  husband. 
Migdonia,  however,  explained  the  matter 
so  well   to   her  friend   that  the  queen 
became   a   convert.      Vizan,   the   king's 
son,  was   converted  also,  and   his  wife 
Manashar,    who   had    been    a    helpless 
invalid  for  six  or  seven  years,  was  cured 
and   joined   the    Christians.     When  I 
Thomas  had  anointed  and  baptized  and 
communicated  them,  he  gave  them  all  his 
final  exhortation  and  blessing.     Return 
ing  to  the  prison,  he  found  the  ioldieri 
waiting  to  put  him  to  death,  and  told 
them   to  fulfil    the   commands   of  their 
master.     Then   they  all  struck  him  at 
once  and  he  fell  down  and  died.    Mazdai 
and  Karish  brought  home  their  wives, 
Treptia  and  Migdonia,  and  afflicted  them 
much  ;  but,  encouraged  by  the  apparition 
of  Thomas  in  a  dream,  they  persevered 
in  their  new  course,  and  their  husbands 
seeing  that  they  would  not  be  persuaded, 
left  them   to  walk   in   their   own  way. 
Long   after   these   events,   Mazdai   also 
believed  in  Christ  and  St.  Thomas. 

Apocryphal  Acts  of  Judas  Thomas  (or 
the  Twin),  translated  from  Syriac  MS. 
bv  Dr.  W.  Wright.  St.  Thomas  is  calle 


92 


ST.   MIGENA 


Judas  and  Thomas  indifferently  through 
out  the  Acts. 

The  Bollandists  found  the  translation 
of  Migdonia  entered  on  May  27  in  an 
old  martyrology,  with  notes  by  a  Car 
thusian  monk  at  Brussels,  but  not  know 
ing  who  she  was,  they  placed  her  among 
the  prsetermissi. 

St.  Migena,  MEGETIA. 
St.  Migetius,  MEGETIA. 
St.  Migina,  MAGGINA. 
St.  Milada,  MLADA. 
St.    Milburga,    or    MILDBURGA    or 
WINBUHG,  Feb.  23,   +   722.     Abbess  of 
Wenlock.     Daughter  of  ERMENBURGA  or 
DOMNEVA,  abbess  of  Minster.     Sister  of 
MILDRED  and  MILGITHA. 

Milburga  was  consecrated  abbess  of 
the  monastery  of  Wenlock,  on  the  bor 
ders  of  Wales,  by  Archbishop  Theodore, 
its  founder.  A  neighbouring  prince  at 
tempted  to  compel  her  to  become  his 
wife,  and  with  that  intent  pursued  her 
with  an  armed  force.  She  fled  across  a 
river,  which  at  once  rose  into  an  impass 
able  flood  and  discouraged  her  pursuers. 
A  poor  widow  came  to  her  in  her 
oratory,  bringing  the  body  of  her  little 
dead  son.  Throwing  herself  at  the  feet 
of  the  abbess,  she  besought  her  to  raise 
the  child  to  life.  Milburga  said,  "  You 
must  be  mad !  how  can  I  raise  your 
child  ?  Go  and  bury  him,  and  submit 
to  the  bereavement  sent  you  by  God." 
"  No,"  said  the  sorrowing  mother,  "  I 
will  not  leave  you  till  you  give  me  back 
my  son."  The  abbess  prayed  over  the 
little  corpse,  and  while  doing  so,  she 
suddenly  appeared  to  the  poor  suppli 
cant  to  be  raised  from  earth  and  sur 
rounded  by  lovely  flames — the  living 
emblem  of  the  fervour  of  her  prayer.  In 
a  few  minutes  the  child  recovered. 

Milburga's  monastery  was  destroyed 
by  the  Danes  ;  but  in  the  twelfth  century 
it  was  rebuilt  and  inhabited  by  Cluniac 
monks.  » 

EM.     Montalembert,    Monks    of   the 
West.     Lechner. 
St.  Mildgyda,  MILGITHA. 
St.    Mildred,   July   13,  also   called 

MlLDRADA,  MlLDRITHA,  MlLDTHRYTHA,  and 

by  modern  peasants  OLD  DAME  MIL.  7th 
and  8th  century.  V.  abbess  of  Minster  or 
Menstrey  in  Thanet.  Patron  of  Tenterden. 


Represented  in  an  old  calendar  carry 
ing  a  church  in  her  left  hand ;  at  her 
right  side  walk  three  geese.  Protector 
against  damage  by  wild  geese.  Daughter 
of  Merowald,  a  prince  of  Mercia,  and 
ERMENBURGA  or  DOMNEVA.  Sister  of 
MILBURGA  and  MILGITHA,  and  related  to 
several  of  the  other  famous  English 
sainted  princesses  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
period.  Her  mother  sent  her  to  be 
educated  at  Chelles  in  France  (founded 
by  ST.  BATHILDE),  where  many  English 
ladies  were  trained  to  a  saintly  life. 
A  story  of  Mildred's  school  days  at 
Chelles  is  recorded  in  Britannia  Sancta, 
on  the  authority  of  Capgrave,  Legenda 
Anglia. 

A  young  nobleman,  related  to  the 
abbess,  entreated  her  to  arrange  that  he 
might  marry  this  English  princess.  The 
abbess  tried  to  persuade  her,  but  Mildred 
said  her  mother  had  sent  her  there  to  be 
taught,  not  to  be  married,  and  all  the 
abbess's  advice,  threats  and  blows  failed 
to  persuade  her  to  accept  the  alliance 
offered  to  her.  Montalembert  remarks 
that  this  part  of  the  story  is  too  different 
from  all  other  such  narratives  not  to 
have  some  foundation  in  truth.  At  last 
the  abbess  shut  her  up  in  an  oven  in 
which  she  had  made  a  great  fire ;  but 
after  three  hours,  when  she  expected  to 
find  not  only  her  flesh  but  her  very 
bones  burnt  to  ashes,  the  young  saint 
came  out  unhurt  and  radiant  with  joy 
and  beauty.  The  faithful,  hearing  of 
the  miracle,  venerated  Mildred  as  a 
saint;  but  the  abbess,  more  infuriated 
than  ever,  threw  her  on  the  ground,  beat, 
kicked  and  scratched  her  and  tore  out 
a  handful  of  her  hair.  Mildred  found 
means  to  send  her  mother  a  letter,  en 
closing  some  of  her  hair,  torn  from  her 
head  by  the  violence  of  the  abbess. 
Ermenburga  sent  ships  to  fetch  her 
daughter.  The  abbess,  fearing  that  her 
evil  deeds  should  be  made  known,  would 
on  no  account  give  permission  for  her 
departure.  Mildred,  however,  fled  by 
night,  but  having  in  her  haste  forgotten 
some  ecclesiastical  vestments  and  a  nail 
of  the  cross  of  Christ,  which  she  valued 
extremely,  she  went  back  for  them  and 
brought  them  safely  away.  When  she 
got  to  England  she  landed  at  Ebbsfleet, 


MITILA 


where  she  found  a  great  square  stone 
miraculously  prepared  for  her  to  step 
on  from  the  ship.  The  stone  received 
and  retained  the  mark  of  her  foot  and 
was  afterwards  removed  to  the  Abbey  of 
Menstrey  and  kept  there  in  memory  of 
her,  and  many  diseases  were  cured  for 
centuries  after,  by  water  containing  a 
little  dust  from  this  stone.  It  was  often 
removed  from  its  first  situation  and 
always  came  back,  until  an  oratory  was 
built  for  it. 

With  her  mother's  consent,  Mildred 
was  consecrated  Abbess  of  Menstrey,  by 
Theodore,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who 
gave  the  sacred  veil,  at  the  same  time,  to 
seventy  nuns. 

On  St.  Ermenburga's  death,  Mildred 
succeeded  her  in  the  government  of 
the  community,  to  whom  she  set  a  holy 
example  and  by  whom  she  was  much 
beloved.  It  is  recorded  that  one  night, 
while  she  was  praying  in  the  church  of 
her  monastery,  the  devil  blew  out  her 
candle,  but  an  angel  drove  him  away 
and  relighted  it  for  her.  This  incident 
is  recorded  of  ST.  GENEVIEVE  of  Paris 
and  other  saints. 

Mildred  died  of  a  lingering  and  pain 
ful  complaint  and  was  succeeded  by  ST. 
EDBUEGA  (5),  who  died  about  759.  The 
death  of  Mildred  must  be  placed  some 
years  before  that. 

During  the  rule  of  Edburga  it  hap 
pened  that  the  bell-ringer  fell  asleep 
before  the  altar.  The  departed  Mildred 
awoke  him  with  a  box  on  the  ear,  ex 
claiming,  "This  is  the  oratory,  not  the 
dormitory ! " 

She  continued  to  be  an  extremely  popu 
lar  saint,  eclipsing,  says  the  Count  de 
Montalembert,  the  fame  of  St.  Augustine, 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  her 
monastery,  where  the  place  that  used  to 
be  proudly  pointed  out  as  that  of  his 
landing,  came  to  be  better  known  as  "St. 
Mildred's  Eock."  Miss  Arnold-Forster 
says  that  Mildred  had  more  influence 
than  any  other  English  saint.  In  1033, 
St.  Mildred  was  translated  to  St.  Augus 
tine's  at  Canterbury.  She  is  honoured 
as  an  English  nun  at  Deventer  in  Hol 
land,  July  17;  but  her  day  in  England 
is  July  13. 

AA.SS.,  Hrit.Sancta.  Butler.  Florence 


of  Worcester.  Moutalumbert.  Eckon- 
stein. 

Milgidra,  MILOITHA. 

St.  Milgitha,  Jan.   17    (MILDGYDA, 

MlLGIDHA,  MlLGITH,  MlLGUIE,   MlLGYTHE, 

MILVIDA,MILWYDEJ,  7th  century.  Daugh 
ter  of  Merowald  and  EKMKNBUKGA  and 
younger  sister  of  Mi  LDHKD  and  MILHUKOA. 
Nun  near  Canterbury,  at  Estrey,  built 
by  Egbert,  king  of  Kent.  AA.SS. 
Butler.  Florence  of  Worcester. 

St.   Milguie,  French  for  MILGITHA. 

St.   Milia,  Jan.  2."),  V.  (See  ELVIUA.) 

St.  Milice,  Milissa,  or  Milisa, 
March  Hi,  M.  at  Nicomedia.  Guerin. 

St.  Militza,  ANGELINA  (2),  Queen 
of  Servia. 

St.  Milvide,  or  MILWIDE,  MILGITHA. 

St.  Mina,  July  4,  M.  at  Tomis. 
Martyrology  of  Corbie,  third  prefatory 
volume  of  AA.SS. 

St.  Minalia,  April  12,  M.    AA.SS. 

St.  Mindina  or  Mundino,  May 
20,  M.  with  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mindinia,  May  2:>,  M.  in  Tuderto 
(Todi).  AA.SS.  Old  Martyrologies  in 
"  praefationes,"  vol.  iii.  Perhaps  same 
as  MENADINA. 

St.  Minerva,  DARIA  (2). 

St.  Mingarda,  or  MIONGHAK,  5th 
century.  Sister  of  St.  Sillau  or  Sillao. 
Of  royal  birth  in  Counaught.  They  went 
as  pilgrims  to  Rome.  Miugarda  then 
went  to  Lucca,  where  she  married  God 
frey,  a  rich  man.  She  left  him  and  ended 
her  days  as  a  nun.  After  her  death  Sillan 
came  to  Lucca  and  was  received  by  God 
frey,  but  found  him  too  rich  and  great, 
and  preferred  to  go  to  the  sanctuary 
where  Mingarda  had  died,  and  there  he 
too  departed  in  peace.  Stokes,  Six 
Months  in  the  Apennines. 

St.  Minver,  July  24,  13,  Nov.  24 
(MEFUIDA,  MENIFKIDB),  V.  in  East  Corn 
wall.     Miss  Arnold-Forster,  Dedications. 
Sdiictorale  Cdtholicnm. 

St.  Mionghar,  MINGARDA. 

St.  Mircella,  NIRILLA. 

St.  Mirella,  NIUILLA. 

St.  Misa,  DISTA. 

St.  Misia,  or  MISSIA,  March  27,  M. 
in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Missia,  MISIA. 
Mitila,  Feb.  28.    Mart,  of  Reich<>nau. 
AA.SS. 


ST.  MITINA 


St.  Mitina,  Apr.  19,  M.  at  Militina 
in  Armenia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mitricia,   PATRICIA  (2),  mother 

Of  MODESTA. 

St.     Mittiana,      perhaps     same     as 

MUTIANA. 

St.  Mituana,  June  3,  a  Komaii  mar 
tyr.  AA.8S. 

St.  Mlada  Bolesla,  Feb.  8,  March 
28,  +  c.  995,  O.S.B.,  called  also  MADLA, 
MADILA,  MILADA,  and  in  religion  MARY. 
Princess  of  Bohemia.  Founder  and 
first  abbess  of  the  nunnery  of  St. 
George  at  Prague.  Daughter  of  Boles- 
las  the  Cruel,  duke  of  Bohemia 
(936-967).  Great-granddaughter  of  ST. 
LUDMILLA.  Sister  of  Boleslas  II.  the 
Pious. 

Mlada  was  devout  and  learned.  She 
went  to  Rome  to  pray  at  the  places 
consecrated  by  the  footsteps  of  the 
apostles  and  the  blood  of  the  martyrs. 
She  remained  there  a  considerable  time, 
and  learned  monastic  rule.  When  she 
had  given  sufficient  proof  of  her  good 
disposition  and  ability,  Pope  John  XIII. 
sent  her  back  to  Prague  to  confirm  the 
still  new  Christianity  of  her  own  coun 
try.  He  considered  Mlada  a  barbaric 
name,  and  found  it  difficult  to  pro 
nounce  ;  he  therefore  gave  the  princess 
the  name  of  Mary,  with  the  Benedic 
tine  rule  and  the  staff  of  an  abbess,  and 
charged  her  with  apostolic  letters  to  her 
brother,  the  Duke.  In  the  letter  of  John 
XIII.  to  Boleslas  II.,  preserved  by 
Mabillon,  the  Pope  enjoins  him  to  uphold 
the  Roman  Church  and  not  to  suffer  the 
Slavonian  rite  in  any  of  the  churches  he 
builds.  On  her  return,  Mlada  built  the 
Benedictine  nunnery  of  St.  George,  in 
the  cftadel  of  Prague,  about  the  year 
986.  Here  she  presided  over  many  nuns 
and  helped  to  Christianize  the  nation 
until  her  death.  She  is  buried  in  the 
chapel  of  St.  Anne,  in  the  great  church 
of  St.  Vitus  and  St.  Wenceslaus,  which 
was  constituted  an  episcopal  church  by  a 
bull  obtained  by  her  from  the  Pope. 
And  there  she  is  commemorated,  Feb.  8, 
by  the  nuns  in  their  very  ancient  private 
breviary.  AA.SS.O.S.B.  Chauowski, 
Vestigium  Bohemiae  Pise.  Palacky, 
Bohmen.  Wion,  Lignum  Vitee.  Eneas 
Silvius,  Hist.  Bohemise. 


St.  Mocca,  May  10,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.S8. 

St.  Mochoat,  supposed  by  Mr.  Skene 
to  be  the  same  as  MAZOTA  ;  but  possibly 
Machutus,  bishop  of  Aleth  in  Brittany, 
6th  century. 

St.  Mocholla,  March  23,  May  25, 
V.  An  ancient  Irish  saint,  daughter  of 
Damas.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Mart,  of 
Tamlaght. 

St.  Moderata,  April  5,  M.  at  Alex 
andria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Modesta  (1),  March  13,  V.  M. 
Daughter  of  SS.Macedonius  and  PATRICIA 
and  martyred  with  them  at  Nicomedia. 
They  are  mentioned  in  the  old  Mart,  of 
St.  Jerome.  EM.  Stadler. 

St.  Modesta  (2),  7th  century. 
Abbess  of  Habend  or  Remiremont.  A 
near  relation  of  ST.  GERTRUDE  of  Nivelle, 
who  appeared  to  her  at  the  moment  of 
her  (Gertrude's)  death.  Sometimes  con 
founded  with  MODESTA  (3).  Henschenius, 
De  tribus  Dagobertis. 

St.  Modesta  (3),  Nov.  4,  5,  6,  Oct. 
6,  March  7,  Aug.  12,  V.  8th  century. 
Second  or  third  abbess  of  Horres,  near 
Treves. 

The  history  of  this  saint  is  somewhat 
obscure.  Perhaps  one  of  her  numerous 
days  belongs  to  her  namesake  the  abbess 
of  Habend.  Some  accounts  say  she  was 
sister  of  St.  Willibrord,  a  native  of 
Northumbria,  first  bishop  of  Utrecht. 
She  is  sometimes  claimed  as  Irish  or 
Scottish.  She  has  been  said  to  have  been 
preceded  or  followed  as  abbess  by  her 
sister  PRIMINA,  but  this  is  thought  to  be 
a  confusion  with  ST.  IRMINA  (1),  first 
abbess  of  Horres,  who  may  be  called  her 
spiritual  sister  or  mother.  The  worship 
of  Modesta  is  very  ancient.  She  is  men 
tioned  in  a  litany  of  the  tenth  century. 
She  is  worshipped  specially  at  Treves, 
Nov.  4. 

B.M.,  Nov.  4.  AA.SS.,  on  the  above- 
mentioned  days.  Saussaye  calls  her 
second  abbess,  Oct.  6. 

St.  Modette,  MUNDANA. 

Modevenna,  MODWENNA. 

Modovena,  MODWENNA. 

St.  Modwenna,  July  5,  6  (MODE- 
VENA,  MODOVENA,  MODWENA,  MONENNA, 
MONINIA,  MONINNA,  MONYMA,  MoVENA, 
MOWENA  ;  perhaps  DARERCA  (2 ),  EDANA, 


ST.   MOXEGUND 


MEDANA,  EDINA,  ETAOIN,  ETHAN,  MEMME, 
GOLINIA).  Modvveima  is  made  contem 
porary  with  persons  living  centuries 
apart,  from  St.  Patrick  to  Alfred  the 
Great.  Whenever  her  legend  crosses 
that  of  any  other  saint  the  result  is  con 
tradiction  and  a  general  muddle  of  dates 
and  places.  (Compare  ATEA,  OSITH, 
EDITH  (3).)  One  legend  speaks  of 
Modwenna  as  the  virgin  whose  name 
was  Darorca  and  whose  surname  was 
Moninna,  and  says  that  she  died  the  day 
that  St.  Columkille  was  born:  this  is 
generally  said  to  be  in  521.  This  early 
Modwenna  received  the  nun's  veil  from 
St.  Patrick,  and  was  soon  at  the  head  of 
a  small  community  which  rapidly  in 
creased.  They  lived  at  one  time  on  an 
island  in  Wexford  harbour;  afterwards, 
at  Faughart,  where  she  ruled  over  a 
hundred  and  fifty  nuns.  She  removed 
for  greater  quiet  to  a  desert  place  called 
Sleabh  Cuillin  or  Slieve  Gullion.  (Com 
pare  DARERCA  (2).)  Modwenna  lived  to 
the  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirty,  or 
some  say  one  hundred  and  eighty.  When 
she  was  at  the  point  of  death  King 
Eugenius  sent  a  bishop  to  bargain  with 
her  to  prolong  her  life  for  a  year :  he 
was  sure  she  could  obtain  this  favour 
from  God  if  she  would  pray  for  it,  and 
he  offered  to  redeem  her  "  life  by  a  free 
maiden."  Modwenna  said  that  if  he  had 
asked  this  favour  "  two  days  ago  or  even 
yesterday "  it  would  have  been  granted, 
but  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  had  come  to 
fetch  her  and  she  must  go.  At  the 
same  time,  that  which  he  and  the  Bishop 
had  offered  to  give  for  her,  they  must 
now  give  for  their  own  souls.  Then 
she  blessed  the  people  and  departed. 

She  crops  up  again  in  (385,  when  she 
visits  Aldfrid,  king  of  Northumberland, 
at  Whitby,  and  he  requests  her  to  in 
struct  his  kinswoman,  the  Abbess  El- 
fleda.  Modwenna's  career  is  prolonged 
into  the  9th  century,  by  a  mistake  of 
Cap  grave,  who  supposes  this  Aldfrid  to 
be  Alfred  the  Great,  and  substitutes  for 
ST.  ELFLEDA,  ST.  EDITH  of  Polesworth. 

Whatever  her  true  date  was,Modwenna 
left  traces  of  her  influence  both  in  Eng 
land  and  Scotland,  and  went  three  times 
to  Rome.  She  is  said  to  have  founded 
seven  churches  in  Scotland,  one  of  which 


was  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the 
Castle  of  Edinburgh,  one  on  the  ( 'astle 
Hill  of  Stirling,  one  at  Longforgau  in 
Perthshire.  In  England  she  founded 
the  Monasteries  of  Burton-on-Trent, 
Stramshall  in  Staffordshire,  and  Poles- 
worth  in  Warwickshire.  At  Polesworth 
her  memory  is  eclipsed  by  that  of  EDITH 
(3),  for  whom  the  establishment  wag 
restored  in  the  Oth  century.  At  Burton 
the  name  of  Modwenna  is  preserved  iii 
the  dedication,  and  it  is  one  of  the  places 
where  she  is  said  to  have  died. 

Mr.  Gammack  thinks  there  were  two 
Modwennas;  Sir  Thomas  Duffus  Hardy 
considers  there  must  have  been  three  ; 
Bishop  Forbes  holds  that  there  was  only 
one ;  that  it  is  quite  credible  that  she 
established  a  Christian  colony  in  Ireland, 
then  penetrated  to  different  parts  of 
Scotland,  then — like  many  famous  early 
saints — made  the  pilgrimage  to  Home ; 
afterwards  founded  two  religious  houses 
in  England,  and  eventually  returned  to 
die  in  her  own  land. 

Her  brother  St.  Ronan  and  her  adopted 
son  St.  Luger  are  said  to  have  crossed 
from  Ireland  to  England  with  Modwenna, 
Atea,  and  perhaps  Osith.  Luger's 
mother,  as  a  young  widow  with  a  babe 
in  her  arms,  became  one  of  Modwenna's 
first  nuns. 

Forbes.  Gammack,  in  Smith  and 
Wace.  Capgrave.  Butler.  Broughton. 
Lauigau.  Arnold-Forster. 

St.  Moico.     (Set'  ANNA  (7).) 

Ste.  Molac,  or  MOLAGGA,  Jan.  20, 
mortc-  en  la  Mornif.  Guerin. 

St.  Molnagund,  MONEGUND. 

St.  Molveda,  EKMENBUKGA  of  Men- 
strey. 

St.  Momna,  June  4,  M.  in  Silesia, 
or  Cilicia,  or  Sicily.  AA.SS. 

St.  Monacella,  MELAXOEM,. 

St.  Mondane,  MUNDANA. 

St.  Monegund  (1)  or  MECHTUND. 


St.  Monegund  (2),  MOHOON,  or 
MOLNAGUND,  Jnly  2,  4-  -r>70.  Patron  of 
Chimay.  Overcome  with  grief  for  the 
death  of  her  two  daughters,  she  tried  to 
resign  herself  to  the  will  of  God.  With 
the  consent  of  her  husband  she  shut  her 
self  up  in  a  little  cell  and  had  the 
scantiest  and  coarsest  food,  given  her 


96 


ST.   MONENNA 


through  a  window  by  a  maid.  The  maid 
found  the  task  troublesome  and  left  her  to 
starve,  from  which  fate  she  was  saved  by 
a  miracle.  After  a  time,  her  reputation 
for  sanctity  brought  so  many  visitors 
that  she  retired  to  Tours,  and  having 
paid  her  devotions  at  the  tomb  of  St. 
Martin,  shut  herself  up  in  another  cell. 
Her  husband  brought  her  back  to  Char- 
tres ;  but  she  persuaded  him  to  let  her 
return  to  Tours.  There  she  collected 
round  her  a  few  pious  women,  who  shared 
her  life  of  austerity  and  devotion  and 
consoled  her  for  the  loss  of  her  children. 
AA.SS.  from  St.  Gregory  of  Tours,  who 
knew  her  personally.  Yepez,  Chron. 
Ben.  Cahier.  Baillet. 

St.  Monenna,  MODWENNA.  Monenn. 
however,  sometimes  means  St.  Ninian. 
Skene,  Celtic  Scotland. 

St.  Monessa,  MUNESSA,  MUXERIA,  or 
NESSA,  Sep.  4.  5th  or  7th  century.  Irish. 

There  was  once  a  king  who  had  a 
beautiful  and  amiable  daughter,  for  whom 
he  wished  to  arrange  a  very  good  mar 
riage,  but  she  would  not  accept  any  of 
the  princes  who  sought  her  alliance. 
The  king  and  queen  were  very  angry. 
They  argued  with  her,  scolded  her, 
whipped  her,  and  resorted  to  magic  arts 
to  change  her  inclination.  But  all  to  no 
purpose.  She  kept  always  asking  her 
mother  and  nurse  whether  they  had 
found  the  maker  of  the  wheel  by  whose 
light  the  world  was  illumined,  and  when 
they  told  her  that  the  sun  was  made  by 
Him  Whose  seat  was  in  heaven,  she 
begged  them  to  marry  her  to  Him,  as 
she*  would  have  no  husband  but  Him, 
Who  gave  such  a  beautiful  light  to  the 
heavens.  At  last  her  parents  hearing 
of  the  wisdom  of  St.  Patrick,  took  her  to 
him  and  consulted  him  how  they  should 
bring  her  to  obedience.  He  asked  her 
if  she  believed  in  God  with  her  whole 
heart.  She  answered,  '*  I  believe." 
Whereupon  he  baptized  her,  and  she 
then  fell  down  and  died.  She  was 
buried  where  she  died,  and  St.  Patrick 
foretold  that  on  that  spot  there  would 
some  day  be  a  cell  where  many  virgins 
would  be  gathered  together  to  serve  God. 
And  so  it  was,  for  not  many  years  after 
that  time,  a  church  and  convent  were 
built  on  the  spot  and  the  memory  of  St. 


Monessa  was   held   in  honour  amongst 
them. 

Constantino  Suysken  says  she  pro 
bably  lived  after  654.  In  that  case  she 
was  not  contemporary  with  St.  Patrick 
who  lived  much  earlier.  AA.SS.  from 
Probus'  Life  of  St.  Patrick. 

St.  Mongon,  or  MONGOND,  MONE- 
GUND  (2). 

St.  Monica  (1),  May  4,  332-387. 
Widow.  The  Eev.  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  in 
Smith's  Dictionary  of  Christian  Bio 
graphy,  says  that  her  name  is  written 
MONNICA  in  the  earliest  known  copy  of 
St.  Augustine. 

St.  Monica  was  of  Phoenician  descent, 
born  in  Africa,  of  Christian  parents. 
The  chief  care  of  her,  as  a  child,  de 
volved  upon  an  aged  and  discreet  maid 
servant,  of  whom  St.  Augustine  says  : 
"the  charge  of  her  master's  daughters 
was  entrusted  to  her,  to  which  she  gave 
diligent  heed,  restraining  them  earnestly, 
when  necessary,  with  a  holy  severity,  and 
teaching  them  with  a  grave  discretion. 
For  except  at  those  hours  wherein  they 
were  most  temperately  fed  at  their 
parents'  table,  she  would  not  suffer  them, 
though  parched  with  thirst,  to  drink  even 
water." 

As  Monica  grew  older  it  became  her 
duty  to  fetch  wine  from  the  cellar,  for 
the  household  use.  From  drawing  the 
wine  she  gradually  fell  into  a  habit  of 
tasting  and  drinking  small  quantities, 
but,  on  being  taunted  by  a  servant  with 
being  a  wine-bibber,  she  was  overcome 
with  shame  and  immediately  renounced 
the  habit. 

Monica  was  married  young  to  Patri- 
cius,  a  citizen  of  Tagaste,  an  upright 
man  but  an  idolater.  She  suffered  much 
from  his  hasty  temper,  but  she  patiently 
and  submissively  endured  her  trials, 
never  failing  to  be,  as  St.  Augustine 
says,  "  reverently  amiable  and  admirable 
unto  her  husband."  When  other  wives 
complained  to  Monica  of  their  husband's 
conduct,  she  would  answer :  "  Lay  the 
blame  rather  on  yourselves  and  your 
sharp  tongues." 

Augustine,  her  eldest  and  best  loved 
son,  was  born  in  November,  354.  She 
had  besides,  a  son  Navigius,  and  a 
daughter. 


ST.   MONICA 


After  eighteen  years  of  married  life, 
during  which  she  had  not  ceased  to 
pray  for  her  husband,  Monica  had  the 
joy  of  seeing  him  converted  to  Chris 
tianity.  He  died  the  following  year, 
871. 

It  was  Monica's  great  delight  to  serve 
the    poor.     She    was    ever    a    diligent 
student  of  the  Scriptures,  and  "  assisted 
daily  at  the  holy  oblation  of  the  altar, 
.  .  .    having    eternity     always    in    her 
thoughts."     Her  son,  Augustine,  was  a 
source  of  great  anxiety  to  her.     Monica 
grieved    much  for  his   dissipation,  and 
perhaps  even  more  because  he  was  en 
tangled  in  the  Manichtean  heresy,  and 
for  years  she  offered  up  her  tears  and 
supplications  to  the  Almighty  ;    as   St. 
Augustine  says,  "  weeping  to  Thee  for 
me,  more  than  mothers  weep  the  bodily 
deaths  of   their    children.       Thou    de- 
spisedst  not  her  tears,  when  streaming 
down,  they  watered  the    ground  under 
her  eyes  in  every  place  where  she  prayed. 
Her  prayers  entered  into  Thy  presence, 
and  yet  Thou  suffered st  me  to  be  yet  in 
volved  and  reinvolved  in  that  darkness." 
She  was  somewhat  comforted  by  a  dream, 
and  still   further  by  the  words   of  the 
bishop  of   Carthage,    who    although    he 
refused  to  argue  with  Augustine,  said : 
"  Go  thy  ways  and  God  bless  thee,  for 
it  is  not  possible  that  the  son  of  these 
tears    should    perish."     Which   answer 
she   took    as   if  it   had    sounded    from 
heaven. 

She  folio  wed  Augustine  to  Milan,  where 
he  had  been  appointed  professor  of 
rhetoric.  She  found  to  her  joy  that 
St.  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan,  "  already 
known  to  the  whole  world  as  the  best  of 
men,"  had  received  him  kindly,  and  that 
a  friendship  had  sprung  up  between 
them  ;  and  when  Augustine  told  her  that 
he  was  no  longer  a  Manichaean,  although 
he  had  not  yet  become  a  decided  Catholic, 
she  answered  that  she  believed  in  Christ 
that  before  she  departed  this  life  she 
should  see  him  a  Catholic  believer. 
Then  she  hastened  the  more  eagerly  to 
church,  and  hung  upon  the  lips  of 
Ambrose,  whom  she  loved  as  an  angel 
God,  because  she  knew  that  by  him  her 
son  had  been  brought  to  that  unsettled 
state  through  which  she  confidently 

VOL.  II. 


anticipated  that  ho  would  pass  to  the 
true  faith  and  the  peace  of  God. 
Ambrose  valued  her  as  a  devout  widow, 
full  of  good  works  and  constant  at 
church  ;  so  that  when  he  met  Augustine 
he  often  burst  forth  in  her  praises,  con 
gratulating  him  that  he  had  such  a 
mother.  About  that  time,  the  Empress 
Justina,  an  Arian,  persecuted  St.  Ambrose. 
His  devoted  followers  kept  watch  in  the 
church,  ready  to  die  with  their  bishop. 
Monica  took  part  in  those  watchiugs. 
She  continued,  with  renewed  hope,  her 
prayers  for  her  son  ;  and  the  desire  of 
her  life  was  fulfilled  when,  at  Easter, 
387,  she  saw  St.  Ambrose  baptize  him, 
with  his  friend  Alypius  and  his  son 
Adeodatus,  then  fifteen  years  old. 

With  conversion    to   the   true   faith, 
Augustine,  who  had  long  been  aspiring 
after  perfection,  lost  all  wish  for  worldly 
advantage  ;  fame,  marriage,  riches,  were 
nothing  to  him  now.     He,  his  mother, 
and     his    handful    of    devoted    friends 
resolved  to  return  to  Africa.     On  tbeir 
way,  they  made  a  short  stay  at  Ostia,  and 
while  there,  one  evening  as  Monica  and 
Augustine  sat  looking  from  a   window 
over  the  garden,  and  talking  of  heavenly 
things,  she  said  :  "  Son,  for  mine  own 
part  I  have  no  further  delight  in  any 
thing  in  this  life.     What  I  do  here  any 
longer,  and  to  what  end  I  am   here,  I 
know  not,   now  that  my  hopes  in  this 
world    are   accomplished."      Five  days 
later,  iMonica  fell  ill.    She  had  previously 
ever  been  careful  and  anxious  as  to  her 
place  of  burial,  which  she  had  prepared 
for  herself  by  the  body  of  lu-r  husband  ; 
but  during  her  illness  she  h»  d  no  neb 
feeling,    saying    to    her    sons    on    the 
contrary:    "Lay   this  body  anywhere; 
let  not  the  care  for  that  any  way  disquid 
you  :  this  only  I  request,  that  you  would 
remember  me  at  the  Lord's  altar,  whore- 
ever  you  be."     Despite  the  loving  care 
of  Augustine  and  his  companions,  Monica 
died  on  the  ninth  day  of  her  illness,  in 
the  fifty-sixth  year  of  her  age,  May  4, 

St  Augustine  has  left  a  l>eautiful  pic 
ture  of  his  mother  in  his  "  Confession* 
He  bears  witness  to  the  high  order  of 
her  intellectual  powers,  "  the  fervour  o 
her   mind   towards   divine  things,    and 


B.  MONICA 


especially  of  her  devotion  to  him.  After 
praying  for  her  he  beseeches  God  to 
inspire  all  who  shall  read  his  book,  to 
remember  at  the  altar,  Monica  and 
Patricius. 

St.  Augustine,  Confessions.  Butler. 
M.F.S.  Stories  of  the  Saints. 

B.  Monica  (2),  July  12,  M.  1620,  at 
Nangasaki.  Her  husband,  B.  John  Naisen, 
and  her  son,  B.  Lewis,  aged  seven,  also 
suffered  martyrdom.  John  and  Monica 
had  received  Father  Torres  and  other  mis 
sionaries  in  their  house,  and  were  therefore 
tortured.  The  persecutors  threatened  to 
have  Monica  stripped ;  she  unclasped 
her  band,  and  said,  "I  am  ready  to  be 
stripped,  not  only  of  my  clothes,  but  of 
my  skin."  Mondo,  the  judge,  resorted 
to  such  horrible  threats  that  John,  in 
his  terror,  was  ready  to  promise  any 
thing.  They  then  ordered  Monica  to 
take  hot  coals  in  her  hand.  She  began 
doing  so,  and  he  retracted  the  order. 
John  repented  of  his  cowardice  and  re 
turned  to  prison,  and  was  burnt  alive 
on  the  same  day  that  Monica  and  Lewis 
were  beheaded.  The  little  Lewis,  as 
he  passed  the  house  of  his  grandfather, 
on  his  way  to  execution,  threw  a  flower 
towards  it,  which  was  preserved  as  a 
relic.  For  the  same  crime  cf  enter 
taining  the  missionaries,  BB.  SUSANNA 
(18)  and  CATHERINE  (21)  were  beheaded 
with  Monica.  Their  husbands  were  burnt 
with  John  Naisen.  Authorities  the  same 
as  for  LUCY  DE  FREITAS. 

St.  Monice  or  MONICIA,  April  16, 
M.  Guerin. 

St.  Moninia,  MODWENNA. 

St.  Moninna,  July  6,  DARERCA  (2). 

St.  Monnica,  MONICA. 

St.  Montaine,  MONTANA  (2). 

St.  Montana  (1),  May  23,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Montana  (2),  Oct.  24,  V.  Abbess 
of  Cave,  or  of  Ferrieres.  Daughter  of 
Pepin,  duke  of  Brabant.  She  took  the 
veil  from  St.  Amand.  She  gives  her 
name  to  the  village  of  Ste.  Montaine, 
dep.  Indre,  diocese  of  Bourges.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  she  is  worshipped,  but 
her  history  is  lost  and  it  is  supposed 
that  ST.  GERTRUDE  of  Nivelle  is  wor 
shipped  under  this  name.  AA.SS. 
Bucelinus. 


St.  Monyma,  MODWENNA. 

St.  Monynna  of  Newry,  in  Ireland, 
who  died  c.  518,  received  the  veil  from 
St.  Patrick.  She  is  said  by  some  writers 
to  be  a  different  person  from  MONINNA, 
who  is  MODWENNA. 

St.  Mora  (1),  M.  Wife  of  St. 
Timothy,  commemorated  in  the  Abys 
sinian  Church.  Timothy  was  cooked 
in  a  cauldron  till  his  body  melted  like 
water.  AA.SS.  Compare  with  MAURA 

(2)« 

St.  Mora  (2),  of  Benhor,  Nov.  27, 
M.  in  Ethiopia.  Gueriu.  Perhaps  the 
same  as  MORA  (1). 

St.  Morwenna  or  NORWINNA,  July  6, 
5th  century,  was  a  daughter  or  grand 
daughter  of  Brychan.  (See  ALMHEDA.) 
St.  Nectan  was  her  near  kinsman,  per 
haps  her  brother.  They  were  among 
the  Welsh  saints  who  crossed  over  to 
Cornwall.  Nectan  settled  on  Hartland 
point,  whence,  in  certain  conditions  of 
the  atmosphere,  the  coast  of  Wales  can 
be  seen.  Morwenna  had  her  cell  and 
her  well  at  Hennacliff  (the  Eaven's 
crag,  afterwards  called  Morwenstow), 
near  the  top  of  a  high  cliff  looking 
over  the  Atlantic,  where  the  sea  is 
almost  constantly  stormy.  When  she 
was  dying,  Nectan  came  to  see  her,  and 
she  bade  him  raise  her  up  that  she  might 
look  once  more  on  her  native  shore.  She 
has  been  confounded  with  ST.  MODWENNA, 
and  has  also  been  called  a  contemporary 
of  persons  who  lived  in  the  tenth  cen 
tury.  Baring  Gould,  The  Vicar  of  Mor 
wenstow.  Blight,  Grouses.  An  interesting, 
but  much  defaced,  polychrome  wall- 
painting  was  found  on  the  north  wall 
of  the  chancel  of  Morwenstow  church. 
It  represents  a  gaunt  female  clasping  to 
her  breast,  with  her  left  hand,  a  scroll 
or  volume ;  the  right  arm  is  raised  in 
blessing  over  a  kneeling  monk.  AthencuiH, 
Sept.  18, 1886,  p.  378.  Perhaps  same  as 
MERWIN  (1). 

St.  Mostiola,  MUSTIOLA. 

St.  Moteca,  TECA. 

St.  Motenna,  V.    Irish. 

St.  Mouren,  daughter  of  King 
Hungus  and  Queen  Finch  en,  was  born 
at  Moneclatu,  afterwards  Monikie.  The 
queen  gave  the  place  where  Mouren  was 
born,  to  God  and  St.  Andrew,  and  Mouren 


ST.   MUSCULA 


was  the  first  person  buried  in  St.  Andrew's 
church.     Compare  MUUEN.     Forbes. 

St.  Movena  or  MOWEXA,  MODWENNA. 

St.  Muadhnata  of  Caille  in  Ireland, 
Jan.  0.  Oth  century.  Sister  of  SS. 
TALULLA,  OSNATA,  and  Molaisse.  (See 
OSNATA.)  Lanigan. 

St.  Muciana,  June  8,  M.  at  Cresarea 
in  Cappadocia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mugiana,  Dec.  15.  Perhaps 
MAUGINA.  Perhaps  an  abbess  of  Cluain- 
buirren,  where  she  is  worshipped. 
Lanigan. 

St.  Muirgel.     (Sec  MURIEL.) 

St.  Mundana,  MONDANE,  or  MODETTE, 
May  f>,  M.  6th  century.  Mother  of  St. 
Sardos,  bishop  of  Limoges,  also  called 
Sardou,  Sardot,  St.  Sacerdos,  which  is 
translated  St.  Pretre.  Mundana  was 
the  wife  of  B.  Laban,  a  nobleman  of 
Aquitaine  and  subject  of  the  pious  King 
Anticius  or  Ecdicius,  who  was  godfather 
to  St.  Sardos.  Sardos  was  brought  up 
by  the  holy  Bishop  St.  Capuan,  and 
eventually  became  abbot  of  Calabre  on 
the  Dordogne.  His  father  and  mother 
were  so  impressed  by  his  sanctity  that 
they  divided  all  their  possessions,  giving 
half  to  the  Church  and  half  to  the  poor, 
and  devoted  themselves  to  a  religious 
life.  Some  time  after  the  death  of  Laban, 
Sardos  was  chosen  bishop  of  Limoges. 
He  died  there  about  530  and,  according 
to  his  request,  his  body  was  brought 
back  to  Calabre,  in  a  boat  on  the  Dor 
dogne.  When  the  boat  came  near  the 
house  where  Mundana  lived,  she  went 
down  to  the  river  to  meet  the  funeral 
procession  of  her  son.  She  was  now 
blind  and  was  led  by  her  maids,  but  as 
soon  as  she  arrived  at  the  edge  of  the 
water,  her  sight  was  restored.  Many 
years  afterwards  she  was  massacred  by 
the  Vandals,  who  overran  that  region. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Mundicorda,  BONA  (1). 

St.  Mundino,  MINDINIA. 

St.  Muneria,  MONESSA. 

St.  Munessa,  MONESSA. 

St.  Munna  is  mentioned  in  some 
ancient  litanies  of  the  Anglican  Church, 
found  by  Mabillon  in  the  Library  of 
Kheims,  in  Anglo-Saxon  characters.  Be 
sides  St.  Gregory  and  other  early  saints, 
they  contain  the  names  of  SS.  Patrick, 


Brendan,  Carnach,  Colnmkill,  BKIDOKT, 
etc.,  but  none  of  the  names  of  later  saint*, 
famous  in  England  in  the  7th  century, 
as  Cuthbort,  Aidan,  Wilfred,  etc.  Ma- 
billon,  Vfttra  Aannlctn.  Lanigan. 

St.  Muren,  Oct.  17,  V.  in  whoso 
honour  was  built  one  of  the  seven 
churches  of  Chibrimont  or  St.  Andrews, 
in  which  were  fifty  virgin  nuns,  all  of 
royal  birth.  She  was  a  nun  for  eleven 
years,  and  was  buried  in  the  east  part 
of  the  church.  Compare  MOUUEN. 
AA.SS.  Forbes. 

B.  Murenna,  May  26.  Four  ab 
besses  of  Kildare  bore  this  name.  Only 
the  second  is  expressly  called  Bhwd. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Suart,  and  died 
in  91  ii.  Colgan. 

St.  Murichach  is  commemorated 
among  virgins  and  widows  in  the  Dun- 
keld  litany.  Forbes. 

St.  Muriel  is  commemorated  among 
virgins  and  widows  in  the  Dunkeld 
litany.  Probably  same  name  as  the 
Irish  MriuoEL.  Forbes. 

St.  Murina,  May  27,  M.  at  Touiis 
on  the  Black  Sea.  AA.SS. 

St.  Musa,  April  2,  V.  6th  century. 
A  little  girl,  sister  of  Proculns  tho 
servant  of  God,  mentioned  in  the  dia 
logue  of  St.  Gregory,  lib.  4,  chap.  17. 
One  night  she  had  a  vision  in  which  tho 
VIRGIN  MARY  appeared  to  her  and  showed 
her  girls  of  her  own  age  in  white  raiment. 
While  Musa  longed .  to  join  them  and 
did  not  dare  to  approach,  the  Blessed 
Mary  asked  her  if  sho  would  like  to 
be  with  them  and  be  ruled  by  her. 
The  child  said  she  would.  The  Holy 
Virgin  bade  her  therefore  at. stain  from 
all  childish  and  frivolous  ainuscni«-nt>. 
promising  to  come  for  her  in  thirty  days 
and  place  her  among  the  children  she 
had  seen.  Her  parents  soon  observing 
a  change  in  her  behaviour,  questioned 
her  about  it  and  sho  told  them  her 
dream.  On  the  twenty-fifth  day  sho  was 
seized  with  fever.  On  tho  thirtieth  day, 
as  the  hour  of  her  death  drew  near,  sho 
again  saw  tho  Virgin  Mary,  and  diod 
exclaiming  joyfully,  "  Ecce  Domini, 
Ven'w"  AA.SS. 

St   Musca,  sister  of  CYRIA  (2 

St.  Muscula,  April  12,  M.  at  Capua, 
in  Italy.  AA.SS. 


100 


ST.   MUSTA 


St.  Musta,  April  12,  M.    AA.SS. 

St.  Mustia  (1),  July  3,  MUSTIOLA. 

St.  Mustia  (2)  or  MUSTULA  (1), 
April  12,  M.  AAJ38. 

St.  Mustila  (1),  Feb.  28,  M.  with 
many  others,  at  Alexandria.  AA.88. 

St.  Mustila  (2),  MUSTULA. 

St.  Mustiola,  July  3  (MOSTIOLA, 
MUSTIA,  MUTIOLA),  Matron,  M.  275. 

Eepresented  with  a  scourge  or  whip 
as  one  of  her  tortures. 

St.  Ireneus,  the  deacon,  being  thrown 
into  prison  at  Chiusi,  because  he  had 
buried  St.  Felix  the  priest,  a  Christian 
matron  of  high  rank,  named  Mustiola, 
heard  of  it  and  went  every  night  to  the 
prison  and  bribed  the  guards  to  allow 
her  to  visit  the  Christians  who  were 
there.  She  washed  their  feet,  dressed 
their  wounds  and  gave  them  food.  This 
was  told  to  Turcius,  the  governor,  who 
had  been  appointed  to  that  office  in 
order  that  he  should  exterminate  the 
Christians.  When  he  had  vainly  re 
monstrated  with  her,  he  ordered  all  the 
Christian  prisoners  to  be  beheaded  ex 
cept  Ireneus,  who  was  put  to  death  by 
horrible  tortures  in  presence  of  Mustiola. 
She  upbraided  Turcius,  and  told  him 
that  he  had  sent  St.  Ireneus  to  heaven, 
but  he  himself  would  have  his  dwel 
ling  in  eternal  fire.  Turcius,  enraged, 
had  her  beaten  to  death  with  leaden 
scourges.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mustula  (1)  or  MUSTIA  (2), 
April  12,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Mustula  (2),  Feb.  2,  M.  at  Rome, 


with  CAPPA,  CASTULA,  and  many  others. 
AA.88. 

SS.  Mutiana  and  Landaia,  July  26. 
AAJSS. 

St.  Mutiola,  MUSTIOLA. 

St.  Mwynen,  granddaughter  of 
Brychan.  Miss  Arnold-Forster,  Dedica 
tions. 

St.  Mygdonia,  MIGDONIA. 

St.  Myroblite.  The  women  who 
brought  spices  and  ointment  to  embalm 
the  Saviour  are  called  SS.  Myroblitse, 
the  holy  ointment-bearers.  There  is 
also  a  ST.  THEODORA  (15),  the  Myroblite, 
a  nun  in  the  9th  century. 

St.  Myrope,  Dec.  2,  4,  July  13. 
A  matron  of  Chios  who  went  to  Ephesus, 
in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Decius, 
and  there  cured  several  sick  persons 
with  ointment  from  the  relics  of  the 
apostles  and  martyrs,  and  notably  from 
the  tomb  of  St.  HEKMIONE.  Returning 
to  Chios,  she  witnessed  the  martyrdom 
of  St.  Isidore  and  soon  stole  his  relics. 
Many  persons  being  accused  of  the  theft, 
Myrope  gave  herself  up  and  was  cruelly 
beaten  and  consigned  to  prison,  where 
she  died  after  being  comforted  by  the 
apparition  of  St.  Isidore.  She  is  one  of 
those  saints  whose  real  name  is  unknown, 
her  name  of  Myrope  being  derived  from 
the  miraculous  ointment  with  which  she 
effected  her  cures.  She  is  praised  at 
£reat  length  in  the  Menology  of  Moscow. 
Martinov,  Dec.  2.  Menology  of  Basil, 
July  13.  Ferrarius,  Dec.  4. 


N 


St.  Nadedjda  or  NADEZDA.  (See 
FAITH,  HOPE  and  CHAUITY.) 

St.  Namadia  or  NEOMAIE,  Jan.  13, 
4th  century,  wife  of  St.  Calminius,  a 
senator.  Guenebault. 

St.  Nanecchia  or  NUNECHIA.  (See 
CHARIESSA.) 

St.  Nannita,  NONNA,  mother  of  St. 
David. 

St.  Nantilda  or  NANTHILDIS.  One 
of  the  wives  or  mistresses  of  Dagoberfc  I., 
king  of  France,  628-038.  Mother  of 
ST.  NOTBUEG  (1).  Nantilda  is  sometimes 


called  Saint,  but  does  not  seem  to  have 
any  recognized  worship. 

St.    Natalena    or   NATALINA,   LENE 

(I)- 

St.  Natalia  (1),  NATALIE,  NOELE, 
and  perhaps  NOYALE,  Dec.  1,  March  4, 
Sept.  8  and  Aug.  26.  Beginning  of  4th 
century,  under  Diocletian  or  Licinius. 
She  was  the  wife  of  St.  Adrian,  who  is 
patron  of  executioners  and  gaolers.  She 
is  honoured  and  represented  with  her 
husband,  who  has  an  anvil,  a  sword,  or 
keys  ;  occasionally  with  a  lion,  to  denote 


ST.   NATALIA 


their  courage  and  magnanimity.    (Cahier, 
Enclume.^) 

Adrian  and  Natalia  were  natives  of 
Nicomedia.  Natalia  certainly  was  of 
Christian  parentage,  but  was  afraid  to 
confess  Christ  because  the  tenth  persecu 
tion  was  so  fiercely  raging.  They  saw 
Christians  tortured,  and  wondered  why 
they  endured  such  agony,  but  soon  they 
were  both  converted.  Adrian  was  an 
officer  of  high  rank  in  the  Roman  army. 
He  remonstrated  with  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
mian  on  his  injustice  and  cruelty  to  the 
Christians,  and  implored  those  who  were 
writing  down  the  names  of  the  proscribed 
Christians  to  add  his  to  the  list. 

Natalia,  who  had  been  married  little 
more  than  a  year,  heard  that  her  hus 
band  had  been  taken  and  imprisoned 
among  the  other  confessors.  She  visited 
the  gaol  and  encouraged  them  to  bear 
everything  for  Christ's  sake,  kissing  her 
husband's  chains  and  rejoicing  in  the 
honour  that  was  come  to  him.  lie  praised 
her  as  the  right  sort  of  wife. 

In  accordance  with  Natalia's  wish, 
Adrian  promised  to  send  for  her  when 
the  time  came  for  him  to  be  led  to  the 
torture ;  so  when  the  prisoners  were 
condemned  to  death,  he  bribed  the  gaolers 
to  let  him  go  to  fetch  his  wife.  She  was 
grieved  when  she  saw  him  coming  to  her, 
because  she  feared  he  had  renounced 
Christ,  or  at  least  had  fled  from  the  pros 
pect  of  immediate  martyrdom.  She  cried 
out  to  him  not  to  come  near  her,  lament 
ing  that  after  having  gloried  in  being 
the  spouse  of  a  martyr,  she  now  found 
herself  the  wife  of  an  apostate.  But 
when  he  explained  the  true  reason  of  his 
coming,  she  let  him  into  the  house  _  and 
then  went  with  him  to  the  prison, 
where  she  remained  seven  days.  While 
there,  she  kissed  the  chains  of  the  cap 
tive  Christians,  and  dressed  their  wounds, 
sending  her  maids  for  linen  and  oint 
ment. 

After  the  confessors  had  been  ques 
tioned  one  by  one  and  sent  back  to 
prison,  Natalia  returned  with  her  hus 
band  to  dress  his  wounds  and  to  lighten 
his  sufferings  in  every  way  she  could 
The  rest  of  the  prisoners  were  attended 
by  their  relations  and  by  deaconesses 
and  other  pious  women.  The  Emperor 


heard  of  it,  and  issued  an  order  for 
bidding  women  to  enter  the  prison. 
Natalia  cut  off  her  hair  and  disguised 
herself  as  a  man,  and  thus  was  able  to 
go  on  devoting  herself  to  the  consolation 
of  her  husband  and  the  rest  of  the  suf 
ferers.  When  the  other  women  dis 
covered  the  noble  example  set  them  by 
this  brave  matron,  they  also  cut  off  their 
hair,  put  on  men's  clothes,  and  went  to 
relieve  the  distress  of  the  saints.  Natalia 
sat  at  her  husband's  feet,  and  bade  him 
not  forget  her  when  he  arrived  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lord ;  but  make  it  his 
first  request  that  Ho  would  take  her  also 
to  heaven  and  not  leave  her  alone  in  that 
wicked  place. 

When  the  tyrant  knew  the  way  in 
which  his  order  had  been  evaded,  and 
yet  that  the  martyrs  were  dying  of  their 
wounds,  he  was  enraged,  and  declared 
that  they  should  not  die  the  death  of  all 
men,  but  ordered  that  their  feet  should 
be  laid  on  an  anvil  and  their  legs  broken 
witli  an  iron  bar. 

Natalia  went  with  Adrian  to  the  pliwo 
of  execution,  and  begged  the  lictors  tlmt 
ho  might  be  tortured  first,  lest  while  he 
was  waiting  for  his  turn,  his  own  courage 
should  be  shaken  if  he  saw  the  other 
confessors  suffering  frightful  pain, 
took  her  husband's  feet  and  •tretehed 
them  on  the  anvil ;  the  lictors  cut  off 
his  feet  and  broke  his  legs.  But  as  the 
martyr  still  breathed,  Natalia  said  to 
him,  "I  pray  you,  servant  of  Christ, 
stretch  out  your  hand  and  let  the  heathen 
cut  it  off,  that  you  may  bo  like  the 
saints,  and  while  you  still  breathe,  give 
your  arm  to  be  broken,  in  honour  of  Him 
Who  set  us  the  example  of  suffering 
Then  the  lictors  cut  off  his  hand  and 
broke  his  arm,  as  they  had  done  with  Ins 
feet  and  legs,  and  he  died.  His  brave 
wife  took  the  severed  hand  and  hid 
her  bosom.  Afterwards  the  other  mar 
tyrs  suffered,  meeting  their  death  v 
equal  courage. 

The  Emperor  ordered  that,  lest  the 
Galileans  should  take  the  bodies  of  1 
murdered  Christians  to  worship  them  as 
gods,  they  should  be  burnt  in  his  pre 
sence,     the  wives  of  the  martyrs  stood 
a  little  way  off,  and  when    the   Ixxli 
were  cast  into  the  furnace,  they  prayed 


102 


ST.   NATALIA 


their  hnsbands  to  remember  them  before 
God.  A  heavy  shower  of  rain  fell  and 
put  out  the  fire  ;  the  executioners  seeing 
this,  ran  away  and  some  of  them  fell 
down  dead.  Natalia  and  all  the  women, 
assisted  by  other  Christians,  collected  as 
much  of  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  as  they 
could  ;  took  the  bodies  out  of  the  furnace, 
and  put  them  into  a  ship  belonging  to 
Byzantium.  Afterwards  the  Christians 
gave  large  sums  for  pieces  of  cloth  and 
even  for  scraps  of  the  clothes  of  the 
executioners,  stained  with  the  blood  of 
the  martyrs.  Natalia  embalmed  the  hand 
of  her  husband,  which  had  been  cut  off ; 
wrapped  it  in  a  precious  purple  cloth, 
and  laid  it  on  her  pillow.  Soon  after 
she  had  become  a  widow,  a  tribune,  a 
great  man  of  the  city,  obtained  the  Em 
peror's  permission  to  marry  her,  and  sent 
to  ask  her,  for  she  was  one  of  the  great 
ladies  of  the  place,  very  beautiful  and 
very  rich.  Her  answer  to  the  messengers 
was  that  she  accepted  his  offer,  but  must 
have  three  months  to  prepare  for  so 
grand  a  marriage.  However,  instead  of 
preparing,  she  fled  to  Byzantium,  carry 
ing  Adrian's  hand  with  her.  Her  life 
there  was  spent  in  devotion,  but  her  time 
was  not  long  in  this  world,  for  she  was 
wearied  out  with  the  voyage,  following 
on  all  her  other  sufferings.  Adrian 
called  her  to  heaven,  and  she  fell  into  a 
sweet  sleep  to  awake  in  Paradise.  E.M., 
Dec.  1.  Men.  Baa.,  Aug.  26.  AA.SS., 
"  St.  Adrian,"  Aug.  26.  Butler.  Baillet. 
March  4  and  Sept.  8,  are  anniversaries 
of  translations  of  St.  Adrian's  relics. 

St.  Natalia  (2)  or  NATHALIA,  July 
10,  honoured  at  Grandmont  in  the 
diocese  of  Limoges,  and  supposed  to  be 
a  companion  of  ST.  URSULA.  The  Bol- 
landists  think  she  is  ANATOLIA  (3). 
AA.SS.,  June  9. 

St.  Natalia  (3),  NOELE,  SABITHA,  or 
SABIGOTHO,  July  27,  Oct.  20,  M.  about 
852.  Wife  of  Aurelius,  who  was  the  son 
of  a  Moor  of  Cordova  in  Spain,  by  a 
Christian  slave ;  he  adopted  his  mother's 
faith  and  chose  Natalia  for  his  wife  on 
account  of  her  virtue  and  piety.  Both 
husband  and  wife,  during  the  persecu 
tion  under  Abder  Eahman  III.,  prepared 
for  martyrdom  by  constant  self-denial. 
St.  George  !the  deacon  was  their  friend 


and  fellow-martyr.  At  the  same  time 
St.  Felix,  his  wife  LILIOSA,  and  several 
other  Christians  were  put  to  death. 
Aurelius  and  Natalia  left  two  little 
daughters.  St.  Eulogius,  who  was  pre 
sent  at  the  execution  and  to  whom  we 
owe  the  history  of  the  persecution,  -un 
dertook  the  care  of  these  orphans.  The 
youngest,  who  was  only  five  years  old, 
begged  him  to  write  the  history  of  her 
father  and  mother,  and  describe  their 
martyrdom  ;  so  he  said,  "  AVhat  will  you 
give  me  if  I  do  that  for  you  ?  "  "  Para 
dise,"  answered  the  child,  "  which  I  will 
ask  of  God  for  you."  EM.,  July  27. 
Eulogius,  Memorials  Sanctorum.  Baillet. 

St.  Navida,  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Navigia.  Honoured  at  Saint- 
Etienne  d'Auxerre.  Guerin. 

St.  Neducia,  or  EEDUCTA,  June  2. 
One  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
Roman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Nefydd.  Daughter  of  Brychau 
and  wife  of  St.  Tudwal  Befr.  SS.  Cynin 
and  If  or  were  her  sons.  Nefydd  was 
founder  of  Llannefydd  in  Denbighshire. 
She  is  sometimes  confounded  with  her 
nephew  of  the  same  name,  and  is  perhaps 
also  identical  with  ST.  GOLENDYDD.  Rets. 
(See  ALMHEDA.) 

St.  Nefyn  was  one  of  the  alleged 
daughters  of  Brychan,  but  more  probably 
she  was  his  granddaughter.  She  mar 
ried  Cynfarch  Oer,  and  is  perhaps  the 
founder  and  patron  of  Nefyn  in  Carnar 
vonshire  ;  but  this  is  uncertain,  as  is  her 
right  to  the  title  of  Saint.  Rees.  (See 
ALMHEDA.) 

St.  Nega.  This  saint  is  not  found 
in  the  calendar.  The  name  comes  from 
ncgare,  to  deny.  To  vow  one's  self  to 
St.  Nega  is  to  determine  to  deny  every 
thing,  through  thick  and  thin.  Prosper 
Merimee,  Colombo,,  p.  194.  At  p.  92 
he  says,  "  St.  Nega  is  there  to  pull  him 
through." 

St.  Nemata  or  NEMETA,  NONNA, 
mother  of  St.  David. 

St.  Nemoie,  NEOMADIA. 

St.    Nennoc,    NENOK,    or    NENOOE, 

NlNNOC. 

St.  Neomadia,  Jan.  14  (LEOMAIE, 
LOUMAZE,  MEMOE,  MEMOIE,  NEOMAIE, 


ST.   MNNOC 


so.  These  holy  women,  with  the  ap 
proval  of  the  Patriarch,  secluded  them 
selves  from  the  society  of  Constantinople, 
which  was  extremely  frivolous  and  lux 
urious,  leading  a  life  of  great  asceticism 
and  spending  their  time  in  prayer, 
manual  labour,  and  the  care  of  sick 
women.  Chrysostom  gave  great  offence 
to  the  Empress  Endocia,  and  his  friends 
were  involved  in  the  persecution  which 
befell  him  in  consequence.  Nicarete 
was  reduced  to  comparative  poverty,  but 
she  was  so  good  an  economist  that  she 
continued  to  provide  for  the  wants  of 
the  community,  and  always  had  some 
thing  to  give  to  the  poor.  When  Chry 
sostom  was  banished  in  404,  she  left 
Constantinople  rather  than  acknowledge 
the  new  patriarch,  Arsacius,  who  was 
set  up  in  his  stead.  She  was  then  an 
elderly  woman.  The  date  and  place  of 
her  death  are  not  known.  E.M.  Butler. 
Smith  and  Wace.  Massini. 

St.  Nicas  or  BICCA,  June  28,  M.  in 
Africa.     AA.SS. 

St.  Nice  (1),  M.     (See  CHARIESSA.) 
St.  Nice  (2),  April  25,  M.  with  SS. 
Eusebius,  Neo  and  others.     Martmov. 
St.  Nicea,  NICETA. 
St.  Nicerata,  NICARETE. 
St.  Niceta  (1),  NIC^BA  or  NICEA,  and 
St.  Aquilina,  July  24.  c.  250.    MM. 
The  names   GALONICA,  CALLINICA,  UAL- 
LENIA  are  sometimes  substituted  for  NI 
CETA,  sometimes  for  AQUILINA. 

They  were  either  two  women  who  were 
leading  a  sinful  life,  or  two  soldiers,  at 
Amon  or  Samon,  in  Lycia,  in  the  time 
of  the  Emperor  Decius.  They  were 
employed  to  turn  away  St.  Christopher 
from  the  Christian  faith:  instead  of 
which,  he  converted  them  both,  and  they 
forsook  their  bad  ways,  gave  their  ill- 
gotten  gains  to  the  poor,  and  were  put 
to  death  for  the  faith,  by  being  transfixed 
with  awls  from  the  feet  to  the  shoulders 
until  their  martyrdom  was  accomplished. 
AA.SS.  Smith  and  Wace. 

St.    Niceta   (2),   NICEA,   or   NITICA, 
July  20,  M.  in  Africa.     AAJSS. 
St.  Nicetria,  DOMINICA  of  Trow* 
St.   Nicia  (1),  April   28    V    M.   in 
Africa.     Mentioned   in  the  oldest  exist 
ing  copies  of  St.  Jerome's  Martyrology. 
AAJSS. 


St.  Nicia  (2),  May  2:1,  M.  in  Africn. 
AAJSS. 

St.  Nicole,  Hth  century,  Abbess  of 
Almeneches.  Laurent,  Hist.  <le  Maryuc- 
rite  dc  Lorraine. 

St.  Niconia,  May  H,  M.  at  Constanti 
nople  with  St.  Acacius.  (See  AGATHA  (2).) 
AAJSS. 

St.  Nida,  Feb.  24,  M.  at  Nicomedia, 
with  forty-six  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Niemyne,  NONNA,  mother  of  St. 
David. 

St.  Nimmia,  NIMONIA. 
St.  Nimonia,  NIMMIA  OFMEMMIA;  in 
French,  NINGE,  Aug.   12,  804.     M.  with 
SS.  JULIANA,  DIOMKDA,  LKOXIDEH,  AGAPE, 
and  about  twenty-five  others,  either  the 
same  day  as  ST.  APKA  of  Augsburg  or  a 
few  days  afterwards,  on  the  same  day  as 
her   mother  ST.  HILAIUA  and  the  three 
maid-servants.     AA.SS.     B.M.     Gnerin. 
SS.  Nina  (1-s),  MM.    AAJSS. 
St.  Nina  (i»)»  NlNO- 
Nine  Maidens,  July  12,  about  7Ki. 
There  appear  to  have  been  two  sets  of 
nine  maidens. 

The  nine  daughters  of  St.  Donald  led 
a  religious  life  in   the  Glen  of  Ogilby 
in  Forfarshire ;  and  after  their  father's 
death,  went  to  Abernethy.     FIM-ASA  is 
the  best  known.     Boece  makes  them  to 
be   only   seven.     The   other   nine   were 
holy  virgins  who  came  with  ST.  BUIGID 
from  Ireland  and  settled  at  Aternethy. 
MAZOTA  was  the  most  famous  of  these. 
St.  Ninfa(l),NYMi>HA. 
Santa  Ninfa  (2).    The  name  given 
to  some  pools  thirteen  miles  from  Rome, 
where  ST.  MARTHA  (5)  was  drowned 
270. 

St.  Ninge,  NIMONIA. 
St.  Ninna,  May  •',,  M.  at  Milan   with 
many  others,  under  Maximiau.     AA.bS>. 
St.  Ninnita,  June  4.    One  of  many 
martyrs   commemorated   in    several 
martyrologies.     The  place  of  their  death 
has  its  name  so  variously  written  as 
leave  it  doubtful  whether  it  was  Nev< 
Noyon,  Nogent,  or  Nineveh.     AAM. 
Ninnie  NONNA,  mother  of  b 
St.     Ninnoc,    NINNOCHA,    Nis 
NENNOC,  NENOK,  NKNOOK,  June  -\ 
or     6th     century.        V.      and      abbe.s. 
Founder    of    the    monastery    of     Laii 
nennoc   in   Plemeur,   Brittany.      Cuhier 


106 


ST.   NINNOC 


says  that  Blemur,  near  Quimperle,  is 
meant. 

Represented  with  a  stag  taking  refuge 
at  her  feet,  supposed  to  mean  a  Bre- 
tonne  princes^  fleeing  from  the  pursuit  of 
a  nobleman. 

There  was  once  a  prince  called  Brochan, 
who  lived  in  Combronensia.  He  was 
of  the  family  of  King  Gurthiern,  and 
was  respected  throughout  the  whole  of 
Britain.  This  Brochan  was  very  rich 
and  often  made  thank  offerings  to  God, 
as  he  knew  that  he  owed  all  his  wealth 
and  power  to  Him  alone.  He  married 
Meneduc,  daughter  of  Constantine,  king 
of  the  Scots,  who  was  descended  from 
Julius  Cassar. 

Brochan  and  Meneduc  had  fourteen 
sons.  As  these  boys  grew  up,  they  re 
membered  that  Christ  had  said,  "  Whoso 
ever  shall  renounce  the  world  and  all  that 
is  therein  for  My  sake,  shall  receive  an 
hundredfold  and  shall  have  eternal  life." 
So  they  left  their  father's  home  and  went 
as  missionaries  into  different  countries, 
preaching  the  gospel  everywhere,  and 
living  as  saints  of  God  in  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth.  Their  father  and 
mother,  however,  grieved  to  lose  them, 
because  they  hoped  that  their  sons  would 
succeed  them  as  princes  in  their  own 
land.  Accordingly,  the  king  vowed  to 
present  on  the  altar,  a  tenth  of  all  his 
possessions,  if  God  would  grant  him 
another  child,  that  he  might  have  one  to 
reign  over  his  territory  after  him. 

At  last  an  angel  appeared  to  him  in 
a  dream,  and  bade  him  be  of  good  cheer, 
for  his  prayer  was  heard,  and  he  should 
have  a  daughter  whose  birth  should  be  the 
cause  of  great  joy  throughout  all  Britain. 

Soon  after  her  birth,  the  future  saint 
was  christened  Ninnoc  Guengustlee,  and 
given  to  her  god-parents  to  be  brought 
up.  When  she  was  fifteen,  a  Scottish 
prince  came  to  Brochan  to  ask  for  his 
daughter  in  marriage ;  but  Ninnoc  wished 
to  devote  herself  to  Christ  and  not  to  any 
king's  son. 

About  this  time,  St.  Germanus  was 
sent  from  Ireland  to  France,  by  St. 
Patrick,  the  archbishop,  and  came  on 
his  way,  to  the  Court  of  Brochan. 
Ninnoc  listened  dutifully  to  his  instruc 
tions.  When  the  kalends  of  January 


came  round,  the  king  made  a  great 
supper  to  celebrate  his  birthday,  and 
invited  to  it  all  his  lords  and  great 
men,  St.  Germanus  among  them.  As 
they  were  sitting  at  table,  the  prin 
cess  came  in  and  threw  herself  at  her 
father's  feet,  begging  him  to  grant  what 
she  was  about  to  ask  in  presence  of  all 
the  assembled  nobles.  Brochan  having 
promised,  she  declared  that  lands  and 
gold,  or  any  other  kinds  of  wealth,  were 
nothing  to  her  ;  she  only  begged  for  her 
father's  permission  to  leave  the  kingdom 
and  go  to  Letavia,  with  as  many  of  her 
friends  and  servants  as  would  volunteer 
to  accompany  her,  to  do  as  she  herself 
did  for  the  love  of  God. 

At  this  announcement,  a  great  sad 
ness  fell  on  the  whole  party,  the  queen 
gave  way  to  despair  ;  but  St.  Germanus 
comforted  the  king  and  exhorted  him 
not  to  oppose  that  holy  vocation,  to 
which  his  daughter  had  been  called,  even 
before  her  birth.  So  the  king  made 
answer  to  Ninnoc,  "  Beloved  daughter, 
I  have  hitherto  cherished  the  hope  that 
in  you  I  should  reign  over  my  kingdom, 
even  after  my  own  death ;  but  since  you 
have  chosen  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
rather  than  an  earthly  dominion,  I  give 
you  leave  to  go  wherever  you  please, 
and  may  my  blessing  go  with  you. 
You  shall  have  ships,  and  money,  and 
attendants,  and  all  that  you  require." 

When  it  became  known  throughout 
the  kingdom  that  the  king  had  allowed 
his  daughter  to  depart,  many  persons 
sold  their  possessions  and  gave  all  they 
had  to  the  poor,  and  joined  the  expedi 
tion.  Brochan  himself  went  to  the  port 
to  take  leave  of  his  daughter.  He  con 
fided  her  to  the  care  of  her  godfather 
and  godmother,  gave  her  his  blessing, 
and  returned  sorrowfully  to  his  house. 
Then  the  army  of  God  set  sail,  and 
arrived  in  due  time  at  Letavia  (Brit 
tany),  and  landed  at  a  place  called  Pul- 
lilfin.  Thence  they  sent  envoys  to 
Gueric,  the  king  of  the  country,  to  tell 
him  who  they  were  and  to  beg  that 
Ninnoc,  the  daughter  of  Brochan,  king 
of  the  Combrones,  might  be  allowed  to 
settle  in  Gueric's  dominions  and  serve 
God  in  peace.  The  king  made  them 
welcome  and  gave  them  a  settlement 


ST.   XI  NO 


in  a  desert  place,  called  Penmur,  on  the 
southern  coast  of  Brittany. 

There  St.  Ninnoc  built  a  church  and 
convent.  She  wrought  miracles  during 
her  life  and  after  her  death.  To  this 
day,  the  remains  may  be  seen,  of  the 
little  monastery  she  built  for  the  holy 
men  who  accompanied  her  to  Lctavia. 
Many  of  them  built  other  churches  and 
shrines  in  different  parts  of  that  country, 
and  are  still  held  in  veneration  by  the 
pious  inhabitants. 

Ninnoc  planted  many  trees  and  sowed 
useful  seeds  and  taught  the  natives  of 
Penmur  the  arts  of  cultivation  and  of 
sea-fishing,  so  that  she  furnished  them 
with  the  means  of  living  in  plenty  and 
comfort. 

About  three  years  after  Ninnoc  had 
settled  in  Brittany,  it  happened  that 
Gueric  was  hunting  near  her  church, 
and  a  stag  that  the  dogs  had  nearly 
caught,  bounded  across  a  river  and  took 
refuge  in  the  church  which  was  on  the 
further  side.  Gueric  followed  and  saw 
the  holy  monks  and  nuns  singing  their 
psalms  and  prayers,  with  the  wild  stag 
lying  meekly  at  the  feet  of  Ninnoc. 
He  remained  seven  days  at  the  monas 
tery,  and  commended  himself  to  the 
prayers  of  this  holy  virgin.  After  his 
departure,  he  gave  her  for  herself  and 
her  successors,  the  whole  of  the  district 
called  from  her,  Lan-Ninnoc ;  he  also 
gave  her  other  places,  three  hundred 
horses,  and  much  cattle. 

St.  Ninnoc  is  mentioned  in  a  litany 
used  in  England  in  the  7th  century, 
given  by  Mabillon,  Vetera  Analecta,  p. 
G69,  and  quoted  in  an  English  Martyr- 
ology  of  the  8th  century.  Baert,  m 
AA.SS.,  says  her  Acts  bear  in  them 
selves  the  proofs  of  their  falsehood, 
although  her  worship  was  very  early 
established  in  Brittany.  Albert  le 
Grand,  Vie  de  St.  Efflam.  Monta- 
lembert. 

Baring  Gould,  Book  of  the  West,  says 
she  had  four  bishops  under  her  com 
mand,  and  that  she  must  have  been  the 
hereditary  head  of  the  ecclesiastical 
tribe. 

St.  Nino,  Jan.  14,  Dec.  15.  4th  cen 
tury.  The  apostle  of  Iberia  (now  Georgia), 
was  a  Christian  captive,  and  is  always 


called  NINO  by  the  Russians  ;  the  Ar 
menians  call  her  NOUNI;  Latin  historians 
call  her  NINA,  NUNIA  ;  and  she  IK  alao 
called  CAFTIVA,  CIIUIHTIANA-KHCRAVA, 
CHIUSTIANA-CAUTIVA,  the  Christian  cap 
tive  or  slave ;  etc. 

Represented  :  ( 1 )  praying,  while  a 
large  pillar  is  suspended  slanting  in  the 
air.  ^The  story  of  this  miracle  is  that 
during  the  building  of  the  first  Christian 
church  in  Georgia,  when  two  fine  pillars 
had  been  erected,  the  third  defied  all  the 
efforts  of  the  builders  to  set  it  in  its 
place  or  make  it  stand  upright :  the 
people  began  to  doubt  the  power  of  Nino's 
God,  but  the  saint  spent  the  night  in 
prayer,  and  when  they  reassembled  in 
the  morning,  they  saw  the  great  pillar 
gradually  rise  from  the  ground  without 
human  agency  and  stand  firm  on  its 
proper  pedestal) ;  ('->)  as  a  captive,  con 
verting  a  king. 

In  the  time  of  Constantino,  the  inhabi 
tants  of  Iberia  were  almost  savage.    The 
country  had  preserved  its  independence 
and  had   never   become   subject   to  the 
great   empires   which   existed  in    Asia. 
The  Christian    religion  had  not   pene 
trated  there,  but  after  the  conversion  of 
Armenia,  that  of  Iberia  was  inevitable. 
During  the  persecution  under  Diocletian 
and   his   immediate   successors,    several 
Christian    virgins   had    fled    from    the 
Roman  empire  and  sought  an  asylum  in 
Armenia ;  but  as  Tiridates,  the  king,  had 
not  yet  renounced   idolatry,  they  w«ra 
not  safe  there.     (See   RIPSIMA.)     They 
lived  hidden  and  dispersed  in  Armenia. 
Nino,  one  of  them,  either  fled  to  Iberia 
or  was  taken  there  as  a  captive, 
fame  of  her  virtues  and  the  miraculoi 
cures  she  wrought  soon  acquired  for  h 
the   veneration   of  the  people, 
the  custom  that  when  any  woman  h 
sick  child,  she  carried  it  from  hous 
house  to  see  if  any  one  could  cure  it. 
When   Nino   was   appealed   to,  she  at 
tempted  no  treatment  but  merely  prayed 
for  the  little  sufferer.     In  this  way  B 
cured  many  sick  babies,  and  at  last  one 
that  belonged  to  Mihran,  king  of 
country.    His  wife  also  was  very  ill,  and 
sent  for  the  Christian  slave,  who  cui 
her  and  taught  her  to  believe  in  (  hrwt 
The  conversion  of  the  queen  was  speedily 


108 


ST.   NIRIA 


followed  by  that  of  the  king.  Their 
example  was  followed  by  all  the  great 
men  of  the  country.  Christianity  spread 
through  Iberia,  and  thence  through  the 
Caucasus,  and  to  the  shores  of  the  Cas 
pian  sea,  and  the  vast  plains  lying  to  the 
north  of  Iberia.  The  great  temple  of 
the  god  Ormuzd,  in  the  capital  of  the 
country,  near  the  modern  Tiflis,  was 
pulled  down,  notwithstanding  the  oppo 
sition  of  some  of  the  chiefs,  and  Nino 
raised  on  its  ruins,  a  great  cross  which 
was  transported  to  Petersburg,  in  1801, 
by  Prince  George  Bagration,  but  which 
the  Emperor,  Alexander,  sent  back  to 
Georgia,  where  it  had  been  revered 
for  centuries  as  the  palladium  of  the 
monarchy. 

The  king  built  a  church  and  sent  an 
embassy  to  Constantino  to  propose  an 
alliance  with  him  and  to  ask  for  priests 
to  instruct  his  people.  Constantine 
gladly  complied  with  this  request,  and 
the  Church  of  Iberia  long  kept  the  faith 
untroubled  by  the  heresies  and  disputes 
which  vexed  the  ecclesiastical  body  of 
the  empire. 

The  historians  of  this  century  speak 
of  the  conversion  of  the  Iberians,  but  the 
Georgian  and  Armenian  authors  are  the 
only  authorities  for  the  name  of  the  Saint 
and  of  the  King.  According  to  the 
Georgian  chronicles,  Mihran  was  son  of 
the  king  of  Persia  ;  probably  Schahpour, 
the  second  of  the  Sassanides  who  were 
then  reigning  in  Persia. 

Nino's  body  lies  among  the  mountains 
in  Georgia,  in  the  little  church  of  Sig- 
nakh,  said  to  have  been  built  in  the 
fourth  century.  She  is  said  to  have 
preached  in  the  neighbouring  countries 
and  converted  Sophia,  queen  of  Cachetia. 

Lebeau,  JBas  Empire,  Neale,  Holy 
Eastern  Church.  Milman,  History  of 
Christianity.  Martinov,  Annus  Ecclesi- 
asticus.  Azevedo. 

St.  Niria,  May  8,  M.  at  Constanti 
nople,  with  St.  Acacius.  (See  AGATHA 
(2).)  AA.SS. 

SS.  Nirilla  (MARELLA,  MIRELLA, 
MiitCELLA,  MARCELLA)  and  Maurella, 
May  21,  MM.  with  others,  in  Africa. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Nisia,  June  28,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJS8. 


St.  Nitasse,  Dec.  25,  the  great  Martyr 
ANASTASIA  (5). 

St.  Nitica,  NICETA  (2). 

St.  Nitouche.  An  imaginary  saint, 
invented  as  patron  of  hypocrites. 

St.   Noaleun  or  NOALUEN,   NOYALA. 

St.  Nobilis,  Sept.  28,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.8S. 

St.  Noetburg,  NOTBURG. 

St.     Noflede    or     NOFLETA,    ANNO- 

FLEDIS. 

St.  Noguette,  or  NORGUETTE,  hon 
oured  in  Bretagne.  Guerin. 

St.  Noitburg,  NOTBURG. 

St.  Nominanda,  Dec.  31.    EM. 

St.  Nomititia,  June  2,  one  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  Eoman  mar 
tyrs  commemorated  together  in  the  Wart. 
of  St.  Jerome.  AA.S.S. 

St.  Nomoize,  NEOMADIA. 

St.  Nona  (1),  Oct.  30,  1st  century. 
M.  at  Leon  in  Spain,  where  a  well  and 
hermitage  preserve  her  memory.  AA.SS. 
Espana  Sagrada. 

St.   Nona  (2).     (See  BERLENDIS.) 

St.  Noninna,  July  6,  V.  in  Ireland. 
Supposed  to  be  MODWENNA.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Nonna  (1-0),  MM.  at  different 
times  and  places. 

St.  Nonna  (7),  Aug.  5,  +  c.  374. 
Mother  of  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen. 
Daughter  of  Phillatius  and  Gorgonia. 
Wife  of  Gregory,  who  had  an  estate  at 
Arianzus,  near  Nazianzus  in  Cappadocia  ; 
he  was  a  heretic,  of  the  sect  called  Hyp- 
sistarii,  but  was  converted  by  his  wife 
and  became  a  staunch  Catholic,  and 
eventually  bishop  of  Nazianzus.  They 
had  a  daughter,  GORGONIA  (2),  but  Nonna 
prayed  earnestly  that  she  might  have  a 
son.  Her  prayer  was  answered  by  the 
birth  of  her  famous  son,  St.  Gregory 
Nazianzen.  She  dedicated  him  to  God 
from  his  birth,  presented  him  in  the 
Church  before  he  could  speak,  and  con 
secrated  his  hands  by  making  him  touch 
the  sacred  books.  She  had  another  son, 
Cesarius;  she  brought  them  both  up 
with  the  greatest  care,  but  did  not  have 
them  baptized  ;  both  were  sent  to  school 
at  Csesarea,  and  there  Gregory  began  his 
lifelong  friendship  with  St.  Basil  the 
Great.  Afterwards,  at  Athens,  Julian 
the  Apostate  was  one  of  his  fellow- 
students,  It  seems  that  Gregory  was 


ST.   NOXXIT  A 


ioo 


about  thirty  when  lie  was  christened. 
In  371  Nonna  had  a  severe  illness  and 
appeared  to  be  at  the  point  of  death. 
Gregory  was  on  his  way  to  pay  a  visit  to 
his  friend  Basil,  but  hurried  to  his  mother, 
who,  meantime,  began  to  mend  and  had  a 
vision,  in  which  he  gave  her  cakes  marked 
with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  blessed 
by  him.  Nonna  and  her  husband  lived 
to  be  very  old.  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen 
became  bishop  of  Constantinople  and  a 
doctor  of  the  Church.  What  we  know 
of  his  parents  is  chiefly  derived  from  his 
epistles  and  orations,  in  which  he  speaks 
of  them  with  great  reverence  and  aft'ec- 
tion.  EM.  Tilleuiont.  Baillet.  Smith 
and  Wacc. 

St.  Nonna  (8),  March  1,  2  (MELABI, 
NANNITA,  NEMATA,  NEMETA,  NEOMINA, 

NlEMYNE,  NlNNIE,  NoN,  NoNNET,  NoNNITA, 

NOUMITA,  NOVITA,  NUN,  NUNN,  NYNNINA), 
a  native  of  Pembroke  in  the  second  half 
of  the  5th  century. 

She  is  called  by  Rees,  Welsh  Saint*, 
NON,  daughter  of  Gynyr  of  Caregawch 
and  wife  of  Sandde  ab  Ceredig  ab,  etc., 
by  whom  she  was  mother  of  St.  David, 
patron  of  Wales.  The  common  legend 
is  that  she  was  not  married  but,  although 
a  good  and  pious  girl,  she  fell  a  victim 
to  the  lawlessness  of  the  age  and  the 
violence  of  Sandde  (Latin,  Xanthus). 

Shortly  before  the  birth  of  the  great 
Saint,  Nonna  went  to  church  to  make  an 
offering  and  to  pray  for  her  safe  delivery 
and  for  the  welfare  of  her  child.  A 
certain  learned  man  was  preaching ; 
when  Nonna  entered  the  church  he  sud 
denly  found  himself  unable  to  proceed. 
After  he  had  been  silent  a  few  minutes, 
the  congregation  asked  what  was  the 
matter  and  why  he  did  not  go  on.  He 
was  much  embarrassed,  and  confessed 
that,  although  he  had  not  lost  the  power 
of  speech,  that  of  preaching  was  sud 
denly  taken  from  him.  He  desired  all 
the  people  to  go  out  of  the  church  that 
he  might  try  to  preach  when  left  alone. 
As  the  difficulty  remained,  he  cried  out, 
"  Some  one  is  hiding  in  the  church  !  I 
implore  him  to  show  himself  that  I  may 
know  who  it  is,  whose  presence  afflicts 
me  in  this  manner."  St.  Nun  crept  from 
behind  a  pillar  and  confessed  that  she 
had  hidden  herself  there  to  escape  the 


observation  of  the  congregation,  as  she 
was,<  although  unmarried,  about  to  be 
come  a  mother.  At  the  request  of  the 
preacher,  she  wont  out  of  the  church  and 
the  people  returned,  leaving  her  ontsido 
the  door.  The  doctor  finished  his  sermon 
and  afterwards  questioned  Nonna,  who 
told  him  her  story,  from  which  ho  fore 
told  that  her  son  should  be  more  eloquent 
than  any  one  else  in  Britain,  and  should 
be  a  famous  servant  of  God. 

Certain  magi  told  tho  Prince  of  Pom- 
broke  that  a  child  would  be  born  at  that 
time  in  his  territory,  who  should  have 
power  over  the  whole  land,  and  be 
greater  than  the  descendants  of  the  said 
prince.  The  tyrant  accordingly  ascer 
tained  the  time  and  place  where  this 
child  should  come  into  the  world,  and 
resolved  that  if  any  woman  was  found 
even  sitting  down  to  rest  there,  she 
should  immediately  be  put  to  death. 
When  the  time  came,  however,  a  fright 
ful  storm  prevented  the  prince  or  any  of 
his  men  from  going  out  of  the  houses  in 
which  they  happened  to  be ;  but  perfect 
calm  and  sunshine  reigned  in  the  spot 
where  Nonna  gave  birth  to  David.  In 
her  pain,  she  grasped  a  stone  that  was 
near  her,  and  the  marks  of  her  fingers 
remained  impressed  in  it,  as  if  it  had 
been  wax. 

A  well,  named  after  Nonna,  in  the 
parish  of  Pelynt  in  East  Cornwall,  where 
she  is  also  called  St.  Ninnie,  is  visited 
for  superstitious  purposes,  ainl  pins  are 
thrown  in  as  gifts  by  the  visitors. 
This  well  is  commonly  known  as  the 
Piskies  or  Pixies'  Well,  an  older  dedica 
tion  probably  than  the  Christian  one. 
(Bright's  Ancient  Crosses.)  Nonna's  well 
at  St.  David's  is  resorted  to  for  the  cure 
of  madness. 

Butler  says  that  St.  Nun  lived  and 
died  the  spiritual  mother  of  many  re 
ligious  women.  Capgrave  says  she  WBH 
second  daughter  of  Bragan,  king  of 
Brecknock  (see  ALMIIEDA). 

St.  Nonnica,  June  28,  M.  in  202, 
with  St.  Potainiwna,  at  Alexandria. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Nonnina  or  NUNNINA,  July  20, 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Nonnita,  NOXNA,  mother  of  St. 
David. 


108 


ST.   NIRIA 


followed  by  that  of  the  king.  Their 
example  was  followed  by  all  the  great 
men  of  the  country.  Christianity  spread 
through  Iberia,  and  thence  through  the 
Caucasus,  and  to  the  shores  of  the  Cas 
pian  sea,  and  the  vast  plains  lying  to  the 
north  of  Iberia.  The  great  temple  of 
the  god  Ormuzd,  in  the  capital  of  the 
country,  near  the  modern  Tiflis,  was 
pulled  down,  notwithstanding  the  oppo 
sition  of  some  of  the  chiefs,  and  Nino 
raised  on  its  ruins,  a  great  cross  which 
was  transported  to  Petersburg,  in  1801, 
by  Prince  George  Bagration,  but  which 
the  Emperor,  Alexander,  sent  back  to 
Georgia,  where  it  had  been  revered 
for  centuries  as  the  palladium  of  the 
monarchy. 

The  king  built  a  church  and  sent  an 
embassy  to  Constantiue  to  propose  an 
alliance  with  him  and  to  ask  for  priests 
to  instruct  his  people.  Constantine 
gladly  complied  with  this  request,  and 
the  Church  of  Iberia  long  kept  the  faith 
untroubled  by  the  heresies  and  disputes 
which  vexed  the  ecclesiastical  body  of 
the  empire. 

The  historians  of  this  century  speak 
of  the  conversion  of  the  Iberians,  but  the 
Georgian  and  Armenian  authors  are  the 
only  authorities  for  the  name  of  the  Saint 
and  of  the  King.  According  to  the 
Georgian  chronicles,  Mihran  was  son  of 
the  king  of  Persia  ;  probably  Schabpour, 
the  second  of  the  Sassanides  who  were 
then  reigning  in  Persia. 

Nino's  body  lies  among  the  mountains 
in  Georgia,  in  the  little  church  of  Sig- 
nakh,  said  to  have  been  built  in  the 
fourth  century.  She  is  said  to  have 
preached  in  the  neighbouring  countries 
and  converted  Sophia,  queen  of  Cachetia. 
Lebeau,  Bas  Empire,  Neale,  Holy 
Eastern  Church.  Milman,  History  of 
Christianity.  Martinov,  Annus  Ecclesi- 
asticus.  Azevedo. 

St.  Niria,  May  8,  M.  at  Constanti 
nople,  with  St.  Acacius.  (See  AGATHA 
(2).)  AA.S8. 

SS.  Nirilla  (MABBLLA,  MIRELLA, 
MIRCELLA,  MARCELLA)  and  Maurella, 
May  21,  MM.  with  others,  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Nisia,  June  28,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJ38. 


St.  Nitasse,  Dec.  25,  the  great  Martyr 
ANASTASIA  (5). 

St.  Nitica,  NICBTA  (2). 

St.  NitOUChe.  An  imaginary  saint, 
invented  as  patron  of  hypocrites. 

St.   Noaleim  or  NOALUEN,   NOYALA. 

St.  Nobilis,  Sept.  28,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Noetburg,  NOTBURG. 

St.     Noflede    or     NOFLETA,   ANNO- 

FLEDIS. 

St.   Noguette,  or  NORGUETTE,  hon 
oured  in  Bretagne.     Guerin. 
St.  Noitburg,  NOTBURG. 
St.  Nominanda,  Dec.  31.    EM. 
St.  Nomititia,  June  2,  one  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  Eoman  mar 
tyrs  commemorated  together  in  the  Mart. 
of  St.  Jerome.     AA.S.S. 
St.  Nomoize,  NEOMADIA. 
St.   Nona(l),  Oct.   30,  1st  century. 
M.  at  Leon  in  Spain,  where  a  well  and 
hermitage  preserve  her  memory.  AA.SS. 
Espana  Sagrada. 

St.   Nona  (2).     (See  BERLENDIS.) 
St.  Noninna,  July  6,  V.  in  Ireland. 
Supposed  to  be  MODWENNA.     AA.SS. 

SS.   Nonna  (!-<>),  MM.  at  different 
times  and  places. 

St.  Nonna  (7),  Aug.  5,    +  c.  374. 
Mother     of    St.     Gregory     Nazianzen. 
Daughter   of   Phillatius   and    Gorgoma. 
Wife  of  Gregory,  who  had  an  estate  at 
Arianzus,  near  Nazianzus  in  Cappadocia  ; 
he  was  a  heretic,  of  the  sect  called  Hyp- 
sistarii,  but  was  converted  by  his  wife 
and   became    a    staunch    Catholic,    and 
eventually  bishop  of  Nazianzus.     They 
had  a  daughter,  GORGONIA  (2),  but  Nonna 
prayed  earnestly  that  she  might  have  a 
son.     Her  prayer  was  answered  by  the 
birth    of   her  famous  son,  St.   Gregory 
Nazianzen.     She  dedicated  him  to  God 
from   his  birth,    presented  him   in   the 
Church  before  he  could  speak,  and  con 
secrated  his  hands  by  making  him  touch 
the  sacred  books.     She  had  another  son, 
Cesarius;    she   brought   them   both    up 
with  the  greatest  care,  but  did  not  have 
them  baptized  ;  both  were  sent  to  school 
at  Cffisarea,  and  there  Gregory  began  his 
lifelong   friendship    with  St.   Basil   the 
Great.     Afterwards,  at   Athens,   Julian 
the    Apostate    was   one    of   his  fellow- 
students.      It  seems  that   Gregory  was 


ST.   NONNITA 


100 


about  thirty  when  he  was  christened. 
In  371  Nonna  had  a  severe  illness  and 
appeared  to  be  at  the  point  of  death. 
Gregory  was  on  his  way  to  pay  a  visit  to 
Ms  friend  Basil,  but  hurried  to  his  mother, 
who,  meantime,  began  to  mend  and  had  a 
vision,  in  which  he  gave  her  cakes  marked 
with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  blessed 
by  him.  Nonna  and  her  husband  lived 
to  be  very  old.  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen 
became  bishop  of  Constantinople  and  a 
doctor  of  the  Church.  What  we  know 
of  his  parents  is  chiefly  derived  from  his 
epistles  and  orations,  in  which  he  speaks 
of  them  with  great  reverence  and  affec 
tion.  EM.  Tillemont.  Baillet.  Smith 
and  Wace. 

St.  Nonna  (8),  March  1,  2  (MBLABI, 
NANNITA,  NEMATA,  NEMETA,  NEOMINA, 

NlEMYNE,  NlNNIE,  NoN,  NoNNET,  NoNNITA, 

NOUMITA,  NOVITA,  NUN,  NUNN,  NYNNINA), 
a  native  of  Pembroke  in  the  second  half 
of  the  oth  century. 

She  is  called  by  Kees,  Welsh  Saints, 
NON,  daughter  of  Gynyr  of  Caregawch 
and  wife  of  Sandde  ab  Ceredig  ab,  etc., 
by  whom  she  was  mother  of  St.  David, 
patron  of  Wales.  The  common  legend 
is  that  she  was  not  married  but,  although 
a  good  and  pious  girl,  she  fell  a  victim 
to  the  lawlessness  of  the  age  and  the 
violence  of  Sandde  (Latin,  Xanthus). 

Shortly  before  the  birth  of  the  great 
Saint,  Nonna  went  to  church  to  make  an 
offering  and  to  pray  for  her  safe  delivery 
and  for  the  welfare  of  her  child.  A 
certain  learned  man  was  preaching ; 
when  Nonna  entered  the  church  he  sud 
denly  found  himself  unable  to  proceed. 
After  he  had  been  silent  a  few  minutes, 
the  congregation  asked  what  was  the 
matter  and  why  he  did  not  go  on.  He 
was  much  embarrassed,  and  confessed 
that,  although  he  had  not  lost  the  power 
of  speech,  that  of  preaching  was  sud 
denly  taken  from  him.  He  desired  all 
the  people  to  go  out  of  the  church  that 
he  might  try  to  preach  when  left  alone. 
As  the  difficulty  remained,  he  cried  out, 
"  Some  one  is  hiding  in  the  church  !  I 
implore  him  to  show  himself  that  I  may 
know  who  it  is,  whose  presence  afflicts 
me  in  this  manner."  St.  Nun  crept  from 
behind  a  pillar  and  confessed  that  she 
had  hidden  herself  there  to  escape  the 


observation  of  the  congregation,  as  she 
was,*  although  unmarried,  about  to  be 
come  a  mother.  At  the  request  of  the 
preacher,  she  wont  out  of  the  church  and 
the  people  returned,  leaving  her  outside 
the  door.  The  doctor  finished  his  sermon 
and  afterwards  questioned  Nonna,  who 
told  him  her  story,  from  which  he  fore 
told  that  her  son  should  be  more  eloquent 
than  any  one  else  in  Britain,  and  should 
be  a  famous  servant  of  God. 

Certain  magi  told  the  Prince  of  Pom- 
broke  that  a  child  would  be  born  at  that 
time  in  his  territory,  who  should  have 
power  over  the  whole  land,  and  be 
greater  than  the  descendants  of  the  said 
prince.  The  tyrant  accordingly  ascer 
tained  the  time  and  place  where  this 
child  should  come  into  the  world,  and 
resolved  that  if  any  woman  was  found 
even  sitting  down  to  rest  there,  she 
should  immediately  be  put  to  death. 
When  the  time  came,  however,  a  fright 
ful  storm  prevented  the  prince  or  any  of 
his  men  from  going  out  of  the  houses  in 
which  they  happened  to  be ;  but  perfect 
calm  and  sunshine  reigned  in  the  spot 
where  Nonna  gave  birth  to  David.  In 
her  pain,  she  grasped  a  stone  that  was 
near  her,  and  the  marks  of  her  fingers 
remained  impressed  in  it,  as  if  it  had 
been  wax. 

A  well,  named  after  Nonna,  in  the 
parish  of  Pelynt  in  East  Cornwall,  where 
she  is  also  called  St.  Ninnie,  is  visited 
for  superstitious  purposes,  and  pins  are 
thrown  in  as  gifts  by  the  visitors. 
This  well  is  commonly  known  as  the 
Piskies  or  Pixies'  Well,  an  older  dedica 
tion  probably  than  the  Christian  one. 
(Bright's  Ancient  Crosses.)  Nonna's  well 
at  St.  David's  is  resorted  to  for  the  cure 
of  madness. 

Butler  says  that  St.  Nun  lived  and 
died  the  spiritual  mother  of  many  re 
ligious  women.  Capgrave  says  she  was 
second  daughter  of  Bragan,  king  of 
Brecknock  (sec  ALMHEDA). 

St.  Nonnica,  June  28,  M.  in  202, 
with  St.  Potamicena,  at  Alexandria. 
AAJS8. 

St.  Nonnina  or  NUNNINA,  July  20, 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Nonnita,  NONNA,  mother  of  St. 
David. 


110 


B.  NOPPURC 


B.  Noppurg,  NOTBURG  (4). 

St.  Norguette,  NOGUETTE. 

St.  Norrice  or  NORRIS,  same  as  ST. 
BALSAMIA,  nurse  of  St.  Eemigius. 

St.  Notburg  (1),  daughter  of  Dago- 
bert  I.,  a  very  popular  hero  of  French 
ballads. 

The  historical  novelette  by  M.  du  Bois 
de  Beauehesne,  called  "  La  me  et  la 
Legende  de  Madame  Sainte  Notburge" 
Paris,  18G8,  professes  to  have  gathered 
the  story  of  St.  Notburg  from  the  people 
of  the  valley  of  the  Neckar,  and  gives  in 
an  appendix,  many  pieces  justificatives. 
This  legend  makes  Notburg  the  daughter 
of  Dagobert,  by  NAN  TILDA  ;  and  also 
makes  her  a  friend  of  SS.  Pepin,  IDA 
(3),  GERTRUDE  and  BEGGA. 

Notburg  had  a  pet  white  deer,  named 
Nisus,  which  saved  her  life  and  did  her 
many  good  services.  It  carried  her 
across  the  Neckar  on  its  back,  and  when 
she  lived  hidden  in  a  cave  for  fear  of  the 
invading  Slavonians,  it  brought  her 
loaves  of  bread  on  its  head.  Her  father 
killed  her  by  pulling  off  her  arm ;  but 
when  he  sent  Pepin  to  bury  her  quietly, 
Pepin  found  that  she  had  put  her  arm 
on  again  and  was  alive  and  preaching. 
She  converted  a  great  many  of  the 
Germans,  and  taught  them  cooking  and 
other  useful  arts. 

Notburg  died  in  her  cave,  and  the 
people  laid  her  upon  a  new  wooden  cart 
thickly  covered  with  white  roses.  It 
was  drawn  by  two  young  white  bulls ; 
the  stag  attended,  wearing  a  wreath  of 
white  roses  and  lilies.  A  great  crowd 
of  people  accompanied  the  cart  until  the 
stag  laid  down  its  wreath  on  the  ground 
and  the  bulls  stood  still,  and  there  the 
saint  was  buried. 

It  is  most  likely  that  there  was  no 
St.  Notburg,  daughter  of  Dagobert,  and 
that  this  is  either  a  distortion  of  the 
story  of  Notburg,  niece  of  Pepin,  or  a 
pure  fabrication. 

St.  Notburg  (2),  NEITBURG,  NOET- 

BURG,  NoiTBURG  or   NoTHBURGIS,  Oct.    31. 

End  of  7th  century.  Of  noble  descent 
among  the  Franks.  Daughter  of  a  sister 
of  ST.  PLECTRUDE,  whose  sons  Drogo  and 
Grimoald  wished  to  marry  her,  either  to 
one  of  themselves  or  to  some  other 
prince  or  noble ;  but  she,  having  vowed 


her  life  to  her  Saviour,  prayed  that  she 
might  die  rather  than  be  compelled  to 
become  the  wife  of  a  mortal  man.  She 
died,  and  her  holiness  was  attested  by 
lights,  which  appeared  from  heaven  and 
stood  at  her  head  and  feet  as  she  lay  on 
the  bier.  She  was  buried  at  Cologne, 
in  the  church  of  the  monastery  of  our 
Lady  of  the  Capital,  which  had  been 
Plectrude's  palace.  Another  corpse 
being  laid  beside  hers,  came  to  life  and 
declared  the  miracle  was  caused  by  the 
merits  of  Notburg;  in  consequence  of 
this,  Notburg's  worship  became  very 
popular  among  the  people  of  Cologne, 
and  they  called  the  church  by  her  name. 
She  was  afterwards  translated  to  the 
Carthusian  monastery  of  St.  Beatus  near 
Coblentz.  Canisius  calls  her  daughter 
of  Pepin  and  Plectrude,  and  calls  Pepiu 
the  king.  "Item  zu  Coin  am  Rein  die 
l)egrebnusz  der  Iteiligc  Jwnck  frawcn  Noit- 
burge,  weJche  em  tochter  war  der  Franck- 
reichiscJien  kilnigs  Pipini  des  erstcn.  Ir 
muter  Plectrudis  hat  das  Betthauss  zu 
Coin  welcli  damals  dcs  Icunigslurg  war  zu 
einer  ~kirclte  weihen  lassen"  He  tells  of 
the  miracle  of  the  lights  and  of  her 
translation  to  Coblentz.  Surius,  Le 
Cointe.  Brower.  Greven  and  Molanus, 
Auctaria.  Migne,  CXXIV.  641,  etc.  An 
earlier  Notburg  is  probably  a  fictitious 
person,  or  rather  a  misdated  and  other 
wise  garbled  version  of  this  one. 

St.  Notburg  (3),  Jan.  26.  Patron 
of  Constance  and  of  Sulzen.  9th 
century. 

Represented  holding  eight  infants  in 
her  arms,  another  lying  dead  at  her 
feet. 

St.  Notburga  was  a  Scottish,  i.e.  pro 
bably  Irish,  princess.  She  was  married 
about  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  became  a 
widow  almost  immediately.  She  found 
herself  and  her  expected  child  liable  to 
great  dangers  from  wicked  people, — 
possibly  they  were  her  husband's  heirs, — 
so  she  fled  from  her  own  country,  and 
after  much  wandering,  came  to  Kleggow 
in  Germany,  and  there,  at  a  place  not 
far  from  the  right  bank  of  the  Ehine,  in 
the  county  of  Sultz,  where  the  village  of 
Buella  afterwards  stood,  Notburga  gave 
birth  to  nine  infants. 

As  she  had  no  water  with  which  to 


B.   NOTBURG 


111 


cliristen  her  babes,  she  told  her  faithful 
maid  to  take  her  stick  and  strike  the  rock, 
whereupon  a  clear  stream  gushed  forth, 
even  to  this  day  it  heals  many  diseases. 
Unfortunately,  one  of  the  children  died 
before  they  could  baptize  it ;  however, 
they  christened  the  remaining  eight,  and 
they,  with  their  mother  Notburga,  lived 
and  died  in  great  sanctity.  The  only 
one  whose  name  is  preserved  is  ST. 
HIXTA  or  YXTA,  who  was  buried  near 
Buella  at  Jestelen.  where  a  chapel  and 
altar  were  dedicated  in  her  name ;  and 
before  the  Reformation,  many  persons 
went  there  to  worship  this  St.  Ilixta. 
AA.SS.  Eckenstein. 

B.  Notburg  (4;,  Sep.  i:>  ot  u,  Nov. 

16,  NOTHBURGA,   NOPPUBG,  NUPPEBURG, 

NUPPUKG,  1265  or  1266-1313.  Patron 
of  Brixen  in  Tyrol,  of  women  in  labour, 
and  of  cattle,  and  a  favourite  saint  of  the 
peasantry  throughout  Bavaria. 

Represented  (1 )  with  a  sickle,  either 
in  her  hand  or  suspended  in  the  air,  a 
bunch  of  ears  of  corn  in  her  hand,  a 
bunch  of  keys  at  her  girdle  ;  (2)  sur 
rounded  with  children,  because  she 
took  care  of  her  master's  numerous 
family. 

Notburg's  parents  were  vassals  of  the 
lords  of  Rottenburg  in  the  Tyrol.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen,  she  went  as  cook  into 
the  service  of  Count  Henry  of  Rotteuburg 
and  his  wife  Gutta ;  and  after  their 
death  remained  with  their  son  Henry  and 
his  wife  Odilia.  The  old  count  8nd 
countess  had  encouraged  Notburg  to  give 
the  remnants  of  the  food  of  the  house 
hold  to  the  poor,  but  Odilia  and  her 
husband  were  very  stingy  and  uncharit 
able,  and  forbade  the  poor  to  come  to  the 
castle.  Notburg,  however,  saved  her 
own  food  on  Fridays,  and  took  that  to 
the  poor.  One  day  Count  Henry  de 
tected  her,  and  said,  "  What  are  you 
carrying  ?  "  She  confessed  and  showed 
him,  but  he  saw  instead  of  food,  shavings  ; 
and  instead  of  wine,  soap-suds.  He  then 
turned  her  out  of  the  house,  but  just  as 
she  was  going,  Odilia  suddenly  fell  sick 
of  an  illness  from  which  she  never  re 
covered,  and  so  Notburg  stayed  to  nurse 
her  and  procured  her  conversion  and 
happy  death.  But  as  soon  as  the  wicked 
countess  was  dead,  the  good  maiden  took 


service  with  a  peasant  farmer,  under  tho 
express  condition  that  she  should  be 
allowed  to  go  to  church  on  vigils,  directly 
the  bell  rang.  Tho  place  was  Eben, 
between  Metz  and  Valers,  not  far  from  a 
chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Rupert. 

Once,  on  a  Sunday  in  harvest  time, 
when  the  corn  was  ready  to  be  bound 
into  sheaves,  the  farmer  urged  Notburg 
to  go  on  working,  although  sho  heard 
the  chapel  bells  ringing;  the  damsel 
lifted  up  her  eyes  to  heaven,  saying  : 
"  God  be  the  Judge,  this  sickle  will  bo 
the  witness  of  the  agreement  that  I  was 
to  go."  Having  thus  spoken,  sho  lifted 
it  on  high,  and  it  was  suspended  in  the 
air,  like  a  lance-head  hung  on  a  nail,  so 
that  the  reapers  could  see  and  take 
note  of  it.  Then  the  farmer  took  the 
work-people  home  until  Notburg  had 
finished  her  prayers  in  St.  Rupert's 
chapel.  She  never  neglected  the  smallest 
of  her  duties,  and  was  particularly  atten 
tive  to  the  animals  ;  she  is,  therefore, 
much  resorted  to  by  pious  peasants  as 
the  protector  of  cattle. 

Countess  Odilia,  after  her  death,  was 
compelled  to  haunt  the  pig-stye,  grunt 
ing,  because  she  had  ordered  Notburg  to 
give  the  broken  meat  to  the  pigs  instead 
of  to  the  poor. 

After  Notburg  left  the  service  of 
Count  Henry  of  Rottenburg,  everything 
went  wrong  with  him.  His  lands  were 
laid  waste  by  civil  war  and  he  was 
reduced  to  poverty.  His  conscience 
told  him  that  it  served  him  right,  for 
dismissing  Notburg.  Accordingly,  he 
begged  her  to  return  to  his  service, 
promising  that  she  should  be  a  mother 
to  the  poor  and  give  away  as  much  as 
she  chose.  She  was  sincerely  attached 
to  the  family,  and  yielded  to  his  per 
suasions.  So  he  presented  the  holy 
maid -servant  to  his  second  wife,  Mar 
garet  of  Hoheneck,  and  from  that  time 
all  went  well  with  him  :  in  five  years 
he  grew  rich.  Notburg  served  him 
as  housekeeper  for  nineteen  years,  then 
she  died.  Two  oxen  were  harnessed 
to  the  cart  on  which  her  coffin  was 
laid ;  .  no  one  guided  them,  but  they 
took  their  sacred  burden  at  once  to  the 
chapel  of  St.  Rupert  near  Ebon,  where 
the  saint  used  to  resort  for  her  devotions. 


112 


ST.   NOUMEZE 


A  series  of  wood-cuts  in  the  Acta  Sanc 
torum  represent  the  chief  events  of  Not- 
burg's  life,  and  her  funeral.  The  last 
of  them  has  angels  lifting  the  coffin 
from  the  cart,  to  put  it  in  the  grave. 

Some  time  after  Notburg's  death,  the 
castle  of  Eottenburg  was  burnt  down, 
all  except  the  chamber  formerly  occupied 
by  the  saint,  which  Count  Henry  had 
transformed  into  a  chapel. 

AA.SS.  Ott.  Cahier.  Wetzer  and 
Welte.  Miss  Eckenstein  remarks  that 
the  stories  of  NOTBUIIG  of  Eottenburg, 
EADIANA  of  Wellenburg,  and  GUNTILD 
of  Biberach  are  precisely  the  same,  but 
that  they  are  considered  to  be  distinct 
persons. 

St.  Noumeze  or  Noumoize,  NEO- 

MADIA. 

SS.  Novella  (1-3),  June  1.  Three 
martyrs  of  this  name  are  commemorated 
with  ST.  AUCEGA.  AA.SS. 

St.  Novella  (4),  April  12,  M.  at 
Capua.  AA.S8. 

St.  No  vita,  NONNA,  mother  of  St. 
David. 

St.  Noyala  or  NOIALA,  July  6,  V.  M., 
called  in  Brittany  NOALUEN  (white  No 
yala),  sometimes  NOALEUN.  She  is  the 
same  as  the  Cornish  ST.  NEWLYN.  Patron 
of  Pontivy,  in  the  diocese  of  Veunes  in 
Brittany.  The  legend  told  at  Pontivy 
is  that  St.  Noyala  came  from  England 
to  France  with  her  nurse,  and  that  they 
crossed  the  sea  on  a  leaf.  The  chapel 
of  Le  Beze,  not  far  from  Beignan,  marks 
the  spot  where  she  was  beheaded  by  order 
of  the  tyrant  Nizon,  unknown  in  secular 
history.  After  this  event,  Noyala  jour 
neyed  to  Pontivy,  carrying  her  head  in 
her  hands.  During  Lent  many  wor 
shippers  from  the  surrounding  country 
repair  to  her  shrine.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Nubilita  and  Victuria,  Oct.  1 7, 
MM.  at  Alexandria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Nun,  NONNA,  mother  of  St. 
David. 

SS.  Nune  and  Mane,  Oct.  28, 
worshipped  by  the  Armenians.  Nune 
is  the  same  as  ST.  NINO  ;  Mane,  her  com 
panion,  is  only  known  to  the  Armenians, 
but  there  is  to  be  an  account  of  them 
in  the  AA.SS.,  Dec.  15. 

St.  Nunechia  or  NUNEQUE.  (See 
CHARIESSA.) 


St.  Nunia,  NINO. 

SS.  Nunilo  and  Alodia,  Oct.  22, 
W.  MM.  851.  Patrons  of  Huesca  and 
Leira.  They  were  daughters  of  a  Mo 
hammedan  father  and  Christian  mother 
in  Spain,  in  the  time  of  Abder  Eahman. 
After  their  father's  death,  their  mother 
married  another  Mohammedan  ;  in  con 
sequence  of  this,  the  young  women  went 
to  live  with  a  Christian  aunt  at  Vervete, 
supposed  to  be  Castro  Viejo,  near  Majara 
in  Castile.  Their  piety  and  persistent 
celibacy  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Moors,  who  endeavoured  to  pervert  them 
by  many  persuasions  and  threats,  but  all 
in  vain.  So  at  last  they  won  the  mar 
tyr's  crown  by  being  beheaded  for  the 
faith.  E.M.  AA.SS.  Eulogius.  Butler. 
Bullet 

St.  Nunnina  or  NONNINA,  July  20, 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Nuppurg,  NOTBUIIG  (4). 

St.  Nurtila.  Patron  of  a  church  in 
the  diocese  of  Vienne  in  Dauphine- 
Guerin.  Stadler. 

St.  Nusca,  otherwise  NUSCIA, 
NUSTA,  or  NUSTKA,  May  20,  V.  M. 
Commemorated  with  SS.  BASIL  A  and 
AUREA.  Supposed  to  have  been 
martyred  either  at  Eome  or  Ostia. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Nutrix,  June  16,  6th  century. 
Nurse  of  St.  Felix.  Her  name  is 
not  known.  St.  Maurus  of  Cassarea,  in 
Syria,  joined  a  company  of  Christians 
who  were  going  to  Eome.  His  wife 
Euphrosyne  would  not  accompany  him, 
but  allowed  him  to  take  their  little 
boy  Felix  with  his  faithful  nurse.  On 
the  voyage,  Maurus  saved  the  whole 
party  from  shipwreck.  Arrived  in  Italy, 
he  settled  at  Spoleto,  where  he  found  the 
people  terrorized  by  a  dragon.  He  killed 
it.  Nutrix  and  Felix  died  in  one  day. 
Maurus  survived  them  twenty  years,  and 
became  a  friend  and  disciple  of  St. 
Benedict  and  first  abbot  of  Spoleto. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Nympha  or  NINFA,  Nov.  10,  her 
translation  Aug.  1 9.  5th  century.  One 
of  the  four  great  patronesses  of  Palermo. 
The  others  were  AGATHA,  CHRISTINA  and 
OLIVE  (5).  Nympha  lived  at  Palermo,  but 
when  Sicily  was  invaded  by  the  Goths, 
she  fled  to  Italy  and  settled  at  Savona 


ST.   ODA 


113 


in  Tuscany,  where  she   died  in  peace. 
E.M.     Butler. 

St.  Nymphodora  (1),  NYMPHADOBKA, 
NYMPHADOBA  or  NYMPHA  and  DOBA, 
March  13,  M.  (See  THEUSETA.) 


St.  Nymphodora  (2),  Sept.  10.  (See 
MENODORA.)  H.M. 

St.  Nynnina,  NONNA,  mother  of  St. 
David. 

St.  Nyphodora,  NYMPHODORA. 


0 


St.   Obdulia,  Sept.  5,  Dec.   13,  V. 

specially  worshipped  at  Toledo,  Sept.  5. 
She  is  probably  the  same  as  ODILIA  of 
HOHENBURG.  Possibly  some  relic  of  her 
was  brought  to  Toledo  this  day.  R.M. 
AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Occilla,  EULALIA. 

St.  Ocella,  ASELLA. 

St.  Ochene,  SCHBNE. 

St.  Octavia,  April  15,  M.  at  Antioch 
in  Syria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Oda  (1),  Oct.  18,  9,  Feb.  16.  4th 
century.  Sister  of  SS.  LIBARIA,  MANNA, 
GERTRUDE,  and  SUSANNA,  and  of  the  holy 
men,  Eliphius  and  Eucharius.  The  two 
brothers  and  some  of  the  sisters  were 
martyred  at  Toul  on  the  Moselle  in 
302.  Some  of  the  names  appear  in 
another  family  of  saints  of  later  date. 
Compare  HOYLDA.  Stadler.  Smith  and 
Wace. 

St.  Oda  (2),  6th  century.  A  Suabian 
by  birth,  mother  of  St.  Arnold,  bishop 
of  Metz.  Wife  of  St.  Bodagist,  a  noble 
man  of  Austrasia  who  died  in  588.  Re 
presented  as  one  of  a  group,  of  whom 
St.  Arnold  of  Metz  (July  18,  -f  640)  is 
the  chief  figure ;  he  is  accompanied  by 
his  mother  St.  Oda,  his  wife  ST.  DODA, 
and  his  son  St.  Cloud  of  Metz.  Besides 
St.  Cloud,  Ocla  had  a  grandson  Ansegi- 
sus,  who  married  ST.  BEGGA  of  Anden, 
ancestress  of  Charlemagne.  Bodagist 
built  the  monastery  of  St.  Martin-aux- 
Chenes ;  Oda  is  said  to  have  founded 
that  of  Hamaye  or  Amay,  but  this  is 
perhaps  a  confusion  with  ST.  ODA  (3), 
wife  of  Boggo.  Cahier.  Baring  Gould. 

St.  Oda  (3)  or  ODDA,  Nov.  27, 
in  Belgium  Oct.  23.  8th  century.  + 
c.  723.  Represented  holding  a  palm 
and  a  church,  or  feeding  the  poor  and 
lepers.  Guerin  calls  her  Ste.  Oda  de 
Mehaigne.  She  is  said  to  be  the 
daughter  of  Childebert  III.,  king  of  the 
Franks  (695-711).  Oda  married  Boggo, 

VOL.  ii. 


duke  of  Aquitaine.  They  had  a  son, 
Eudes,  duke  of  Aquitaine  (+  735). 
Boggo  died  in  688,  and  Oda  thencefor 
ward  devoted  her  life  to  works  of  mercy 
and  piety.  She  left  Aquitaine  and  went 
with  her  husband's  nephew,  St.  Hubert, 
the  great  hunter  (bishop  of  Liege  in  708), 
back  to  her  own  country  Austrasia, 
where  Pepin  was  ruling.  She  settled  at 
Hamay  on  the  Meuse,  near  Huy,  and 
built  a  church  there  dedicated  in  the 
name  of  St.  George,  and  beside  it,  a 
hospice  where  she  attended  to  the  sick 
and  twice  a  day  fed  the  poor.  One  day 
when  she  had  given  away  all  the  food, 
a  man  came  and  asked  for  hospitality. 
She  said,  "  Alas,  there  is  not  a  morsel  of 
food  left."  He  sat  down  nevertheless, 
and  bade  her  serve  him.  She  flew  to 
her  shelves  so  lately  empty,  hoping 
some  scrap  might  still  be  there,  and  lo, 
every  table  and  cupboard  was  full  and 
plenteous  with  all  manner  of  store. 
She  turned  in  wonderment  to  her  guest. 
"  Because  thou  hast  done  it  unto  these 
My  brethren,  thou  hast  done  it  unto  Me," 
He  said,  and  vanished.  AA.SS.  Smith 
and  Wace.  Martin.  Biog.  Liegeoise. 
Lechner. 

St.  Oda  (4),  Nov.  27,  Feb.  27  (ODDA, 
ODE  ;  sometimes  called  JOTTE,  JUTTA, 
OTHA,  OTTA,  also  erroneously  ODILIA),  + 
713  or  726.  Patron  of  Rhode,  in  Brabant. 
Represented  with  a  crown  and  a  magpie. 
This  Oda  was  daughter  of  a  king  of  Ire 
land.  She  was  blind,  and  when  she  heard 
of  the  miracles  wrought  at  the  tomb  of 
St.  Lambert,  bishop  of  Liege  (  +  710), 
she  made  a  pilgrimage  to  his  sepulchre 
to  be  cured.  The  saint  appeared  to  her 
and  granted  what  she  wished.  In  grati 
tude  Oda  consecrated  herself  by  a  vow 
to  Christ,  and  led  a  holy  life  in  Brabant. 
Consequently,  in  Belgium  she  is  often 
confounded  with  ST.  ODILIA  (3)  of  Ho- 
henburg,  who  is  invoked  in  Germany, 


114 


B.  ODA 


for  diseases  of  the  eye.  When  St.  Oda 
had  cliosen  a  religious  life  after  her  cure, 
her  father  still  tried  to  persuade  her  to 
marry,  so  she  hid  in  a  wood ;  but  the  place 
of  her  retreat  was  revealed  by  a  magpie, 
which  drew  attention  to  it  by  chattering. 
Because  of  the  miracles  wrought  at  Oda's 
tomb,  she  was  translated,  in  1103.  Le 
Mire,  Fasti.  Cahier.  Butler.  Brit. 
Sancta.  Mas  Latrie. 

B.  Oda  (5),  April  20,  V.  M.  1158. 
Prioress  of  Rivroelle,  in  Hainault. 
Daughter  and  heiress  of  Wibert  and 
Thescelina,  who  arranged  a  marriage 
for  her  befitting  their  rank  and  wealth. 
The  ceremony  was  intended  to  be 
solemnized  with  great  magnificence ; 
numerous  guests  assembled,  an  im 
mense  concourse  of  people  crowded  the 
church  and  the  streets.  The  service 
began  ;  the  priest  asked  the  bridegroom 
three  times,  according  to  custom,  whether 
he  would  take  this  woman,  etc.  Three 
times  he  promised  to  be  a  dutiful  and 
faithful  husband.  The  same  question 
was  then  asked  of  the  bride  for  the  first 
time.  Everybody  listened,  but  not  a 
word  was  heard.  The  silence  became 
embarrassing.  A  matron  who  had  the 
privilege  of  standing  close  to  the  bride, 
exhorted  her  in  a  low  voice  not  to  be 
afraid  to  speak,  and  reminded  her  that 
her  silence  was  disrespectful  to  her 
parents  and  to  her  fiance.  The  priest 
then  asked  for  the  second  time,  whether 
she  accepted  Simon  for  her  husband. 
Oda  replied  that  she  would  not  have 
him  or  any  other  mortal  man,  as  she  had 
already  chosen  Jesus  Christ  for  her  hus 
band.  Simon,  seeing  himself  rejected, 
left  the  church  and  returned  to  his  own 
house  with  all  haste.  Wibert  and  Thes 
celina  were  very  angry,  and  Oda,  fearing 
that  they  would  still  insist  on  her  marry 
ing  this  man  or  some  other,  disfigured 
herself  by  cutting  off  her  nose  with  a 
sword.  On  this  account,  the  Church 
places  her  among  the  martyrs.  She 
soon  afterwards  took  the  veil,  and  even 
tually  became  prioress  of  a  Prsemonstra- 
tensian  convent  of  Rivroelle,  attached  to 
the  monastery  of  Gode  Hoge  (Bona 
Spes),  which  was  at  that  time  governed 
by  the  Abbot  Otho,  and  he,  after  some 
years,  promoted  Oda  to  be  prioress. 


AA.SS.  from  a  contemporary  Life.     Le 
Paige,  Bib.  Prsemons. 

St.  Odemaris,  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.88. 

St.  Odilia  (l),  Oct.  21,  Nov.  21, 
Jan.  29,  translation  July  18.  Patron 
of  the  crucifers  of  Huy.  She  was  a 
companion  of  ST.  UBSULA  (1),  and  was 
translated  from  Cologne  to  the  church 
of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Huy,  in  Belgium. 
This  Odilia  is  said  to  be  the  daughter 
of  a  ST.  EULALIA,  who  went  on  the  same 
expedition,  and  to  have  had  a  sister  ST. 
DOIUA.  Migne.  Stadler.  Potthast, 
who  refers  to  a  history  of  the  translation, 
by  Banelt. 

St.  Odilia  (2),  ADILIA  of  Orp. 

St.  Odilia  (3),  Dec.  13  (ODILA, 
ODILLA,  OTHILDA,  OTHILIA,  OTTILIE, 
OZILIA),  +  c.  720.  First  abbess  of 
Hohenburg.  Patron  of  Alsace  and  of 
Strasburg,  and  invoked  against  blindness 
and  diseases  of  the  eye. 

Represented  (1)  in  white,  as  a  canon- 
ess,  holding  an  open  book,  on  which  lie 
a  pair  of  eyes,  one  on  each  page ;  (2) 
praying  for  the  soul  of  her  father,  an 
angel  is  seen  taking  him  out  of  the 
flames  and  leading  him  to  heaven ;  (3) 
with  St.  Erard  or  Everard  ;  (4)  there 
exists  on  a  stone,  a  representation  of 
the  presentation  of  the  nunnery  to  her. 
In  this,  she  wears  a  long  black  cloak 
and  a  veil,  and  has  two  long  plaits  of 
hair. 

Odilia  was  the  daughter  of  Adalric 
or  Ethico,  or  Hettic,  a  leader  of  the 
Alemanni,  and  first  duke  of  Alsace ; 
her  mother  was  Bereswind  or  Berchsind, 
said  to  be  a  niece  of  St.  Leodegarius 
(Leger).  They  lived  at  Oberenheim, 
about  20  miles  south  of  Strasburg,  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  of  Hohenburg  or 
Altitona.  For  years  they  had  no  chil 
dren.  At  last,  in  answer  to  many 
prayers,  they  hoped  to  have  a  son,  but 
the  joy  of  Adalric  turned  to  rage  when 
he  found  his  child  was  not  only  a  useless 
little  female,  but  blind.  He  felt  ashamed 
of  it  and  ordered  the  infant  to  be  killed, 
or  at  all  events  taken  away  and  allowed 
to  perish.  At  the  same  time  he  had 
it  proclaimed  with  trumpets,  that  the 
duchess  had  given  birth  to  a  dead  child. 
A  pious  woman  took  the  babe  and  nursed 


ST.   ODILIA 


115 


it  as  her  own  at  Scherweiler.  About  a 
year  after,  the  child  was  given  to  a  re 
lation  in  the  nunnery  of  Bcaume  (Palma) 
in  Franche  Comte,  or  by  some  variants 
of  the  legend,  she  floated  down  the 
river  to  Beaume  in  a  chest.  She  was 
christened  by  Everard,  abbot  of  the 
newly -built  monastery  of  Eberheim- 
Miinster.  According  to  Stadler,  the 
story  of  SS.  Everard  of  Ratisbon  and 
his  brother  St.  Hidulph  and  the  miracle 
by  which  they  were  brought  to  Alsace, 
has  been  introduced  by  writers  who 
did  not  know  of  the  existence  of  the 
monastery  of  Eberheim.  With  the  grace 
of  baptism,  Odilia  received  her  sight  and 
looked  steadily  at  Everard,  who  said, 
"  So,  my  child,  may  you  look  at  me  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Adalric  and 
Beresvvind  had  several  other  children. 
When  their  eldest  son  Hugh  was  grown 
up,  he  went  and  found  his  sister,  and 
without  asking  his  father's  leave,  he 
brought  her  home.  The  duke  was  very 
angry  and  struck  Hugh  a  fatal  blow ; 
but  horrified  at  his  own  violence,  he 
received  his  daughter  and  did  penance 
for  his  crime.  A  nun  who  came  from 
England  was  hired  at  the  daily  wages 
of  a  servant,  to  attend  on  Odilia.  Soon 
her  parents  planned  a  marriage  for  her, 
and  as  they  disregarded  her  protest 
against  such  a  step,  she  fled  from  her 
home  and  crossed  the  Ehine.  Her 
father  pursued  her  and  at  last  tracked 
her  to  a  cleft  in  a  rock,  which  closed 
upon  her  as  he  approached  ;  the  place 
is  said  to  be  at  Muntzbach,  in  Breisgau. 
She  returned  to  her  father's  house,  for 
the  next  incident  in  her  history  is  that, 
in  (586,  Adalric  met  her  one  day  carry 
ing  meal  in  an  earthen  dish,  under  her 
cloak,  to  make  food  for  the  poor.  As 
he  had  already  begun  to  give  alms  and 
endowments  for  the  good  of  his  soul,  he 
gave  Odilia  his  castle  of  Hohenburg  or 
Altitona,  with  all  its  lands  and  revenues, 
that  she  might  make  it  into  a  nunnery. 
The  hill  of  Hohenburg  rises  over  2,000 
feet  abruptly  from  the  valley  of  the 
Rhine.  It  had  a  pre-christian  wall 
round  it,  still  called  the  heathen  wall, 
and  there  was  a  plateau  on  the  top,  on 
which  the  monastery  was  built.  In  ten 
years  the  place  was  ready  for  habitation. 


She  had  a  hundred  and  thirty  nuns, 
amongst  whom  were  three  daughters  of 
her  brother  Adelard,  ST.  EUGENIA  (4) 
her  successor,  ST.  ATT  A  LA,  abbess  of  St. 
Stephen's  at  Strasburg,  and  ST.  GUN- 
DELIND.  Odilia  was  very  ascetic ;  she 
had  a  bear's  skin  for  her  bed.  She  had 
a  special  devotion  to  St.  John  the  Bap 
tist,  because  she  had  received  her  sight 
in  baptism,  and  she  purposed  to  build 
a  little  church  in  his  honour,  with  a  cell 
near  it.  While  she  was  undecided  about 
the  spot,  she  went  out  one  night  with 
only  her  niece  Eugenia.  The  Baptist 
appeared  and  showed  her  the  site  and 
the  extent  of  the  chapel.  She  began 
the  building  next  day.  She  charged 
Eugenia  not  to  tell  any  one  of  the  appari 
tion  as  long  as  Odilia  lived.  One  day, 
during  the  building,  a  great  cart  of 
stones  was  coming  up,  and  the  driver 
lagged  behind ;  the  cart  with  its  four 
oxen  fell  over  the  cliff,  a  height  of 
seventy  feet ;  the  oxen  picked  them 
selves  up  and  drew  their  load  safely  up 
by  the  right  road.  The  chapel  was 
called  the  Miracle-chapel  or  St.  John's 
House  of  Prayer,  and  there  they  kept 
the  relics  which  St.  Everard  had  pre 
sented  to  her  at  her  baptism. 

In  the  7th  and  8th  centuries  there 
were  frequent  pilgrimages  to  Rome  and 
to  various  shrines  in  other  places,  from 
Britain,  Ireland  and  elsewhere,  but 
Odilia's  hill  was  so  high  and  steep  that 
very  few  of  the  pilgrims  climbed  up  to 
seek  her  hospitality ;  so  with  the  ap 
proval  of  her  community,  she  built  a 
new  house,  called  Nieder  Hohenburg, 
and  afterwards  Niedermiinster,  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain,  and  here  she  en 
tertained  such  numbers  of  pilgrims  that 
very  soon  the  two  chapels  which  Adalric 
built  were  too  small  for  the  concourse 
of  persons  who  passed  through  the  place, 
and  she  begged  him  to  build  a  large 
church,  which  he  did  in  690.  He  and 
his  wife  died  very  soon  afterwards. 
Odilia  attended  to  them  dutifully  as 
long  as  they  lived,  and  after  their  death, 
she  prayed  with  many  tears  for  their 
salvation.  On  the  ground  formerly  oc 
cupied  by  the  garden,  is  the  Zdlircn- 
capclle,  the  chapel  of  tears,  where  the 
stone  on  which  she  knelt  in  shown  with 


116 


SS.   ODILIA   AND   GERTRUDE 


great  reverence,  hollowed  by  her  knees. 
Near  this  chapel  is  the  tomb  where  once 
her  body  lay,  but  in  1793  it  was  de 
stroyed  like  many  other  sacred  objects. 
Three  lindens  which  she  planted  pre 
served  her  memory  until  very  recent 
times,  and  the  grass  watered  with  her 
tears  remained  intensely  green.  Stadler 
says  that  her  Will  and  some  other 
writings  are  still  extant.  Miss  Ecken- 
stein  says  that  the  cave,  the  well,  the 
hill  top  and  other  points  with  which 
her  name  is  connected  had  associations 
dating  from  pre-christian  times.  She 
says  there  was  a  nunnery  on  the  Hohen- 
burg  in  or  before  the  9th  century,  but 
that  the  legends  concerning  Odilia's 
blindness  and  cure,  her  father,  her  re 
lationship  to  St.  Leger,  and  other  cir 
cumstances  have  grown  up  in  later 
mediaeval  times,  and  the  worship  of  a 
heathen  goddess  has  been  transferred 
to  a  (perhaps  mythical)  Christian  Saint. 
ST.  OBDULIA  is  perhaps  Odilia ;  although 
she  is  called  a  consecrated  Virgin  at 
Toledo,  it  is  conjectured  that  some  relic 
of  Odilia  has  been  carried  there  and  her 
name  corrupted  into  Obdulia. 

RM.  AA.SS.O.S.B.  Stadler.  Cahier. 
Ott.  Guette,  Hist,  dc  I'Eglise  de  France. 
Hungari,  Muster  Prediyter,  Vol.  xx. 
"  Predigt  von  P.  Dinkel."  Eckenstein. 

SS.  Odilia  (4)  and  Gertrude,  ODA 
(1)  and  GERTRUDE. 

St.  Odilia  (5),  Nov.  10  (OTHILIA, 
ADELAIDE),  V.  +  1197.  Nun  in  Ger 
many.  "Daughter  of  Henry  of  Creut- 
zenacht,  a  soldier.  She  joined  B. 
UDEGEVA,  a  recluse  then  famous  for 
her  sanctity,  asceticism  and  miracles. 
Odilia  imitated  and  emulated  her  teacher 
so  well  that  she  also  became  a  saint. 
Gynecseum.  Guerin.  Mas  Latrie. 

B.  Odislawa,  ZDISLAWA. 

St.  Odnata.  An  Irish  saint,  perhaps 
the  same  as  OSNATA. 

St.  Odrada,  Nov.  3  (OLDRADA, 
ORADA).  Perhaps  9th  century.  She 
was  the  child  of  rich  nobles  in  Brabant 
and  was  born  at  Scheps,  near  Moll,  not 
far  from  Gheel.  She  was  beautiful  and 
had  many  offers  of  marriage,  but  re 
solved  to  dedicate  herself  to  Christ. 
Her  mother  died  and,  under  the  in 
fluence  of  a  second  wife,  her  father 


became  unkind.  One  day  the  whole 
family  went  to  the  memorial  service  of 
the  dedication  of  the  church  of  Millegem. 
Odrada  asked  for  a  horse  to  ride  with 
them.  They  said  she  could  take  one  of 
the  unbroken  stallions  that  were  running 
wild  in  the  field.  Every  one  was  afraid  to 
go  near  them,  and  it  was  as  much  as 
any  one's  life  was  worth  to  catch  one. 
She  went  boldly  into  the  field,  and  they 
all  came  quietly  up  and  offered  them 
selves  to  her.  She  mounted  one  and 
quickly  overtook  her  father.  He  dis 
mounted  and  prostrated  himself  at  her 
feet.  On  the  same  day  she  brought  a 
well  of  healing  water  out  of  a  sandy 
plain.  Soon  she  died  and,  by  her  own 
wish,  two  colts  were  harnessed  to  her 
bier  and  carried  her  to  the  village  of 
Aleym  near  Bois-le-Duc,  where  she  was 
buried.  She  wrought  so  many  miracles 
that  a  church  was  eventually  built  over 
the  place.  AA.SS.  Le  Mire,  Fasti. 

St.  Oeille  is  perhaps  EULALIA. 
Cahivr. 

St.  GEolana,  YOLAND. 

St.  Oeva,  EVA  of  Avitina. 

St.  Offa  (1),  ULPHIA. 

St.  Offa  (2).  End  of  10th  or  early 
in  llth  century.  Recluse  near  Capua, 
and  afterwards  abbess  of  St.  Peter's  at 
Benevento.  Her  name  does  not  appear 
in  any  of  the  Calendars,  but  her  sanctity 
is  vouched  by  Pope  Victor  III.  (1086- 
1087)  on  the  authority  of  Bella,  his 
great-aunt,  who  had  been  a  nun  in  the 
same  convent  from  early  youth  to  ex 
treme  old  age  and  died  piously  some 
years  before  Victor  wrote.  She  was  a 
pupil  of  St.  Offa  in  her  youth,  and  re 
lated  many  incidents  which  proved  the 
holiness  of  the  abbess.  AA.SS.O.S.B. 
IX.  p.  251. 

St.  Offange,  EUPHEMIA  (1). 

St.  Offrida,  OSTHRIDA. 

St.  Ognie  (1),  ANEGLIA. 

St.  Ognie  (-),  MARY  or  OIGNIES. 

St.    Ohnkummer   or    OHNKUMMER- 

NISS,  WlLGEFORTIS. 

St.  Oilda,  HOYLDA. 

St.  Oine,  Dec.  25,  EUGENIA. 

St.  Olacie,  OLAILLE,  OLAIRE,  EULALIA. 
Saints  of  these  names,  when  met  with  in 
the  south  of  France,  generally  mean 
EULALIA  OF  BARCELONA. 


ST.   OLGA 


11' 


St.  Olda,  HULDAH. 

St.  Oldrada,  ODRADA. 

St.  Olga,  afterwards  HELEN,  June 
11,  -f  97cS,Bottiger  says  969.  Duchess 
of  Kiew.  First  Christian  sovereign  of 
Eussia.  Patron  of  Eussia.  Wife  of 
Igor,  the  son  of  Eurik  from  whom  all 
princes  in  Eussia  trace  their  descent. 
In  the  oldest  records  it  is  said  that 
Oleg,  the  regent,  brought  Olga  from 
Pleskof  or  Pskov  to  Kiew  and  gave  her 
to  Igor  for  a  wife.  More  modern  his 
tories  say  that  she  was  of  the  same  Va 
rangian  race  as  Igor,  but  of  a  low  class, 
and  that  Igor  first  saw  her  at  Vouibout- 
skoy  near  Pskov,  where  he  was  hunting  ; 
he  was  struck  by  her  stately  beauty  and 
good  sense.  She  was  standing  by  the 
river  when  he  expressed  his  admiration 
too  warmly  and  she  proudly  declared 
she  would  drown  herself  there  and  then 
rather  than  submit  to  any  indignity.  He 
saw  that  she  was  born  to  be  a  queen.  They 
were  married  in  908.  Oleg  continued 
to  rule  until  ill 2,  when  Igor  reigned 
alone  until  945.  He  had  perpetual  wars, 
sometimes  with  the  Greek  empire,  some 
times  with  the  Petchenegues,  the  Drev- 
liaus  and  the  various  fierce  nomad  tribes 
who  kept  making  raids  into  Europe  from 
the  lands  which  are  now  the  eastern  side 
of  Eussia.  He  tolerated  the  Christians. 
There  was  already,  in  945,  a  cathedral 
of  St.  Elia,  at  Kiew.  Igor  enriched 
himself  and  his  boiars  with  the  spoils 
of  his  enemies,  but  at  last  they  carried 
their  love  of  plunder  too  far  ;  the  Drev- 
lians,  who  had  for  some  years  paid  him 
tribute,  rose  against  him  at  Korosthene, 
under  Mai,  their  chief.  They  bent  down 
two  trees,  tied  him  by  one  arm  and  one 
leg  to  each,  and  then  let  the  trees  spring 
back  to  their  natural  height,  thus  tearing 
the  wretched  Igor  in  pieces.  Sviatoslav, 
the  son  of  Igor  and  Olga,  was  very  young, 
Imt  his  mother  took  the  helm  of  the  State 
in  her  strong  hands.  Her  first  care  was 
to  avenge  her  husband.  In  a  woman  of 
her  nation  and  religion,  it  was  a  duty 
and  a  point  of  honour  so  to  do.  The 
Drevlians,  proud  of  what  they  had  done, 
and  fearing  not  at  all  the  woman  and 
boy,  who  were  then  at  the  head  of  their 
enemies,  conceived  the  project  of  seiz 
ing  Kiew  and  making  Olga  marry  their 


prince.     They  sent  twenty  ambassadors 
to  say   to   her,  "  We  have  killed  your 
husband  because  of  his  rapacity,  but  the 
Drevlian  princes  are  magnanimous,  their 
country  is  good,  come  and  be  the  wife  of 
our  Prince  Mai."     Olga  dissembled  her 
anger,    and    pretended    to   accept   their 
offer.       "  To-morrow,"    said    she,    "  you 
shall  receive  all  the  honours   that  are 
due  to  you;  return  for  the  present  to 
your  boats,  and  when  my  people  come  to 
you,  make  them  carry  you  in  their  arms." 
As  soon  as  they  were  gone,  she  had  a 
great  pit  dug  in  her  court-yard,  and  next 
day  she  sent  her  men  to  fetch  the  am 
bassadors.      According   to  her  instruc 
tions,  they  said,  "  We  will  neither  go  on 
foot  nor  on  horseback,  carry  us  in  our 
boats."     "  What  can  we  do  ?  "  said  the 
men  of  Kiew  as  they  carried  the  envoys, 
"  We  are  slaves !     Igor  is  dead,  and  our 
princess  consents  to  marry  your  prince." 
Olga  was  watching  from  her  balcony  ; 
she  marked  the  proud  looks  of  the  un 
suspecting  deputies.      As  soon  as  they 
came  to  the  pit,  her  people  threw  them 
and  their  boats   into    it.      The    vindic 
tive  princess  asked  them  if  they  were 
content  with  this  honour.     The  unfortu 
nates  shrieked  out  their  repentance,  but 
it  was   too  late,  the  earth  was  thrown 
back   upon    their   living   grave.      Olga 
made  haste  to  send  a  messenger  to  the 
Drevlians  to  say  that  they  must  send  a 
number   of  their  greatest  men,   as    the 
people  of  Kiew  would  not  let  her  leave 
them   without  a   numerous  and   distin 
guished   escort.      The  credulous   Drev 
lians  at  once  sent  off  their  illustrious 
chiefs  and   citizens.     As   soon   as  they 
arrived    they   were   shown    to    a    bath, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  country, 
and  there  they  were  shut  in  and  burnt 
alive.     Olga  now  sent  word  to  the  Drev 
lians    to   make   ready  the  hydromel  at 
Korosthene,  as  she  was  coming  there,  for 
before   her   second   marriage    she  must 
celebrate  funeral  games  on  the  tomb  of 
her  first  husband.     She  went  there,  and 
watered  the  ashes  of  Igor  with  her  tears, 
raised  a  cairn  over  his  grave,  and  cele 
brated  games  in  his  honour.      A  ban 
quet  was  then  held,  of  which  the  young 
Eussian  warriors  did  the  honours.     The 
Drevlians  soon  asked  these  young  men 


118 


ST.   OLGA 


what  their  ambassadors  were  doing,  and 
were  told  that  they  would  arrive  with 
Igor's  guards.  Before  long  the  Drev- 
lians  began  to  be  tipsy.  Olga  rose  from 
the  table ;  this  was  a  signal  for  a  mas 
sacre  of  the  revellers.  Five  thousand 
of  them  were  sacrificed  round  the  tomb 
of  Igor.  Olga  returned  to  Kiew  and 
marched  with  an  army  against  the  Drev- 
lians.  Her  son  Sviatoslav  began  the 
fight.  The  Drevlians  fled  and  shut 
themselves  up  within  their  walls.  The 
inhabitants  of  Korosthene  defended  their 
town  desperately  all  the  summer.  Olga 
had  recourse  to  a  new  stratagem.  She 
sent  them  a  conciliatory  message  :  "  Why 
prolong  the  struggle?  All  your  other 
towns  are  in  my  hands ;  already  your 
compatriots  are  peacefully  cultivating 
their  fields,  while  you  are  determined  to 
die  of  hunger.  You  have  no  need  to 
fear  my  vengeance  ;  it  was  satisfied  at 
Kiew,  on  the  grave  of  my  husband." 
They  offered  her  a  tribute  of  honey  and 
furs.  She  affected  the  greatest  gene 
rosity,  and  said  she  would  be  content  if 
they  would  bring  her  three  sparrows  and 
a  pigeon  for  each  house.  The  besieged 
eagerly  agreed  to  her  demand  and  hoped 
to  see  the  hostile  army  withdraw,  but  as 
soon  as  it  began  to  get  dark  Olga's  men 
fastened  tinder  to  the  birds,  set  it  on 
fire,  and  let  them  loose.  They  flew  back 
to  their  nests  and  set  the  whole  place 
on  fire.  The  inhabitants  who  sought 
safety  in  flight,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Russians.  The  grand-princess  put 
the  most  influential  of  them  to  death, 
condemned  some  to  slavery,  and  imposed 
on  the  others  a  crushing  tax.  She  tra 
velled  with  her  son  all  over  the  con 
quered  country,  levying  tribute  for  the 
Treasury  of  Kiew,  but  the  inhabitants 
of  Korosthene  were  ordered  to  send  the 
third  of  the  taxes  to  Olga  herself,  to  her 
own  estate  of  Vouichegorod,  which  it  is 
supposed  was  settled  on  her  by  Oleg, 
as  the  wife  of  the  grand-prince.  The 
following  year  she  travelled  through 
Northern  Russia,  and  everywhere  made 
useful  and  benevolent  regulations.  She 
was  universally  remembered  with  affec 
tion  ;  even  the  Drevlians  found  their 
country  improved  by  her  wise  adminis 
tration.  Her  sleigh  was  kept  as  a 


precious  relic  at  Kiew,  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  after  death.  After  these 
exertions  she  went  and  lived  quietly 
with  her  son  at  Kiew.  She  saw  the 
superiority  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
she  listened  to  its  doctrines  and  con 
versed  with  its  priests,  until  she  became 
convinced  that  this  was  the  true  faith, 
and  resolved  to  accept  it  as  hers.  She 
went  to  Constantinople,  the  capital  of 
the  Greek  Empire  and  religion.  The 
Patriarch  instructed  and  baptized  her, 
giving  her  the  name  of  Helen.  The 
Emperor  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus 
was  her  godfather.  He  has  left  an  ac 
count  of  her  visit  to  his  Court,  and 
of  the  ceremonies  of  her  reception. 
Many  other  particulars  were  added  by 
story-tellers  of  later  date. 

Laden  with  presents  and  compliments, 
she  returned  to  Kiew.  She  ardently 
wished  for  the  conversion  of  her  son, 
and  pressed  him  much  on  the  subject, 
but  he  remained  an  obstinate  heathen  and 
savage.  In  907,  while  he  was  fighting 
in  Bulgaria,  the  Petcheneguestook  advan 
tage  of  his  absence  to  besiege  his  mother 
and  children  in  Kiew.  The  garrison  were 
nearly  starved  into  surrender,  but  they 
managed  to  make  the  enemy  believe  that 
the  redoubtable  Sviatoslaf  was  at  hand, 
and  the  Petchenegues  fled  in  haste. 
When  Sviatoslaf  came  back  he  drew 
such  a  picture  of  Pereyaslavetz  (the 
ancient  Marcianopolis),  now  Preslawa, 
of  its  riches  of  nature  and  art,  that  he 
nearly  persuaded  his  boyars  to  remove 
thither  with  him  and  make  it  their 
capital ;  but  his  mother,  who  was  now 
old  and  infirm,  said,  "  Just  wait  a  very 
short  time,  and  when  you  have  buried 
me,  you  can  go  where  you  like."  Four 
days  afterwards,  Olga  died.  She  had 
expressly  forbidden  that  any  "  Corpse 
Feast  "  should  be  held  on  her  tomb  after 
the  manner  of  the  idolaters.  She  was 
buried  by  a  Christian  priest.  She  was 
deeply  mourned  by  her  son  and  grand 
children,  and  all  the  people  watered  her 
grave  with  tears  of  gratitude.  The 
Church  calls  her  "  Saint ; "  history  calls 
her  "  The  Wise."  Nestor  says  she  was 
"  the  dawn  and  the  star  of  salvation  for 
Russia."  Her  example  had  great  weight 
with  her  grandson  Vladimir  in  deciding 


ST.   OLIVE 


119 


him  to  adopt  the  Christian  religion. 
Karamsin,  Hist,  of  Russia.  Martinov, 
Annus  Ecclesiasticus.  Bottiger,  Mittlerc 
Geschichte,  III. 

St.  Olive  (1),  OLIVIA,  ULIVA,  March 
5,  V.  M.,  2nd  century.  The  name  of 
"  St.  Olivia  "  of  Brescia  is  a  corruption 
of  "St.  Illidius"  but  there  is  a  tra 
dition  that  this  saint  was  a  virgin  put 
to  death  for  the  faith,  with  various 
tortures,  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor 
Adrian.  Her  relics  were  kept  in  the 
church  of  St.  Afra  at  Brescia  in  Italy. 
In  the  year  1597,  a  certain  priest  had 
a  right  to  some  property,  but  it  was 
kept  from  him  by  a  powerful  adversary. 
Having  spent  nearly  all  his  patrimony 
in  trying  to  get  possession  of  it,  he  made 
a  vow  to  offer  a  precious  gift  to  St.  Olive 
in  the  event  of  his  succeeding.  He  im 
mediately  gained  his  cause  without  more 
trouble,  and  fulfilled  his  vow  by  offering, 
with  all  reverence  and  devotion,  a  golden 
olive  branch  with  fruit  on  it,  to  the 
relics  of  the  holy  Saint,  in  the  church  of 
the  Capuchins,  at  Salo,  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  lake  of  Benaco.  AA.SS. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Olive  (2)  or  OLIVA,  May  2,.  V.  M. 
claimed  by  Tamayo  as  a  Spaniard.  The 
Bollandists  think  it  is  the  Saint  of  Anagni 
or  Palermo. 

St.  Olive  (3)  (OLIVIA  ULIVA),  was 
the  daughter  of  "  the  celebrated  Emperor 
Julian."  He  was  bound  by  a  promise 
to  his  deceased  wife,  never  to  take  a 
second  unless  he  could  find  a  lady  as 
beautiful  [as  the  first.  There  was  but 
one  in  the  world  and  that  was  her 
daughter.  The  Emperor  procured  a  dis 
pensation  from  the  pope  to  permit  him 
to  marry  his  own  daughter,  but  the 
princess  refused.  They  had  an  argu 
ment.  She  said  there  were  many  women 
quite  as  beautiful  as  she.  He  said,  "  Yes, 
there  are  plenty  of  pretty  women,  but 
not  one  of  them  has  hands  like  yours." 
So  she  cut  off  her  beautiful  hands  and 
presented  them  to  him.  He  was  so 
angry  that  he  ordered  two  of  his  servants 
to  take  her  to  the  kingdom  of  Britain  (or 
Bretagne  ?)  and  there  kill  her.  They  took 
her  to  Britain  and  said  they  would  spare 
her  life  if  she  would  promise  not  to 
betray  them  to  her  father.  To  this  she 


agreed  and  they  left  her.  Presently  the 
king  of  that  country  came  out  to  hunt 
and  found  this  maimed,  yet  beautiful 
damsel.  He  took  her  home  to  his  wife, 
and  they  gave  her  the  care  of  their 
infant  son.  One  of  the  barons  fell  in 
love  with  her  and  took  her  by  the  arm 
to  drag  her  away  with  him.  As  she  had 
no  hands  to  hold  the  baby  with,  it  fell 
to  the  ground  and  was  killed.  The 
baron  rushed  to  the  king  and  told  him 
Olive  had  dropped  the  baby  and  killed 
it.  While  the  king  and  queen  were 
weeping  over  the  child,  the  Virgin  Mary 
restored  Olive's  hands  and  guided  her  to 
a  monastery,  but  here  the  devil  entered 
into  the  priest,  and  Olive  was  accused  of 
stealing  the  chalice  from  the  altar.  She 
was  put  in  a  box  and  thrown  into  the 
sea.  Two  merchants  of  Castile  saw  the 
box  from  their  ship  and  took  it  on  board. 
When  they  saw  what  a  beautiful  girl 
they  had  rescued  from  the  deep,  they 
brought  her  to  their  King  Kobert.  The 
king  at  once  fell  in  love  with  her,  and, 
although  his  mother  objected,  he  married 
Olive.  The  old  queen  retired  to  a 
monastery. 

Very  soon  the  King  of  Navarre  invaded 
Castile  and  King  Robert  had  to  go  and 
give  him  battle.  In  his  absence  Olive 
had  a  fine  son.  Sinibald,  the  regent, 
sent  off  a  courier  at  once  with  a  letter  to 
the  king.  The  messenger  had  to  pass 
the  monastery  where  the  queen  mother 
lived,  and  took  the  news  to  her.  She 
commanded  him  to  stay  that  night  and 
to  come  back  the  same  way  and  bring 
tidings  of  her  son.  While  he  slept 
she  stole  the  letter  and  substituted 
another,  saying  that  the  queen  had  given 
birth  to  a  horrible  monster  and  that 
such  a  mother  ought  to  be  put  to  death. 
The  good  king  attributed  the  misfortune 
to  some  sin  of  his  own,  and  wrote  that 
he  was  soon  coming  home  victorious,  and 
that  meanwhile  every  care  was  to  be 
taken  of  Olive.  The  courier  again 
stopped  at  the  monastery  and  the  wicked 
queen  gave  him  some  money  and  a  cup 
of  drugged  wine,  and  while  he  was  in  a 
deep  sleep  she  stole  the  letter  and  re 
placed  it  by  one,  ordering  the  young 
queen  and  her  son  to  be  burned.  The 
regent  showed  the  letter  to  Olive,  but 


120 


ST.   OLIVE 


said  he  would  not  execute  the  cruel 
sentence,  but  would  make  a  pretence  of 
burning  a  woman  and  would  commit  her 
again  to  the  sea  with  her  baby.  This 
time  the  box  floated  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Tiber,  and  there  she  was  found  by  two 
good  old  women  who  at  once  adopted 
her.  Meantime  the  King  of  Castile  re 
turned  in  triumph  from  the  war  and  was 
surprised  that  the  viceroy  and  all  the 
barons  came  out  in  deep  mourning  to 
meet  him.  When  the  truth  became  clear, 
he  sent  and  burnt  the  monastery  to  the 
ground  with  his  mother  in  it.  He  re 
mained  inconsolable  for  many  years,  but 
when  his  rage  cooled  he  began  to  think 
he  had  committed  a  sin  in  killing  his 
mother.  He  sent  for  the  bishop  and 
said  that  he  had  been  too  miserable  for 
twelve  years  to  think  of  Christ,  but  that 
now  he  wished  to  be  restored  by  penance. 
The  bishop  said  he  must  go  to  Eome 
and  ask  the  Pope  for  absolution.  King 
Robert  sent  an  embassy  to  the  Emperor 
to  tell  him  his  strange  story  and  to 
announce  his  visit.  Meantime  he  set  off 
in  the  dress  of  a  humble  pilgrim. 

Olive  in  her  retreat  heard  that  the 
Emperor  proclaimed  that  he  expected  a 
visit  from  Robert,  king  of  Castile.  She 
schooled  her  son  to  go  and  present  him 
self  to  his  father.  At  his  first  appearance 
the  king  did  not  believe  what  the  boy 
said,  but  finally  Olive  was  restored  to 
her  father  and  her  husband,  and  the 
child  to  his  father  and  grandfather, 
and  the  Pope  gave  his  blessing  to 
them  all. 

This  story  occurs  with  variations  in 
the  literature  of  many  countries.  Only 
in  Italy  is  the  heroine  called  "  Saint." 
Chaucer,  in  Tlie  Man  of  Law's  Tale,  gives 
her  the  name  of  Constance.  Migne,  Die. 
des  Legendes,  has  a  similar  narrative  as 
La  Belle  Heleine.  The  legend  appears 
in  Hagen's  Gcsammtabenteuer  and  many 
other  collections.  Alessandro  d'Ancona, 
La  Rappresentazione  di  Santa  Uliva. 
This  last  is  a  16th  century  play  occasion 
ally  acted,  within  living  memory,  under 
the  olive  trees  in  rural  places,  where 
sometimes  for  want  of  stage  machinery 
and  suitable  costumes,  each  actor  has  a 
piece  of  paper  pinned  on  the  front  of  his 
hat,  bearing  the  name  of  the  character 


he  personates.    Signer  d'Ancona's  notes 
are  of  great  interest. 

St.  Olive  (4),  OLIVERIA. 

St.  Olive  (5),  or  ULIVA  of  Palermo, 
June  20,  V.  Probably  9th  century. 
One  of  the  chief  patrons  of  Palermo. 
Olive  was  a  noble  maiden  of  Palermo. 
At  thirteen  she  was  accused  of  being  a 
Christian,  before  the  Mohammedan  ruler 
of  Sicily.  As  she  could  not  be  turned 
from  her  religion,  and  as  the  Saracens 
were  unwilling  to  put  a  lady  of  her  rank 
to  death,  she  was  banished,  apparently 
to  Tunis.  Here  she  worked  miracles 
and  made  converts,  wherefore  she  was 
scourged  and  sent  into  the  forest.  The 
wild  beasts,  instead  of  tearing  her  in 
pieces,  became  tame  and  gentle  to  her. 
About  seven  years  after  her  banishment, 
some  princes  who  were  hunting  in  the 
woods,  found  this  beautiful  girl  in  that 
solitude.  As  they  were  going  to  take 
her,  she  said,  "Touch  me  not,  lest  He 
who  has  protected  me  for  seven  years 
should  take  you  and  destroy  you."  They 
were  converted  and  told  these  marvels 
to  the  governor  of  the  place,  who  sent 
for  the  holy  virgin  and  after  many 
tortures  had  her  beheaded.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Olive 
happened  under  the  Vandals  and  not 
under  the  Saracens.  AA.SS. 

St.  Olive  (6)  or  OLIVA,  June  3.  Date 
unknown.  Patron  of  Anagni  and  Cori. 
Her  high-born  parents  prepared  a  suit 
able  marriage  for  her,  but  her  only  am 
bition  was  to  be  numbered  among  the 
spouses  of  Christ.  She  therefore  fled  to 
a  church  and  took  the  veil.  She  outdid 
her  sister  nuns  in  every  kind  of  asceti 
cism,  avoiding  praise  and  bearing  false 
accusations  with  meekness.  Not  content 
with  ordinary  self-tortures,  she  stuck 
thorns  into  her  breast  and  would  not 
pull  them  out  until  the  wounds  festered. 
EM.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Oliveria  (OLIVE)  and  Liberata 
(4),  Feb.  3,  VV.  6th  century.  They 
were  of  good  birth  and  disciples  of  St. 
Berthaldus.  It  is  mentioned  in  his  Life 
that,  instructed  by  him,  they  left  their 
house  at  Alta  Villa  and  lived  as  hermits 
about  six  leagues  off,  in  the  forest  of 
Chaumont,  in  Bassigny,  where  two  heal 
ing  fountains  bear  their  names.  AA.SS. 


ST.   OLYMPIAS 


121 


St.  Olla,  Oct.  9,  27.  llth  or  12th 
century.  Lived  and  died  at  a  village 
called  after  her,  Ste.  Olle,  near  Cambrai, 
on  the  road  to  Arras.  AAJSS.  Stadler. 
Destombes,  Vws  dc>s  Saints  .  .  .  de  Cambrai 
ct  d' Arras. 

St.  Olphe,  ULPHIA. 
St.  Olympias  (1),  April  i:>,  M.  2/>l, 
with  St.  Maximus,  at  Cordula  in  Persia. 
AAJSS. 

St.  Olympias  (2), 4th  century.  Queen. 
One  of  forty-five  martyrs  for  the  Chris 
tian  faith  at  Nicopolis.  Dulaurier,  Et/Iise 
Annenienne. 

St.  Olympias  (3)  the  Elder.  Queen. 
Called,  perhaps  erroneously,  a  Martyr. 
Daughter  of  Ablavius,  prefect  of  the 
prsetorium  (1326-337 ),  under  Constantino 
and  Constantius.  She  was  betrothed  to 
Constans,  son  of  Constantino,  and  after 
wards  emperor.  Ablavius  was  deposed 
and  put  to  death  by  Constantius,  and 
Constans  then  took  care  of  Olympias  as 
long  as  he  lived,  but  it  is  not  known 
whether  he  married  her.  He  died  in 
').")( »,  and  ten  years  afterwards  Constantius 
gave  her  in  marriage  to  Arsaces,  king  of 
Armenia,  who  died  in  369.  Baronius 
conjectures  that  she  may  have  married 
again  and  been  the  mother  of  the  younger 
and  more  famous  ST.  OLYMPIAS  (5). 
Lightfoot  and  Daniel  in  Smith  and 
Wace. 

St.  Olympias  (4),  Jan.  12,  M. 
supposed  5th  century,  with  SS.  Tigrius 
and  Eutropius.  Canisius.  Perhaps  the 
same  as  OLYMPIAS  (2)  or  (3). 

St.  Olympias  (5),  Dec.  17,  July  25, 
c.  368-e.  410.  Deaconess.  Called  the 
Glory  of  the  widows  of  the  Eastern 
Church.  Daughter  of  Seleucus,  a  count 
of  the  empire  and  a  man  of  illustrious 
birth  and  immense  wealth.  Olympias 
was  the  greatest  heiress  in  Constanti 
nople;  she  was  not  more  than  a  baby 
when  she  was  left  an  orphan,  fabulously 
rich.  She  came  of  a  pagan  family,  but 
her  uncle  and  guardian,  Procopius,  was 
a  Christian  and  was  both  prudent  and 
upright.  He  entrusted  her  education  to 
Theodosia,  sister  of  St.  Amphilochius, 
bishop  of  Iconium.  This  step  was  taken 
probably  by  the  advice  of  St.  Gregory 
Nazianzen  (son  of  St.  NONNA  (7)),  an 
intimate  friend  of  Procopius.  He  was 


related  to  Theodosia  and  pronounced  her 
a  pattern  of  Christian  conduct.    Gregory 
was   archbishop   of    Constantinople   for 
some  part   of  the   twelve  years  during 
which  Olympias  was  the  pupil  of  Theo 
dosia.     He   was  much  attached    to   the 
child  and  was  pleased  when  she  called 
him,    "Father."     Her  intercourse   with 
him,  at  this  impressionable  age,  helped 
to  make  her  the  learned  and  serious  girl 
who  found  the  young  women  of  her  age 
and  class  too  narrow  and  too  frivolous  to 
be  interesting.     She  was  married  in  384 
to    Nebridius,    a    young    man    of    good 
character  and  high  station.     In  38(3  he 
became  prefect  of  Constantinople,  but  he 
died  in  the  same  year,  twenty  months 
after  his  marriage.    The  Emperor  Theo- 
dosius  the  Great  planned  to  marry  the 
beautiful  young  widow  to  a  relation  of 
his  own,  the   Spaniard   Elpidius.     She, 
however,  declared   a  steadfast  intention 
to  remain  a  widow.     Elpidius  hoped  to 
tire  out  her  resistance  to  his  suit,  and  to 
this  end  persuaded  the  Emperor  to  de 
prive  her  of  the  administration  of  her 
property  until  she  should  arrive  at  the 
age  of  thirty.     She  thanked  Theodosius 
for  relieving  her  of  the  management  of 
her  revenues,  and  begged  that  they  might 
be  spent  on  the  poor  and  on  the  churches. 
The  Emperor  was  piqued  that  she  did 
not   eagerly   acquiesce    in    an    alliance 
with  his  family,  and  was  easily  persuaded 
by  Elpidius  to  annoy  her  further,  by  for 
bidding  her  to  go  to  church  or  to  asso 
ciate  with  the  bishops  and  learned  clergy 
whose  society  was  her  delight.     After  a 
year   or   two   Theodosius   saw  that  her 
choice  of  a  religious  life  was  irrevocably 
decided  and  that  it  would  be  unjust  to 
deprive  her  any  longer  of  her  rights. 
He  therefore    restored   to    her   the   full 
control  of  her  estates.     From  this  time 
she  gave  up  herself  and  her  wealth  to 
objects    of    religion   and   charity.     She 
allowed  herself  but  the  scantiest  food, 
the  poorest  clothing  and  the  minimum 
of    sleep,  and   she   denied   herself    the 
luxury  of  a  bath,  although  in  that  age 
and  country  it  was  deemed  a  necessary 
of  life.     She  devoted  herself  to  the  care 
of    the    poor   and    the   sick,    gathering 
around  her  a  knot  of  like-minded  women, 
among  whom  were  SALVINA,  Procula,  and 


122 


ST.   OMERANDA 


Pantadia.  Her  hospitable  doors  were 
always  open  to  the  bishops  and  other 
religious  men  and  women  who  came  from 
all  parts  of  the  empire  to  Constantinople. 
She  was  several  years  under  the  pre 
scribed  age,  when  Nectarius  consecrated 
her  a  deaconess  of  the  church  of  Con 
stantinople.  He  did  not  allow  her  to 
devote  all  her  energies  to  this  office,  for 
he  consulted  her  on  numerous  ecclesias 
tical  matters,  in  which  she  was  better 
versed  than  he  was,  as  he  had  been 
appointed  to  the  primacy  while  yet  but 
a  catechumen.  St.  Chrysostom  succeeded 
Nectarius  in  897.  He  immediately  saw 
the  value  of  such  a  woman  as  Olympias, 
and  of  her  influence  over  a  large  circle 
of  the  best  and  most  distinguished  ladies 
of  Constantinople.  He  consulted  her  on 
many  subjects,  and  allowed  her  to  provide 
for  his  bodily  needs.  She  could  minister 
to  his  necessities,  while  sympathizing 
with  his  determination  to  avoid  all  self- 
indulgence  and  all  splendour,  and  she 
was  his  active  agent  in  many  works  of 
charity  and  piety  in  various  parts  of  the 
world.  By  his  advice,  she  became  less 
indiscriminate  in  her  gifts,  as  he  repre 
sented  to  her  that  she  was  bound  to  use 
her  great  resources  prudently,  so  as  to 
do  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  good 
to  proper  objects,  instead  of  giving  to 
covetous  persons  who  did  not  really 
stand  in  need  of  relief.  With  his  ap 
proval,  she  gave  hospitality  to  the 
Nitrian  monks,  when  they  were  expelled 
from  their  desert  cells,  by  the  persecuting 
Theophilus.  When  Chrysostom's  stormy 
primacy  and  long  struggle  with  the 
Empress  Eudoxia  ended  in  his  banish 
ment  in  404,  Olympias  with  a  number 
of  the  women,  who  had  been  his  faithful 
friends  and  admirers,  assembled  in  the 
baptistery  of  the  great  church  of  St. 
Sophia  to  receive  his  parting  blessing. 
That  very  night,  the  church,  the  senate 
house,  and  the  palace  were  burnt  down. 
Olympias  and  her  friends  were  accused 
of  having  set  them  on  fire.  Optatus,  the 
prefect,  questioned  Olympias  very  rudely. 
She  completely  disconcerted  him  by 
her  fearless  and  witty  answers.  So  he 
tried  to  compromise  the  matter  by  offer 
ing  to  drop  the  accusation,  on  condition 
of  her  receiving  Communion  from  Ar- 


sacius,  the  new  patriarch.  She  indig 
nantly  declined  to  have  the  matter 
dropped.  She  was  publicly  accused  of 
a  crime  which  was  quite  foreign  to  her 
character  and  manner  of  life;  she  de 
manded  that  the  insulting  charge  should 
be  withdrawn  before  any  terms  of  com 
promise  could  be  considered ;  and  as  for 
communicating  with  Arsacius,  she  re 
garded  him  as  unlawfully  intruded  into 
the  place  of  St.  Chrysostom,  her  true 
bishop.  After  the  excitement  and  fatigue 
of  this  episode,  Olympias  had  a  serious 
illness.  As  soon  as  she  was  able,  she 
left  Constantinople  and  went  to  Syzicus 
(Artaki),  whether  of  her  own  will  or 
under  compulsion  is  not  certain.  After 
a  time  Optatus  again  sent  for  her  and  im 
posed  on  her  a  heavy  fine  for  declining 
to  enter  into  communion  with  Arsacius ; 
the  women  who  had  formed  a  happy 
circle  around  her  were  dispersed;  her 
health  was  shattered  ;  she  was  sent  some 
times  to  one  place,  sometimes  to  another, 
and  she  experienced  the  ingratitude  and 
the  rudeness  of  many  on  whom  she  had 
bestowed  kindness,  including  some  of 
her  servants,  who  disliked  her  ascetic 
way  of  living  and  joined  her  persecutors. 
Notwithstanding  all  this  spoliation  and 
her  profuse  liberality,  she  still  had  pro 
perty  from  which  she  sent  money  to 
Chrysostom  in  his  exile.  The  seventeen 
letters  from  him  to  Olympias  which  are 
preserved,  show  that  their  friendship  was 
lifelong,  but  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
their  dates  cannot  be  positively  fixed. 
For  her  consolation,  he  wrote  a  treatise 
on  the  theme  that  "No  one  is  really 
injured  except  by  himself."  The  time 
and  place  of  Olympia's  death  cannot  be 
ascertained.  She  was  alive  in  408  and 
was  certainly  dead  before  420.  Besides 
the  eminent  saints  already  mentioned, 
she  counted  among  her  friends,  St. 
Gregory  of  Nyssa,  St.  Peter  of  Sebaste, 
St.  Epiphanius  of  Cyprus,  and  other 
great  and  good  men.  Tillemont. 
Butler.  Smith  and  Wace.  Palladius. 
Lebeau. 

St.  Omeranda  gives  name  to  a 
church  in  Agenois.  Chastelain. 

St.  Oncan,  Oct.  20.  Kirk  Oncan,  or 
Kirk  Conchan,  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  is 
supposed  to  take  its  name  from  CONCESSA, 


ST.   ORICULA 


123 


mother  of  St.  Patrick.  Blundell,  Hist. 
of  the  Me  of  Man. 

St.  Oncommena,  or  ONTCOMMENA, 
WILGEFORTIS. 

St.  Oneglia,  ANGELIA. 

St.  Onenne,  OUENNE. 

St.  Onesima,  Feb.  27,  V.  of  Cologne. 
History  and  date  unknown.  AA.SS. 
Guerin. 

St.  Onesta,  HONESTA  (2). 

St.  Onofledis   or  ONOFLETTE,  ANNO- 

FLEDI8. 

B.  Onofria,  HONOFRIA. 

St.  Ontcommera,  WILGEFORTIS. 

St.  Onzinia,  or  ONZIMIA.  Perhaps 
ENVMIE.  Cahier.  Guerin. 

St.  Ophenge,  EUPHEMIA  (1). 

St.  Opportuna,  April  22,  patron  of 
Paris  and  Almeneches. 

Represented  (1)  appearing  to  a  drown 
ing  man  whom  she  saves ;  (2)  an  angel 
standing  beside  her,  in  allusion  to 
a  tradition  that  when  she  entered  the 
convent  for  the  first  time,  the  other  nuns 
saw  her  guardian  angel  walking  beside 
her. 

St.  Opportuna,  abbess  of  Montreuil, 
near  Almeneches,  was  never  known  to  be 
angry,  and  corrected  the  faults  of  her 
nuns  with  words  instead  of  blows.  Her 
brother,  St.  Chrodegand  or  Godegrand, 
bishop  of  Seez,  went  to  Rome  and  Pales 
tine  for  seven  years,  entrusting  his 
diocese  and  property  meanwhile  to  his 
kinsman  Chrodobert,  who  enriched  him 
self  at  the  expense  of  the  people  and  their 
absent  pastor.  Opportuna  prayed  fer 
vently  for  her  brother's  return.  As  soon 
as  he  arrived  in  his  native  land,  Chrode- 
gaud  hastened  to  visit  Opportuna,  and 
was  proceeding  from  Montreuil  to  Alme 
neches,  where  their  aunt  ST.  LANTILDIS 
was  abbess,  when  he  was  murdered  half 
way  between  the  two  monasteries,  at  the 
instigation  of  his  rival.  Lantildis  prayed 
that  she  might  succeed  in  burying  the 
saint  in  her  own  church ;  Opportuna 
when  she  heard  of  the  murder,  prayed 
that  the  body  might  remain  where  it  was 
until  she  came  to  take  it.  The  murdered 
saint  proved  immovable  until  Opportuna 
arrived,  when  he  at  once  allowed  her  to 
carry  him  with  her  own  hands  to  her 
church,  and  bury  him.  She  survived 
him  one  year,  and  died  about  A.D.  77<». 


Her  Life,  written  in  the  following 
century  by  St.  Aldhelm,  is  given  by 
Mabillion,  AA.SS.  O.S.B.  She  is  praised 
in  the  Acts  of  St.  Chrodeyand,  Sept.  3. 
AA.SS.  Butler.  Baillet.  Cahier. 
St.  Optata,  June  1,  M.  with  ST. 

AUCEGA. 

St.  Orada,  ODKADA. 

B.  Oranna,  Sep.  15  (On  AN  A,  ORANDA, 
URANNA,  URBANNA),  V.  c.  1400,  at  Saar 
Louis  in  Lorraine.  Invoked  against 
deafness  and  vertigo.  Her  maid-servant 
is  honoured  with  her.  Their  history  is 
unknown,  but  their  local  worship  is  very 
ancient.  Legend  says  that  Oranna  was 
deaf  and  was  despised  on  that  account, 
by  her  brothers.  Her  father  gave  her 
an  estate  at  Eschweiler,  where,  with  a 
faithful  maid,  she  devoted  herself  to  the 
service  of  God.  Another  legend  is  that 
she  fled  with  her  maid  to  lead  a  hermit's 
life,  and  they  hid  themselves  at  Esch, 
now  Saar  Louis.  AA.SS. 

St.  Orbana  or  ORBANNA.  Five 
martyrs  bore  this  name ;  some  of  them 
are  also  called  URBAN  A.  AA.SS.  Migne. 

St.  Orbata,  Feb.  12,  M.  in  Italy, 
with  others.  Mentioned  in  St.  Jerome's 
Marfyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Orbilia,  ORBILLA,  or  SERVILIA,  7th 
century.  Appointed  by  ST.  MODWENNA 
to  succeed  her  in  the  government  of  her 
nuns  at  Fochard,  in  Ireland,  when  she 
left  them  to  found  other  religious  com 
munities.  Lanigan.  Perhaps  this  is  the 
saint  whom  Dempster  called  ORBILLA, 
Jan.  2,  7(30.  He  makes  her  a  native  of 
Scotland  and  kinswoman  of  St.  Abel, 
archbishop  of  Rheims,  who  summoned 
her  from  her  own  country  to  preside 
over  a  community  of  nuns  at  Rheims. 

St.  Oreozela,  July  20,  M.  probably 
at  Constantinople.  Honoured  in  the 
Greek  Church.  AA.SS. 

St.  Orgonne  sometimes  means  ALDE- 
GUND,  sometimes  RADEGUND.  Cahier. 

B.  Oria,  AURIA. 

St.  Oricula,  Nov.  18  (OBICOLA, 
ORIQUE),  M.  c.  408.  with  her  brother  St. 
Oriculus  or  Orioles,  and  her  sister  ST. 
BASILICA  or  BASILISSA.  They  were  all 
slain  by  the  Vandals  at  Syndunum  (now 
Senuc),  a  village  of  Doulcon  in  Cham 
pagne.  According  to  Arturus  a  Monas- 
tero,  their  bodies  arose  miraculously 


124 


ST.   ORIELDA 


from  the  earth  without  human  aid,  about 
the  year  924.  We  have  the  higher 
authority  of  Ruinart  (Belgian  Manu 
scripts)  for  their  martyrdom.  They  were 
translated  into  a  great  monastery  in 
Eheims,  and  there  reverently  preserved. 

St.  Orielda,  April  19,  wife  of  St. 
Angelinus  and  mother  of  SS.  Paulinus 
and  Gentilis,  all  of  them  early  martyrs. 
Commemorated  at  the  church  of  ST. 
AFRA  at  Brescia.  AA.SS. 

B.  Oringa,  or  CHRISTIANA  (6),  Jan. 
10,  V.  +1310.  Born  at  Castello  di 
Santa  Croce  in  the  valley  of  the  Arno. 
As  a  little  girl  she  took  care  of  her 
father's  cattle  and  used  to  command 
them  not  to  touch  the  corn  while  she 
said  her  prayers.  They  always  obeyed 
her.  She  never  could  endure  to  hear 
any  profane  or  improper  language.  When 
marriage  was  discussed  for  her,  it  made 
her  sick.  Her  brothers  found  they  could 
not  induce  her  by  words  to  marry,  so 
they  resorted  to  blows.  She  went  into 
the  river  many  times  to  escape  from 
them,  and  always  came  out  quite  dry. 
At  last  she  fled  to  Lucca.  She  did  not 
know  the  way,  and  towards  evening  she 
was  tired  and  frightened  ;  but  just  then 
she  found  herself  in  a  lovely  meadow 
full  of  sweet  flowers.  She  sat  down  to 
rest,  and  a  hare  came  and  played  with 
her.  She  caressed  it,  and  it  lay  on  her 
lap  all  night  and  in  the  morning  it  ran 
before  her  and  led  her  by  the  right  road 
to  Lucca.  There  she  engaged  herself  to 
serve  an  honest  and  pious  nobleman. 
She  asked  no  other  wages  than  a  little 
food  and  the  poorest  clothing,  but  it  was 
to  be  clean.  She  remained  in  his  service 
some  years.  She  always  went  barefooted. 
She  made  a  pilgrimage  with  some  of  her 
acquaintances  to  Monte  Gargano.  By 
the  way,  some  wicked  young  men  tried  to 
mislead  and  rob  them ;  but  St.  Michael, 
to  whom  Oringa  had  a  special  devotion, 
appeared  to  them  in  the  form  of  a  deacon 
and  warned  them  not  to  listen  to  their 
enemies.  Oringa  then  went  to  Eome  and 
visited  the  most  sacred  places.  A  Fran 
ciscan  monk,  who  discovered  her  holiness 
and  poverty  and  her  wish  to  remain 
there,  arranged  that  she  should  live  with 
a  good  woman  named  Margaret,  who  was 
looking  out  for  a  companion.  At  this 


time  Oringa  was  called  Christiana, 
and  soon  her  own  name  was  forgotten. 
She  went  with  Margaret  to  Assisi  to  see 
the  tomb  of  St.  Francis.  She  next  visited 
ST.  VIRIDIANA  at  Castel  Fiorentino ;  and 
then  returned  to  her  native  place.  Soon 
afterwards  Margaret  went  back  to  Rome, 
but  Oringa  found  that  whenever  she  at 
tempted  to  leave  the  village  she  lost  the 
use  of  her  limbs,  but  as  long  as  she  re 
mained  there  she  could  walk  perfectly 
well.  She  therefore  perceived  that  it 
was  the  will  of  God  that  she  should  stay 
where  she  was,  and  persuaded  the  people 
to  build  her  a  convent.  She  gave  it  the 
rule  of  St.  Augustine.  Although  she 
was  the  director,  she  would  accept  of  no 
precedence  or  distinction.  The  com 
munity  was  very  poor,  and  Oringa 
miraculously  increased  the  food  and 
wine  when  they  were  in  danger  of  star 
vation.  Several  miracles  and  prophecies 
are  recorded  of  her.  She  heard  a  child 
crying  in  his  cradle,  and  she  said,  "  He 
is  lamenting  the  wicked  life  that  he  will 
lead,  for  as  soon  as  he  is  grown  up  he 
will  add  sin  to  sin  until  he  is  hung  on  a 
gibbet."  And  so  it  happened.  At  seventy 
she  was  struck  with  paralysis,  lay  help 
less  for  three  years,  and  then  died  in 
peace,  Jan.  4,  1310,  with  many  signs  of 
sanctity.  Her  body  was  surrounded  by 
rays  of  heavenly  light.  For  eighteen 
days  it  was  visited  as  that  of  a  saint. 
A.R.M.,  O.S.A.  AA.SS.  Grimoald  de 
Saint  Laurent,  Aniinaux  model 'es.  Razzi, 
Santi  Toscani.  Torelli,  Ristretto. 

SS.  Orique  and  Basilique,  ORICULA 
and  BASILISSA. 

St.  Oritula,  CKEDULA  (3). 

St.  Orophrygia,  Oct.  22,  V.  M.  with 
ST.  URSULA.  Her  body  kept  in  the  con 
vent  of  St.  Dominic  at  Calahorra.  Stad- 
ler.  Probably  OUOPHYRIA  is  a  variant. 

St.  Orora,  or  CRORA,  Oct.  20.  Sup 
posed  7th  century  or  earlier.  Honoured 
with  St.  Bradan  in  the  Isle  of  Man. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Orosia,  June  25  (EUROLE, 
EUROSIA),  8th  or  9th  century.  Some 
times  described  as  a  Martyr  in  Aquitaine. 
Probably  the  same  saint  who  is  wor 
shipped  in  Bohemia  under  the  name  of 
EPRASIA.  Represented  with  a  hatchet  or 
sword,  and  a  crown.  Invoked  against 


B.  OSANNA 


125 


storms  and  for  favourable  weather  in 
general. 

Orosia  was  betrothed  to  a  Visigothic 
prince  and  went  to  Aragon  to  be  married. 
Just  then  the  Moors  invaded  Spain. 
Near  Jebra  she  was  taken  prisoner  and 
led  to  Muza,  the  general  of  the  infidels, 
who  said  that  if  she  would  renounce  her 
religion  he  would  marry  her.  As  she 
refused,  he  had  her  beaten,  horribly 
mutilated,  and  at  last  beheaded.  Years 
afterwards,  when  her  sanctity  had  been 
shown  by  many  miracles,  her  body  was 
removed  to  Jacca.  Her  worship  passed 
into  Italy  with  the  Spaniards.  Lombardy 
in  particular  dedicated  a  great  many 
churches  in  her  honour.  AA.SS.  Cahier. 

St.  Orselina,  URSULINA. 

SS.  Orsmaria  and  Sigillenda,  Aug. 
30,  were  among  the  11,000  VV.  who 
sailed  with  ST.  URSULA.  They  buried 
many  of  their  companions.  They  are 
honoured  in  the  church  of  the  Maccabees 
at  Cologne.  Martin.  AA.SS.,  Praetcr. 

St.  Orsola,  URSULA. 

B.  Ortolana,  or  HORTULANA,  Jan.  5, 
O.S.F.  +  1253.  Mother  of  SS.  CLARA  and 
AGNES  OF  ASSISI.  She  became  a  member 
of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  and 
afterwards  a  nun  in  Clara's  convent, 
where  she  died.  She  is  called  "  Blessed 
Hortulana"  in  Brewer's  Monuiucnta 
Franciscana,  II.  543. 

St.  Ortrude,  June  22,  V.  at  Guisnes 
in  Picardy,  AA.SS.  Henschenius  con 
siders  her  the  same  as  KOTKUDE  ;  Saussaye 
says  she  is  another  saint. 

St.  Osanna  (1)  was  perhaps  the 
daughter  of  Aldfred  and  ST.  CUTHBUHGA, 
for  she  is  said  to  have  been  the  sister  of 
Osred,  king  of  Northumbria.  Some 
writers  place  her  a  generation  later,  and 
some  doubt  her  existence.  She  is  not 
much  heard  of  in  early  history.  Atten 
tion  having  been  drawn  to  her  relics 
which  were  preserved  in  a  church  in  the 
Netherlands,  it  was  ascertained  that  she 
was  a  Northumbrian  princess  of  the 
seventh  or  eighth  century,  and  that  her 
sanctity  was  first  manifested  a  consider 
able  time  after  her  death,  by  a  miraculous 
flagellation  she  inflicted  from  her  grave, 
and  by  which  she  converted  a  sinner. 
She  was  buried  in  the  church  of  Hove- 
den,  or  Howden  in  Northumberland,  but 


no  special  veneration  was  paid  her  until 
one  day  the  concubine  of  the  rector  went 
into  the  church,  and  thoughtlessly  sat 
down  on  the  tomb.  Presently  she  found 
that  she  could  not  rise  from  her  seat. 
She  writhed,  she  wept,  she  struggled, 
she  called  her  friends  and  they  pulled 
and  pushed  and  hurt  her,  and  tore  her 
clothes,  and  still  she  could  not  be  moved 
from  the  stone  where  she  sat.  At  length 
she  perceived  that  a  punishment  had 
fallen  on  her,  and  that,  she  was  thus 
called  to  repentance.  She  resolved  with 
many  tears  to  amend  her  life,  and  separate 
from  the  priest  with  whom  she  lived,  and 
when  she  had  made  a  vow  to  do  so,  she 
was  able  to  leave  her  seat,  but  not  before 
her  dress  was  torn,  and  her  skin  marked 
with  many  strokes  of  discipline.  She 
has  no  day,  but  her  story  is  told  by  the 
Bollandists,  June  18,  on  the  authority 
of  Geraldus  Cambrensis,  among  the 
Prsbtermissi. 

B.  Osanna  (2)  of  Mantua,  June  18, 
V.,  SrdO.S.D.  +1505.  Of  the  patrician 
family  of  Andreasi.  From  the  age  of 
five  she  had  celestial  visions ;  at  fourteen 
she  took  the  habit  of  the  Third  Order  of 
St.  Dominic.  At  fifteen  she  lost  her 
parents  and  became  as  a  mother  to  her 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  later  in  life  she 
took  care  of  the  wives  and  children  of 
her  brothers.  It  was  the  admiration  of 
every  one  who  knew  her,  that  a  virgin 
consecrated  to  a  religious  life  and  oc 
cupied  with  spiritual  matters,  could  so 
cleverly  and  wisely  manage  the  worldly 
affairs  of  her  family.  Her  visions  and 
frequent  ecstasies  made  her  an  object 
of  suspicion  to  the  friars,  who  doubted 
her  sincerity  and  even  her  sanity.  It 
seemed  to  them  that  she  was  trying  to 
obtain  a  reputation  for  sanctity,  or  was  in 
sane.  Fearing  a  scandal,  they  threatened 
to  deprive  her  of  the  dress  of  the  Order,bnt 
after  a  time  her  humility  and  simplicity 
made  them  change  their  opinion  and 
apologize  to  her  for  their  error.  She 
greatly  longed  to  be  able  to  read  sacred 
books  ;  but  remembering  that  her  father 
in  his  lifetime  had  often  told  her  it  was 
very  dangerous  and  indecent  for  women 
to  turn  their  attention  to  literature,  she 
dutifully  abstained  from  learning  to  read 
and  write,  until  she  was  miraculously 


126 


B.   OSANNA 


taught  by  the  VIRGIN  MARY.  Soon  after 
this,  the  Blessed  Virgin  married  her  to 
Christ,  Who  put  a  ring  on  her  finger. 
This  ring  Osanna  could  always  see  and 
feel,but  it  was  invisible  to  others.  In  1476 
she  had  for  twelve  years  been  praying 
earnestly  to  be  made  a  partaker  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  and  one  day  as  she 
knelt  before  a  crucifix,  in  a  little  chapel 
in  the  Vico  Biccarelli,  He  gave  her  five 
wounds  corresponding  to  His  own.  She 
foretold  future  events,  and  wonderful 
benefits  were  obtained  by  her  interces 
sion.  Two  contemporary  Lives  in  the 
AA.SS.  Pio.  Eazzi.  A.EM. 

B.  Osanna  (3)  of  Cattaro,  April  28, 
+  1565,  O.S.D.  Born  at  Comani,  a 
village  of  Slavonia,  not  very  far  from 
Cattaro,  afterwards  subject  to  the  Turks. 
Her  parents  were  of  the  sect  of  the 
Graeco-Slavonian  Church,  called  jRas- 
ciami.  She  was  christened  Catherine. 
From  her  earliest  childhood  she  was 
devout  and  willing  to  fast.  When  she 
was  old  enough  she  kept  sheep  in  the 
fields,  and  thus  had  leisure  for  contem 
plation,  which  was  always  of  a  religious 
nature.  Her  mother,  who  was  a  poor 
untaught  peasant,  could  only  tell  her 
that  God  had  made  the  world  and  all 
the  beautiful  things  in  it,  that  He  was 
born  of  a  virgin  and  was  crucified,  and 
that  a  beautiful  image  of  Him  as  a  baby 
might  at  certain  times  be  seen  in  the 
neighbouring  town.  The  young  shep 
herdess  longed  very  much  to  see  it,  and 
prayed  earnestly  that  this  good  God 
would  show  Himself  to  her  once.  Her 
prayer  was  heard,  for  one  evening  as 
she  was  driving  the  sheep  to  the  fold, 
she  saw  in  a  meadow,  a  beautiful  child. 
She  ran  to  embrace  it,  but  it  rose  into 
the  air  and  vanished,  leaving  her  full 
of  delight.  She  told  her  mother,  who 
did  not  believe  a  word  of  it,  and  told 
her  sharply  not  to  tell  silly  stories. 
Soon  afterwards,  alone  with  her  flock, 
on  a  hill,  at  midday,  she  saw  the  cruci 
fied  Saviour  with  all  the  appearance  of 
agony,  suspended  in  the  air.  After 
this  she  entreated  her  mother  to  take 
her  to  live  in  the  town,  where  she  might 
receive  more  instruction  concerning  the 
Lord  Jesus.  The  mother  accordingly 
placed  her,  as  a  servant,  with  a  senator 


of  Cattaro.  Here  her  conduct  won  for 
her  the  regard  of  all  the  family.  She  was 
taken  to  confession,  which  was  a  new 
and  wonderful  thing  to  her.  Her  medi 
tations  during  mass,  and  the  sermons  she 
heard  on  the  Passion  in  Holy  Week,  made 
her  consider  that  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  to  be  shut  up  in  prison  for  life, 
so  as  to  contemplate  the  sufferings  of 
the  Saviour  perpetually.  Not  knowing 
how  to  carry  out  her  idea,  she  went  to 
a  venerable  matron,  named  Slavuccia, 
who,  with  the  help  of  a  Minorite  friar, 
induced  the  bishop  of  the  town  to  give 
her  a  little  cell,  to  her  great  delight  and 
the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all  the 
people.  Here  she  remained  seven  years, 
and  was  then  transferred  to  another  cell 
near  St.  Paul's,  where  she  remained  for 
the  rest  of  her  life.  At  twenty-one,  she 
took  the  habit  of  St.  Dominic  and  with 
it  the  name  of  Osanna.  Her  rigorous 
fasting  was  modified  by  command  of  her 
confessor  •  for  nearly  fifty  years  her  bed 
consisted  of  two  poles  with  five  bars 
across  them,  like  the  steps  of  a  ladder, 
a  piece  of  wood  for  a  pillow,  and  one 
single  blanket  for  a  covering.  Her 
scourging  and  other  torments  were  very 
edifying  to  the  nuns  who  lived  near, 
and  to  the  other  citizens.  Although 
she  could  not  read,  she  talked  about 
the  sayings  and  doings  of  the  fathers 
and  of  things  in  the  Bible,  as  if  she  had 
spent  her  whole  life  in  the  study  of 
sacred  books.  She  had  great  confidence 
in  the  words,  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  King 
of  the  Jews,"  as  a  charm  in  danger.  In 
time  of  storms,  inundations,  earthquakes, 
etc.,  she  used  to  run  to  the  other  re 
cluses,  crying,  "Oh,  my  daughters,  pros 
trate  yourselves  and  let  us  cry,  'Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  King  of  the  Jews !  "  In 
this  manner  she  stopped  an  inundation 
which  threatened  to  destroy  the  city. 
Once  a  great  rock,  loosened  from  the 
mountain,  hung  over  her  cell  and  seemed 
as  if  it  must  crush  it  to  pieces.  She 
cried  out  to  God  for  help :  two  hands 
were  seen  to  arrest  the  course  of  the 
rock  and  put  it  gently  down  at  the 
corner  of  the  cell.  When  she  died,  a 
great  concourse  of  people  assembled  to 
venerate  her  body.  Pio. 

St.    Osburg,    abbess    of    Coventry. 


ST.  OSITH 


127 


7th  or  8th  century.  The  house  where 
she  is  said  to  have  ruled  uas  destroyed 
by  Edric  in  1010,  and  on  its  site  an 
abbey  was  built,  round  which  the  town 
grew  up.  We  have  no  records  of  Osburg 
until  1410,  but  she  seems  to  be  credited 
with  being  contemporary  with  SS.  OSITH 
andMoDWENNA,etc.  Stanton.  Eckenstein. 

St.  Osella,  ASELLA. 

St.  Osgith,  OSITH. 

St.  Osita,  OSITH. 

St.  Osith,  Oct.  7,  April  27  (ASGITH, 
CYTE,  OSGITH,  OSITA,  OSWITH,  OSYTH, 
SYTHE  ;  in  Spanish,  OSTIA)  ;  7th  or  Mh 
century.  Princess  of  Mercia  or  of 
Northumbria. 

Eepresented  (1)  with  a  stag  beside 
her;  (2)  with  a  long  key  hanging  from 
her  girdle;  (3)  carrying  a  key  and 
sword  crossed,  a  device  which  comme 
morates  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul  and  St. 
Andrew. 

According  to  the  legend,  Osith  was 
the  daughter  of  Frithewald,  king  or 
prince  of  some  part  of  Mercia,  or  sub- 
regulus  of  Surrey;  her  mother  was 
Wilteburga,  or  Wilburga,  daughter  of 
Penda.  The  parents  of  Osith,  with  St. 
Erconwald,  founded  the  monastery  of 
Chertsey  in  (375. 

Osith  was  born  at  Quarendon  near 
Aylesbury.  Her  childhood  was  spent 
under  the  care  of  the  two  holy  abbesses, 
ST.  EDITH  (3)  and  ST.  MODWENNA  ;  she 
was  sometimes  with  one  and  sometimes 
with  the  other.  Modwenna  founded 
monasteries  at  Burton  -  on  -  Trent  in 
Derbyshire,  Stramshall  in  Staffordshire, 
and  at  Polles worth  in  Warwickshire. 

One  clay  in  winter,  Edith  sent  Osith 
to  take  a  book  to  Modwenna,  to  point 
out  to  her  a  particularly  interesting 
passage  she  had  discovered.  To  reach 
Modwenna's  house,  Osith  had  to  cross 
a  stream  by  a  bridge.  The  stream  was 
swollen,  the  wind  was  high,  she  was 
blown  into  the  water,  and  remained 
there  for  two  days  before  she  was  dis 
covered.  Edith  thought  she  was  safe 
with  Modwenna,  who,  not  expecting  her 
visit,  was  not  surprised  at  her  non- 
appearance.  On  the  third  day,  Edith, 
wondering  that  her  pupil  had  not  re 
turned  with  an  answer  to  her  message, 
came  to  Modwenna.  Great  was  the 


consternation  of  the  abbesses  when  they 
found  they  had  lost  their  charge.  They 
went  to  search  for  her.  Following  the 
banks  of  the  stream,  they  saw  the  child 
lying  at  the  bottom,  holding  the  book 
open  at  the  passage  she  had  been  told 
to  show  to  Modwenna.  The  abbesses 
prayed  for  her  restoration,  and  com 
manded  her  to  arise  from  the  water  and 
come  to  them ;  which  she  did,  she,  her 
dress  and  the  book  quite  uninjured. 
After  the  death  of  Modwenna,  Osith 
returned  to  her  parents,  who  soon  ac 
cepted  for  her  an  offer  of  marriage  from 
Sighere,  king  of  Essex,  who  reigned 
jointly  with  Sebba,  6G4-(>8<>.  Sighere 
had  relapsed  into  heathenism,  but 
promised  to  become  a  Christian  on 
marrying  Osith. 

Osith's  inclinations  turned  towards  a 
religious  life,  she  would  rather  have  been 
an  abbess  than  a  queen,  and  had  secretly 
made  a  vow  of  celibacy.  Her  fate  was 
decided  for  her,  and  she  was  given  to 
Sighere,  but  still  prayed  that  she  might 
have  no  husband  but  the  Lord.  On  her 
marriage,  she  went  with  her  husband, 
probably  to  London,  which  was  then  the 
capital  of  Essex.  On  one  pretence  or 
other,  she  declined  for  several  days  to 
receive  the  king  in  her  bower — a  separate 
house  for  herself  and  her  attendant 
ladies,  within  the  enclosure  of  the  royal 
residence.  At  last  her  contrivances  were 
exhausted,  and  so  was  the  king's  patience. 
Her  seclusion  came  to  a  sudden  end  and 
her  husband  stood  before  her.  Still  she 
prayed  that  she  might  keep  her  vow. 
Sighere  began  to  protest  that  without  her, 
life  held  no  happiness,  no  interest  for 
him.  But  £ven  while  he  spoke,  there 
was  a  sound  of  eager  voices  and  hurrying 
feet.  Some  of  his  lords  cried,  "  The  stag, 
the  stag ! "  and  close  to  the  gate  was  the 
largest  stag  that  ever  was  seen.  Up 
sprang  Sighere,  and  with  all  his  Court, 
started  in  pursuit.  Osith  regarded  this 
interruption  as  an  answer  to  her  prayers, 
and  took  his  departure  as  a  release  from 
her  engagement.  She  sent  in  all  haste 
for  Bishops  Acca  and  Bedwin.  When 
the  king  returned,  after  a  chase  of  four 
or  five  days,  he  found  her  a  veiled  nun. 
He  generously  gave  her  an  estate  at 
Chich  in  Essex,  and  built  her  a  church 


128 


ST.   OSMAN 


and  a  monastery,  where  she  soon  gathered 
many  holy  nuns  about  her,  and  attained 
to  wonderful  sanctity. 

After  many  years,  the  Danes  made  a 
raid  on  that  coast.  Their  leader  tried 
by  threats  and  entreaties  to  make  Osith 
renounce  her  religion,  but  in  vain,  and 
incensed  at  his  failure,  he  cut  off  her 
head.  As  it  fell  to  the  earth,  a  fountain 
bubbled  up,  which  for  many  years  after 
wards  had  a  wonderful  power  of  curing 
diseases.  Osith  rose  to  her  feet,  and 
carried  her  head  in  her  hands  to  the 
church,  staining  the  door  with  blood  as 
she  opened  it.  Her  family  claimed  her 
body,  but  the  saint  intimated  by  visions 
and  other  signs  that  she  chose  to  rest  in 
her  own  monastery.  There,  accordingly, 
she  was  placed  in  a  rich  shrine  by 
Maurice,  bishop  of  London. 

By  other  accounts,  Osith  was  sister, 
niece,  or  granddaughter  of  the  Northum 
brian  king,  St.  Oswald.  She  has  also 
been  called  the  mother  of  King  Offa. 
Her  story  is  so  full  of  anachronisms  that 
it  is  probable  that  the  transmitters  of 
the  legend  have  confused  two  persons 
together. 

St.  Osith's  church  and  estate  were 
afterwards  called  by  her  name,  and  still 
bear  it,  pronounced  in  the  native  dialect, 
Toosey. 

Britannia  Sancta.  English,  Mart. 
Ancient  British  Piety.  Surius.  Strutt. 
Butler.  Smith  and  Wace.  Besant, 
London. 

St.  Osman  or  OSWEN,  April  1,  Nov. 
22,  V.  7th  century.  A  princess  of 
Ireland,  supposed  to  have  lived  at  St. 
Brieux,  in  Brittany.  Her  name  and 
story  became  known  through  the  dream 
of  a  priest  in  1240.  Legend  says  that 
she  left  Ireland  with  a  maid,  called 
Aclitenis,  or  Cerota.  They  went  to 
France  and  built  themselves  a  hut  on 
the  bank  of  the  Loire,  and  there,  one 
day,  a  hunter  found  a  wild  boar  lying 
for  safety  at  the  feet  of  the  saint. 
As  she  would  not  speak  to  him  or  answer 
his  salutation,  he  was  going  to  kill  her 
protege,  but  neither  his  dogs  nor  his 
weapon  would  obey  him,  and  he  returned 
to  the  town  and  told  what  he  had  seen. 
The  bishop,  clergy  and  people  went  out 
and  found  Osman  with  no  clothes  but 


some  plaited  reeds.  They  accused  her 
of  witchcraft  and  they  advised  her  to  be 
baptized.  She  said  there  was  nothing 
she  would  like  better.  So  the  people  all 
gathered  about  her  to  instruct  her  and 
look  at  her,  and  one  man  who  had  been 
blind  for  three  years,  called  out  to  her  and 
touched  her.  Immediately  his  sight  was 
restored,  and  the  multitude  understood 
that  she  was  a  virgin  and  servant  of  God. 
Soon  afterwards  she  took  out  a  bone 
which  had  stuck  in  a  girl's  throat,  and 
this  greatly  increased  her  reputation. 
Her  relics  were  kept  for  centuries  in  her 
chapel  in  the  abbey  of  St.  Denis,  but 
they  were  dispersed  by  the  Calvinists  in 
1567.  She  is  one  of  the  saints  who  was 
perhaps  a  goddess.  She  is  sometimes 
called  "  Martyr."  AA.SS.  Martin. 
Saussaye.  Eckenstein. 

St.  Osnata  or  OSNAT,  Jan.  6,  V.  of 
Gleandallain  in  Sligo.  She  had  a  brother, 
St.  Molaisse  of  Devenish,  and  two  sisters, 
ST.  MUADHNATA  and  ST.  TALULLA.  A 
joint  festival  of  the  three  sisters  was 
kept  at  Enach-arct  in  Leitrim.  The 
church  of  Killasnet  in  Leitrim  takes  its 
name  from  Osnat  and  is  said  to  have 
been  built  in  one  night.  Archdale's 
Monasticon  calls  the  first  sister  Odnata, 
and  makes  St.  Osnata  of  Gleandallaiu 
another  person.  Lanigan. 
St.  Osnenda,  OSWENDA. 
St.  Ossia,  MATRONA  (18)  of  Perga. 
St.  Osthrida,  Aug.  5  (OFFBIDA, 
OSTHIA,  OSTRID,  OSTRYTHE),  -f-  697. 
Princess  of  Northumberland.  Queen 
of  Mercia.  Daughter  of  St.  Oswy  and 
ST.  EANFLEDA.  Wife  of  Ethelred,  king 
of  Mercia,  who  succeeded  his  brother 
Wulfere  in  675.  (See  ST.  EHMENILDA.) 
Ethelred  was  a  pious  king,  and  a  great 
benefactor  of  the  Church.  Churches 
and  monasteries  were  multiplied  and  en 
dowed  in  his  reign,  and  he  set  his  niece, 
ST.  WEBEBUBGA  (1)  over  all  the  nun 
neries  in  his  dominions. 

Osthrida  seems  to  have  been  un 
popular  among  the  Mercians.  She  had 
a  great  devotion  to  her  uncle,  St.  Oswald 
of  Northumbria,  and  desired  to  lay  his 
bones  in  her  husband's  noble  monas 
tery  of  Bardeney  in  Lincolnshire.  The 
monks  objected,  because  St.  Oswald  had 
warred  against  Mercia,  and  reigned  over 


B.   PACIFICA 


129 


it  as  a  foreign  king.  When,  one  even 
ing,  a  wagon  arrived  at  Bardeney,  bearing 
the  good  king's  body,  they  would  not 
open  their  gates,  so  the  cart  was  left  all 
night  outside  the  monastery.  No  sooner 
was  it  dark  than  a  wondrous  light  ema 
nated  from  the  bier,  and  was  seen  for 
miles  around  by  all  the  dwellers  in  the 
province,  who  saw  as  it  were  a  pillar  of 
glorious  light  standing  over  the  saint's 
body  and  reaching  up  to  heaven. 

In  the  morning  the  monks  who  had 
wished  to  send  the  relics  back  to  North 
umberland  were  eager  to  have  the  royal 
saint  buried  in  their  church. 

In  697,  the  South  Humbrians  rebelled, 
and  murdered  Osthrida.  She  was  buried 
at  Bardeney.  In  704,  Ethelred  resigned 
the  throne  to  Kenred,  the  son  of  his 
brother  Wulphere  and  St.  Ermenilda,  and 
became  a  monk  at  Bardeney.  He  died 
there  in  715,  and  was  buried  beside  his 
wife. 

Ethelred  and  Osthrida  left  a  son,  Kel- 
red,  who,  in  709,  succeeded  his  cousin 
Ceonred,  and  married  St.  WEREBURGA  (2). 
Bede.  British  Mart.  Ancient  British 
Piety,  quoting  a  Saxon  MS. 

St.  Ostia,  Spanish  for  OSITH. 

tSt.  Ostria,  OSTHRIDA. 
St.  Ostrythe,  OSTHRIDA. 
St.  Oswen,  OSMAN. 
St.  Oswenda  or  OSNENDA,  April  22, 
V.   llth  century.     Sister  of  B.  Wolph- 
elm,  abbot  of  Braunviller,  near  Cologne. 
Nun  at  Willick  under  ST.  ADELAIDE  (4). 
AA.SS.,  Prater.     Wion.     Stadler. 
St.  Oswith,  OSITH. 
St.  Otha,  ODA. 
St.  Othilda,  ODILIA. 
St.  Othildis,  HOYLDA. 
St.  Othilia  sometimes  means  ODILIA, 
sometimes  HOYLDA. 


St.  Otta,  JUTTA. 

St.  Ouenne  or  ONENNE  is  considered, 
in  Brittany,  to  be  one  of  the  many 
saintly  children  of  a  Breton  king.  She  is 
called  sister  of  ST.  EURIELLA,  descended 
from  Fracan,  who  is  the  same  as  the 
Welsh  Brychan.  Ouenne  is  perhaps  the 
same  as  GWENDELINE  ;  possibly  the  same 
as  NONNA,  mother  of  St.  David. 

St.  Ollfe  or  OUFFE,  ULPHIA. 

St.  Ouille,  EULALIA. 

St.  Ouine  (1),  EUGENIA. 

St.  Ouine  (2),  OUYNE. 

St.  Oulfe  or  OULPHRE,  ULPHIA. 

St.  Ouyne  or  OUINE,  June  7.  Date 
unknown.  Ste.  Ouine  du  Mans  is  pro 
bably  a  Breton  or  Cornish  saint  whose 
relics  have  been  placed,  on  some  for 
gotten  occasion,  in  the  crypt  of  the 
church  of  St.  Victor,  at  Le  Mans,  where 
she  works  miracles  in  favour  of  the  deaf. 
She  is  locally  supposed  to  have  been 
named  Ouine  on  account  of  her  patron 
age  of  the  sense  of  hearing  (owi'e),  but 
Papebroch  thinks  that  as  Eugenius  has 
been  corrupted  into  Ouen  and  Oyan,  so 
EUGENIA  has  become  Ouyne,  and  this 
metamorphosed  name  has  led  deaf 
persons  more  than  others  to  seek  her 
intercession.  He  quotes  a  history  of 
the  bishops  of  Le  Mans  by  Convaserius. 
AAJBB. 

St.  Oyne,  EUGENIA. 

St.  Ozilia  of  Namur,  Jan.  3,  April  5. 
First  half  of  13th  century.  The  first 
name  in  the  Calendar  of  Saints  of  the 
Cistercian  Order,  at  the  beginning  of 
Henriquez's  Lilia  Cistercii.  She  was  a 
devoted  companion  of  ST.  JULIANA  of 
Liege,  shared  her  persecutions,  and 
died  before  her.  She  may  be  called 
also  ODILIA,  OTHILIA,  etc.  AA.SS. 
Bucelinus. 


St.  Pacata,  PAGATA. 

B.  Pacifica,  March  24,  V.  +  1258, 
O.S.F.  Eelated  to  ST.  CLARA  (2)  and  one 
of  her  first  nuns.  First  abbess  of  Spello, 
where  she  miraculously  produced  a  foun 
tain  of  water,  which  flows  to  this  day. 
On  her  return  to  Assisi  she  left  a  ring 

VOL.  IT. 


with  which  it  was  believed  she  was 
married  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  This  ring 
was  on  the  point  of  being  melted  down 
by  a  goldsmith,  but  it  miraculously  dis 
appeared  out  of  his  hands  and  appeared 
again  in  the  armario  at  Spello.  Hen- 
schenius  does  not  consider  her  worship 

K 


130 


ST.   PACTA 


authorized,  but  she  is  called  Blessed  in 
the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  AA.SS.  Mas 
Latrie. 

St.   Pacta,   March  13,  M.  at   Nico- 

media  with  others.    AAJ38.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.     Pagata,    PIGATA,    or    PACATA, 

April  29.     M.  at  Nicomedia  in  Bithynia. 

AAJB& 

St.  Palatias  or  PALLAYE,  Oct.  8.  V. 
M.  end  of  3rd  or  beginning  of  4th  cen 
tury.  Her  father  kept  her  in  a  tower 
with  ST.  LAURENTIA  as  her  attendant. 
As  he  heard  from  her  servants  that  she 
neglected  the  images  of  the  gods,  he  beat 
and  imprisoned  her.  She  was  then  con 
demned  to  die  by  fire ;  but  it  destroyed  her 
tormentors  and  left  her  unhurt.  Thrown 
into  the  sea  at  Ancona,  with  a  stone  tied 
to  her  neck,  she  was  saved  by  angels. 
Again  she  was  taken  by  her  enemies  as 
she  walked  on  the  water,  and  sent  into 
exile  with  Laurentia.  Their  ship  was 
cast  ashore  at  Centumcellae,  and  they 
were  sent  by  Promotus,  the  proconsul,  to 
Diocletian,  who  ordered  them  to  be 
banished  to  Fermo :  they  then  prayed 
that  their  troubles  might  cease.  Accord- 
dingly  they  died,  and  their  bodies  rest 
at  Ancona,  of  which  they  are  patrons. 
AA.S8.  E.M.  Guerin. 

St.  Palaye  or  PALLAYE,  sometimes 
PALLADIA,  sometimes  PALATIAS,  some 
times  PELAGIA. 

St.  Palladia  (1),  PALLADA,  or 
PALAYE,  May  24,  M.  in  the  time  of 
Diocletian.  Commemorated  with  SS. 
SUSANNA  (10)  and  MARCIANA  (4). 

St.  Palladia  (2).  (See  CAMILLA  (1).) 

St.    Palma.     A    name    erroneously 
given  to  ST.  DOMINICA  (1)  of  Tropea. 
"  St.    Pamphila,   Oct.    24,   M.   250. 
Mother  of  St.  Serapion  or  Cerbonius. 

The  Christians  of  Florence,  finding 
themselves  persecuted  in  that  city, 
resolved  to  flee  to  another,  especially  as 
there  were  many  women  and  children 
amongst  them;  they  therefore  removed 
to  Faenza.  St.  Crescius,  their  pastor,  at 
their  earnest  request,  fled  with  them. 
On  the  way  they  rested  at  the  house  of 
Pamphila,  a  widow,  whose  son  Serapion 
was  very  ill  and  at  the  point  of  death. 
A  number  of  friends  were  assembled  to 
comfort  her  and  mourn  with  her. 
Pamphila,  though  still  a  heathen,  re 


ceived  the  strangers  kindly,  and  St. 
Crescius  cured  her  son,  and  changed 
his  name  from  Serapion  to  Cerbonius. 
Pamphila  and  all  her  guests  were 
converted. 

The  danger  of  the  whole  party  was 
increased  by  the  accession  to  their 
number  of  some  well-known  persons. 
Crescius  foreseeing  his  own  martyrdom, 
told  Cerbonius  to  hide  from  the  perse 
cutors,  that  he  might  succeed  him  in 
the  care  of  the  flock.  Cerbonius  ful 
filled  the  last  commands  of  his  teacher 
by  increasing  the  number  of  the  little 
band  of  Christians.  The  Emperor  soon 
heard  of  him  and  sent  to  take  him  and 
his  companions ;  they  were  offered  their 
safety,  on  condition  of  renouncing  their 
faith ;  but  as  they  remained  steadfast, 
they  were  buried  alive  in  a  pit  at  Val- 
cava ;  St.  Pamphila  amongst  the  rest. 
AAJ38. 

B.  Panacea,  May  1,  or  the  first 
Friday  in  May.  V.  +  1383.  Daughter 
of  Lorenzo,  a  peasant  of  Agamio  near 
Novara. 

Represented  with  a  distaff  sticking  in 
a  wound  in  her  head,  and  sometimes 
with  her  step-mother  beating  her.  She 
was  unkindly  treated  by  her  step-mother, 
who  sent  her  to  keep  sheep  and  cattle 
and  always  demanded  of  her  more  work 
than  she  was  able  to  perform,  and  beat 
her  cruelly  if  she  did  not  finish  her  task. 
In  the  hills  where  she  fed  her  flocks 
there  was  a  church  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  where  she  spent  much  time 
daily  in  prayer.  At  last,  when  she  was 
fifteen,  one  evening  as  she  was  returning 
home  with  the  cattle  and  carrying  a 
bundle  of  sticks,  on  coming  to  the  place 
where  she  was  wont  to  pray,  she  was 
taken  with  the  enthusiasm  of  prayer  and 
stayed  there  so  long  that  the  beasts 
returned  to  their  stable  alone.  The  step 
mother  was  angry,  and  with  her  distaff 
in  her  hand,  she  went  to  see  what  had 
become  of  Panacea ;  she  went  to  the 
field  and  finding  the  girl  absorbed  in 
prayer,  she  struck  her  so  violently  on 
the  head  with  it  as  to  kill  her.  When 
Lorenzo  heard  what  had  happened,  he 
ran  to  the  place  and  found  a  faggot 
burning  beside  his  murdered  daughter. 
He  could  neither  extinguish  the  fire  nor 


ST.   FANTASIA 


131 


move  the  body.  A  number  of  people 
came  to  see  the  wonder,  and  the  clergy  of 
Novara  began  to  worship  her  and  preach 
about  her  as  a  saint.  In  time  her  body 
was  translated  into  Agamio  with  miracu 
lous  circumstances.  An  oratory  was 
built  on  the  spot  where  she  was  killed. 
Many  worshippers  came  from  the  sur 
rounding  country ;  and  pictures  and 
altars  in  her  honour  were  placed  in  the 
churches  of  the  neighbouring  towns. 
AA.8S. 

St.  Panagia.  A  place  in  Sicily  is 
so  called.  Hare  speaks  of  her  as  a  holy 
penitent  or  "  blessed  sinner ; "  and  it  may 
be  a  form  of  the  name  Pelagia,  but  pro 
bably  it  is  PanagJiia,  a  Greek  epithet 
which  means  all  liolij.  In  988,  there 
was  a  church  of  this  name  dedicated  to 
the  Virgin  Mary,  at  Cherson,  when 
Vladimir  took  it,  just  before  he  married 
the  Princess  ANNA  Ooj.  Hare,  Cities 
of  Italy.  Marrast,  Vie  Byzantine.  29, 
868. 

St.  Pandiona,  PANDOIXE,  PANDUINA, 
or  PANDWIXA,  Aug.  26,  27,  Nov.  25, 
March  26,-V.  -f  about  900.  She  is  said 
to  have  been  the  daughter  of  a  Scottish 
or  Irish  king  or  chief.  She  fled  to 
England  to  escape  from  his  tyranny,  and 
lived  at  Isseby  or  Iffleby  in  Lincolnshire  ; 
or  at  Cambridge.  Her  well  is  at  Eltis- 
ley  in  Cambs.  Ferrarius,  Nov.  25, 
March  20.  Guerin,  Aug.  27.  AA.SS. 
(from  Wilson  and  Capgrave)  Praeter- 
inissi,  August  2(3. 

St.  Panefrede  or  PANEFRIDE,  Oct. 
22,  V.  M.  A  companion  of  URSULA, 
honoured  at  St.  Denis,  and  at  Grand- 
mont,  in  the  diocese  of  Limoges.  Baillet. 
Guerin. 

St.  Panephisia,  Sept.  8,  M.  in 
Ethiopia.  Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Pansemnes  or  PANSEMMA,  June 
1 '  >,  Penitent  (Meretrix).  Honoured  with 
St.  ^  Theophanes  in  the  Greek  Church. 
St.  Theophanes  was  a  native  of  Antioch. 
After  his  wife's  death,  he  became  a 
Christian  and  a  recluse.  Hearing  that 
a  certain  woman  of  the  name  of  Pan 
semnes  led  a  sinful  life  and  caused  the 
perdition  of  many  souls,  he  commended 
himself  to  God,  left  his  cell,  went  to  his 
own  house,  changed  his  hair  garment  for 
a  handsome  robe,  and  procured  ten 


pounds  of  gold  from  his  father,  under 
pretence  that  he  was  going  to  marry  a 
second  wife.      Then  he  went  and  dined 
with    Pansemnes,  and  after    dinner   he 
asked  her  how  long  she  had  led  this  life. 
She  said  twelve  years,  and  that  of  all  the 
men  who  had  come  to  her  house  she  had 
never  seen  one  who  pleased  her  so  much 
as  Theophanes,  and   that  she  loved  for 
the  first  time.      He  answered    that  he 
could  not  stay  with  her  there,  but  would 
take  her  to  his  house  as  his  lawful  wife. 
She  said  that  if  he  thought  her  worthy 
to  be  the  wife  of  such  a  man,  she  would 
think  herself  honoured.     He    gave  her 
the    money    he    had    brought,    bidding 
her  get  whatever   was  necessary  for  her 
.marriage,  and   then  he   went  away  and 
built  a  little   cell    near  his  own.     He 
came  back  and  told  her  he  could  not  live 
with  her  until  she  had  been  instructed 
in  the  mysteries  of  Christianity.     She 
was  vexed,  but  he  insisted,  and  she  sub 
mitted.      He  talked    to   her  for   seven 
whole  days  about  the  last  judgment  and 
the  retribution  for  such  a  wicked  life, 
until  she  felt  extreme  compunction  for 
her  sins.     Then  she  liberated  all    her 
slaves,  gave  away  her  riches,  the  wages 
of    sin,    and  went    to    inhabit  the   cell 
Theophanes  had  built  for  her  ;  and  there 
she  attained  to  such  sanctity  that  she 
cast  out  devils  and  healed  all  manner  of 
diseases.     After  nearly  two  years  of  this 
secluded  life,  the  two  saints  died  at  the 
same  time.     AA.SS. 

B.  Pansofia.  4th  century.  Wife  of 
Decente,  a  good  man  with  whom  St. 
Ambrose,  archbishop  of  Milan,  lodged 
when  he  was  at  Florence.  They  had  a 
child  Pansofio,  who  was  possessed  by  a 
devil  and  was  cured  by  St.  Ambrose. 
Soon  afterwards,  the  boy  died.  His 
mother  in  faith  brought  him  down  from 
the  top  of  the  house  to  the  guest's  room, 
and  laid  him  in  the  bed  of  St.  Ambrose. 
When  the  archbishop  came  home,  he 
raised  the  child  to  life.  The  mother 
and  son  are  buried  in  the  church  of  St. 
Lorenzo.  An  old  parchment  Passionary 
calls  her  Saint.  Brocchi,  Santi  e  Beati 
Florentine. 

St.     Pantagape     or    PARTHAGAPA, 

Sept.  2,  M.  by  drowning.    BM.    AA.SS. 

St.  Pantamia,  PAXTANNA,  POTAMIA, 


132 


ST.   PAOLA 


or  POTANINIA,  Feb.  20,  M.  in  Cyprus. 
Supposed  same  as  Potamius,  M.  with 
Nemesius  and  Didymus ;  or  else  a  com 
panion  of  SS.  CORONA  and  Victor,  MM. 
c.  177.  AA.SS. 

St.  Paola,  PAULA. 

SS.  Papa  and  Mama,  Oct.  1,  in 
Ethiopian  calendar.  AA.SS*,  Prseter. 
See  Bahuta. 

St.  Papia  (1)  or  PAPIAS,  March  3, 
M.  in  Africa  with  GAIOLA  and  many 
others.  AA.S8. 

St.  Papia  (2),  March  6,  M.  at  Nico- 
media  with  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Papias,  Jan.  18,  M.  in  Egypt, 
with  thirty-seven  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Paple,  PAPULA,  OJ-POPULA.  Praised 
by  St.  Gregory  of  Tours.  Guerin.  Mas 
Latrie. 

St.  Pappia,  FAPPA. 

St.  Papula,  PAPLE. 

St.  Papyras,  M.  with  ST.  JULIA  (21) 

OF  TllOYES. 

St.  Paquette,  Jan.  9.  Popular  name 
of  ST.  PASCASIA  of  'Dijon.  Cahier. 
Guerin. 

St.  Parasceve  (1),  March  20,  one 
of  the  five  sisters  of  ST.  PHOTINA  (1), 
the  woman  of  Samaria.  H.M. 

St.  Parasceve  (2),  VENERA,  or  VENE- 
RANDA,  V.,  June  26,  July  26  or  28, 
middle  of  second  century.  Probably 
the  companion  or  servant  of  ST.  IRENE 
(1),  whose  date  is  uncertain.  Called  in 
baptism  PARASCEVE.  After  the  death  of 
her  parents,  she  took  the  veil  and 
preached.  Accused  by  certain  Jews, 
she  was  brought  to  trial  before  the 
Emperor  and  subjected  to  sundry 
tortures.  She  was  condemned  to  be 
eaten  by  a  dragon  but  made  the  sign 
of  the  cross,  and  thereby  caused  him  to 
burst.  Finally  she  was  beheaded.  She 
is  worshipped  both  in  the  Greek  and 
Latin  Churches.  The  Bollandists  call 
the  story  a  pious  drama.  AA.SS.t  Prseter. 

St.  Parasceve  (3),  Nov.  14,  8th 
century.  The  great  martyr  for  the  sake 
of  images.  Worshipped  Oct.  28  by  all 
Slavonians  except  Bulgarians.  She  is 
called  "Parasceve  of  the  images"  by 
the  Slavonians,  and  VENERA  by  the 
Italians.  AA.SS. 

St.  Parasceve  (4)  of  Tarnof,  Oct. 
14,  also  called  VENERA  and  VENERANDA. 


+  1175.  Born  atEpivatum,  near  the  city 
of  Callicratia  in  Serbia,  of  pious  parents 
who  left  her  co-heir  with  her  brother 
Euthimius,  afterwards  bishop  of  Mady- 
tum.  She  led  a  heremitical,  ascetic  life 
like  Elijah  and  St.  John  the  Baptist. 
Foreseeing  her  death,  she  visited  Con 
stantinople  and  made  her  devotions  in 
the  principal  churches,  and  then  returned 
to  her  own  country  and  died.  Her 
sanctity  being  shown  by  many  miracles, 
her  body  was  translated  to  Tarnof,  in 
Bulgaria.  Afterwards,  for  fear  of  the 
Turks,  it  was  removed  to  Wallachia. 
Her  life  was  written  in  the  fifteenth 
century  by  Tsamblak,  the  saintly  and 
learned  metropolitan  of  Kief,  who  insti 
tuted  a  solemn  ceremony  in  her  honour. 
AA.SS.,  appendix,  from  her  life  by 
Euthimius,  primate  of  Bulgaria.  Karam- 
sin,  V.  278. 

St.  Parasceve  (5)  or  PRAXEDIS  (4), 
Nov.  12,  Oct.  28.  Called  by  the  Eussians 
ST.  PIATENKA,  by  the  Euthenians  or  Eed- 
Eussians  ST.  PIATNICA  or  PIATNITSA. 
Abbess.  +  1239.  Patron  of  Polotsk. 
Daughter  of  Eogvolod,  duke  of  Polotsk. 
She  gave  up  all  her  hereditary  rights  to 
her  brothers  and  took  the  veil  in  the 
Basilian  monastery  of  the  Transfigured 
Saviour,  founded  by  ST.  EUPHROSYNE  (7) 
near  Polotsk.  After  seven  years  she  was 
unanimously  elected  abbess.  She  acceded 
unwillingly,  but  governed  to  the  satis 
faction  of  all.  During  her  rule  a  rumour 
reached  the  convent  that  a  Tartar  in 
vasion  was  imminent.  To  escape  this 
danger,  Parasceve  dissolved  the  com 
munity.  She  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Eome,  where  she  spent  seven  years  and 
died  of  fever.  She  was  canonized  by 
Gregory  X.  in  1273.  She  is  honoured  in 
the  Eoman  Church  Oct.  28,  in  the  Eus- 
sian  Nov.  12.  AA.SS.,  appendix,  Oct.  6. 
"  Aemera"  Grseco-Slav.  Calendar. 

St.  Paris,  BARIS,  or  BARKA.  M. 
with  ANNA  (7). 

St.  Parta,  March  13,  M.  Honoured 
with  several  other  martyrs.  AA.SS. 
(See  THEUSETA.) 

St.  Parthagapa,  PANTAGAPE. 

St.  Pascalina,  PASQUALINA. 

St.  Pascasia,  Jan.  9,  V.  M.  at 
Dijon,  under  Marcus  Aurelius.  Taught 
and  baptized  by  St.  Benignus,  apostle  of 


ST.   PAULA 


133 


Burgundy.  After  his  martyrdom  she 
was  taken  by  the  heathen  and  burnt  to 
death :  Saussaye  says  with  ST.  FLORIDA. 
She  is  praised  by  St.  Gregory  of  Tours 
and  popularly  called  PAQUETTE.  AA.SS. 

St.  Pasithea  Crogi,  PASSIDEA. 

St.  Pasqualina  or  PASCALINA,  V., 
Feb.  4, 12.  +1313.  O.S.F.  Companion 
of  B.  ANGELA  (2)  OF  FOLIGNO,  in  whose 
life  she  is  mentioned  by  Bollandus  as  a 
sedulous  imitator  of  her  virtues  and 
acquainted  with  all  her  secrets.  She  died 
Feb.  4,  and  her  sanctity  was  declared  by 
miracles ;  but  although  she  is  commemo 
rated  among  the  saints  of  Umbria,  in 
the  Menologium  of  Lahier,  and  in  other 
calendars,  public  honours  were  never 
adjudged  to  her  by  authority  of  the 
apostolic  see.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Prayer 
Book  of  the  O.S.F. 

St.  Passara,  Jan.  31,  4th  century. 
Sometimes  erroneously  confounded  with 
PRAXEDES.  Santa  Passara  is  a  corruption 
of  Abba  Cyrus,  a  Coptic  Father.  The 
name  soon  became  Abacer,  then  Sant' 
Appacera  and  then  Santa  Passara. 
Chastelain. 

St.  Passidea,  May  13,  is  described 
in  an  article  on  Distortions  of  Christianity, 
in  AH  the  Year  Round,  June  25,  1870,  as 
a  Cistercian  nun  of  Siena,  who  beat 
herself  with  thorns  and  washed  the 
wounds  with  vinegar,  salt  and  pepper; 
slept  on  cherry  stones  and  peas ;  wore  a 
mailed  coat  of  sixty  pounds  weight ;  im 
mersed  herself  in  freezing  ponds ;  and 
once  hung  herself  for  a  time  feet  upper 
most  in  a  smoky  chimney.  She  was 
PASITHEA  CROGI,  a  native  of  Siena,  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Francis.  There  is  no 
authority  for  her  worship. 

St.  Paternica,  July  30,  M.  probably 
at  Tuburbum,  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Patience,  Aug.  10,  3rd  century. 
Honoured  with  her  husband,  St.  Orentius, 
and  their  son,  St.  Laurence  (of  the  grid 
iron),  at  Osca  or  Huesca,  in  Aragon. 
AA.SS.  The  legend  is  to  be  found  at 
great  length  in  the  Flos  Sanctorum. 

St.  Patricia  (1),  March  13,  wife  of 
Zeddonus,  a  priest.  Martyred  with  him 
and  many  other  Christians  at  Lacum 
Gerati.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Patricia  (2)  (MATRICIA  or  Mi- 
TRICIA)  and  Modesta,  March  13,  MM. 


Wife   and   daughter   of  Macedonius,    a 
priest,  M.  in  Nicomedia.    R.M.    AA.SS. 

St.  Patricia  (3),  March  13,  honoured 
on  the  same  day  as  ST.  PATRICIA  (2). 
AAJ38. 

St.  Patricia  (4)  or  PATRITIA,  Aug. 
25,  V.  7th  century.  Patron  of  Naples. 
Tradition  makes  her  the  daughter  of  the 
Emperor  Constantino,  but  Soller  places 
her  in  the  seventh  century.  She  was 
betrothed  to  a  young  nobleman,  but  as 
she  had  a  vow  of  celibacy,  she  fled  from 
Constantinople  with  her  nurse,  B.  AGLAE 
(2),  and  some  of  her  maids  and  eunuchs. 
They  went  to  Naples  and  thence  to 
Rome,  where  she  received  the  veil  from 
Pope  Liberius.  She  set  sail  from  Ostia, 
intending  to  visit  Jerusalem,  but  her  ship 
was  driven  back  to  Naples,  where  she 
spent  the  rest  of  her  life.  As  it  was 
uncertain  where  she  should  be  buried, 
two  unbroken  bulls  were  harnessed  to  a 
cart  on  which  her  body  was  placed,  and 
they  at  once  took  it  to  the  church  of 
SS.  Nicander  and  Marcian.  AA.SS. 
A.EM.,  O.S.B,  Aug.  26. 

St.  Patrona  or  MATRONA  (4),  M. 
with  ST.  ALEXANDRA  (3). 

St.  Patruma,  PATRUINA,  or  PATRUNIA, 
July  29,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Patyfrigia,  March  13,  M.  at 
Lacum  Gerati.  AA.SS. 

St.  Paula  (1)  or  PAULINA,  June  3, 
V.  M.  c.  273.  She  was  taught  from 
her  childhood  to  visit  the  Christian 
prisoners  and  to  minister  to  the  con 
fessors  and  martyrs.  She  saw  the  suffer 
ings  of  a  converted  heathen  priest  named 
Lucillian,  who  was  imprisoned  and  tor 
tured  with  four  boys  at  Nicomedia.  She 
washed  their  wounds  with  a  sponge  and 
witnessed  the  miracle  of  the  four  children 
coming  unhurt  out  of  the  fiery  furnace 
into  which  they  were  cast  by  the  enemies 
of  the  Faith.  She  tended  them  on  the 
journey  to  Byzantium,  where  the  four 
boys  were  beheaded  and  Lucillian  cru 
cified.  She  also  was  at  last  taken,  and 
after  undergoing  many  tortures  and  being 
miraculously  cured  of  her  wounds  by  an 
angel,  was  beheaded  at  Byzantium.  R.M. 
Men.  Basil.  Janning  in  AA.SS.  gives 
the  story  of  Lucillian  and  the  four 
children,  from  a  manuscript  in  the 
Vatican,  but  Paula  is  not  mentioned. 


134 


ST.   PAULA 


St.  Paula  (2),  Jan.  10.  M.  with  her 
husband  St.  Lucian  and  their  four  sons. 
AA.SS.  Compare  PAULA  (1). 

SS.  Paula  (3)  and  Cassia,  July  20, 
MM.  with  fourteen  others  at  Damascus. 
EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Paula  (4),  Aug.  10,  V.  M.  at 
Carthage  with  BASSA  (3).  E.M. 

St.  Paula  (.">),  June  18.  Stoned  at 
Malaga  with  her  brother  St.  Cyriacus 
about  305.  They  were  descended  from 
some  of  the  earliest  converts  to  Chris 
tianity  in  Spain.  B.M.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Paula  (0-12).  MM.  at  sundry 
times  and  places.  AA.SS. 

St.  Paula  (13),  Jan.  20  or  27,  347- 
404.  Represented  (1 )  with  her  daughter, 
as  pilgrims ;  (2)  with  a  book. 

St.  Paula  has  become  famous  through 
the  writings  of  her  teacher,  St.  Jerome. 
She  is  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the 
Jeronimites,  although,  in  fact,  she  did 
not  found  an  Order.  Her  father,  Eogatus, 
was  descended  from  Agamemnon.  Among 
the  vast  possessions  he  bequeathed  to 
Paula,  was  the  rich  city  of  Nicopolis  near 
Actium.  Her  mother,  Blaesilla,  traced 
her  descent  from  the  Scipios,  the  Gracchi, 
and  Paulus  Emilius.  All  the  best  tra 
ditions  of  the  virtuous  days  of  old  Rome 
were  kept  up  in  her  family,  and  Paula 
added  to  her  grand  descent  and  boundless 
wealth  a  most  noble  character  and  un 
common  abilities.  She  was  a  favourite 
everywhere  from  her  kind  and  generous 
disposition  and  her  brilliant  mental  and 
social  gifts.  She  married  Toxotius,  of 
the  family  of  the  Julii  who  descended 
from  ^Eneas.  They  lived  as  people  of 
their  rank  and  wealth  then  lived  in 
Rome.  Paula  painted  her  face,  darkened 
her  eyes  and  plaited  with  her  own  dark 
hair,  yellow  tresses  from  the  head  of 
some  fair  barbarian ;  she  wore  silk  and 
jewels  and  cloth  of  gold  ;  she  was  carried 
in  a  silver  litter,  she  cramped  her  feet 
into  gold  shoes  in  which  she  could  not 
walk  without  the  support  of  a  slave  on 
each  side  of  her. 

About  379  she  was  left  a  widow,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-two,  with  five  children : 
four  daughters,  ST.  BL^ISILLA,  Paulina, 
ST.  EUSTOCHITJM,  and  Rufiua,  and  a  son 
named  Toxotius,  who  was  the  father  of 
ST.  PAULA  (14). 


Paula  nearly  died  of  grief  for  the 
loss  of  her  husband,  but  her  friend 
MARCELLA,  who  was  already  well  known 
in  Rome  for  her  self-denying  and  devout 
life,  persuaded  her  to  consecrate  herself 
from  that  time  unreservedly  to  God. 
She  began  at  once  to  practice  great 
austerity  in  her  daily  life,  denying  her 
self  all  but  the  very  simplest  food,  for 
bidding  herself  meat,  wine,  fish,  eggs 
and  honey,  and  sleeping  on  a  rough  hair 
cloth,  spread  on  the  ground.  The  splen 
dour  of  dress  and  the  visits  of  pleasure 
and  ceremony,  suddenly  broken  off  by 
her  widowhood,  were  never  resumed. 
She  devoted  her  immense  wealth  and 
much  of  her  time  to  the  relief  of  the 
poor. 

In  381  the  bishops  of  the  East  and 
West  were  summoned  to  Rome,  by  letters 
from  the  Emperors,  to  deal  with  certain 
dissensions  between  the  Churches.  Pope 
Darnasus  called  a  council,  to  which  among 
others  came  the  aged  St.Epiphanius,bishop 
of  Salamis  in  Cyprus.  Paula  was  asked 
to  receive  him  as  her  guest ;  she  gladly 
received  him  and  extended  her  hospi 
tality  to  his  friend  Pauliuus,  bishop  of 
Antioch.  She  and  her  friends  were  de 
lighted  to  entertain  them  and  hear  their 
experiences.  They  questioned  them 
eagerly  about  the  recluses  of  both  sexes 
in  the  Thebaid.  Epiphanius  could  tell 
them  many  things  that  aroused  their 
interest  and  wonder.  He  marvelled 
greatly  to  see  the  asceticism  of  the  desert 
reproduced  in  the  heart  of  luxurious 
Rome,  all  the  more  as  these  hermits  in 
the  gay  city  were  women  whom  he  had 
expected  to  find  given  up  to  the  frivolity 
of  their  class.  At  the  same  time  St. 
Jerome,  whose  extraordinary  learning 
and  ability  made  him  indispensable  to 
Damasus,  was  bidden  to  Rome,  as  the 
Pope's  secretary,  and  became  the  welcome 
guest  of  Marcella.  At  her  house  he 
often  met  Paula  and  her  daughters,  and 
soon  became  their  instructor  and  devoted 
friend,  and  when  Epiphanius  and  the 
other  bishops  left  Rome,  Jerome  remained 
for  more  than  a  year. 

He  went  to  Jerusalem  and  thence 
wrote  letters  to  Paula  and  to  her  daughter, 
to  Marcella,  and  others  of  that  happy 
group  of  friends.  He  charged  Paula  to 


ST.   PAULA 


135 


show  his  letters  to  "  the  indefatigable 
Marcella." 

It  was  about  :>83  that  Paula's  eldest 
daughter  Bhcsilla  became  a  widow,  after 
seven  months  of  a  not  very  happy  mar 
riage.  She  was  young,  beautiful,  rich, 
and  a  universal  favourite,  and  she  in 
tended  to  enjoy  the  unbounded  liberty 
then  accorded  to  widows.  Her  conduct 
was  without  reproach,  but  she  was  far 
from  sharing  her  mother's  taste  for 
asceticism  and  self-denial,  so  that  Paula 
was  not  free  from  anxiety  lest  her 
daughter  should  fall  into  habits  of  fri 
volity  or  even  worse.  Blsesilla  had  a  fever, 
and  when  the  physicians  despaired  of 
her  life,  Christ  appeared  to  her  and  bade 
her  arise  and  serve  Him.  She  recovered 
and  resolved  to  devote  to  Him  the  life 
He  had  newly  granted  to  her.  She  put 
on  the  coarse  brown  gown  of  the  poorest 
class,  she  slept  on  the  bare  floor,  she 
fasted  rigorously,  she  spent  her  days  in 
works  of  mercy  and  her  nights  in  prayer. 
She  had  always  been  delicate,  and  this 
sudden  change  of  habits  completely  shat 
tered  her  health  and  brought  her  to  the 
grave  in  four  months,  at  the  age  of 
twenty.  Her  mother,  nearly  frantic  with 
grief,  made  her  the  most  magnificent 
funeral ;  but  all  Rome  was  indignant ; 
they  accused  Paula  and  Jerome  of  caus 
ing  her  death,  by  encouraging  an  asceti 
cism  which  her  delicate  frame  was  unable 
to  endure ;  they  raged  against  Jerome 
and  said :  "  Why  do  we  tolerate  these 
monks !  Let  us  throw  them  into  the 
river !  "  They  even  affected  to  misunder 
stand  the  friendship  of  Jerome  and  Paula, 
and  accused  them  of  blameable  inter 
course.  The  horror  of  this  accusation 
no  doubt  combined  with  other  causes  to 
decide  Paula  to  leave  Borne  for  the  East, 
a  step  she  had  long  contemplated.  St. 
Jerome,  from  the  Holy  Land,  wrote  to 
condole  with  her  grief,  but  reminded  her 
that  Blaesilla  now  belonged  entirely  to 
the  Lord,  to  Whom  Paula  had  vowed 
herself;  he  urged  her  to  spurn  every 
obstacle  that  detained  her  in  Rome  and 
to  devote  herself  exclusively  to  the 
service  of  God  and  to  visit  the  birthplace 
of  the  Saviour  and  the  scenes  of  His 
labours  and  death. 

Her    second    daughter    Paulina    was 


married  to  St.  Pammachius,  who  has 
been  called  the  most  Christian  of  the 
nobles  and  the  most  noble  of  the 
Christians  of  Eome.  Eustochium,  whose 
tastes  were  those  of  Paula,  only,  if 
possible,  more  strongly  marked,  was 
anxious  to  accompany  her  on  her  journey, 
but  there  remained  still  her  youngest 
daughter  Rufina,  now  twelve,  and  her 
only  son  Toxotius,  about  ten.  It  grieved 
the  mother's  heart  to  leave  them,  but 
their  relations  wished  to  keep  them  more 
in  that  walk  of  life  to  which  their  rank 
and  fortune  entitled  them,  than  in  the 
ways  in  which  Paula  would  lead  them. 
Jerome  represented  it  as  her  duty  to 
break  every  tie  that  bound  her  still  to 
the  life  she  was  going  to  leave. 

In  385  the  decisive  step  was  taken. 
Paula  and  Eustochium  left  Italy,  fol 
lowed  to  the  ship  by  Paula's  brother 
and  a  crowd  of  friends  and  relations, 
some  admiring,  some  weeping,  some  re 
proaching  them.  Paula  was  calm  until 
the  ship  began  to  bear  her  away  and  she 
saw  her  two  children  Toxotius  and  Eufina 
with  streaming  eyes  stretching  their  little 
hands  towards  her  in  a  last  appeal,  which 
wrung  her  heart  but  did  not  alter  her 
resolve.  They  touched  at  Cyprus,  where 
their  old  friend  St.  Epiphanius  received 
them  joyfully  and  showed  them  the 
monasteries  there.  Thence  they  pro 
ceeded  to  Antioch,  where  Jerome  met 
them.  When  they  reached  Jerusalem, 
Paula  and  Eustochium  went  rapturously 
to  the  sites  of  the  incidents  in  sacred 
history.  At  her  monastery,  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  they  visited  St.  MELANIA,  who 
was  destined  in  after  years  to  be  estranged 
from  Paula  by  the  fierce  quarrel  that 
arose  between  Jerome  and  Rufinus,  their 
respective  friends  and  directors. 

Paula  and  Eustochium  travelled  all 
over  the  Holy  Land,  suffering  great 
fatigues  and  privations,  but  upheld 
under  all  difficulties,  by  the  intense 
delight  of  identifying  the  localities  of 
all  those  stories  which  their  long 
study  of  holy  writ  had  engraven  on 
their  memories.  They  returned  to  Beth 
lehem  and  built  two  convents,  one  for 
Jerome  and  one  for  themselves ;  aud 
when  they  had  settled  in  the  latter, 
Paula  built  two  others  for  holy  nuns, 


136 


ST.   PAULA 


and  a  Jiospitium  near  them  for  travellers, 
BO  that  "  if  Joseph  and  MARY  should 
return,  they  might  be  sure  to  find  room  in 
the  inn."  These  buildings  have  entirely 
disappeared,  but  close  to  the  grotto  of 
the  Nativity,  the  rock  chamber  is  still 
shown,  in  which  Jerome  lived  while  his 
monastery  was  being  built  and  which  he 
used  to  call  his  Paradise. 

Paula  and  Eustochium  continued  to 
copy,  criticise  and  otherwise  help  in  his 
great  work  of  translating  the  Bible  into 
Latin.  They,  as  well  as  he,  had  ad 
vanced  in  their  knowledge  of  Hebrew 
since  he  had  begun  the  translation  in 
Rome.  They  daily  read  with  him  some 
portion  of  scripture  in  the  original, 
discussing  its  meaning  and  amending 
each  other's  suggestions  for  transla 
tion. 

Soon  after  their  arrival  they  wrote  to 
Marcella,  expressing  their  happiness  and 
urging  her  to  join  them.  This  letter  is 
to  be  seen  in  Latin  and  English  in  the 
sixth  volume  of  the  Library  of  the 
Palestine  Pilgrims'  Text  Society. 

Paula's  daughter  Rufina  died  young. 
Her  son  Toxotius  married  ST.  LAETA, 
and  soon  afterwards  became  a  Christian. 

Paula  died  at  Bethlehem  in  404,  on  the 
26th  of  January,  after  sunset ;  and  as 
the  day  was  there  considered  to  begin 
from  sunset,  her  name  is  placed  in  Ado's 
and  other  old  martyrologies  on  the  27th. 
She  was  buried  in  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Manger,  where  her  empty  tomb 
is  still  shown,  beside  that  of  St.  Jerome. 
Her  body  is  said  to  be  at  Sens.  She 
was  succeeded  by  ST.  EUSTOCHIUM,  in 
the  government  of  the  monastery  at 
Bethlehem. 

E.M.  Jan.  26.  Several  of  St.  Jerome's 
treatises  and  prefaces  to  his  translations 
are  addressed  to  Paula  and  Eustochium. 
Paula's  life  is  mainly  taken  from  his 
Letters,  particularly  the  one  called  her 
epitaph,  which  he  addressed  to  Eusto 
chium  after  her  mother's  death.  AA.SS. 
Baillet.  Tillemont,  Hist.  eccl. 

St.  Paula  (14),  June  1,  5th  century, 
daughter  of  Toxotius  and  ST.  LAETA  and 
granddaughter  of  ST.  PAULA  (13).  This 
child  was  granted  to  her  mother's  prayers 
and  tears,  and  was  consecrated  to  God 
and  to  virginity  before  her  birth.  Laeta 


begged  St.  Jerome  to  give  her  directions 
by  which  she  might  train  her  child.  He 
begins  his  letter  by  exhorting  her  to 
strive  and  to  hope  for  the  conversion 
of  her  father  Albinus,  prefect  of  Eome ; 
and  this  came  about  through  his  affection 
for  his  little  granddaughter  who  sat  on 
his  knees,  singing  "  Hallelujah  "  as  soon 
as  she  could  speak,  and  singing  and  recit 
ing  her  hymns  and  prayers  so  sweetly  that 
the  old  man's  heart  was  touched  and  was 
won  over  to  Christianity.  Jerome,  so 
austere  in  some  respects,  recommends 
that  the  child  should  be  brought  up 
with  great  tenderness,  be  encouraged 
with  caresses  and  little  presents  to  learn  ; 
be  taught  to  read  by  means  of  wooden 
letters  that  she  might  become  familiar 
with  their  shapes  and  names  while  play 
ing  with  them  as  toys.  She  was  to  be 
so  gentle  and  courteous  that  she  should  be 
beloved  by  every  one.  She  was  to  be  led 
to  love  prayer  and  retreat.  In  her  early 
years  her  abstinence  was  to  be  practised 
with  great  moderation.  She  was  to  work 
with  her  hands,  to  dress  very  modestly. 
He  prescribed  a  certain  order  in  which 
she  should  read  the  books  of  the  Bible, 
and  said  she  might  read  St.  Cyprian,  St. 
Athanasius  and  St.  Hilary.  She  was  to 
be  kept  from  all  knowledge  of  evil,  and 
for  this  purpose  she  was  never  to  frequent 
the  baths,  where  unseemly  gossip  was 
exchanged  amongst  the  Roman  ladies. 
Above  all,  a  good  example  must  be  set 
her  at  home  by  her  father  and  mother. 
If  her  parents  found  it  impossible  to 
bring  her  up  thus  innocently  and  care 
fully  in  Rome,  they  were  to  send  her  to 
Bethlehem,  to  her  grandmother  PAULA 
and  her  aunt  EUSTOCHIUM.  She  went, 
as  soon  as  she  was  old  enough,  to  their 
convent  in  Bethlehem.  She  remained 
there  with  Eustochium,  after  the  death 
of  the  elder  Paula,  and  was  still  there 
in  416,  when  the  house  was  attacked 
by  the  Pelagians.  St.  Paula  (14) 
and  ST.  MELANIA  the  younger  attended 
St.  Jerome  in  his  last  illness.  Paula 
is  not  worshipped  but  is  called  Saint  by 
many  writers.  She  is  mentioned  in  the 
lives  of  St.  Jerome  and  of  the  sainted 
members  of  her  own  family.  St.  Jerome's 
Epistle  cvii,  Freemantle's  edition.  Tille 
mont,  Hist.  Eccl, 


ST.   PAULINA 


137 


St.  Paula  (15),  Feb.  20,  surnamed 
BAUBATA,  V.  M.  Time  uncertain.  A 
beautiful  peasant  girl  of  the  place  now 
called  Cardenosa,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Avila  iii  Spain.  She  used  to  go  often 
to  pray  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Secundus, 
bishop  of  Avila,  M.  To  escape  from  a 
wicked  man,  she  prayed  that  her  face 
might  be  disfigured.  In  answer  to  her 
prayer,  she  was  immediately  endowed 
with  a  thick  beard  and  her  face  dis 
torted.  Her  lover  fled  in  horror  and 
Paula  gave  thanks  to  God  and  is  counted 
among  the  martyrs.  The  manner  of  her 
death  is  not  known.  A A.SS.  from  Tamayo 
de  Salazar. 

St.  Paula  (16),  Nov.  4,  V.  at  Eimini. 
There  was  a  church  dedicated  in  her 
name  at  the  village  of  Eoncofrede,  where 
her  distaff  had  grown  into  a  tree  which 
healed  diseases.  Ferrarius. 

B.  Paula  (17)  of  Foligno,  Jan.  2(3 
or  31,  4-  1470.  3rd  O.S.F.  She  was  a 
disciple  of  B.  ANGELINA  CORBARA,  and 
was  sent  by  her  with  B.  ANTONIA  (6)  of 
Florence,  to  Aquila,  in  1433,  to  found  two 
monasteries  of  the  Order,  namely,  that 
of  St.  Elisabeth,  and  that  of  the  Body 
of  Christ.  Paula  became  superior  of 
the  latter  and  died  there.  Jacobilli, 
Santi  dell'  Umlria  and  Santi  di 
Foligno. 

B.  Paula  (18)  Gambara  Costa, 
countess  of  Bena,  March  29  and 
Jan.  25,  +  1505.  3rd  O.S.F.  She 
came  of  a  noble  family  at  Brescia,  and 
married  Count  Louis  Costa.  She  was 
distinguished  by  miracles,  both  before 
and  after  her  death  at  Bena  in  Pied 
mont.  A.E.M.  Komano  Seraphic  Mart., 
March  29.  St  iller.  Guerin,  Jan.  25,  says 
that  a  plenary  indulgence  is  granted  to 
her  worship. 

B.  Paula  (19)  Spezzani,  August  18. 
Nun,  O.S.D.,  under  B.  ANTONIA  (7), 
in  the  convent  of  St. Catherine  at  Ferrara, 
in  1509.  Eazzi.  Jacobilli. 

B.  Paula  (20)  Montaldi  or  of  Mon- 
talto,  Oct.  29,  b.  1443  -f  1514.  O.S.F. 
The  Montaldi  were  for  years  one  of  the 
distinguished  families  of  Genoa,  but  it 
is  not  certain  that  she  was  one  of  them. 
She  was  born  either  at  Genoa  or  at 
Montalto  near  Mantua.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  she  became  a  nun  in  the  convent 


of  St.  Lucy  at  Mantua,  where  she  was 
abbess  three  times,  and  died  worn  out 
with  old  age  and  asceticism.  A.R.M, 
AA.SS.  She  appears  in  Daca's  Chronicle 
of  St.  Francis  and  in  Hueber's  list  of 
princesses  of  the  Order.  Her  worship 
began  within  a  few  years  of  her  death 
and  was  sanctioned  by  Pius  IX.  in 
1866. 

St.  Paulica  or  PAULICIA,  May  31,  M. 
at  Gerona  in  Spain.     AA.SS. 

St.  Paulina  (1),  Dec.  2,  Oct.  27, 
M.  257.  Wife  of  Adrias.  They  lived 
at  Eome.  They  had  a  daughter  MAR.Y 
(9)  and  a  son  Neon.  St.  Hippolytus 
was  the  uncle  of  the  children  and 
brought  them  up  as  Christians,  although 
their  parents  were  still  heathen  and 
would  not  have  them  baptized.  He 
tried  to  keep  them  with  him  as  much  as 
possible,  and  did  what  he  could  to  induce 
Adrias  and  Paulina  to  come  to  his  house 
and  meet  St.  Stephen,  bishop  of  Eome, 
that  they  might  profit  by  his  instruction. 
Adrias  did  not  wish  to  risk  his  life  and 
property  by  adopting  the  proscribed 
religion,  but  at  last  he  and  Paulina 
were  converted  and  all  six  were  mar- 
•  tyred  the  following  year,  the  boy  Neon 
being  ten  years  old,  and  Mary  thirteen. 
They  were  buried  in  the  sand-pit, 
at  the  first  milestone  from  the  city. 
E.M.  Tillemont.  Lightfoot.  (See 
MARTANA.) 

St.  Paulina  (2),  June  3,  PAULA  (1). 

St.  Paulina  (3),  Dec.  31,  M.  at  Eome, 
with  many  others.  R.M. 

SS.  Paulina  (4,  5,  7),  MM.  in  divers 
places. 

St.  Paulina  (6),  June  6,  V.  M.  at 
Eome.  Daughter  of  the  jailor  St.  Arte- 
mius  and  ST.  CANDIDA  (3),  his  wife. 
Paulina  fell  sick  during  the  persecution 
under  Diocletian.  St.  Peter,  the  exor 
cist,  and  St.  Marcellinus  offered  to  cure 
her,  if  Artemius  would  become  a  Chris 
tian.  The  jailor  derided  them,  saying : 
"If  I  put  you  in  the  deepest  dungeon 
and  load  you  with  the  heaviest  chains, 
will  your  God  deliver  you?"  They 
answered  :  "  It  matters  little  to  our  God 
whether  such  a  one  as  you  believe  in  Him 
or  not ;  yet  you  shall  see  that  He  can 
deliver  us."  Scoffing,  he  put  them  in 
the  deepest  dungeon  and  loaded  them 


188 


ST.   PAULINA 


with  the  heaviest  chains.  At  mid 
night  they  entered  his  room,  shining  like 
angels  ;  whereupon  Artemius,  Candida, 
Paulina,  and  three  hundred  others  wor 
shipped  Christ  and  were  baptized.  When 
the  confessors  were  led  to  the  place  of 
execution,  they  met  so  many  Christians 
that  the  guards  ran  away  ;  the  Christians 
ran  after  them  and  detained  them  while 
Marcel linus  said  mass  in  the  prison. 
Then  Marcellinus  said  :  "  You  were  in 
our  power  and  we  did  not  even  rescue 
Artemius  and  his  wife  and  daughter." 
Then  Artemius,  Candida,  and  Paulina 
were  thrown  into  a  pit  and  crushed  with 
stones.  R.M.  AA.SS.  Mrs.  Jameson. 
Marty  rum  Acta. 

St.  Paulina  (8),  one  of  the  nine 
sisters  of  ST.  EAINFREDE. 

St.  Paulina  (9),  June  6,  and  Jan.  6, 
V.  M.  Patron  of  Olmutz.  Moravian 
prints  represent  her  pouring  the  contents 
of  a  pail  over  the  town  of  Olmutz.  Her 
aid  is  sought  against  fire,  contagious 
diseases  and  thieves.  Her  date  and 
parentage  are  unknown.  Her  worship 
in  Moravia  is  traced  to  the  beginning 
of  the  J  7th  century.  She  was  chosen 
special  patroness  of  Olmutz,  in  1623,, 
when  her  relics  were  taken  there  from 
Rome,  and  her  festival  is  kept  at-  Olmutz, 
Jan.  6.  Cahier. 

B.  Paulina  (JO),  March  14,  +  1107. 
Founder  of  the  Benedictine  monastery  of 
Cella  Paulina,  in  the  diocese  of  Mayence, 
where  she  is  buried.  Her  son  Wernher 
was  one  of  the  twelve  monks  who  origi 
nally  inhabited  the  monastery,  whither 
they  came  from  Hirsauge;  the  abbey 
was  either  in  Saxony  or  on  the  con 
fines  of  Thuringia.  Trithemius,  in  his 
chronicle  of  Hirsauge,  calls  her  a  vener 
able  and  holy  recluse  on  the  borders  of 
Thuringia,  he  gives  her  date  as  607. 
Guerin  gives  her  day  as  March  14. 
AAJ3S.  Migne,  Die.  des  Albayes. 

St.  Pazanne,  PERSEVERANDA  or  PE- 
CINNA.  Guerin. 

St.  Peag,  PEGA. 

St.  Pechinna,  PECINNA. 

St.  Pecinna,  June  24,  25,  (PAZANNE, 
PECHINXA,  PERNIA,  PERSEVERANDA,  PEX- 
INE,  PEZAINE,  PEZENNE,  PICINNA,  or  Po- 
ZANNE).  Agnomine  et  mentis  Perseve- 
randa.  Supposed  8th  century.  Patron 


of  St.  Quentin,  and  of  Ste.  Pezaine  in 
Poitou. 

She  was  born  in  Spain  of  a  noble 
family.  She  had  two  sisters,  SS.  COLUMBA 
(10)  and  MAGRINA.  They  gathered  other 
religious  young  women  around  them  and 
led  an  ascetic  and  devotional  life,  until 
the  fame  of  their  sanctity  attracted  the 
attention  of  King  Oliver,  who  reigned 
in  one  of  the  western  provinces  of  Spain 
and  was  a  fierce  persecutor  of  the 
Christians.  Columba  foretold  to  her 
sisters  and  their  friends  that  they  were 
about  to  become  the  victims  of  persecu 
tion.  She  had  hardly  finished  speaking 
when  letters  were  brought,  ordering 
them  to  appear  before  Oliver.  Columba, 
after  exhorting  her  sisters  to  be  firm  in 
the  faith,  went  with  the  messengers. 
The  king  asked  her  who  she  was  and  of 
what  religion,  and  when  she  had  answered, 
he  told  her  she  might  live  unmolested 
in  his  dominions  if  she  would  renounce 
her  religion.  One  of  the  bystanders 
told  him  this  woman  was  not  to  be  com 
pared  for  beauty  to  her  two  sisters,  and 
the  impious  king  at  once  ordered  some 
of  his  guards  to  go  and  seize  them, 
swearing  by  his  gods  that  he  would 
make  haste  to  see  them  himself  and  take 
them  for  his  slaves. 

Meantime,  Pecinna  and  Magrina, 
warned  by  a  dream,  commended  them 
selves  to  the  protection  of  God  and  fled. 
They  travelled  for  seven  days,  and  then 
Pecinna  died,  exhausted  with  privation 
and  fatigue.  Some  Christians  happened 
to  come  to  the  spot,  and  saw  a  dove,  sur 
rounded  by  a  celestial  light,  hovering 
over  the  body,  and  as  they  knew  the 
noble  birth  and  piety  of  the  maiden, 
they  buried  her  with  due  honour  at  a 
place  in  Poitou,  now  called  after  her 
Ste.  Pezaine.  Meantime,  the  messengers 
returned  to  the  king  and  told  him  they 
could  not  find  the  holy  maidens  any 
where.  He  was  furious  and  set  off  in 
search  of  them,  vowing  evil  against 
them.  One  of  his  followers  found  the 
dead 'body  of  St.  Pecinna  and  attempted 
to  bring  it  to  Oliver;  but  was  struck  blind 
for  his  presumption,  by  which  punish 
ment  he  was  converted  to  Christianity. 

St.  Pecinna  was  afterwards  translated 
to  Niort,  and  eventually  to  St.  Quentin, 


ST.    PELAGIA 


139 


where,  in  1090,  a  church  was  built  in 
her  honour,  and  where  her  feast  is  ob 
served,  June  24  and  26. 

From  old  MSS.    AA.S8.    Guerin. 

St.  Peculcaris  or  PECULIARUS,  May 
7,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.S8. 

St.  Pee,  PEGA. 

St.  Pega,  Jan.  8  (PEAG,  PEE,  PEGAN, 
PEGE,  PEGIA,  or  PEY),  7th  and  8th  cen 
tury,  V.  She  was  of  the  ancient  Saxon 
family  of  the  Iclings,  daughter  of  Pen- 
wald  and  Tetta,  and  sister  of  the  famous 
hermit  St.  Guthlac  (April  11),  who  lived 
on  an  island  called  Croyland,  in  a  huge 
fen.  Pega  lived  on  another  island,  some 
miles  distant  in  the  same  fen.  In  715, 
when  he  was  at  the  point  of  death  Guth 
lac  said  to  his  servant  Beccel,  "  After 
my  death,  go  to  my  sister  and  tell  her  I 
denied  myself  her  society  here  on  earth 
that  we  two  might  see  each  other  in 
heaven  before  the  face  of  God.  Bid  her 
place  my  body  in  the  coffin  and  wind  it 
in  the  sheet  that  Egburg  sent  me.  I 
would  not  whilst  I  lived  be  clothed  with 
a  linen  garment,  but  now,  for  the  love  of 
the  maid  of  Christ,  I  will  put  her  gift 
to  the  use  for  which  I  have  kept  it." 

This  Egburg  was  an  abbess  and  the 
daughter  of  Guthlac's  friend,  King 
Aldulph.  When  Guthlac's  soul  departed, 
Beccel  heard  angelic  songs,  smelt  the 
flowers  of  Paradise  and  saw  heavenly 
lights  in  the  hut.  He  took  a  boat  and 
went  to  St.  Pega  and  told  her  all  that  he 
had  seen  and  heard  of  her  holy  brother. 
She  was  filled  with  a  great  sorrow  and 
fell  to  the  ground.  Presently  she  arose 
and  went  with  Beccel  to  Croyland  and 
prayed  for  the  dead  saint  for  three  days, 
and  then  buried  him  in  the  sheet  and  the 
coffin  that  Egburg,  the  abbess  and  prin 
cess,  had  sent  him.  Pega  performed 
several  wonderful  cures,  and  so  many 
miracles  occurred  at  the  spot,  that  in  a 
year  she  called  together  a  number  of 
priests  and  monks  and  holy  persons,  and 
when  they  had  opened  the  grave  they 
found  the  saint's  body  fresh  and  un 
injured  and  the  linen  perfectly  white 
and  clean.  They  then  translated  it  into 
the  place  now  called  Peakirk  in  North 
amptonshire,  and  here  very  soon  Pega 
left  her  brother's  psalter  and  scourge 
which  St.  Bartholomew  had  given  him, 


and  some  other  relics,  and  returned  to 
her  own  cell,  where-  she  spent  three 
months  in  lamentation.  Then  she  tra 
velled,  suffering  greatly  from  cold  and 
hunger,  to  the  threshold  of  the  Apostles 
Peter  and  Paul.  As  she  entered  the 
city  of  Eome,  all  the  bells  suddenly 
began  to  ring  and  continued  to  do  so  for 
an  hour,  to  proclaim  her  sanctity  to  all 
the  inhabitants ;  and  there  devoting 
herself  entirely  to  the  service  of  God, 
she  spent  the  rest  of  her  life  in  great 
holiness. 

Ordericus  Vitalis.  Ingulph,  History 
of  the  Alley  of  Cropland.  A  life  of  St. 
Guthlac  almost  contemporary,  translated 
and  edited  by  Goodwin,  1848.  Butler. 

St.  Peillan.     (See  GWENAFWY). 

St.  Peithien.    (See  GWENAFWY). 

St.  Pelagia  (1),  Dec.  21,  V.  M.  1st 
century.  Daughter  of  the  king  of  Ad- 
rianople,  where  St.  Thomas  the  apostle 
stopped  on  his  way  to  India,  the  day  that 
Pelagia  was  being  married  to  Denis. 
The  apostle  and  his  companion,  the 
abbana  (lieutenant)  of  Gondafore,  king 
of  the  Indians,  were  invited  to  the  wed 
ding.  The  master  of  the  feast  seeing 
that  St.  Thomas  did  not  eat,  rebuked 
him  and  struck  him  on  the  face.  St. 
Thomas  said  in  Hebrew,  "  I  will  not  rise 
from  this  feast  until  the  hand  that  struck 
me  is  brought  to  me  by  a  black  dog." 
Theonlyperson  who  understood  his  words 
was  a  Jewess  who  was  playing  the  flute 
among  the  musicians.  The  butler  went 
out  to  draw  water  and  a  lion  killed  him 
and  left  him.  He  was  eaten  by  dogs, 
and  one  of  them,  a  black  one,  brought 
his  right  hand  and  laid  it  at  the  apostle's 
feet.  The  Jewess  threw  away  her  flute, 
and  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  apostle,  loudly 
exclaiming  that  he  was  a  prophet  and 
explaining  to  all  the  company  what  had 
happened.  The  king  then  requested  him 
to  bless  the  newly  married  couple.  This 
he  did,  and  instructed  them  so  well  in 
the  Christian  religion  that  they  cared  no 
more  for  the  pleasures  and  honours  of 
this  world.  Denis  .became  bishop  of 
Adrianople.  Pelagia  took  the  veil,  and 
some  time  after  her  husband's  death 
she  was  beheaded  because  she  would  not 
worship  the  heathen  gods.  Ordericus 
Vitalis. 


140 


ST.  PELAGIA 


The  Martyrology  of  Salisbury  gives  the 
story  with  a  little  difference — 

"  St.  Denis,  bishop,  disciple  of  St. 
Thomas  the  apostle,  was  converted  with 
St.  Pelagia,  his  spouse,  that  was  the 
kynges  doughter,  whome  the  apostle 
consecrated  a  virgin,  and  made  her  an 
abbesse,  whiche  after  the  deth  of  her 
sayd  spouse  was  desyred  vnto  maryage 
of  a  noble  man,  vnto  whoine  bycause  she 
wolde  not  consent,  she  was  heded  and 
buryed  in  the  same  sepulchre  with  her 
spouse." 

St.  Pelagia  (2),  Oct.  19,  V.  M.  at 
Antioch  in  Syria,  with  Beronicus  and 
forty-nine  others.  1  st,  2nd  or  3rd  cen 
tury.  Sometimes  confounded  with  others 
of  the  same  name.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Pelagia  (3),  July  20,  M. 
AA.SS. 

SS.  Pelagia  (4)  and  Benedicta, 
Oct.  8,  VV.  MM.  282,  under  Carus  at 
Lyons.  Commemorated  in  Adam  King's 
Calendar.  They  are  probably  ST.  BENE 
DICTA  of  Origuy  and  one  of  her  com 
panions,  or  else  this  St.  Pelagia  is  the 
actress  and  penitent,  commemorated  this 
day  in  the  Eoman  Martyrology.  The 
place  of  Beuedicta's  martyrdom  is  not 
Lyons,  but  Laon  :  the  mistake  is  often 
made.  Lugdunum  has  three  equivalents. 

St.  Pelagia  (5),  July  11,  May  15, 
M.  Tortured  for  four  days  with  St. 
Januarius,  at  Nicopolis  in  Armenia. 
They  died  under  the  tortures,  and  are 
commemorated  together.  B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Pelagia  (6),  June  9,  V.  M.  at 
Antioch,  about  311  or  312,  or  possibly 
283.  A  girl  of  fifteen.  The  magistrate, 
encouraged  by  the  wicked  example  of 
Maximinus  Daia,  sent  soldiers  to  fetch 
her.  They  came  when  there  was  no 
one  in  the  house  who  could  oppose  them. 
She  went  a  little  way  with  them  and 
then  said,  "  Let  me  go  back  and  dress." 
She  went  to  the  top  of  the  house  and 
threw  herself  down  and  was  killed. 
The  Menology  of  the  Emperor  Basil  says 
that  on  the  housetop  she  prayed  that 
she  might  not  fall  into  the  hands  of 
these  wicked  men,  and  that  so  praying, 
she  died.  The  magistrate  resolved  to 
be  revenged  on  her  mother  and  sisters, 
who  had  already  fled  from  the  town. 
He  sent  in  pursuit.  Finding  themselves 


nearly  overtaken  and  their  flight  barred 
by  a  river,  they  joined  hands  and  plunged 
into  the  water  and  were  drowned.  St. 
Ambrose  mentions  this,  but  Baillet  thinks 
he  confounds  their  story  with  that  of 
ST.  DOMNINA  (3)  and  her  daughters 
BERENICE  and  PROSDOCE.  There  are 
several  examples  among  the  early  Chris 
tian  women  of  suicide  to  avoid  outrage, 
but  the  Church  only  honours  as  martyrs 
those  who  are  believed  to  have  rushed 
to  their  death  by  a  special  inspiration 
of  God,  among  them  Pelagia.  Butler 
thinks  that  Pelagia  perhaps  hoped  to 
escape  by  throwing  herself  from  the 
roof.  She  is  highly  praised  by  St. 
Chrysostom  and  St.  Ambrose.  EM. 
AA.SS.  Menology  of  Basil  Butler. 
Baillet. 

St.  Pelagia  (7),  May  4,  Oct.  7,  M. 
A  native  of  Tarsus,  in  the  time  of  Dio 
cletian,  and  destined  to  marry  his  son. 
She  heard  of  Christianity  and  wondered 
what  it  was  and  dreamed  about  it.  At 
this  time  Clinus,  the  bishop,  was  bap 
tizing  many  of  the  Greeks.  She  received 
his  instructions  secretly  and  one  day 
begged  her  mother  to  let  her  go  out 
with  her  nurse,  and  went  to  the  bishop 
and  was  baptized.  She  gave  him,  for 
the  poor,  the  robes  in  which  she  was 
dressed,  and  returned  to  her  mother  in 
the  poorest  and  shabbiest  costume.  The 
mother,  in  great  indignation  and  distress, 
went  and  complained  to  her  intended 
son-in-law  that  Pelagia  had  gone  over 
to  the  Christians.  He  was  so  shocked 
that  he  killed  himself.  His  enraged 
father  had  Pelagia  baked  alive  in  a 
brazen  bull.  EM.,  May  4.  Menology 
of  Basil,  Oct.  7.  AA.SS. 

St.  Pelagia  (8),  Mar.  23  and  April 
13,  M.  361  or  362,  with  THEODOSIA  (5), 
Aquila  and  Eparchius.  Worshipped  in 
the  Greek  Church.  Claimed  without 
authority  by  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
hagiologists.  Supposed  companions  of 
the  martyrdom  of  St.  Domitius,  a  native 
of  Phrygia,  who  was  put  to  death  under 
the  Emperor  Julian.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Pelagia  (9),  the  actress,  Oct.  8, 
5th  century,  surnamed  in  her  own  time, 
MARGARET,  and  called  in  the  calendars, 
PELAGIA  MIMA  and  PELAGIA  MERETRIX, 
to  distinguish  her  from  other  saints  of 


ST.   PELAGIA 


141 


the  same  name ;  in  some  of  the  legends, 
Pelagia  is  spelt  PKLAYB,  PALAYE. 

She  was  a  native  of  Antioch,  in  Syria, 
and  in  childhood  received  some  Christian 
teaching,  but  while  still  a  catechumen, 
she  took  to  evil  ways  and  soon  became 
an  actress.  In  those  days  there  was  no 
innocence  or  virtue  on  the  stage.  If 
the  whole  fabric  of  society  was  steeped 
in  depravity,  the  theatre,  in  the  opinion 
of  Christians  and  heathens  alike,  was 
saturated  with  its  dregs.  The  Church 
saw  only  one  way  of  dealing  with  it : 
reform  was  hopeless,  mitigation  impos 
sible.  The  Fathers  made  a  determined 
and  uncompromising  opposition  to  every 
kind  of  scenic  representation.  If  an 
actor  became  a  Christian,  he  must  re 
nounce  his  profession  before  he  could 
be  admitted  to  baptism  ;  if  he  returned 
to  the  stage,  he  was  excommunicated. 
When  Christianity  became  the  recognized 
religion  of  the  State,  it  was  found  im 
possible  to  deprive  the  people  of  an 
amusement  to  which  they  were  so  warmly 
attached,  and  the  Church  was  not  allowed 
to  interfere.  An  actor  was  a  despised 
person.  His  father  might  disinherit  him 
on  the  sole  ground  of  his  profession. 
The  ministers  of  religion  must  not  at 
tempt  to  raise  him  from  that  ignominious 
position.  Only  at  the  point  of  death 
was  it  lawful  to  convert  him ;  when  the 
world  had  done  with  him,  the  Church 
might  have  him.  If  the  old  classical 
dramas  were  ever  put  on  the  stage  at 
all  in  those  times,  the  women's  parts 
were  played  by  men,  so  that  dancing 
and  pantomime  were  the  only  arts  prac 
tised  by  Pelagia  and  the  thousands  of 
actresses  in  the  Eoman  empire. 

The  Patriarch  of  Antioch  sent  to 
request  the  presence  of  several  other 
bishops  to  settle  some  ecclesiastical 
matter  of  moment:  eight  came,  each 
attended  by  some  of  his  clergy.  Among 
the  number  was  the  aged  St.  Nonnus, 
bishop,  first  of  Heliopolis  and  afterwards 
of  Edessa.  This  good  old  man  was 
lodged  at  the  church  of  St.  Julian,  and 
one  evening  he  was  sitting  outside  the 
door,  breathing  the  cool  air  and  con- 
versii  g  with  his  brethren,  when  Pelagia 
passed'  by,  riding  on  a  mule.  She  was 
a  wom,\n  of  extraordinary  beauty  and 


the  best  actress  and  dancer  of  wealthy 
and  luxurious  Antioch,  and  was  so  rich 
with  the  gifts  of  her  lovers  and  admirers, 
that  her  dress  was  covered  all  over  with 
gold  and  silver  and  heavy  with  precious 
stones ;  costly  gems  adorned  her  head 
and  neck,  which  were  unconcealed  by 
any  modest  veil ;  her  very  shoes  were 
embroidered  with  pearls ;  the  trappings 
of  her  mule  were  as  gorgeous  as  her 
own  clothes,  and  she  was  accompanied 
by  a  train  of  servants  of  both  sexes, 
dressed  as  gaily  as  their  mistress,  taking 
up  all  the  breadth  of  the  road  with  their 
noisy  presence  and  filling  the  whole  air 
with  their  perfumes.  The  reverend 
Fathers,  divining  what  manner  of  woman 
she  was,  discreetly  averted  their  eyes. 
But  there  was  one  exception :  the  aged 
and  saintly  Bishop  of  Heliopolis  looked 
steadfastly  after  the  beautiful  sinner, 
and  said,  while  tears  gathered  in  his 
pitying  eyes,  "  God  will  receive  even 
such  an  one  as  this.  At  the  last  day 
He  will  set  that  woman  before  His  face 
and  compare  her  with  us  His  servants, 
and  the  comparison  will  turn  to  our 
condemnation,  for  she  dresses  and  paints 
herself  again  and  again,  she  leaves  no 
part  of  her  task  undone,  she  forgets  no 
jewel,  no  pin ;  she  spares  no  labour 
that  she  may  serve  her  masters.  But 
we — do  we  take  7m// as  much  trouble  to 
serve  our  Master  ?  "  That  night  Nonnus 
had  a  dream,  of  a  dove,  all  black  and 
dirty,  flying  round  him  as  he  was  saying 
mass ;  he  thought  he  caught  it  after 
much  trouble,  and  threw  it  into  a  vessel 
of  water,  and  that  it  came  out  white  and 
glittering  like  snow. 

Next  day  a  vast  concourse  of  people 
assembled  in  the  cathedral,  to  assist  at 
a  grand  ceremony,  in  which  so  many 
bishops  were  to  take  part.  The  solemn 
service  ended,  the  Patriarch  requested 
St.  Nonnus  to  preach.  His  sermon  was 
on  the  last  judgment ;  he  set  forth  its 
terrors  so  effectively,  and  spoke  so  touch- 
ingly  of  God's  mercy  to  repentant  sinners, 
that  all  his  hearers  were  moved  to  tears. 
Among  them  was  Pelagia,  the  actress. 
His  words  awoke  in  her  slumbering 
conscience  a  fear  for  her  own  soul  and 
a  yearning  for  the  better  path  from 
which  she  had  long  ago  turned  away. 


142 


ST.   PELAGIA 


She  wrote  a  letter,  addressed  "to  Nonmis 
the  holy  servant  of  God  from  Pelagia 
the  servant  of  the  devil,"  beseeching  the 
venerable  bishop  to  receive  her  into  the 
fold  of  his  Master.  He  answered  as 
suring  her  that  Christ  would  receive  all 
penitent  sinners,  but  referring  her  to  the 
local  clergy,  as  much  more  worthy  in 
struments  for  her  conversion  than  him 
self.  But  she  would. not  be  handed  over 
to  any  one  else.  Determined  to  speak  to 
him,  whose  words  had  touched  her  heart, 
she  went  to  the  church  of  St.  Julian 
and  begged  that  he  would  see  her.  He 
would  not  receive  her  alone ;  he  sent 
for  all  the  other  bishops  and  she  had  to 
wait  outside  the  door  until  they  arrived. 
As  soon  as  she  was  admitted,  she  threw 
herself  at  his  feet.  In  her  agony  of 
contrition,  she  wanted  to  insist  on  being 
baptized  on  the  spot :  the  bishops  thought 
it  necessary  to  have  further  proof  of  the 
reality  of  the  conversion  of  so  notorious 
an  evil-doer ;  but  she  would  not  be  sent 
away.  She  knew  it  was  illegal  to  con 
vert  her,  and  she  dreaded  to  lose  the 
plank  at  which  her  drowning  soul  had 
caught.  In  her  cloth  of  gold,  with  her 
bare  neck  and  her  bejewelled  shoes,  she 
lay  on  her  face,  weeping  and  sobbing  on 
the  pavement  of  the  church,  holding  the 
aged  saint  by  the  feet  and  adjuring  him 
by  the  God  Whom  he  served,  not  to  let 
the  devil  recover  possession  of  her,  and 
telling  him  that  he  should  not  have  his 
place  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  unless 
he  saved  her  too.  The  bishops  so  far 
yielded  to  her  importunity  as  to  send 
for  the  deaconess  Eomana,  whose  office 
included  the  duty  of  preparing  women 
for  baptism  and  assisting  them  to  find 
an  honest  living.  Scarcely  would  the 
penitent  rise  from  the  ground  or  loose 
her  hold  ot  the  bishop's  feet,  until  at 
last  they  made  her  understand  that  this 
preparation  was  the  only  condition  on 
which  she  could  be  received  into  the 
Christian  Church.  Then  she  went 
meekly  away  with  her  new  friend,  who 
had  had  the  care  of  many  a  convert  and 
catechumen,  but  had  never  before  seen 
an  actress  in  the  zenith  of  her  triumphs 
present  herself  as  a  penitent.  Eomana 
advised  her  to  break  with  her  old  courses 
by  giving  up  all  the  gains  they  had 


brought  her.  Accordingly,  she  liberated 
all  her  slaves,  presenting  them  with  the 
gold  necklaces  they  had  worn  in  her 
service  and  exhorting  them  to  follow 
her  example.  She  then  summoned  her 
steward  and  bade  him  bring  all  her 
money,  jewels  and  finery,  and  lay  them 
at  the  feet  of  Nonnus.  He  would  not 
have  the  proceeds  of  iniquity  used  to 
maintain  or  adorn  the  House  of  God, 
but  gave  them  to  the  priests,  whose 
guest  he  was,  with  the  stipulation  that 
they  should  not  once  attempt  to  min 
ister  in  their  own  church,  until  the  last 
farthing  and  the  last  spangle  had  been 
disposed  of,  for  the  benefit  of  lepers  and 
other  destitute  sufferers.  All  this  time 
was  not  allowed  to  pass  away  in  the 
world  Pelagia  had  left,  without  remon 
strances  from  her  patrons,  addressed 
both  to  herself  and  the  clergy  who 
were  concerned  in  her  conversion.  But 
Pelngia  had  taken  the  turning  into  the 
narrow  way  and  would  not  look  back. 
Very  soon  she  was  admitted  to  the  sac 
raments,  Eomana  standing  godmother, 
answering  for  her  that  she  would  not 
return  to  her  sinful  life,  and  providing 
her  with  a  plain  white  robe  to  be  worn 
at  her  baptism  and  for  the  next  seven 
days.  At  the  font,  the  bishop  asked 
her  name,  and  she  said,  "  My  real  name 
is  Pelagia,  but  the  people  of  Antioch 
call  me  Margaret,  because  of  the  jewels 
I  wear."  He  christened  her  Pelagia, 
and  immediately  administered  to  her  the 
rite  of  confirmation,  and  the  sacrament 
of  the  Eucharist. 

When  the  baptismal  week  was  nearly 
over,  Pelagia  arose  noiselessly,  by  night, 
and  went  to  Nonnus,  who  gave  her,  in 
stead  of  her  white  robe,  a  cilicium  and 
the  rough  brown  gown  and  hood  of  a 
person  dedicated  to  God  in  a  life  of 
seclusion  and  penance.  Thus  habited, 
she  left  Antioch  for  ever  and  went  to 
Jerusalem.  There  she  visited  the  holy 
sepulchre  and  every  spot  pointed  out  as 
the  scene  of  an  incident  in  the  life  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  devoutly  offering  her  broken 
heart  to  Him  Who  demands  the  whole, 
yet  will  accept  it  in  fragments.  Then, 
with  her  unpractised  hands,  sh -j  built 
herself  a  little  hermitage  on  the  mount 
of  Olives,  and  there,  in  prater  and 


ST.   PERPETUA 


143 


penitence,    she   spent    the    rest    of    her 
life. 

When  Romana  awoke  and  found  her 
new  disciple  gone,  she  feared  she  had 
returned  to  the  stage,  and  flew  in  great 
distress  to  Nonnus  ;  but  he  bade  her  be 
comforted,  for  Pelagia  was  safe. 

Three  years  afterwards  a  deacon  going 
to  Jerusalem  was  commissioned  by  St. 
Nonnus  to  inquire  for  a  holy  recluse  on 
Mount  Olivet.  He  did  so,  and  through 
the  small  window  of  her  cell  spoke  to 
Pelagia.  He  had  been  present  at  her 
interview  with  the  bishop  at  Antioch  and 
at  her  baptism ;  but  ho  did  not  recognize 
her  now.  Moreover,  the  three  years  of 
her  penitential  life  had  so  changed  the 
once  beautiful  actress  that  he  did  not 
even  guess  that  he  was  talking  to  a 
woman.  A  few  days  after  this  visit, 
Pelagia  died  ;  and  then  it  became  known 
that  the  recluse  of  Mount  Olivet  was  the 
same  person  as  the  popular  dancer,  who 
had  disappeared  from  Antioch.  Mar 
vellous  stories  of  her  sanctity  were  soon 
in  circulation ;  miracles  attended  her 
relics  and  honoured  her  tomb. 

Centuries  afterwards,  pilgrims  from 
Europe,  visiting  the  church  of  the  Ascen 
sion,  on  the  mount  of  Olives,  were  led 
down  many  steps,  into  a  crypt  where 
in  honour  of  a  holy  penitent,  three  lamps 
were  kept  continually  burning,  and 
dimly  showed  her  tomb,  separated  only 
by  a  very  narrow  space  from  the  rock 
which  formed  the  wall  of  the  church. 
Whoever  ventured  into  that  small  pas 
sage  found  himself  unable  to  leave  it 
until  he  had  confessed  every  sin  that 
stained  his  soul.  Invisible  bonds  held 
him  faster  than  any  fetters  forged  by 
mortal  man  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  had  made 
a  full  confession  he  was  free  to  depart. 
Tradition  said  this  miraculous  power  was 
bequeathed  to  the  niche  by  a  groat  sinner 
who  had  done  a  long  penance  on  that 
very  spot,  for  it  was  the  cell  of  the 
Actress  Pelagia. 

There  are  some  contradictions  con 
cerning  the  Saints  Nonnus  and  their 
bishoprics,  consequently  doubts  have 
arisen  as  to  the  date  of  Pelagia's  conver 
sion,  which  is  sometimes  placed  in  the 
4th,  sometimes  as  late  as  the  7th  century, 
but  everything  points  to  its  having 


occurred   about   the  middle   of   the  5th 
century. 

B.M.  Her  life  by  James  the  Deacon 
in  the  AA.SS.  Mart,  of  Salisbury. 
Menology  of  Basil. 

St.  Pellegrina,  PEREGRINA. 

Pellmerg.    (See  TRIADS.) 

St.  Penelope,  IRENE  (1). 

St.  Perche,  WALBURGA. 

St.  Perdicia,  PRODOCIA. 

SS.  Peregrina,  (l,  2,  3),  June  6, 
March  1,  May  10,  MM.  in  different 
places.  AA.SS. 

St.  Peregrina  (4),  Oct.  5,  V.  M. 
probably  before  312.  Her  body  was 
taken  from  the  cemetery  of  ST.  PRISCILLA 
at  Rome  and  translated,  in  1659,  to  the 
church  of  St.  Joseph  of  the  Augus- 
tinians,  at  Laibach  in  Krain  (Labacum 
in  Carniola),  where  her  festival  is 
annually  kept,  Oct.  5.  With  the  body 
was  found  a  cup  in  which  her  blood  had 
been  collected,  and  there  was  evidence 
that  she  had  been  killed  by  stoning ;  but 
whether  her  name  was  Peregriua  or 
whether  she  was  a  pilgrim  of  unknown 
name  could  not  be  ascertained.  AA.SS. 

St.  Permia,  March  6,  M.  in  Italy. 
AA.8S. 

St.  Pernelle  or  PERONELLE,  PETBO- 
NILLA. 

St.  Pernia,  PECINNA. 

St.  Peronelle,  PETRONILLA. 

St.  Peronne,  Nov.  15,  18,  V.  at 
Mortagne  in  le  Perche,  730.  Baring 
Gould.  Guerin. 

St.  Perpetua  (1),  Nov.  4,  M.  1st  cen 
tury.  She  is  said  by  the  legends  to  be  the 
wife  of  St.  Peter  the  apostle,  and  mother 
of  ST.  PETRONILLA.  She  was  put  to 
death  a  short  time  before  her  husband, 
who  when  he  saw  her  led  away  to 
martyrdom,  rejoiced  and  called  out  to 
her,  "  O  Perpetua,  remember  the  Lord  !" 
This  incident  is  quoted  by  Eusebius,  one 
account  says  from  St.  Clement  of  Rome, 
another  from  St.  Clement  of  Alexandria. 
Sanctorale  Catlwlicum.  Villegas.  Fer- 
rarius.  Baring  Gould. 

Joseph  van  den  Gheyn,  in  the  Acta 
Sanctorum,  says  that  by  other  accounts, 
St.  Peter's  wife's  name  was  CONCORDIA 
and  that  she  was  the  daughter  of 
Aristobulus,  otherwise  Zebedee,  and  of 
ST.  SALOME.  Zebedee,  according  to  this 


144 


ST.  PERPETUA 


legend,  was  brother  of  St.  Barnabas  and 
brother-in-law  of  Andrew,  who  married 
the  sister  of  SS.  James,  John  and  Con- 
cordia. 

St.  Perpetua  (2),  Aug.  4.  When 
she  had  been  baptized  by  St.  Peter  the 
apostle,  she  converted  Africanus  her 
husband,  and  St.  Nazarius  her  son  ;  and 
buried  many  martyrs  at  Kome.  R.M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Perpetua  (3),  July  5,  M.  with 
AGNES  (1 )  and  FELICITAS  (19).  AA.SS. 
SS.  Perpetua  (4)  and  Felicitas 
(2),  March  7,  Greek  Calendar  Feb.  2, 
MM.  in  203,  at  Carthage  or  at  the 
neighbouring  city  of  Tuburbum. 

The  martyrs  Vibia  Perpetua  and  Feli 
citas,  with  their  companions  Satu  minus, 
Secundolus,  and  Eevocatus,  were  catuchu- 
mens  and  were  baptized  after  their  arrest. 
Felicitas  and  Eevocatus  were  slaves; 
Perpetua  was  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
of  good  birth  and  education.  Her  family 
seem  on  the  whole  to  have  been  in 
sympathy  with  her  faith,  except  her 
father,  who  embittered  her  imprison 
ment  with  his  alternate  threats  and 
entreaties.  She  had  a  son  a  few  months 
old ;  a  daughter  was  born  to  Felicitas  in 
prison.  The  Deacon  Saturus,  who  had 
probably  been  the  instructor  of  the  con 
verts,  surrendered  himself  of  his  own 
accord,  that  he  might  be  with  them. 
Perpetua  was  inspired  by  the  Spirit  to 
pray,  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  for 
physical  endurance.  Shortly  after,  they 
were  cast  into  the  dungeons,  dark,  hot 
and  overcrowded.  Two  deacons  con 
trived,  by  bribing  the  officials,  to  have 
them  removed  for  a  few  hours,  into  a 
pleasanter  part  of  the  prison,  where  Per- 
petua's  mother  and  brother  brought  to 
her  her  infant  son.  She  obtained  leave 
to  keep  him  with  her  in  the  dungeon. 
"  And  suddenly,"  she  wrote,  "  the  dun 
geon  became  to  me  a  palace."  Her 
brother  exhorted  her  to  seek  a  vision, 
that  she  might  know  if  her  trial  would 
result  in  a  passion  or  an  escape.  That 
night  she  dreamed  that  she  ascended 
a  perilous  ladder,  set  with  swords  and 
guarded  by  a  dragon,  up  which  Saturus 
had  gone  before  her.  A  white-haired 
shepherd,  of  immense  stature,  who  was 
milking  sheep  in  a  fair  and  spacious 


garden  at  the  summit,  bade  her  wel 
come,  and  placed  in  her  joined  hands 
a  fragment  of  ewe  milk  cheese.  As 
she  ate  it  a  white-robed  host  standing 
round  cried,  "  Amen."  And  at  the  sound 
of  the  voices  she  awoke,  still  tasting 
something  indescribably  sweet.  When 
she  related  this  vision  to  her  brother,  it 
was  clear  to  them  both  that  it  signified 
a  passion.  A  few  days  after  this  the 
report  spread  that  the  prisoners  were  to 
be  brought  to  trial.  Perpetua's  father, 
his  face  worn  with  anxiety,  came  to  her 
again.  With  tears  he  kissed  her  hand, 
cast  himself  at  her  feet  and  entreated 
her  to  save  herself  by  renouncing  her 
faith.  Perpetua  grieved  that  her  father 
alone  of  all  her  family  did  not  rejoice  in 
her  sufferings.  She  tried  to  comfort 
him,  but  he  went  away  full  of  sorrow. 
On  the  day  of  the  trial  he  brought  her 
infant  son  and  adjured  her  for  his  sake, 
if  not  for  her  father's,  to  recant.  Still 
her  courage  held.  She  and  all  her  com 
panions  confessed  their  faith  and  were 
condemned  to  fight  with  the  beasts  on 
the  birthday  of  Geta  Cassar.  They  re 
turned  to  prison  rejoicing.  Perpetua 
sent  at  once  for  her  child,  but  her  father 
refused  to  let  her  have  him  again.  After 
a  few  days,  while  the  prisoners  were 
praying  together,  a  voice  said  to  Perpetua, 
"  Diuocrates."  She  began  forthwith  to 
pray  earnestly  for  Dinocrates,  her 
brother,  who  had  died  at  the  age  of  seven 
of  an  ulcer  in  the  face.  That  night  she 
had  a  vision  which  convinced  her  that 
he  was  in  misery,  and  she  entreated  God 
for  him  earnestly  day  and  night,  until 
she  knew  that  her  prayer  was  granted, 
for  she  saw  him  again  in  a  vision  playing 
happily  like  other  children. 

In  the  camp  prison  the  Christians 
found  favour  with  Pudens,  the  captain  of 
the  guard ;  he  admitted  their  friends  to 
see  them,  and  when  the  day  of  the  exhi 
bition  drew  near,  Perpetua's  father  came 
again. 

Three  days  before  the  games  Felicitas 
gave  birth  prematurely  to  a  daughter, 
which  a  Christian  woman  took  and 
brought  up.  As  Felicitas  groaned  in 
her  pain,  a  servant  of  the  gaolers  taunted 
her.  "If  you  cannot  endure  these 
throes,"  said  he,  "what  will  you  do 


ST.  PERPETUA 


145 


when  you  are  exposed  to  the  wild 
beasts  ? "  "  It  is  I  that  suffer  what  I 
now  suffer,"  she  answered,  "  but  then 
there  will  be  Another  in  me,  Who  will 
suffer  for  me,  because  I  shall  suffer  for 
Him." 

One  more  vision  came  to  Perpetua. 
She  wrestled  in  the  arena  with  an 
Egyptian,  overcame  him  and  trod  upon 
his  head.  She  wrote  it  down  with  the 
other  visions.  "  I  have  completed  this 
np  to  the  day  before  the  games,"  she 
added,  "  but  what  passes  at  the  exhibi 
tion,  let  who  will,  write." 

A  crowd  assembled  to  see  them  eat 
their  last  meal,  known  as  the  "Free 
supper."  It  was  the  custom  for  pri 
soners  to  make  an  orgie  of  it.  But  the 
Christians  partook  of  it  as  a  solemn 
"  Agape."  They  went  from  the  prison 
to  the  amphitheatre  as  joyfully  as  to  a 
feast.  Perpetua  moved  in  the  procession 
with  calm  dignity,  her  eyes  cast  down 
before  the  gaze  of  the  spectators.  At 
the  gate  of  the  amphitheatre  they  were 
bidden  to  put  on  heathen  costumes,  the 
men,  the  scarlet  robe  of  the  priests  of 
Saturn,  and  the  women,  the  fillet  of  those 
dedicated  to  Ceres.  Perpetua,  in  the 
name  of  the  little  band,  remonstrated,  and 
the  tribune  allowed  them  to  go  forward, 
clad  simply  as  they  were.  Perpetua 
sang  psalms,  thinking  she  was  already 
treading  underfoot  the  head  of  the 
Egyptian,  but  the  men  addressed  the 
spectators  with  scornful  threats,  and  the 
populace,  enraged,  cried  out  for  them  to 
be  scourged.  As  they  passed  down  the 
ranks,  each  received  a  lash,  and  they 
counted  themselves  happy  to  have  in 
curred  one  of  their  Lord's  Passions.  A 
wild  cow  had  been  prepared  for  Perpetua 
and  Felicitas.  When  they  had  been 
tossed  Perpetua  sat  up,  and  seeing  her 
tunic  open  at  the  side,  where  the  cow 
had  gored  her,  she  drew  it  together, 
more  conscious  of  her  modesty  than  her 
pain.  Then  she  bound  up  her  hair, 
which  had  fallen  loose,  that  she  might 
not  appear  to  be  mourning  in  the  hour 
of  her  triumph.  Felicitas  lay  crushed  on 
the  ground  ;  Perpetua  took  her  hand  and 
raised  her  up,  and  they  stood  waiting. 
Perpetua  looked  around  her  like  one 
awakened  from  sleep.  "  I  cannot  think," 

VOL.  II. 


she  cried,  "  when  we  are  to  be  led  out 
to  that  cow."  And  until  she  was  shown 
the  marks  of  injury  upon  her  body  and 
garments,  she  could  not  believe  that 
she  had  already  fought  and  conquered. 
The  audience  demanded  to  see  the  mar 
tyrs  butchered  by  the  gladiators.  Satu- 
rus  was  already  dead.  Perpetua,  Felicitas, 
Saturninus  and  Revocatus  arose,  gave 
each  other  the  kiss  of  peace,  and  took 
their  station  where  the  people  had  de 
sired.  Motionless  and  silent  for  the 
most  part,  they  met  their  death ;  but  the 
sword  of  a  clumsy  gladiator  pierced 
Perpetua  in  the  ribs ;  she  cried  out 
loudly  and  herself  guided  his  wavering 
right  hand  to  her  throat. 

Their  day,  March  7,  is  in  a  Boinan 
Calendar  as  old  as  the  year  354.  Their 
names  are  in  the  Canon  of  the  Mass. 
The  Acts  detailing  the  trial  and  death  of 
SS.  Perpetua  and  Felicitas  are  among 
the  most  interesting  records  of  the  early 
Christian  Church.  Their  authenticity 
is  undoubted.  They  were  compiled  by 
an  unknown  witness  of  the  martyrdom, 
from  the  account  of  her  visions  and  im 
prisonment,  written  by  Perpetua's  own 
hand,  and  from  a  vision  related  by  St. 
Saturus,  in  which  he  describes  the  ar 
rival  in  Paradise  of  the  martyrs,  the 
violet  path,  the  singing  trees,  and  the 
joyful  "  Here  they  are ! "  of  those  who 
were  eagerly  awaiting  the  new-comers. 

AA.SS.  Bindley,  The  Passion  of  St. 
Perpetua.  Harris  and  Giffonl,  The  Acts 
of  the  Martyrdom  of  Pcipetua  and 
Felicitas.  Butler. 

SS.  Perpetua  (5,  6),  Jan.  27,  Feb.  2, 
MM.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Perpetua  (7),  -f  c.  420,  a  widow 
and  nun,  said  to  be  Superior  of  many 
holy  virgins  and  sister  of  St.  Augustine, 
who  called  her  Saint.  She  is  regarded 
as  the  founder  of  the  primitive  nuns  of 
St.  Augustine.  Torelli.  Compare 
PLACIDA. 

St.  Perpetua  (8),  sister  of  SYNCLE- 

TICA  (4). 

St.  Perpetua  (u),  Sept.  12,  V. 
Abbess  of  Remircinont  in  Lorraine. 
Daughter  of  a  man  of  importance  at 
the  Court  of  France.  He  was  very 
anxious  to  have  a  son,  and  threatened  to 
kill  his  wife  if  she  had  a  daughter. 

L 


146 


B.  PERPETUA 


Perpetua  was  born  in  his  absence,  and 
the  terrified  mother  ordered  the  nurse 
to  kill  the  baby.  When  the  father  dis 
covered  the  crime  he  was  transported 
with  rage  and  remorse,  and  demanded  to 
see  the  dead  child.  The  nurse  went  to 
fetch  it,  and  brought  back  a  nice  little 
girl  sucking  its  finger.  Martin.  Bucelinus. 

B.  Perpetua  (10)  Sardi,  O.S.D. 
4-  c.  1507.  Nun  under  B.  ANTONIA  GUAI- 
NERI  in  the  Dominican  convent  of  St. 
Catharine  the  martyr,  at  Ferrara,  and 
afterwards  prioress  there.  Razzi. 

St.  Perrenelle  or  PERRINE,  PETKON- 
ILLA. 

St.  Perseveranda  (l)  June  22  and 
June  6,  +  c.  346,  at  Guadalaxara. 
Quintanaduenas. 

St.  Perseveranda  (2),  PECINNA. 

St.  Perusseau  or  PERUSSETTE, 
PEAXEDIS.  Cahier. 

St.  Petronia,  Sept.  29,  probably 
PETRONILLA. 

St.  Petronilla  (1),  May  31.  1st 
century.  Petronilla  is  the  feminine 
diminutive  of  Peter.  Called  also  PERN- 
ELLE,  PERONELLE,  PERRENELLE,  PERRINE, 
PIERINA,  PIERRETTE,  PIERRINE,  PIRRONNE. 

Patron  of  travellers  among  mountains, 
against  stone  and  fever,  ague  and  tooth 
ache  ;  one  of  the  patrons  of  Home. 

Sometimes  represented  with  a  broom  in 
her  hand  :  sometimes  with  ST.  FELICULA 
(l),her  servant,receiving  the  Communion 
from  the  hands  of  St.  Peter.  A  very 
ancient  tradition  says  that  the  Apostle 
Peter  had  a  daughter,  who  went  with 
him  to  Rome.  There  she  fell  sick 
and  lost  the  use  of  her  limbs.  One  of 
his  disciples  said  to  him,  "  Master,  how 
is  it  that  thou,  who  healest  the  infirmi 
ties  of  others,  dost  not  heal  thy  daughter 
Petronilla?"  St.  Peter  answered,  "It 
is  good  for  her  to  remain  sick."  But 
that  they  might  see  the  power  of  God, 
he  commanded  her  to  get  up  and 
serve  them  at  table ;  which  she  did,  and 
having  done  so,  she  lay  down  again 
helpless  as  before.  Many  years  after 
wards,  being  perfected  by  her  long- 
suffering,  she  was  healed.  Petronilla 
was  wonderfully  beautiful,  and  Valerius 
Flaccus,  a  young  and  noble  Roman,  a 
heathen,  sought  her  for  his  wife ;  and  as 
he  was  very  powerful,  she  feared  to 


refuse  him.  She  therefore  desired  him 
to  return  in  three  days,  with  a  great 
company  of  damsels  and  matrons  as  be 
came  his  rank  (not  hers),  and  promised 
that  he  should  then  carry  her  home  :  but 
she  prayed  earnestly  to  be  delivered 
from  this  peril,  and  when  Flaccus  re 
turned  in  three  days,  he  found  her  dead. 
The  company  of  nobles  who  attended 
him  carried  her  to  the  grave  and  laid  her 
in  it,  crowned  with  roses,  and  Flaccus 
lamented. 

Baillet  pronounces  her  Acts  by  Mar- 
cellus  a  forgery.     She  is  also  mentioned 
in  those   of  SS.  Nereus  and  Achilles ; 
which    are   not   more  reliable.     In   the 
time  of  Pepin  le  href  (8th  century)  a 
discovery  was  made,  which  is  thus  re 
corded  in  the  Golden  Legend  (of  Wynken 
de  Worde) :— " '  The  body  of  St.  Petronilla 
was  transported  fro  thens  where  it  was 
and  was  foiide  wryten  in  a  marble  by 
the  hand  of  saynt  peter.     This  is  ye 
tomb     of    ye    golden    petronille     my 
doughter.'  " 

EM.   Butler.  Baillet.  Villegas.   Mrs. 
Jameson. 

St.  Petronilla  (2),  July  13.  12th 
century.  Founder  and  first  abbess  of 
Aubeperre  in  Clermont.  Wife  of  St. 
Gilbert,  who  went  to  the  Crusades  in  1146 
with  Louis  VII.  king  of  France.  On 
his  return,  he  and  Petronilla  resolved  to 
devote  the  rest  of  their  days  and  their 
great  possessions  to  the  special  service 
of  God  and  His  poor.  Their  daughter, 
ST.  PONTIA,  approved  their  holy  purpose, 
so  they  built  two  monasteries  of  the 
Premonstratensian  Order,  which  had 
been  founded  by  St.  Norbert.  The 
first  monastery  was  for  nuns  and  was 
the  priory  of  Aubeperre  or  Aubeterre, 
about  two  leagues  from  the  other, 
which  was  for  men,  and  was  called 
Neuffons.  Gilbert  became  a  monk 
there.  Petronilla  presided  over  Aube 
perre,  and  there  she  attained  to  a  great 
age  in  extreme  holiness,  and  wrought 
many  miracles,  both  during  her  life  and 
after  her  death.  She  was  succeeded  in 
the  government  of  the  house  by  her 
daughter  Pontia,  who  walked  in  her 
holy  steps.  AA.SS.,  June  6, "  Life  of  St. 
Gilbert,"  by  Le  Paige. 
Yen.  Petronilla  00  de  Chemille, 


ST.  PHARAILDIS 


147 


April  24,  + 11 49.  First  or  second  abbess 
of  Fontevrault. 

Petronilla  de  Craon  was  already  a 
good  woman  and  widow  of  the  baron  of 
Chemille,  in  Anjou,  when  she  was 
strongly  impressed  by  the  preaching 
of  B.  Robert  d'Arbrissel,  who  is  famous 
for  the  great  number  of  conversions  he 
effected  ;  and  like  the  holy  women  of 
Galilee  and  Bethany,  she  left  everything 
to  attach  herself  to  the  new  messenger 
of  God.  When  he  founded  the  Order 
of  Fontevrault,  he  confided  to  her  the 
direction  of  thousands  of  persons,  of  all 
ages  and  ranks,  who  had  embraced  the 
new  institution.  She  accompanied  him 
on  his  evangelizing  journeys  ;  looked 
after  his  temporal  concerns  ;  procured 
for  the  new  converts  the  aid  they  re 
quired  ;  instructed  ignorant  persons  of 
her  own  sex,  and  performed  the  duties 
of  those  women  who  followed  the  Lord 
Himself. 

In  1091)  Robert  founded  the  great 
monastery  of  Fontevrault,  in  Poitou  ;  he 
appointed  Herland  of  Champagne,  a 
near  relation  of  the  dnke  of  Brittany, 
first  abbess,  with  Petronilla  for  her 
coadjutor ;  he  subjected  the  nuns  to  the 
rule  of  St.  Benedict  in  great  strictness. 
They  received  and  tended  lepers,  women 
who  had  led  wicked  lives  and  every  type 
of  female  misery.  Besides  severe  fast 
ing  and  silence,  the  nuns  were  bound  to 
the  strictest  seclusion ;  no  priest  was 
admitted  even  to  the  infirmary ;  and  the 
sick  and  dying  were  carried  into  the 
church  to  receive  the  sacraments.  The 
founder  lived  to  see  above  three  thousand 
nuns  in  this  one  house.  The  monks,  who 
lived  in  another  house  at  a  consider 
able  distance,  were  under  the  abbess  and 
she  appointed  their  superiors. 

In  February  1116,  Petronilla  travelled 
with  Robert,  from  Orsan  in  Berry,  on  a 
missionary  journey.  He  then  sent  her 
to  visit  the  nunneries  of  the  Order  in 
the  province,  while  he  went  to  places 
where  he  had  promised  to  preach.  At 
Bourg-Deol  or  Bourg-Dieu  he  was  ex 
hausted  and  fainted  after  preaching ; 
he  attempted  to  go  on,  as  arranged,  but 
had  to  be  taken  back  to  Orsan  where  he 
died.  Petronilla  was  at  Puy,  but  went 
to  accompany  the  beloved  relics  to 


Fontevrault,  where,  by  his  own  desire, 
he  was  buried.  After  his  death  she 
still  had  to  undergo  much  contradiction 
and  misunderstanding,  as  is  shown  by 
the  writings  of  the  Ven.  Hildebert, 
bishop  of  Mans ;  the  letters  of  St.  Ber 
nard  ;  the  decrees  of  popes,  etc.  Pope 
Calixtus  II.  (1119-1124)  took  her  part 
and,  at  her  request,  consecrated  the 
church  of  the  abbey  of  Fontevrault,  and 
soon  afterwards  he  sanctioned  the  order 
founded  by  Robert  dArbrissel.  Bishop 
Hildebert  commended  the  Order,  by 
letter,  to  the  protection  of  Henry  I. 
king  of  England,  mentioning  Petronilla 
as  a  holy  woman.  Petrouilla  finding 
herself  opposed  and  misjudged,  thought 
it  would  be  for  the  good  of  the  Order  if 
she  resigned,  but  Pope  Innocent  II. 
requested  her  to  retain  her  office. 
Chambard  gives  the  letter  which  shows 
the  great  esteem  in  which  she  was  held 
by  that  pontiff  (1130-1138).  St.  Bernard 
of  Clairvaux  discerned  her  excellent 
character  and  ardent  piety.  Her 
reputation  for  sanctity  was  nearly  equal 
to  that  of  B.  Robert.  A  chapel  was 
dedicated  in  her  name  in  the  abbey  of 
Fontevrault. 

Chambard,  Saints  pcrsotmagcs  dc 
V  Anjou.  Butler.  Helyot. 

St.  Petrude  or  RATRUDE,  EPIPHANIA 

(2> 

St.  Pexine,  PECINNA. 

St.  Pey,  PEGA. 

St.  Pezaine,  PECINNA. 

St.  Pezenne,  PECINNA. 

St.  Phaina,  FANCHEA. 

St.  Phaire,  probably  FAR  A,  perhaps 
FAINA.  Patron  against  cci'tnin  kinds  of 
tumours. 

St.  Phana,  FAINA. 

St.  Phara,  FAKA. 

St.  Pharaildis  or  SARACHILDE,  called 
in  Flemish  VARELDE,  VEKRLE,  VERELD, 
VERL,  or  VERYLDE,  Jan.  4,  V.  -f-  745. 

Patron  of  Ghent ;  of  sickly  children  ; 
of  the  health  of  cattle  ;  of  butter. 

Represented  with  a  goose,  or  with 
loaves  of  bread,  or  with  a  cat.  Very 
few  saints  have  a  cat,  as  it  was  more 
associated  with  the  bad  side  of  a  woman's 
character. 

Pharaildis  was  daughter  of  Witger 
or  Theodoric,  duke  of  Lorraine,  and  ST. 


148 


ST.  PHEBE 


AMELBEKGA  (1),  who  was  sister  or  niece 
of  Pepin  of  Landen,  father  of  Charles 
Marfcel,  and  mother,  by  two  marriages, 
of  several  saints  whose  number  and 
names  are  variously  given.  Pharai'ldis 
is  generally  said  to  have  been  the 
daughter  of  the  second  marriage,  and 
sister  of  St.  Venant,  and  perhaps  of  St. 
Gengulf  (or  Gingo),  martyrs,  and  half- 
sister  of  St.  Adelbert,  bishop  of  Cambrai, 
and  of  SS.  GUDULA,  EEYNELD,  and 
ERMELIND.  She  was  brought  up  by  her 
aunt  ST.  GERTRUDE  abbess  of  Nivelle ; 
and  under  her  influence,  made  a  vow  of 
celibacy,  foreswore  all  splendour  of  dress 
and  luxury  of  any  sort,  and  gave  all  her 
money  to  the  poor.  She  had  many 
suitors,  and  her  parents  married  her  to 
the  one  whose  rank  was  the  highest. 
She  told  him  she  was  the  spouse  of 
Christ  and  consecrated  to  Him  by  a 
vow  of  chastity.  He  did  not  appreciate 
her  sanctity  and  she  could  not  be  recon 
ciled  to  domestic  life.  He  ill  treated 
her.  They  quarrelled  and  parted.  He 
suffered  to  his  dying  day,  from  a  com 
plaint  which  was  regarded  as  a  direct 
visitation  of  Divine  vengeance,  for  his 
disrespect  and  unkindness  to  his  holy 
wife.  She  led  the  life  of  a  nun  in  her 
own  house,  always  getting  up  at  cock 
crow,  to  attend  matins  at  the  nearest 
monastery. 

She  died  at  the  age  of  ninety;  and 
not  long  after,  during  an  invasion  of  the 
Normans,  the  abbot  and  monks  of  the 
church  where  she  was  buried,  took  her 
body,  with  other  precious  relics,  and  fled 
to  Ghent. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  all  the 
saints  who  are  represented  with  geese 
have  their  festivals  in  winter,  and  it  seems 
probable  that  the  geese  in  the  calendar 
marked  the  time  when  wild  geese  were 
expected  to  migrate,  or  that  they  were 
intended  to  typify  snowstorms,  and  that 
the  legends  of  miracles  concerning  geese 
were  invented  to  account  for  the  pictures. 

Of  St.  Pharai'ldis  the  same  story  is 
told  as  of  ST.  WEREBURGA,  namely,  that 
she  restored  to  life  and  plumage  a  goose 
which  had  been  stolen  and  eaten.  Pos 
sibly  the  goose  that  Phara'ildis  carries 
denotes  the  town  of  Ghent,  of  which  she 
was  patron,  and  the  name  of  which 


means  goose.  ST.  BRIGID  (2),  ST. 
MILBURGA  and  ST.  HILDA  also  ordered  off 
mischievous  geese. 

The  miracle  of  the  loaves  seems  to 
have  been  performed  after  her  death.  A 
poor  woman  had  no  bread  for  her  child 
and  begged  her  sister  to  give  her  some. 
She  answered  that  she  had  none  in  the 
house.  The  poor  sister  continued  to 
beg ;  whereupon  the  cruel  one  exclaimed, 
"  May  St.  Pharaildis  change  the  loaves 
into  stones  if  I  have  any  here !  "  Then 
all  the  loaves  turned  into  stones,  and 
two  of  them  are  still  preserved  at  Ghent. 
A  holy  comb  is  kept  as  a  relic  of  her. 
Her  feast  was  for  ages  the  chief  holiday 
at  Ghent  and  observed  with  great  merry 
making. 

The  Belgians  say  that  if  the  sun 
shine  on  Pharai'lde's  day,  it  foretells 
pestilence. 

AA.SS.  Cahier.  Eckenstein.  Swain- 
son,  Folklore. 

St.  Phebe  or  PIKEBE,  Sep.  o,  called 
the  Deaconess.  A  servant  of  the  church 
at  Cenchrea,  the  port  of  Corinth,  and 
the  bearer  of  St.  Paul's  epistle,  from 
Corinth  to  the  Eomans.  He  therein 
commends  her  to  the  kindness  of  the 
Christians  at  Rome,  calling  her  "  sister  " 
and  "  a  succourer  of  many,"  including 
himself.  As  deaconess  she  was  one  of 
an  Order  of  women  appointed  to  take 
care  of  those  parts  of  the  church  re 
served  exclusively  for  women.  They  also 
ministered  to  the  sick,  poor,  and  ignor 
ant,  of  their  own  sex  :  the  widows  spoken 
of  in  1  Tim.  v.  9,  are  supposed  to  have 
been  of  the  same  class.  In  the  Eastern 
Church  the  ceremony  for  the  ordination 
of  a  deaconess  contains  these  words — 
"  As  Thou  didst  give  the  grace  of  Thy 
Diaconate  to  Phebe  whom  Thou  calledst 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  .  .  ." 
R.M.  Eomans  xvi.  1,  and  note  at  end 
of  epistle.  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible.  Littledale,  Offices  of  the  Eastern 
Church.  AA.SS.  Thomassin,  Disserta 
tions  inedites.  Analecta  juris  Pontificii, 
12th  series,  Col.  808. 

Phebronia  or  FEBRONIA,  June  25,  in 
urbe  Sibi.  Menology  of  Basil.  Pro 
bably  FEBRONIA  (1). 

St.  Pheime,  a  French  form  of 
EUPHEMIA.  Chastelain. 


ST.   PHILOMENA 


140 


St.  Pherbutha,  TARBULA. 

St.  Philga  or  PIIILGAS,  March    26, 
M.  in  Eoumania.     Guerin. 

St.   Philippa  (1).     (See  MAEIAMNA 
(2)  and  PHILIPPA.) 

St.  Philippa  (2),  Sep.  20,  M.  c, 
220,  at  Perga  in  Pamphylia.  Mother 
of  St.  Theodore,  a  young  soldier.  When 
it  was  found  that  he  would  not  wor 
ship  the  heathen  gods,  he  was  beaten 
and  put  in  a  furnace.  He  came  out  un 
hurt.  Whereupon  two  other  soldiers, 
Socrates  and  Dionysius,  were  converted, 
and  are  honoured  with  Theodore  and 
Philippa.  Next  day  Theodore  was  tied 
to  a  cart,  to  which  wild  horses  were 
harnessed.  They  ran  over  a  precipice 
and  perished,  but  he  was  miraculously 
left  free  and  safe.  He  was  again  cast 
into  the  furnace  with  Socrates  and 
Dionysius.  Refreshed  and  kept  cool 
with  heavenly  dew,  they  sat  and  talked 
together.  Theodore  told  how  his  mother 
had  been  taken  captive  and  carried  to 
many  countries,  and  he  prayed  to  see 
her  again.  A  voice  was  heard  saying, 
"  Fear  not,  your  mother  is  here."  And 
lo!  there  she  was.  Next  day  the  pre 
fect  said,  "I  suppose  not  so  much  as 
a  bone  remains  of  Theodore,  Socrates 
and  Dionysius?"  But  when  they 
opened  the  furnace  they  found  them  all 
sitting  talking,  as  if  they  were  in  a  com 
fortable  room,  and  Philippa  was  amongst 
them.  When  the  prefect  heard  that  she 
was  Theodore's  mother,  he  said,  "  Per 
suade  your  son  to  abjure  his  religion, 
or  else  he  shall  be  crucified."  The 
heroic  mother  replied,  "  If  you  nail  my 
son  on  a  cross,  he  will  olfer  himself 
a  sacrifice  to  his  crucified  Master." 
"  Very  well,"  said  the  prefect,  "  if  you 
would  like  to  find  your  son  dead,  you 
can."  Theodore  was  crucified  ;  Philippa 
was  beheaded,  and  the  other  two  were 
pierced  with  lances.  Theodore  hung 
three  days  alive  on  the  cross.  The 
Christians  took  the  bodies  and  buried 
them  with  fine  linen  and  ointment  and 
spices.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Philippa  (3).     (See  AGAPE  (3).) 

B.  Philippa  (4)  of  Mareri,  Feb.  16, 

abbess,  O.S.F.  +  1236.     Daughter  of  a 

wealthy  family  of  Rieti.     She  heard  St. 

Francis  of  Assisi   preach  and  resolved 


to  leave  the  world.  After  overcoming 
the  opposition  of  her  relations,  she  went 
with  a  few  companions  to  the  hill  of 
Mareri,  near  her  native  town.  Her 
brother  built  them  a  house  near  the 
church  of  the  place.  She  established 
the  rule  of  St.  Clara  in  the  community 
and  became  superior  of  it.  She  was 
very  earnest  in  the  conversion  of  sinners. 
Pius  VII.  authorized  her  worship  in  the 
Order  of  St.  Francis.  A.EM.  Migne, 
Die.  Hag. 

B.  Philippa  (5),  Oct.  15,  V.  1401- 
c.  1450.  She  was  born  at  Changy  or 
Chanteliman,  in  the  diocese  of  Clermont 
in  Auvergne.  Her  father  died  a  few 
days  after  her  birth.  When  she  was 
twenty,  she  went  to  Vienne  to  live 
with  the  Dame  du  Chastel,  sister  of 
the  bishop  of  Vienne,  to  be  companion 
to  certain  young  ladies.  She  despised 
good  clothes  and  food  and  courtly 
ways,  and  gave  up  all  her  fortune  to 
her  brothers.  She  went  to  Rome  to 
the  Jubilee.  On  the  return  journey,  she 
showed  great  humility  and  charity  to 
her  fellow  pilgrims.  Afterwards  she 
extended  her  ministrations  to  bad  people 
and  criminals.  She  died  of  the  plague. 
She  is  specially  honoured  in  Dauphiny. 
AA.SS.  from  a  contemporary  life. 

St.  Philista,  THEOPISTA  (1). 

St,  Philomena  (1),  Aug.  10  (PHILU- 
MENA,  FILOMENA),  V.  M.     3rd  century. 

In  1802,  in  the  catacomb  of  ST.  PRIS- 
CILLA  in  Rome,  was  discovered  a  tomb 
stone,  bearing  the  inscription  Lumina 
in  Pace  Fi  (Philomena  in  peace),  also 
a  lily,  a  palm,  three  arrows,  an  anchor, 
and  a  scourge.  When  the  stone  was 
removed,  there  appeared  beside  the 
skeleton  a  little  broken  dish  of  dried 
blood.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
early  Christians  to  collect  with  a 
sponge  the  blood  of  a  martyr  and 
place  some  of  it  in  a  vessel  in  the 
grave.  When  the  excavators  removed 
this  blood  from  its  broken  receptacle 
into  a  glass  vase,  they  were  surprised  to 
see  it  shine  like  gold  and  silver  and 
diamonds  with  all  beautiful  colours. 
This  miracle  continues  to  the  present 
time.  The  remains  were  placed  in  a 
room  with  others  until  their  final  rest 
ing  place  should  be  decided  on.  A 


150 


ST.  PHILOMENA 


Neapolitan  nobleman  wanted  a  body  of 
a  saint  for  his  new  domestic  chapel. 
He  was  taken  to  the  dead-room  to  choose. 
When  he  came  near  the  body  of  St. 
Philomena  his  heart  warmed  to  it.  He 
chose  it  and  took  it  home  with  all 
proper  ceremony.  No  sooner  was  it 
placed  in  a  nice  glass  coffin  in  the 
chapel,  than  the  lady  of  the  house  re 
covered  from  an  incurable  disease  of 
twelve  years'  standing.  Another  lady 
was  cured  of  cancer  in  her  hand.  Other 
miracles  followed.  Such  crowds  came 
to  the  chapel  that  there  was  no  room 
for  them.  The  saint's  body  was  then 
taken  to  the  church  of  Mugnano,  where 
more  miracles  occurred,  and  before  long, 
the  saint  appeared  in  visions  and  told 
her  story  to  a  priest,  a  nun,  and  an 
artist.  She  said  she  was  the  daughter 
of  a  Greek  prince  who  greatly  desired 
to  have  a  child  and  having  long  invoked 
his  gods  in  vain,  at  last  listened  to  the 
persuasions  of  Publius,  a  Christian 
physician,  who  promised  that  if  the 
prince  and  his  wite  would  become  Chris 
tians  and  pray  to  the  one  true  God,  they 
should  have  a  child — that  child  was 
Philomena.  At  the  age  of  thirteen,  she 
was  brought  to  Rome  where  Diocletian 
offered  her  his  hand  and  kingdom,  and 
as  she  declined,  she  was  scourged  and 
thrown  into  the  Tiber,  shot  with  arrows, 
and  finally  beheaded.  La  Thaumaturge 
by  Tobie,  bishop  of  Lausanne.  Ott,  Die 
Legende.  Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred  and 
Legendary  Art. 

According  to  Dr.  Littledale,  it  is  not 
at  all  certain  that  her  name  was  Philu- 
mena.  The  inscription  was  "  Lumena, 
Pax  Tecum  Fi"  which  most  probably 
means,  Light  and  Peace  be  with  thee. 
It  was,  however,  unmistakably  the  body 
of  a  martyr  and  was  probably  of  the 
beginning  of  the  fourth  century. 

St.  Philomena  (2),  July  5,  V.,  was 
never  heard  of  until  1527,  when  her 
body  was  discovered,  in  good  preservation 
and  adorned  with  fresh  flowers,  under 
the  altar  of  the  church  at  San  Severino 
in  the  Apennines;  a  writing  was  tied 
to  her  neck,  setting  forth  that  she  was 
translated  thither  by  St.  Severinus,  in 
the  time  of  Totila,  king  of  the  Goths, 
and  that  she  belonged  to  the  noble 


family  of  Clavella,  which,  however,  can 
not  be  traced  farther  back  than  the 
tenth  century.  Her  name  was  inserted 
in  the  R.M.  early  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  AA.SS. 

St.  Philonilla,  Oct.  11,  sister  of  ST. 
ZBNAIS.  EM. 

St.  Philothea,  Dec.  7,  V.  M.  mh 
or  1 3th  century.  There  are  two  different 
accounts  of  her  life  and  there  is  a  differ 
ence  of  nearly  two  hundred  years  in 
their  dates,  but  the  Bollandists  do  not 
appear  to  think  they  refer  to  two  different 
saints  of  the  same  name. 

The  first  story  is  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  a  rich  and  miserly  carpenter 
of  Ternov  in  Wallachia,  who  insisted  on 
her  marrying  a  rich  young  man  of  the 
name  of  Stephen  Mazias.  As  he  was  a 
drunkard  and  a  profane  swearer  and 
otherwise  objectionable,  Philothea,  with 
the  connivance  of  her  mother,  left  her 
home,  the  day  before  that  fixed  for  the 
marriage,  in  the  dress  of  a  pilgrim,  in 
tending  to  take  refuge  in  a  convent  in 
Macedonia  which  had  branches  in  Moldo 
Wallachia.  One  of  the  maid-servants 
of  her  family  voluntarily  followed,  to 
share  her  fate.  Several  supernatural 
circumstances  attended  the  journey  for 
the  first  few  days  and  then  Philothea 
was  warned  in  a  dream  of  her  mother's 
serious  illness,  and  returning  with  all 
haste,  found  her  dead.  Her  father  would 
not  let  her  into  the  house.  Stephen 
and  all  the  neighbours  upbraided  her  as 
the  cause  of  her  mother's  death.  After 
a  time,  her  father  took  her  back  to  act 
as  a  servant  in  the  house,  but  he  was 
.very  angry  that  she  gave  food  and  money 
to  beggars  and  pilgrims,  and  one  day, 
seeing  her  give  half  a  loaf  to  a  blind 
man,  he  struck  her  with  his  axe  and 
killed  her,  1060.  Seventy-two  years 
afterwards,  Basil,  the  metropolitan,  de 
creed  that  she  should  be  worshipped  as 
a  saint.  A  church  was  built  in  her 
honour  at  Ardzeschul,  where  many  pil 
grims  resort  to  kiss  her  hand  and  fore 
head,  which  are  cased  in  silver.  She  is 
the  patron  of  a  lunatic  asylum  near  the 
town. 

The  other  story  is  that  she  lived  in 
the  thirteenth  century;  suffered  much 
from  the  cruelty  of  her  step-mother,  and 


ST.  PHOTIXA 


151 


was  killed  by  her  father,  at  the  age  of 
twelve. 

AA.SS.     Grseco-SJav.  Calendar. 

St.  Phink.  Possibly  same  as  FIX- 
CAN  v,  an  Irish  or  Scotch  V.  Oth  or  8th 
century.  There  was  once  a  chapel  of 
St.  Phink  at  Bendochy,  near  Cupar  in 
Angus.  Forbes. 

St.  Phoca  or  FOCA,  March  5,  called 
in  some  martyrologies  a  holy  woman, 
but  Henschenius  says  that  the  saint  to 
be  worshipped  is  Focas,  bishop  and 
martyr  at  Antioch  in  Syria,  probably 
under  Trajan.  AA.SS. 

St.  Phoebe,  PHEBE. 

St.  Phothoo  or  PHOTIUS,  sister  of 
PHOTINA  (1). 

St.  Photina  (1),  March  20,  also 
called  ST.  SAMARITANA,  M.  in  the  time 
of  Nero.  The  woman  of  Samaria,  men 
tioned  in  St.  John  iv.  is  called  by 
tradition  PHOTINA  (elsewhere  called 
EUDOCIA  and  ANTHUSA)  and  is  com 
memorated  with  her  sons  SS.  Joseph 
and  Victor,  her  five  sisters  SS.  ANATOLIA, 
PHOTIUS  or  PHOTHOO,  PHOTIS,  PARASCEVE 
(1)  and  CYRIACA  (1),  and  St.  Sebastian, 
a  leader  in  the  Roman  army.  Her  name 
is  not  given  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
nor  is  she  mentioned  again  in  the  Bible 
after  the  day  when  she  talked  with  Christ 
at  the  well.  The  Menology  of  the  Em 
peror  Basil  says  that  after  the  martyrdom 
of  the  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul  (namely 
thirty-six  years  after  the  time  when  she 
had  "  had  five  husbands  "),  she  preached 
at  Carthage  with  her  son  Joseph.  Her 
son  Victor,  after  doing  good  service  in 
the  army  against  the  Avares,  was  made 
prefect  and  ordered  to  kill  all  the  Chris 
tians  in  Galilee  (or  Gaul).  Instead  of 
obeying  the  mandate,  he  taught  them  all 
things  belonging  to  Christianity  and 
persuaded  Sebastian,  the  ruler  of  the 
city,  to  believe  in  Christ.  He  was 
seized  and  brought  with  his  co-religion 
ists  before  Nero.  Some  of  them  had 
their  eyes  put  out ;  some  were  skinned, 
and  some  hung  on  trees.  Photis  was 
tied  between  two  trees  bent  together  for 
that  purpose ;  they  were  then  let  go 
and  rebounded  to  their  places,  tearing 
her  body  in  two.  The  rest  were  be 
headed.  Photina  died  in  prison. 

One  form  of  the  legend  makes  Pho 


tina  convert  and  baptize  DOMNINA,  the 
daughter  of  Nero,  who  then  took  the 
name  of  ANTHUSA  (]  ).  There  are  several 
saints  called  Domniua  and  several  called 
Anthusa,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  sup 
pose  either  of  them  to  be  a  daughter  of 
Nero.  There  are  other  versions  of  the 
story  of  Photina  all  equally  devoid  of 
foundation  or  interest. 

EM.  AA.SS.  Menology  of  Basil. 
Marrast,  Vie  Byzantine,  says  that  the 
Hellenists  in  Constantinople  honoured 
Artemis  Phosphora,  i.  e.  Diana  the  morn 
ing  star,  under  the  disguise  of  Photina 
the  luminous,  the  Christian  saint. 

St.  Photina  (2),  Feb.  13,  V.  -f 
c.  400. 

After  seven  months  St.  Martinian  re 
covered   from   his  burns  [see  ZOE  (3)] 
and  said  to  himself,  "  I  am  not  safe  here ; 
I  must  go  to  a  place  so  far  from  the 
abode  of  men  and   so  rough  and  wild 
that   no   one  will   come   near   me,  and 
where,  above  all,  no  woman  will  be  able 
to  approach."     The  devil  was  angry,  but 
said  to  him,  "  Well,  if  I  have  not  suc 
ceeded  in  leading  you  into  a  wicked  life, 
I  have  at  all  events  driven  you  out  of 
your  house  ;  and  be  sure  that  wherever 
you   flee,    I   will    pursue."      Martinian 
knew    that    the    devil    would    keep   his 
word,   but   he    said    to   himself,    "The 
devil  will  be  there,  but  no  woman  will 
be  able '  to  come ;  that,  after  all,  is  the 
great  point."     So  he  went  towards  the 
sea,  singing  psalms  as  he  walked.     By- 
and-by  he  met  a   boatman  who   feared 
God.     To   him   he   said,   "Brother,   do 
you  know  any  little  uninhabited  island 
in  the  midst  of  the  sea?"     The  sailor 
said,  "  Why  do  you  ask  and  what  do  you 
want  ?  "      The   anchorite  answered,  "  I 
want  to  flee  from  the  world  and  be  at 
peace.     I    find   no    place    where   I    am 
safe  from  evil."     The  boatman  replied, 
"There   is  a   frightful   narrow  rock,  a 
long  way  from  the  land,  any  one  who 
goes  near  it  is  seized  with  terror  at  the 
sight."     "  That,"  said  the  saint,  "  is  the 
place  for  me ;  there  at  least  no  manner 
of  woman  can  reach  me."     "  But   how- 
are  you  to  get  food  there  ?  "     "  We  will 
make  a  bargain.     You  shall  bring  me 
food  and  I  will  pray  for  you.     More 
over,  I  will  work  while  I  am  sitting  on 


152 


ST.   PHOTINA 


the  rock.  Bring  me  palm  branches  and 
I  will  plait  them.  You  will  take  thuin 
and  sell  them,  and  twice  or  thrice  a  year 
you  can  bring  me  bread  and  water. 
First  you  can  get  me  a  bottle  to  hold 
water."  The  boatman  perceiving  that 
he  was  a  holy  man,  cheerfully  agreed  to 
do  as  he  wished,  and  took  him  in  a  little 
boat  to  the  rock.  Martinian  saw  that 
it  was  just  such  a  place  as  he  longed  for, 
so  he  sang  psalms  and  blessed  the  sailor. 
The  boatman  asked  if  he  should  bring 
some  wood  that  Martinian  might  build 
himself  a  hut,  but  he  chose  rather  to 
feel  the  heat  by  day  and  the  cold  by 
night.  He  rested  there  for  seven  years 
as  if  he  were  no  longer  in  the  world, 
and  rejoiced  in  meditating  on  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  The  devil  failed  in  all  his 
attempts  to  frighten  him  with  storms ; 
but  at  last  he  saw  a  ship  coming,  and 
thinking  this  a  good  opportunity  of 
ruining  the  saint  and  gaining  his  soul, 
he  destroyed  it  with  a  storm  and  drowned 
all  the  people  in  it,  except  one  young 
girl,  who  caught  hold  of  a  board  and 
was  washed  up  against  Martinian's  rock. 
She  called  to  him  to  help  her.  At 
first  he  would  not,  remembering  how 
the  devil  had  tempted  him  under  similar 
circumstances  before.  But  seeing  that 
unless  he  helped  her,  this  woman  was 
more  sure  to  perish  than  Zoe  had  been, 
he  prayed  God  to  provide  a  '  way  of 
escape  for  her,  and  then  he  held  out 
his  hand  and  drew  her  out  of  the  water. 
When  he  saw  how  beautiful  she  was,  he 
decided  that  it  was  better  to  be  drowned 
than  to  live  on  an  island  in  such  dan 
gerous  company ;  so  he  told  her  she 
would  find  bread  and  water  there  for 
two  months,  at  the  end  of  which  the 
boatman  would  come  and  take  her  to 
her  own  country ;  and  he  gave  her  his 
blessing  and  making  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  he  threw  himself  into  the  sea. 
Photina  saw  two  dolphins  take  him  up 
and  swim  away  with  him,  she  knew  not 
whither.  The  dolphins  put  him  safely 
ashore  and  after  thanking  God  for  his 
deliverance,  he  said,  "  Alas,  what  shall 
I  do  ?  Whither  shall  I  go  ?  I  cannot 
escape  from  the  pursuit  of  the  devil. 
He  found  me  out  in  the  mountains  and 
even  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,"  Then 


he  remembered  how  Christ  said  to  His 
disciples,  "  When  they  persecute  you  in 
one  city,  flee  to  another,"  so  for  the  rest 
of  his  life  he  fled  from  place  to  place. 
Wherever  he  happened  to  be  when  night 
came  on,  there  he  stayed,  whether  it  was 
in  a  desert  or  in  a  city  ;  and  when  he  had 
travelled  through  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  states  he  came  to  Athens,  and  went 
into  the  church.  There  he  fell  down  on 
the  floor  and  feeling  his  death  was  at 
hand  he  sent  for  the  bishop  who  had  been 
warned  that  a  saint  was  near,  and  who 
came  at  once  to  him.  Martinian  was 
not  able  to  rise  from  the  ground  to 
meet  him,  but  begged  the  bishop  to 
pray  for  him  that  he  might  have  courage 
to  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  God : 
then  he  died. 

Meantime,  Photina  lived  on  the  rock, 
and  when,  after  two  months,  the  boat 
man  came  and  saw  a  woman  there  instead 
of  the  hermit,  he  was  frightened,  and 
thinking  she  was  a  spectre,  he  was  going 
away  again.  Photina  called  out  to  him 
not  to  be  afraid  for  she  was  a  Christian. 
But  he  was  more  alarmed  than  ever 
until  she  swore  by  Christ  the  King  that 
she  was  a  Christian  and  begged  him  to 
wait  and  hear  what  had  happened.  Then 
she  told  him  everything  and  begged  him 
to  do  for  her  as  he  had  always  done  for 
Martinian  and  not  to  despise  her  on 
account  of  her  sex,  because  God  Who 
made  Adam  created  Eve  also,  and  would 
reward  him  for  his  charity  to  her  as  if 
she  were  Martinian.  Then  she  told  him 
that  next  time  he  came  he  must  bring 
with  him,  his  wife  and  a  monk's  dress. 
He  did  so.  Photina  instructed  the  wife 
to  get  her  some  wool  that  she  might  spin 
it,  and  that  her  labour  might  repay  them 
for  bringing  her  food  from  time  to  time. 
She  was  twenty-five  years  old  at  the 
time  of  the  shipwreck,  and  she  lived 
six  years  on  the  rock  and  at  last,  one 
day  when  the  boatman  and  his  wife 
came,  they  found  her  dead  and  they 
took  her  to  Csesarea  and  told  her 
story  to  the  bishop,  who  ordered  her 
to  be  reverently  buried.  AA.SS.,  from 
the  Life  of  St.  Martinian  by  a  con 
temporary  writer.  The  name  of  Pho- 
tiua  is  not  given  in  this  old  life,  but  by 
Metaphrastes, 


ST.   PIAMUN 


153 


St.  Photius.     (See  PHOTINA  (1).) 

St.  Phrosine  or  FHOSINE,  EUPHHO- 
SYNE. 

SS.  Pia  and  Picaria,  Jan.  19,  MM. 
with  thirty-eight  others  at  Carthage  in 
Africa.  KM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Piala,  CAILA,  KIARA,  or  KIEKA, 
Feb.  2;},  March  23,  Dec.  14,  V.  either 
in  Brittany  or  Cornwall.  5th  century. 
Sister  of  St.  Fingar  or  Guigner  or 
Equiuer. 

When  St.  Patrick  arrived  in  Ireland, 
seven  heathen  kings,  with  their  priests, 
went  to  meet  him  but  they  did  not  approve 
of  his  doctrines.  The  chief  of  these 
kings  had  a  sou  Fingar,  who  was  the  only 
prince  in  all  the  assembly  to  give  up  his 
seat  to  the  great  saint  and  treat  him  with 
respect.  Lest  the  Christians  should  be 
come  greater  than  the  heathens,  Fingar's 
father  banished  him  from  Ireland.  He 
and  several  of  his  friends  went  either 
to  Wales,  Cornwall  or  Brittany.  After 
some  years  he  returned  to  Ireland  and 
found  the  whole  population  converted 
to  Christianity.  His  father  was  dead, 
and  the  people  hailed  him  as  king.  He 
said,  "  Choose  some  valiant  Christian 
for  your  king,  and  marry  him  to  my 
sister  Piala."  They  agreed  but  Piala 
declined,  saying  that  Christ  was  her 
husband  and  heaven  her  inheritance. 
Fingar  told  them  not  to  trouble  her  any 
more  and  when  he  had  commended  the 
kingdom  to  the  care  of  God,  he  bade 
them  farewell  and  departed.  Piala  went 
with  him  and  they  were  joined  by  777 
men,  of  whom  seven  were  bishops  in 
structed  by  St.  Patrick.  They  set  sail  and 
landed  in  due  time  at  Hayle  on  the  coast 
of  Cornwall,  where  they  found  that  ST. 
IA  (3),  on  her  leaf,  had  already  arrived. 
Here  they  came  to  a  place  where  a  cer 
tain  holy  virgin  lived  in  religious  seclu 
sion,  and  not  wishing  to  disturb  her, 
they  saluted  her  and  passed  on  to  another 
spot  to  dine.  They  found  no  water,  so 
Fingar  stuck  his  staff  into  the  ground 
and  there  a  fountain  bubbled  up  lor  the 
use  of  the  pilgrims.  After  dinner  they 
proceeded  to  a  place  called  Couetconia 
(perhaps  Conington),  where  a  holy 
woman  showed  them  no  little  kindness, 
for  when  she  found  that  all  her  houses 
were  not  sufficient  to  hold  them  and  that 


she  had  not  even  straw  for  them  all  to 
lie  on,  she  took  the  roofs  off  and  gave 
them  the  thatch  for  bedding.  She  gave 
them  her  only  cow  for  food,  and  cooked 
it  for  them.  After  they  had  eaten  it 
and  given  thanks,  Fingar  ordered  all 
the  bones  to  be  collected  and  the  skin 
of  the  cow  to  be  put  over  them.  Then 
he  summoned  all  the  pilgrims  to  pray 
with  him  that  the  charitable  woman's 
gift  might  be  made  good  to  her.  When 
the  praver  was  ended,  the  cow  stood, 
before  the  eyes  of  all,  more  beautiful 
than  it  had  been  before.  From  that 
day  forth  it  gave  three  times  as  much 
milk  as  any  other  cow.  As  they  re 
sumed  their  journey,  they  looked  round 
and  saw  the  houses  all  comfortably 
roofed,  as  if  the  thatch  had  never  been 
displaced.  Then  the  followers  of  St. 
Fingar  seeing  miracles  everywhere,  were 
much  comforted  and  confirmed  in  the 
faith. 

Either  in  Cornwall  or  Brittany,  King 
Theodoric  or  Ceretico  heard  that  a 
great  troop  had  arrived  in  his  dominions, 
and  fearing  that  his  people  would  go 
over  to  the  service  of  Christ,  he  went 
against  them  with  an  armed  band  ;  and 
without  asking  why  they  came  or  waiting 
for  any  parley,  he  fell  upon  them  from 
behind  and  massacred  them  all. 

Their  festival  is  kept  Dec.  14,  at  Plou- 
diri  (Plebum  Theodorici),  between  Leon 
and  Brest.  Their  relics  are  venerated 
at  Vannes.  Piala  is  commemorated  by 
Colgan,  Feb.  23.  AA.SS. 

St.  Piamun,  or  AMMA  PIAMUX, 
March  3,  V.,  lived  with  her  mother  and 
span  flax.  She  had  the  gift  of  prophecy 
and  by  her  prayers  saved  her  native 
place  from  destruction.  After  an  in 
undation  of  the  Nile,  several  villages 
quarrelled  and  fought  about  the  division 
of  the  water ;  that  in  which  Piamun 
lived  was  threatened  with  invasion  by 
a  more  powerful  neighbour.  About  three 
thousand  of  the  enemy  advanced  with 
spears  and  clubs,  determined  to  destroy 
the  place,  but  Piamun,  warned  of  their 
approach  by  an  angel,  requested  the 
priests  to  go  out  to  meet  them  and 
endeavour  to  turn  them  from  their  cruel 
purpose.  The  priests  were  afraid  to  go, 
and  begged  Piamun  to  go  herself.  She 


154 


ST.   PIANCIA 


withdrew  to  her  poor  little  house  and 
prayed  all  night.  Early  in  the  morning 
the  enemy  arrived  outside  the  town  and 
there  they  became  immovable.  Under 
standing  the  cause,  they  made  peace 
with  the  terrified  inhabitants,  bidding 
them  thank  the  holy  virgin  through 
whose  prayers  they  had  been  prevented 
from  injuring  them.  AA.SS.  Palladius, 
Historia  Lausiaca. 

St.  Piancia,  PIENTIA. 

St.  Piatenka,  PIATNICA,  or  PIATNITSA, 
PAKASCEVE  (5). 

St.  Pica,  April  14.  According  to  a 
calendar  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis, 
this  was  the  name  of  his  mother,  and 
she  was  received  by  him  into  his  Third 
Order  and  died  holy. 

Luke  Wadding  tells  the  following 
anecdote  of  the  birth  of  St.  Francis.  His 
mother  had  already  had  five  or  six  children 
without  more  than  the  usual  amount  of 
suffering  or  inconvenience,  but  this  time 
she  was  for  three  days  in  labour  and 
suffering  great  agony,  when  a  beggar 
came  to  the  door  and  asked  alms,  for  the 
love  of  God.  Something  was  given  to 
him  and  he  was  bidden  to  pray  for  the 
lady  of  the  house,  who  could  not  be 
delivered  and  was  expected  to  die  imme 
diately.  Said  the  beggar,  "This  child 
is  to  be  a  great  servant  of  God  and  will 
serve  Him  in  holy  poverty,  therefore  he 
refuses  to  be  born  in  a  painted  chamber 
or  between  silken  curtains.  Take  the 
lady  out  of  her  bed  and  carry  her  into 
the  stable  ;  lay  her  down  on  the  straw 
and  she  will  be  safely  delivered."  The 
family  and  servants  hastened  to  try  the 
newly  suggested  treatment,  and  pre 
sently  a  beautiful  boy  was  born  and 
was  christened  John.  This  was  the 
great  St.  Francis.  Wadding,  Annales. 
Kalendar  of  the  3rd  Order  of  St. 
Francis. 

St.  Picaria,  M.  with  PIA. 

B.  Piccarda  Donati,  CONSTANCE 
(5). 

St.  Picinna,  PECINNA. 

St.  Pience  or  PIENCHE,  PIENTIA. 

St.  Pientia,  Oct.  11  (PIANCIA,  in 
French  PIENCE  and  PIENCHE),  V.  M. 
1st,  3rd,  or  5th  century.  She  was 
baptized  by  St.  Nicasius,  who  is  some 
times  called  a  convert  of  St.  Paul  and 


companion  of  St.  Denis,  and  sometimes 
eleventh  or  an  earlier  bishop  of  Eouen. 
He  is  perhaps  St.  Nicasius,  bishop  of 
Eheims,  martyred  with  his  sister,  ST. 
EUTROPIA  (5),  by  the  Vandals,  in  the  fifth 
century.  St.  Glair,  an  aged  heathen 
priest,  was  converted  with  Pientia. 
Together  they  buried  St.  Nicasius  and 
his  companion  St.  Quirinus,  at  Gany  en 
Vexin  in  Normandy.  Pientia's  father 
beheaded  her  and  St.  Clair,  and  they 
were  buried  in  the  same  place.  EM. 
AA.SS.  Chastelain,  Voc.  Hag. 

St.  Pierrette  OrPlERRINE,PETRONILLA. 

St.  Pigata,  PAGATA. 

St.  Pigra,  DIGNA  (4). 

St.  Pilentia,  in  French  PILENCE, 
Aug.  18,  M.  at  Amasa,  in  Pontus.  AA.SS. 

St.  Pilitrude,  PLECTBUDE. 

St.  Pinna  (J;,  Jan.  3.  Possibly  a 
misprint  for  PKIMA,  M.  at  Tomis,  with 
others,  Jan.  3,  mentioned  by  St.  Jerome. 
AAJ38. 

SS.  Pinna  (2),  Inna  and  Rinna, 
Jan.  20,  MM.  Graeco-Slav.  Calendar. 

St.  Pinnosa,  PJNOSA  or  VINNOSA, 
Oct.  22,  one  of  the  companions  of  ST. 
URSULA.  Said  by  some  accounts  to  have 
been  the  commander  under  ST.  URSULA. 

St.  Pirronne,  PETRONILLA. 

St.  Piscina,  June  2.  One  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty  -  seven  Koman 
martyrs.  AA.SS. 

St.  Pistis,  Sept.  17  and  Aug.  1,  M. 
One  of  the  three  daughters  of  ST.  SOPHIA 
(1).  (See  FAITH,  HOPE  and  CHARITY.) 
Neale,  Byzantine  Calendar,  Sept.  17. 
Guerin,  Aug.  1  and  Sept.  17. 

St.  Placida  or  BASILICA,  V.  Sister 
of  St.  Augustine,  and  died  the  same  year 
as  he  did,  430.  Compare  PERPETUA  (7) 
and  FELICITAS  (20).  Torelli,  Ristretto, 
an  abridgement  of  lives  of  saints  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Augustine. 

St.  Placidia  (1),  FLACCILLA. 

St.  Placidia  (2),  Nov.  27,  +  450. 
Queen  of  the  Goths.  Empress  of  Eome. 
Daughter  of  Theodosius  the  Great. 
Sister  of  the  Emperors  Arcadius  and 
Honorius.  Mother  of  Valentinian  III. 
Grandmother  of  the  younger  Empress 
ST.  PLACIDIA  (3).  Aunt  of  the  Empress 
ST.  PULCHERIA.  Wife  of  (1)  Ataiilf, 
king  of  the  Goths  ;  (2)  Constantius  III., 
emperor. 


ST.   PLACIDIA 


155 


A  medal,  reproduced  by  Dantier,  re 
presents  her  wearing,  on  her  right  arm,  a 
bracelet  inscribed  with  the  name  "Jesus 
Christ ;  "  a  dove  is  bringing  her  a  crown 
from  heaven. 

Galla  Placidia  Augusta,  daughter  of 
Theodosius  the  Great,  by  his  second  wife 
Galla,  was  born  either  at  Constantinople 
or  at  Milan.  She  was  hardly  more  than 
a  baby  when  her  mother  died,  and  she 
and  her  half-brother,  Honorius,  were 
confided  by  their  father  to  the  care  of 
his  niece  Serena,  the  wife  of  Stilicho. 
After  the  death  of  Theodosius  at  Milan, 
in  :>9.*>,  Serena  persuaded  Honorius, 
emperor  of  the  West,  to  marry  her 
daughter  Mary,  and  further  to  assure  the 
throne  to  her  own  descendants,  she  be 
trothed  her  son  Eucherius  to  Placidia, 
probably  against  her  will:  Stilicho  and 
Serena  were  nominally  Christians,  but 
they  brought  up  their  son  as  a  heathen, 
to  please  a  certain  party  among  the 
people. 

In  404  Placidia  was  in  Rome  with 
Honorius.  She  walked  before  his  chariot, 
swelling  the  triumph  he  had  done  nothing 
to  earn  ;  and  she  sat  beside  him  and  his 
child- wife  in  the  Colosseum,  to  witness 
the  last  fight  of  gladiators  and  captives 
ever  exhibited  there,  and  the  death  of 
the  last  Christian  martyred  on  that 
classic  ground. 

In  408  the  Goths  were  besieging  Rome, 
and  Serena  was  accused  of  treacherous 
correspondence  with  them.  The  Senate 
condemned  her  to  death  and  it  is  said 
that  Placidia  approved  the  sentence. 
History  has  neither  acquitted  nor  con 
demned  Serena,  nor  is  Placidia's  share 
in  the  matter  known  with  certainty. 

In  410  Rome  was  taken  by  Alaric, 
king  of  the  Goths,  and  Placidia  was 
among  the  prisoners.  He  had  learned 
from  his  foes  how  to  treat  a  captive  lady, 
for  his  wife  had  been  the  prisoner  of 
Stilicho  and  had  been  honourably  enter 
tained  and  duly  returned  to  him.  Pla 
cidia  was  treated  with  the  most  scrupu 
lous  respect  and  consideration.  When 
the  sack  of  the  imperial  city  had  lasted 
six  days  Alaric  withdrew  his  army,  and 
taking  with  him  an  immense  booty  and 
great  numbers  of  prisoners,  he  marched 
through  Apulia  and  Calabria,  intending 


to  cross  over  to  Sicily  and  Africa,  but 
his  plans  were  frustrated  by  a  sudden  and 
fatal  illness. 

His  brother  Ataiilf — a  name  which 
means  Father's  help — succeeded  him  as 
king  of  the  Goths  and  guardian  of  the 
captive  princess.  He  had  not  the  gi 
gantic  stature  of  Alaric,  but  he  was 
gentler  and,  although  a  widower  with 
six  children,  was  still  young  and  hand 
some.  He  soon  became  deeply  attached 
to  Placidia.  The  wish  to  please  her 
combined  with  admiration  for  everything 
belonging  to  her,  gradually  civilized  and 
romanised  him,  and  he  sought  a  lasting 
peace  with  Honorius.  But  the  emperor, 
as  a  preliminary  to  any  conditions,  de 
manded  the  restoration  of  his  sister. 
Ataiilf  hoped  to  make  her  his  wife,  but 
the  daughter  of  Theodosius  the  Great 
did  not  consider  the  chief  of  a  barbarian 
horde  a  fit  match  for  her,  and  in  spite  of 
her  inclinations,  long  delayed  her  con 
sent.  At  the  same  time,  Constantius, 
one  of  the  few  honest  officials  and  the 
best  general  and  statesman  the  emperor 
had,  was  violently  opposed  to  the  mar 
riage  of  the  princess  to  the  king  of  the 
Goths.  It  was  said  that  he  himself 
aspired  to  the  honour  of  the  alliance. 
Messages  and  letters  came  and  went  on 
each  side  for  more  than  three  years, 
during  which  the  mutual  esteem  and  ad 
miration  of  Ataiilf  and  Placidia  ripened 
into  love,  until  at  last,  after  Ataiilf  had 
removed  his  army  and  his  prisoner  to 
the  south  of  France  and  taken  possession 
of  several  towns  and  a  great  tract  of 
country,  he  besieged  Marseilles.  There 
he  was  repulsed  by  Count  Boniface,  long 
afterwards  a  friend  in  need  to  Placidia 
and  ill  repaid  by  her ;  and  there  the 
Gothic  hero  was  dangerously  wounded. 
The  alarm  caused  by  this  incident  is 
supposed  to  have  surprised  the  princess 
into  an  avowal  of  her  affection  and  a 
consent  to  marry  her  royal  Gothic  lover. 
The  wedding  was  held  with  great  splen 
dour  and  rejoicing  at  Narbonne,  in  414, 
four  years  after  the  fall  of  Rome.  The 
short  period  of  her  wedded  life  with 
Ataiilf  was  probably  the  happiest  part  of 
Placidia's  existence.  With  the  approval 
of  the  emperor,  they  crossed  the  Pyrenees 
with  a  plan  of  setting  up  a  new  kingdom 


156 


ST.   PLACIDIA 


there.  A  son  was  born  to  them,  called, 
after  her  father,  Theodosius.  Great  was 
their  grief  when  the  infant  died.  They 
buried  him  in  a  silver  coffin  in  a  church 
near  Barcelona.  But  soon  a  greater 
misfortune  fell  upon  them.  Ataiilf  was 
stabbed  by  a  servant,  and  only  lived 
long  enough  to  commend  his  wife  to  the 
care  of  his  brother,  begging  him  to  send 
her  back  to  Italy.  Singeric  usurped  the 
Gothic  throne  and,  instead  of  sending 
Placidia  home  to  her  brother,  drove  her 
on  foot  before  his  horse  amid  a  crowd  of 
captives,  having  first  murdered  her  six 
step-children.  The  Goths,  however,  loved 
both  Ataiilf  and  Placidia  and,  disgusted 
with  the  brutality  of  Singeric,  put  him 
to  death  on  the  seventh  day  of  his  reign 
and  chose  Wallia  for  their  king.  Con- 
stantius  now  eagerly  negotiated  with 
him  for  the  restoration  of  Placidia  to 
her  brother.  She  was  exchanged  for 
600,000  measures  of  wheat  and  returned 
to  the  Court  of  Eavenna. 

During  the  preceding  five  years,  no 
less  than  seven  pretenders  had  attempted 
to  wrest  the  empire  from  Honorius,  who 
was  incapable  of  an  effort.  Their  failure 
was  due  in  great  measure  to  Constantius. 
He  was  of  noble  birth,  popular  with  the 
army  and  devoted  to  the  family  of  Theo 
dosius.  His  services  were  rewarded  with 
the  titles  of  Consul  and  Patrician,  and 
Honorius  contemplated  honouring  him 
further  with  the  hand  of  his  sister.  But 
the  widowed  queen  was  still  grieving  for 
the  husband  of  her  love  and  did  not  in 
tend  to  make  a  second  marriage  ;  more 
over,  Constantius  with  all  his  excellent 
qualities,  was  not  attractive,  and  she 
trusted  that  Honorius  would  not  press 
the  point.  However,  when  according  to 
custom,  she  went  on  the  first  day  of  the 
year  417,  to  give  her  good  wishes  to  her 
brother,  he  placed  her  hand  in  that  of 
Constantius.  The  marriage  took  place 
exactly  three  years  after  her  happy  wed 
ding  at  Narbonne.  Although  married 
against  her  will,  the  energetic  and  am 
bitious  Placidia  made  the  best  of  the 
situation;  she  took  her  husband's  in 
terests  in  hand,  and  through  her  influence 
with  the  indolent  Honorius,  rapidly 
advanced  his  fortunes.  He  had  to  return 
to  Gaul,  to  prevent  the  barbarians  yet 


awhile  from  rending  that  fair  province 
from  the  empire,  but  Placidia  would 
never  again  revisit  the  land  of  her  happy 
memories. 

It  was  remarked  that  the  character  of 
Constantius  deteriorated  after  his  mar 
riage.  He,  who  had  been  a  rough  but 
jovial  and  generous  soldier,  without  pride 
and  without  guile,  now  began  to  seek 
wealth  and  honours  for  himself;  to  be 
stern  and  ungracious  to  his  former  asso 
ciates,  while  fierce  orthodoxy  replaced 
his  amiable  toleration  for  the  opinions  of 
others.  Placidia's  horror  of  necromancy 
went  so  far  as  to  compel  him,  under 
threat  of  divorce,  to  put  to  death  a  wizard 
named  Libanius,  whom  he  would  gladly 
have  suffered  to  escape.  It  was  not 
without  difficulty  that  Placidia  induced 
Honorius  to  associate  his  brother-in-law 
with  himself  in  the  empire  as  Augustus. 
Arcadius,  the  emperor  of  the  East,  how 
ever,  did  not  sanction  the  accession  of 
Constantius  and  refused  to  receive  his 
picture  as  that  of  a  colleague,  when  it 
was  sent  to  him  with  the  usual  ceremony. 
Constantius  died  in  the  seventh  month 
of  his  reign  and  Placidia  was  again  left 
a  widow,  this  time  with  two  children : 
Justa  Grata  Honoria  and  Flavius  Placi- 
dus  Valentinianus,  afterwards  Valenti- 
nian  III. 

*  She  became  the  constant  adviser 
and  companion  of  Honorius  until,  as 
is  supposed,  a  dispute  between  their 
respective  attendants  brought  about  a 
misunderstanding,  which  soon  became  a 
violent  quarrel.  All  the  Court  and  all 
Ravenna  took  one  side  or  the  other, 
Placidia's  Gothic  guards — the  gift  of  her 
first  husband — drew  their  swords  for 
their  queen,  and  order  was  with  difficulty 
restored  to  the  town.  The  empress  left 
the  palace  and  would  have  left  Italy,  but 
had  not  the  means  to  travel,  until  her 
faithful  but  ill-starred  Boniface  supplied 
her  with  money  and  attendants  for  her 
journey  to  Constantinople,  whither  she 
proceeded  with  her  two  children.  In 
the  middle  of  the  voyage  they  were 
overtaken  by  a  frightful  storm.  In  th en 
danger  and  distress,  the  empress  prayed 
to  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  vowing  to 
build  a  church  in  his  honour  if  he  would 
rescue  her  from  shipwreck.  A  mosaic 


ST.   PLACIDIA 


157 


in  her  church  at  Ravenna  still  records 
the  incident  and  attests  that  she  kept 
her  vow. 

The  imperial  fugitives  arrived  at 
Constantinople  in  423,  not  long  after 
the  marriage  of  Theodosius  II.  to  the 
beautiful  and  learned  Eudocia.  They 
were  kindly  received  but  as  Constantius 
had  not  been  acknowledged,  Placidia 
was  not  treated  as  an  empress  and  had 
to  content  herself  with  an  inferior, 
although  magnificent  station  and  resi 
dence.  Her  palace  stood  on  a  lovely 
point  looking  across  the  sea  to  Asia,  at 
the  eastern  end  of  the  promontory  which 
divides  the  Golden  Horn  from  the  sea  of 
Marmora,  the  site  is  now  covered  by 
some  of  the  buildings  of  the  Old  Seraglio 
(Button's  Church  in  the  Sixth  Century}. 
She  admired,  not  without  envy,  the 
virtues  and  talents  of  her  niece  ST. 
PULCHERIA,  who  although  young  and  un 
married,  had  the  rank  of  Augusta  and 
ruled  in  her  brother's  name. 

Placidia  and  her  children  had  been 
hardly  a  year  at  Constantinople,  when 
Honorius  died  of  dropsy.  Theodosius 
bestowed  the  imperial  title  on  Valentin- 
ian  and  sent  him  and  his  mother  to 
Italy.  Before  their  departure,  Valenti- 
niaii  was  betrothed  to  Eudoxia,  the  only 
daughter  of  Theodosius  ;  and  Placidia, 
to  seal  the  compact,  promised  to  cede 
Illyria  to  the  Eastern  Empire.  This 
cession  is  one  of  the  great  mistakes 
with  which  she  is  reproached. 

When  Valentinian  III.  was  established 
on  the  throne  of  the  West,  under  the 
guardianship  and  regency  of  Placidia, 
one  of  her  first  acts  of  power  was  to 
authorize  a  persecution  of  heretics.  She 
excluded  Jews  and  heathens  from  all 
offices,  and  banished  Manicheans  and 
astrologers.  She  confirmed  all  the 
privileges  of  the  Church. 

She  had  still  two  great  generals  left : 
Boniface,  count  of  Africa,  the  friend  of 
St.  Augustine,  the  devoted  servant  of 
Placidia  in  her  days  of  misfortune,  and 
Aetius,  who  had  at  one  time  sided 
with  her  enemies.  It  would  have  been 
well  for  Placidia  and  for  the  empire  if 
she  could  have  succeeded  by  any  exer 
cise  of  feminine  tact,  in  preventing  the 
jealousy  of  these  two  from  sacrificing  the 


interests  of  the  state.  Their  rivalries 
and  her  dilemma  are  part  of  the  history  of 
the  world  and  led  up  to  her  second  great 
blunder — the  loss  of  Africa.  Inexpli 
cable  to  this  day  and  inexcusable  is  the 
fatuity  with  which  she  allowed  Aetius 
to  undermine  her  confidence  in  the 
faithful  Boniface.  She  was  reconciled 
to  her  old  friend  and  bitterly  repented 
her  mistake  when  the  Vandals  were  de 
vastating  the  north  of  Africa  with  fire 
and  sword.  After  the  death  of  Boniface 
she  could  neither  forgive  nor  trust  her 
only  remaining  general.  She  proclaimed 
him  a  rebel  and  traitor,  but  in  two  short 
years,  beset  by  open  foes  and  false  or 
incapable  friends,  she  was  compelled  to 
grant  him  the  pardon  he  demanded  at 
the  head  of  60,000  Huns,  and  to  be 
thankful  that  instead  of  ranging  himself 
among  the  enemies  of  the  State,  he  asked 
nothing  better  than  to  be  allowed  once 
more  to  fight  her  battles. 

The  empire  could  scarcely  have  fallen 
to  pieces  more  rapidly  had  the  childish 
Valentinian  ruled,  than  it  did  under  the 
incapable  Placidia.  With  the  most 
earnest  wish  for  the  good  of  the  State, 
she  lost  its  fairest  and  richest  provinces. 
She  was  equally  unfortunate  in  her 
family  affairs,  for  both  her  children 
turned  out  as  badly  as  possible.  Her 
daughter  Honoria  was  a  grief  and  a 
disgrace,  and  as  for  Valentinian,  it  is 
enough  to  say  of  him  that  he  never 
drew  his  sword  but  once,  and  that  was  to 
murder  Aetius,  the  only  man  who  was 
able  to  protect  him  and  his  tottering 
throne  from  the  barbarians.  Placidia  is 
severely  blamed  both  for  the  losses  to 
the  empire  and  for  the  evil  behaviour  of 
her  son  and  daughter. 

Tillemont  says  that  although  the  em 
pire  suffered  great  losses  in  the  twenty- 
six  years  of  her  rule,  she  was  generally 
respected.  He  adds,  on  the  authority  of 
Tiro  Procopius,  that  her  conduct  was 
irreproachable;  but  that  she  brought  up 
her  son  in  excessive  delicacy,  which  led 
to  his  falling  into  the  greatest  vices. 
Cassiodorus  complains  that  although  she 
worked  her  best  for  the  interests  of  her 
son,  she  did  him  a  great  injury  by  giving 
too  much  rest  to  the  soldiers,  and  by 
giving  up  Illyria  to  Theodosius  II.,  so 


158 


ST.   PLACIDIA 


that  under  his  mother,  Valentin  ian  lost 
more  than  if  he  had  had  no  guardianship 
and  no  help.  Perhaps  the  strongest 
tribute  to  her  good  qualities  was  the 
suddenly  increasing  demoralization  that 
set  in  immediately  after  her  withdrawal 
from  the  government,  a  few  years  before 
her  death.  She  spent  the  rest  of  her 
life  in  pious  retirement. 

She  died  at  Rome  and  was  buried,  by 
her  own  wish,  in  the  church  of  SS.  Naza- 
rius  and  Celsus,  which  she  had  built 
at  Ravenna.  Her  ashes  rest  there  be 
tween  those  of  her  husband  and  son, 
the  last  Constantius  and  the  last  Valenti- 
nian,  the  only  tombs  of  Emperors  of  the 
East  or  West  that  remain  in  their  original 
places;  and  there,  for  more  than  a 
thousand  years,  embalmed  and  seated  in 
a  chair  of  cypress  wood,  and  dressed  in 
imperial  robes,  she  could  be  seen.  This 
strange  relic  of  the  declining  empire 
was  accidentally  burnt  in  1577.  Some 
of  the  clergy,  struck  by  the  great  length 
of  certain  of  the  bones  which  alone  re 
mained,  had  the  curiosity  to  measure 
them,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  empress  must  have  been  of  immense 
stature. 

She  had  some  share  in  the  building  of 
the  great  church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul 
at  Rome,  begun  by  her  father  and  finished 
by  Houorius.  She  built,  in  440,  the 
triumphal  arch  which  may  still  be  seen 
in  that  church,  having  survived  the  fire 
of  1823.  Above  the  arch  is  a  mosaic  head 
of  Christ,  one  of  the  most  precious  gems 
of  ancient  Christian  art  now  existing. 
The  earliest  extant  specimens  of  Byzan 
tine  sculpture  are  in  the  churches  she 
built  in  Ravenna. 

The  Bollandists  promise  an  account 
of  her  when  they  come  to  her  day. 
Colin  de  Plancy.  Monstier.  Mart,  of 
Salisbury,  Dec.  3,  "Barbaciane."  Gibbon. 
Lebeau.  Tillemont  and  other  modern 
authors  cite  Sozomen,  Olympiodorus, 
Theodoret,  Peter  Chrysologus,  Idatius, 
Sidonius,  and  Jornandes. 

St.  Placidia  (3),  Oct.  10,  grand 
daughter  of  ST.  PLACIDIA  (2),  and  possibly 
also  named  like  her,  GALLA.  PLACIDIA 
(3)  was  born  about  441,  and  died  towards 
the  end  of  the  same  century  or  begin 
ning  of  the  next.  She  was  the  younger 


daughter  of  Valentinian  III.  and  Eudoxia, 
daughter  of  Theodosius  II. 

In  455,  Valentinian,  who  had  scarcely 
a  redeeming  quality,  was  assassinated  at 
the  instigation  of  the  senator  Maximus, 
who  was  at  once  elected  emperor.  He 
compelled  the  widowed  Empress  Eudoxia 
to  become  his  wife,  an  indignity  she 
bitterly  resented;  and  when  he  shortly 
afterwards  admitted  to  her  that  he  had 
planned  the  murder  of  Valentinian,  and 
why,  she  determined  that  she  would  no 
longer  remain  in  his  power.  Her  own 
near  relations  were  dead.  She  bethought 
her  of  Genseric,  king  of  the  Vandals, 
and  invited  him  to  come  to  her  rescue. 
He  set  sail  at  once  and  the  first  tidings 
Maximus  had  of  the  negotiations  were 
the  appearance  of  the  Vandal  fleet  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Tiber.  The  new  emperor 
fled  but  was  killed  by  the  servants  of 
Eudoxia.  Despite  the  intercession  of 
Pope  (St.)  Leo,  the  city  was  given  up 
to  pillage  for  fourteen  days.  Among 
the  spoils  were  the  golden  candlestick 
and  other  sacred  treasures  brought  from 
Jerusalem  by  Titus.  Many  precious 
trophies  perished  in  a  ship  that  sank 
on  its  way  to  Carthage.  Eudoxia  and 
both  her  daughters — Eudocia  and  Pla 
cidia — were  carried  thither  as  captives. 
On  their  arrival,  Genseric  married  his 
sou  Hunneric  to  the  Princess  Eudocia, 
whose  first  husband  had  been  killed 
in  the  sack  of  Rome.  The  three  im 
perial  ladies  adhered  to  their  Catholic 
faith,  although  the  Vandals  were 
Arians  and  persecuted  the  Catholics. 
Many  acts  of  plunder  and  cruelty  were 
perpetrated  by  heathens.  Catholics  and 
Arians,  under  pretence  of  opposing 
heresy  and  establishing  the  true  faith. 
The  Emperor  Marcian,  husband  of  ST. 
PULCHERIA  (and  consequently  uncle  by 
marriage  of  the  captive  empress),  de 
manded  that  the  widow  and  unmarried 
daughter  of  Valentinian  should  be  set 
at  liberty.  This  was  eventually  ar 
ranged  under  his  successor  Leo  I.  ; 
and,  in  462,  they  were  sent  to  Constan 
tinople.  Eudocia,  the  wife  of  Hun 
neric,  escaped  many  years  afterwards 
and  spent  her  last  years  at  Jerusalem, 
leaving  a  son  Hereric,  who  succeeded  his 
father  and  gave  peace  to  the  Church. 


ST.  PLAUTILLA 


150 


Some  time  between  the  years  4(52  and 
469  Placidia  married  Flavius  Anicius 
Olybrius,  to  whom  it  is  supposed  she 
had  been  betrothed  in  her  father's  life 
time.  The  family  of  the  Anicii  was  the 
most  illustrious  of  all  the  great  noble 
houses  of  Eome.  Olybrius,  after  the 
sack  of  Eome,  had  retreated  to  Con 
stantinople  where  he  was  well  received 
by  the  emperor.  He  was  consul  in 
404.  Placidia  and  her  husband,  in 
finitely  better  born  than  Leo  I.,  and 
sufficiently  wealthy  notwithstanding 
their  reverses,  were  among  the  most 
distinguished  members  of  the  society  of 
the  Court  and  capital.  Their  characters, 
tastes,  and  manners  eminently  fitted  them 
to  adorn  the  highest  private  station  and 
but  for  the  fatal  gift  of  a  crown,  they 
might  have  gone  on  together,  to  a  happy 
and  peaceful  old  age.  Meanwhile  the 
chief  authority  over  the  Western  Empire 
was  wielded  by  Eicimer,  who  commanded 
one  of  the  great  bands  of  barbarian 
soldiers  in  Eoman  pay.  Since  the  death 
of  Valentinian,  three  successive  emperors 
had  reigned  nominally  by  his  sufferance. 
In  472  Anthemius,  the  fourth  of  these, 
quarrelled  with  Eicimer  and  appealed 
to  the  Emperor  of  the  East,  who  sent 
Olybrius  to  settle  their  differences. 
Eicimer  invited  Olybrius  to  supersede 
Anthemius  ;  Genseric  and  Leo  favoured 
the  arrangement,  and  after  a  struggle 
of  a  few  months,  Anthemius  was  killed, 
and  Eicimer  died,  leaving  Olybrius 
emperor.  It  is  probable  that  Placidia 
joined  her  husband  at  Eome,  and  lived 
with  him  there  a  short  time  as  Empress. 
She  has  the  credit  of  founding  with  him, 
the  church  of  ST.  EUPHEMIA. 

Olybrius  died  seven  months  after  his 
elevation  to  the  throne  and  little  more 
than  three  months  after  Anthemius,  pro 
bably  a  natural  death,  but  even  this  is 
not  certain. 

The  year  472  made  Placidia  an 
empress  and  a  widow.  She  went  to 
Jerusalem  and  there  she  gave  herself  to 
the  study  of  holy  writ  and  visited,  with 
great  devotion,  each  spot  made  sacred 
by  an  incident  in  the  life  of  our  Lord. 
It  is  probable  that  she  and  her  sister 
met  again  at  Jerusalem. 

At  some  time  during  the  reign  of  the 


Emperor  Zeno  (474-491),  Placidia  sent 
ambassadors  to  Hunneric  and  obtained 
of  him,  for  friendship's  and  kinship's 
sake,  that  the  Catholics  of  Africa  should 
elect  whom  they  would  as  bishop  of 
Carthage. 

In  Adam  King's  Calendar,  the  12th  of 
October  is  marked  as  the  festival  of  four 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy-six 
martyrs  "  in  Afrike  vnder  hunerik  king 
of  ye  vandals  479." 

Placidia  spent  the  last  years  of  her 
life  in  Italy,  where  she  was  treated  with 
becoming  consideration  by  Odoacer.  She 
died  at  Verona,  in  the  odour  of  sanctity, 
and  was  buried  in  the  church  of  St. 
Stephen.  She  is  said  to  have  lived 
until  after  the  establishment  of  the  rule 
of  Theodoric,  in  Italy,  493. 

Olybrius  and  Placidia  had  an  only 
daughter,  Juliana,  who  married  Ario- 
bindus,  consul  in  543. 

Muratori.  Ducange.  Tillemont.  Du 
Fresne.  Procopius. 

St.  Placidina,  Nov.  15,  Oth  century. 
She  was  descended  from  Sidonius  Apol- 
linaris,  and  married  St.  Leontius,  who 
was  a  soldier  in  531  and  afterwards 
became  bishop  of  Bordeaux.  He.  died 
about  5G4.  Her  sister  ALCHIMIA  is  com 
memorated  with  her.  Smith  and  Wace. 
Stadler. 

St.  Placilla,  FLACCILLA. 

St.  Plato,  PLATONIDA,  orPLATONiDEs, 
April  6.  A  holy  woman  who  died  in 
peace  and  is  honoured  in  the  Greek 
Church.  AA.SS.  St.  Platonides  and  two 
other  martyrs  at  Ascalon  are  mentioned 
in  the  Roman  Martyroloyy,  April  l>,  as  if 
they  were  men.  This  is  perhaps  one  of 
the  instances  where  obscurity  of  detail  or 
clerical  error  has  given  rise  to  apparent 
multiplication  of  saints. 

St.  Plaudia,  Oct.  11,  honoured  at 
Verona.  Gueriii.  Perhaps  same  as 
PLACIDIA  (3). 

St.  Plautilla,  May  20,  +  c.  66. 
Mother  of  ST.  DOMITILLA  (2),  niece 
of  the  Emperor  Domitian,  and  sister 
of  the  consul  Flavius  Clemens,  whose 
wife  was  ST.  DOMITILLA  (1).  Plautilla 
was  converted  and  baptized  by  St.  Peter. 
She  placed  herself  among  the  crowd  on 
the  road  by  which  St.  Paul  passed  from 
Eome  to  the  place  of  his  martyrdom — 


160 


ST.  PLECTRUDE 


Aquas  Salvias,  now  called  Tre  Fontane, 
about  two  miles  from  Kome.  She  be 
sought  his  blessing,  and  he  asked  for 
her  veil  to  bind  his  eyes  when  he^  should 
be  beheaded,  promising  to  return  it  to  her 
after  his  death,  and  bidding  her  go  a 
little  aside  and  wait  until  he  should 
come  back.  After  his  martyrdom  St. 
Paul  appeared  to  her  and  gave  her  the 
veil  stained  with  his  blood.  After  a 
life  passed  in  the  practice  of  all  virtues, 
she  died  in  peace.  B.M.  AA.SS. 
Legyendario.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

St.  Plectrude,  BLITTRUDE  or  PILI- 
TRUDE,  7th  and  8th  century.  Called 
princess  and  duchess  of  Austrasia. 
Patron  of  Cologne.  Daughter  of  Hugo- 
bert.  Wife  of  Pepin  of  Herstal,  mayor 
of  the  palace  (679  to  714)  who  was  the 
second  of  the  three  great  Pepins,  son  of 
ST.  BEGGA  ( 1 ),  nephew  of  ST.  GERTRUDE  of 
Nivelle,  and  great-grandfather  of  Charle 
magne.  Cologne  was  his  capital,  and 
was  about  the  centre  of  his  dominions. 
They  had  two  sons,  Drogo  and  Grim- 
wald,  who  died  in  the  flower  of  their 
age.  Pepin,  although  said  to  be  of 
stricter  morality  than  many  of  his  con 
temporaries,  took  another  wife,  named 
Alpais.  St.  Lambert  remonstrated,  and 
Alpaiis  had  him  murdered  before  the 
altar.  Meantime  St.  Swibert — an  Eng 
lish  missionary  of  royal  descent,  who 
had  preached  in  many  countries  and 
performed  many  miracles — came  to  Co 
logne,  where  Pepin  and  Plectrude  re 
ceived  him  very  graciously  and  gave 
him  land  and  whatever  was  necessary 
to  build  a  monastery  at  Werda  on  the 
Rhine. 

When  Pepin  was  dying  at  Joppila,  he 
was  much  troubled  in  mind,  on  account 
of  the  murder  of  St.  Lambert,  instigated 
by  his  inferior  wife  Alpais.  St.  Swibert 
and  Agilulf,  bishop  of  Cologne,  went  to 
visit  him,  but  first  they  consulted  Plec 
trude,  who  charged  them  to  warn  him 
that  it  was  as  much  as  his  soul  was 
worth  to  disinherit  her  sons  and  make 
the  son  of  Alpais  his  heir.  They  went, 
and  the  dying  man  received  them  wil 
lingly  and  listened  respectfully  to  all 
they  had  to  say,  until  they  began  to 
discuss  the  point  of  his  wife  and  his 
mistress  and  who  should  be  his  heir; 


then  he  became  very  angry  and  Alpais 
burst  into  the  room  in  a  fury  and  ordered 
them  out.  They  returned  discomfited  to 
Plectrude.  Pepin  died  the  same  year 
and  was  succeeded  by  Charles  Martel, 
his  son  by  Alpais.  Plectrude's  son 
Grimwald  had  left  four  sons,  whom  she 
kept  with  her  in  Cologne,  proclaiming 
the  eldest  mayor  of  the  palace  and  ruling 
in  his  name.  Her  stepson  Charles,  after 
wards  surnamed  Martel,  she  imprisoned 
in  a  strong  castle,  but  the  people  liber 
ated  him.  He  soon  defeated  her  general, 
allowed  him  to  retire  with  honours  from 
his  post,  and  made  peace  with  Plectrude. 
She  gave  up  her  four  grandsons,  three 
of  whom  were  provided  with  ecclesias 
tical  benefices,  the  other,  who  was  more 
energetic,  was  conveniently  found  dead, 
but  Charles  is  not  accused  of  the  murder. 
He  gave  Plectrude  an  estate  in  Austrasia 
where  she  might  end  her  days  in  peace. 
ST.  NOTBURGA  (2)  was  her  niece. 

Alpais  is  said  to  have  repented  of  her 
crimes  and  become  a  saint. 

Among  the  Diplomata  Maiorum  Domus 
in  Pertz,  Monumenta  Germanise,  vol.  xxvii., 
are  several  grants  signed  by  Pepin  and 
Plectrude.  Pertz,  Hausmcir.  Leibnitz, 
Scriptores  Brunsiviccensia,  "  Life  of 
St.  Swibert,"  by  Marcellinus.  Chronicle 
of  Fredegarius,  in  Bouquet,  II.  453. 
Brower,  Annales  Trev.  I.  359.  Freher, 
Germanicarum  Rcrum. 

St.  Pcemenia,  May  10.  Beginning 
of  4th  century.  Mother  of  St.  Alexander, 
M.  (May  13),  a  young  Roman  soldier 
under  the  Emperor  Maximian.  Accused 
of  Christianity  at  Rome,  he  spoke  of 
Jupiter  and  the  other  gods  with  con 
tempt  ;  whereupon  the  emperor  gave  him 
over  to  Tiberianus,  a  tribune,  who  had 
orders  to  search  for  Christians  from 
Rome  to  Byzantium,  and  not  to  spare 
any  of  them. 

Alexander  was  at  once  condemned  to 
horrible  tortures,  which  he  bore  joyfully. 
Tiberianus  then  ordered  him  to  be  bound 
with  heavy  chains  and  taken  with  him 
to  Thrace.  That  night  an  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeared  in  a  dream  to  his  mother 
saying, "  Arise,  Poemenia,  take  thy  slaves 
and  thy  horse  and  follow  thy  son,  fearing 
nothing,  for  he  is  going  to  meet  his  death 
for  Christ's  sake,  therefore  take  no  rest 


ST.   POLLENTIA 


161 


until  thou  arrive  at  the  place  whither 
they  have  sent  him."  Poemenia  arose 
with  great  joy  and  did  as  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  had  bidden  her,  and  followed 
her  son  until  she  came  to  the  city  whither 
they  had  taken  him.  When  she  arrived, 
Alexander  was  undergoing  an  interro 
gation  before  Tiberianus.  When  the 
holy  woman  saw  him,  she  cried  out, 
"  That  Great  God,  the  Good  Shepherd, 
in  Whom  thou  hast  believed,  help  thee, 
O  my  son !  "  Tiberianus  inquired  who 
had  spoken,  but  no  one  in  all  the  crowd 
that  stood  around  could  tell  whence  the 
voice  had  come. 

Tiberianus  angrily  ordered  the  prisoner 
to  be  removed.  As  the  soldiers  were 
leading  him  away,  Poemenia  asked  them 
to  let  her  speak  to  her  son,  who  was  glad 
to  see  her  and  bade  her  go  with  him  to 
the  place  of  his  martyrdom.  Some  of 
the  soldiers  who  guarded  him  said, 
"  Blessed  indeed  art  thou,  Alexander,  for 
great  is  thy  faith,  for  behold  thou  hast 
sustained  no  injury  from  all  the  torments 
thou  hast  endured." 

Alexander  was  taken  to  various  differ 
ent  towns  and  many  arguments  and 
torments  were  vainly  used  to  induce  him 
to  renounce  his  faith.  Tiberianus  and 
some  of  his  attendants  had  very  alarming 
visions  concerning  him.  At  Sardica  the 
Christian  inhabitants  came  out  to  meet 
the  confessor  and  ask  his  prayers. 

At  Burtodexion,  near  Adrianople,  St. 
Alexander  again  met  his  mother;  he 
bade  her  not  weep  and  told  her  he  hoped 
that  on  the  morrow  he  should  finish  his 
course.  At  Druzipera,  on  the  river 
Ergina,  Tiberianus  ordered  Alexander 
to  be  thrown  into  the  water  to  be  eaten 
by  the  fish.  When,  by  the  indulgence 
of  his  executioners,  he  had  preached  to 
the  soldiers  and  prayed  in  their  hearing, 
one  of  them  named  Celestinus  said,  "  Oh, 
martyr  of  Christ,  it  is  my  office  to  put 
you  to  death,  but  pray  for  me  that  this 
sin  be  not  laid  to  my  charge."  Alex 
ander  told  him  to  obey  without  fear  the 
orders  he  had  received ;  then  Celestinus 
bound  Alexander's  eyes  with  a  handker 
chief  and  drew  his  sword ;  but  when  he 
was  going  to  strike  him,  he  saw  an  angel 
standing  by,  and  his  hand  was  stayed. 
"  Courage,  brother,"  said  the  saint, 

VOL.  II. 


"  strike  as  thou  art  commanded."  Ce 
lestinus  told  him  the  reason  of  his 
hesitation.  Alexander  prayed  that  God 
would  suffer  his  martyrdom  to  be  accom 
plished,  so  the  angel  disappeared  and 
Celestinus  cut  off  his  head. 

Meantime,  Poemenia  arrived  at  a  place 
called  Zorolus  and  inquired  where  her 
son  was.  She  was  told  he  was  that  day 
condemned  to  die  at  Druzipera,  about 
eighteen  miles  off.  She  hastened  thither 
with  tears  and  lamentations  and  when 
she  got  near  Druzipera,  she  met  the 
soldiers  who  had  beheaded  Alexander 
and  thrown  him  into  the  river.  Four 
dogs  had  found  the  body  and  drawn  it 
out  of  the  water  and  were  keeping  guard 
over  it,  and  when  the  martyr's  mother 
came  within  two  miles  of  the  place,  two 
dogs  came  running  to  meet  her  and 
gently  taking  hold  of  her,  one  on  each 
side,  they  led  her  to  the  body  of  her  son, 
which  she  embalmed  and  buried  in  a 
noble  tomb  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Ergina,  looking  towards  the  west.  Many 
miraculous  cures  were  wrought  at  the 
spot.  Ever  afterwards,  by  the  help  cf 
the  Holy  Spirit,  whatever  she  asked  of 
God,  she  obtained,  and  many  angels 
used  to  come  and  sing  psalms  with  her. 
Alexander  appeared  to  her  in  glory  and 
directed  her  to  take  her  servants  and 
return  home  and  be  of  good  cheer  as 
Christ  would  soon  bring  her  to  His 
kingdom.  She  went  back  to  Eome  and 
is  not  again  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of 
St.  Alexander.  She  is  called  Saint  by 
some  writers,  but  the  Bollandists  do  not 
consider  it  clear  that  she  is  to  be  wor 
shipped.  AA.SS.  from  Lipomanus  and 
an  old  Greek  manuscript. 

St.  Poemia,  Jan.  3.    AA.SS.    Guerin. 

St.  Pcenica,  Jan.  3,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJS8. 

St.  Polentana,  POLENTAINE,  or  POL- 
LUTANA,  July  15,  M.  at  Carthage  with 
St.Catullinus,  deacon,  and  several  others  ; 
all  buried  in  the  Basilica  of  Faustus. 
Migne,  Die.  Hag.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ppllena  or  POLLINA,  Oct.  8,  V.  at 
Trecaut  in  Vermandois,  -f-  c.  700.  Migne, 
Die.  Hag.  Saussaye. 

St.  Pollentia,  Dec.  0,  M.  at  Antioch 
with  St.  Gerontius  and  some  others. 
Stadler  from  the  Elcnchus  of  AA.SS. 


162 


ST.  POLLINA 


St.  Pollina,  POLLENA. 

St.  Pollutana,  POLENTANA. 

St.  Polyxena,  Sept.  23.  Sister  of 
ST.  XANTIPPE.  E.M. 

St.  Poma,  June  27,  V.  3rd  century. 
Sister  of  St.  Memmius  (Aug.  5)  or 
Menge,  first  bishop  of  Chalons-sur-Marne. 
He  is  said  by  tradition  to  have  been  sent 
from  Rome  by  St.  Peter  the  apostle,  with 
St.  Sixtus,  bishop  of  Rheims,  and  St. 
Denis  of  Paris;  a  later  biographer  has 
tried  to  make  the  story  more  likely  by 
substituting  the  name  of  St.  Clement, 
pope,  for  that  of  St.  Peter.  All  that  is 
known  with  any  certainty  is  that  St. 
Memmius  was  worshipped  as  patron  of 
Chalons  in  the  time  of  St.  Gregory  of 
Tours,  6th  century.  It  is  said  that 
Poma  accompanied  him  from  Rome  and 
was  buried  beside  him.  AA.SS.  Baillet. 

St.  Pompeia  (1),  one  of  the  martyrs 
of  Lyons,  beheaded,  being  a  Roman 
citizen.  (See  BLANDINA.) 

St.  Pompeia  (2)  or  COPAGIA,  Nov. 
30,  honoured  with  her  daughter  ST. 
SEUVE.  British  Piety,  Supplement. 

St.  Pomponia,  Feb.  11,  patron  of  a 
parish  in  Condomois.  (Chastelain,  Foe. 
Hag.).  She  was  martyred  with  ST. 
VICTORIA  (2). 

St.  Pomposa,  Sept.  19,  V.  M.  853. 
A  native  of  Cordova.  Her  parents  had 
a  considerable  rank  and  property  there, 
but  seeing  all  their  children  inclined  to 
a  religious  life,  they  sold  most  of  their 
possessions  and  built  a  double  monas 
tery  at  Pillemellar,  a  few  miles  from 
that  city,  and  retired  there  with  all  their 
family  and  several  other  friends.  Pom 
posa  was  a  young  girl  at  this  time,  but 
soon  distinguished  herself  by  her  austeri 
ties  and  by  her  envy  of  the  Christians, 
who  were  put  to  death  for  their  faith,  by 
the  Mohammedans.  When  her  friend 
St.  Columba  (11)  suffered  martyrdom, 
Pomposa  was  so  anxious  to  undergo  the 
same  fate  that  it  became  necessary  to 
shut  her  up  in  the  monastery  and  guard 
her.  One  night,  however,  she  contrived 
to  make  her  escape,  and  waited  for  day 
break  at  the  gates  of  the  city.  They 
were  no  sooner  opened  than  she  presented 
herself  to  the  governor  and  spoke  with 
such  boldness  against  his  religion  and 
his  prophet  that  he  ordered  her  head  to 


be  cut  off  before  the  gate  of  the  palace, 
Sept.  19,  853.  R.M.  AA.SS.  Eulogius. 
Baillet. 

St.  Pontia,  daughter  of  ST.  PETRON- 
ILLA  (2)  and  her  successor  as  prioress  of 
Aubeterre. 

St.  Pontiana,  Feb.  27,  M.  Her 
head  is  preserved  in  the  church  of  St. 
Nicholas  of  Tolentino  at  Genoa,  and  her 
office  read  there.  History  unknown. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Poplia,  PUBLIA  (2). 

St.  Popola,  PAPLE. 

B.  Popolana.  ST.  CATHERINE  (3)  OF 
SIENA  is  called  LA  BEATA  POPOLANA. 

SS.  Popula  and  Bamora,  May  15, 
MM.  Mentioned  only  in  the  Martyrology 
of  Tamlaght.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Porcaria.     (See  CAMILLA  (1).) 

St.  Porentella,  POTENTELLA,  or  Py- 
DENTELLA,  May  7,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Portuna,  V.  invoked  in  an  ancient 
Anglican  litany.  Migne,  Patrologise  Cur- 
sus  Completus,  vol.  72. 

SS.  Posenna  (POSENNIA,  POSSENNA), 
Prompta  (PROMPTIA)  and  Fracla, 
Jan.  3,  hermits  near  Rheims,  in  the 
5th  or  6th  century.  They  were  members 
of  a  family  of  ten  brothers  and  sisters, 
who  left  Ireland  as  pilgrims  and  settled 
on  the  banks  of  the  Marne.  St.  Gibri- 
anus,  May  8,  was  one  of  the  brothers. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Posinna  (1)  or  POSINNUS,  Feb. 
12,  M.  at  Carthage.  Commemorated  in 
the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Posinna  (2,  :-3),  June  2,  two  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  Roman 
martyrs  commemorated  in  the  Martyrology 
of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Possidonia,  Sept.  11.  This  name 
was  given  arbitrarily  to  the  body  of  an 
unknown  saint,  taken  from  the  cemetery 
of  St.  PRISCILLA  at  Rome,  and  trans 
lated  to  Fana,  near  Modena.  AA.SS., 
Prseter. 

St.  Posthumiana  or  POTAMIA.  One 
of  the  martyrs  of  Lyons,  beheaded,  being 
a  Roman  citizen.  (See  BLANDINA.) 

St.  Postiniana  or  POSTUNIANA,  July 
29,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Potamia  (1),  POSTHUMIANA. 

St.  Potamia  (2),  PANTAMIA. 

St.  Potamia  (3),  Dec.  5,  +  302,  at 
Thagura  in  Africa.  Z?.Jlf. 


ST.   PR^PEDIGNA 


163 


SS.  Potamia  (4),  July  30,  M.  at 
Tuburbuiu ;  (5)  April  15,  M.  at  Antioch. 
AA.88. 

St.  Potamicena(l),  June  28,  M.  202. 
Eepresented  with  a  crown  in  her  hand. 
A  famous  martyr  of  Alexandria,  in  the 
sixth  persecution,  the  same  in  which 
SS.  PEHPETUA  and  FELICITAS  suffered. 
After  enduring  extreme  torture,  Pota- 
mioena  was  burnt  with  her  mother  ST. 
QUINCTIA  MARCELLA.  A  centurion  named 
Basileides  had  charge  of  her.  As  he 
led  her  to  the  place  of  torture  he 
defended  her  from  the  insults  of  the 
gladiators  and  the  populace.  This  kind 
ness  was  rewarded  by  his  conversion. 
She  thanked  him  and  spoke  to  him  of 
the  crown  of  life.  He  thought  there 
must  be  something  in  it,  and  asked  her, 
"How  do  you  know  that  you  shall  have 
such  a  crown  ?  "  "  If  you  see  me  with 
it,"  she  answered,  "  will  you  believe  that 
I  have  it  ?  "  He  said  that  of  course  he 
would.  Soon  after  her  death,  she  ap 
peared  to  him  in  a  dream,  wearing  a 
crown  brighter  than  any  on  earth,  and 
bearing  another  in  her  hand  which  she 
promised  to  him.  He  at  once  confessed 
himself  a  Christian  and  was  thrown  into 
prison.  There  he  was  baptized  by  the 
brethren,  beheaded  and  numbered  among 
the  saints,  June  30.  EM.  Neale, 
Church  History. 

St.  Potamioena  (2),  June  7,  Feb. 
22,  V.  M.  called  the  younger.  She 
was  the  slave  of  a  wicked  man  of 
Alexandria,  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
Maximian.  She  was  young  and  beauti 
ful,  and  her  master  tried  to  seduce  her 
by  bribes  and  threats,  and  at  last 
denounced  her  as  a  Christian,  arranging 
with  the  prefect  of  the  city  that  her  trial 
should  be  stopped  if  she  consented  to 
obey  him.  A  cauldron  of  boiling  pitch 
was  prepared  for  her  and  she  was  told 
she  must  be  cast  into  it  if  she  adhered 
to  her  resolution.  She  remained  firm, 
and  the  prefect  ordered  her  to  be  stripped 
and  plunged  into  the  cauldron.  She  cried 
out,  "  By  the  head  of  the  Emperor  whom 
you  serve,  do  not  order  me  to  be  stripped. 
Order  me  rather  to  be  let  down  by  slow 
degrees  into  the  boiling  pitch,  and  you 
will  see  how  great  a  measure  of  patience 
is  given  to  me  by  Christ  Whom  you 


know  not."  Tier  request  was  granted 
and  in  three  hours,  when  the  pitch 
reached  to  her  neck,  she  expired.  It 
was  common  among  the  Eomans  to  pour 
boiling  pitch  on  the  bodies  of  slaves  as 
a  punishment.  AA.SS.,  June  7.  Tille- 
niont.  Smith,  Latin  Diet,  "  Pix." 

St.  Potaninia,  PANTAMIA. 

St.  Potentella,  PORENTELLA. 

St.  Potentia.     (See  CINEMA.) 

St.  Potentiana  (1 ),  PUDENTIANA  (1). 

St.  Potentiana  (2),  April  17,  per 
haps  13th  century.  A  weaver.  Patron 
of  Andujar.  Joint  patron  with  St. 
Euphrasius,  of  Villanueva  near  the 
Guadalquiver. 

Represented  weaving  or  holding  some 
implement  necessary  to  that  handicraft. 

Local  tradition  said  she  was  a  weaver 
at  Villanueva  in  very  remote  times  and 
was  buried  among  the  ruins  of  an  ancient 
Gothic  building  where  many  persons  re 
sorted  to  pray,  and  to  honour  the  saint. 
They  often  took  earth  from  the  tomb 
and  carried  it  to  sick  persons  to  cure 
them.  In  the  seventeenth  century, 
Cardinal  Sandoval,  bishop  of  Toledo, 
attended  by  several  dignitaries  and  a 
great  concourse  of  people,  opened  the 
tomb  and  found  the  body  of  the  saint  in 
excellent  preservation.  They  also  found 
a  little  chapel  where  there  was  a  very 
old  picture  of  St.  Potentiana  with  SS. 
Bartholomew  and  Ildefonso. 

Some  years  afterwards  these  relics 
were  translated,  part  to  Andujar  and 
part  to  Jaen.  No  one  could  discover 
anything  about  her.  The  tradition  that 
she  wove  and  that  her  loom  remained 
until  "the  days  of  our  fathers"  led 
Bilches  to  conclude  that  she  lived  after 
the  restoration  of  Andalusia,  conse 
quently  after  the  year  1200.  AA.SS. 
Bilches,  Santos  de  Jaen  y  Baeza.  Madrid. 
1653. 

St.  Potentilla,  PORENTELLA. 

St.  Pozanna,  PECINNA. 

St.  Praepedigna,  Feb.  17  and  18, 
also  called  PROBEDIGNA,  PROPEDIGNA  ;  in 
French,  PREDIGNE.  Wife  of  Claudius 
and  mother  of  Alexander  and  Cuthias. 
This  whole  family  was  converted  by  ST. 
SUSANNA  and  her  father,  with  their  friend 
Maximus,  they  were  condemned  during 
the  persecution  of  the  Christians  under 


164 


ST.   PRAXEDIS 


Diocletian,  openly  to  exile  from  Eome, 
but  secretly  to  be  put  to  death  at  Ostia 
and  thrown  into  the  sea,  Claudius  and 
Maximus  being  too  popular  and  influ 
ential  to  be  publicly  executed  in  Eome. 
EM.  AA.SS.,  "  St.  Susanna,  Feb.  18." 
Martyrum  Acta. 

St.  Praxedis  (1),  sometimes  called 
in  French  PERUSETTE  or  PERUSSEAU  ;  in 
Italian,  PKASSEDE.  Commemorated  with 
her  sister  ST.  PUDENTIANA,  May  19  and 
July  21.  Probably  second  half  of  2nd 
century. 

Represented  with  a  sponge  (to  signify 
that  they  gathered  up  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs),  a  vase,  a  lamp,  spices  for 
embalming,  or  a  bundle  of  twigs.  In 
a  mosaic  of  the  9th  century  in  the  church 
of  St.  Praxedis  in  Eome,  she  is  being 
presented  to  Christ  by  St.  Paul,  while 
on  the  other  side  St.  Pudentiana  is  pre 
sented  to  Him  by  St.  Peter. 

Some  of  the  legends  say  they  were  the 
daughters  of  SS.  Pudens  and  CLAUDIA  (1), 
mentioned  by  St.  Paul  (2  Tim.  iv.  21)  ; 
that  St.  Peter  lodged  in  their  house 
when  he  was  in  Eome  ;  and  that  they 
had  two  brothers,  SS.  Timothy  and 
Novatus.  But  it  is  more  probable  that 
they  were  the  daughters  of  another 
Pudens,  a  senator,  and  that  they  lived 
in  the  second  century.  Their  mother 
is  sometimes  called  ST.  SABINELLA. 

After  their  father's  death  they  had  a 
great  deal  of  property,  part  of  which 
was  at  the  foot  of  the  Esquiline  hill 
and  was  covered  with  houses  and  baths. 
They  helped  and  comforted  the  perse 
cuted  Christians  by  every  means  in  their 
power,  burying  the  martyrs  in  caves 
under  their  own  house  and  collecting 
their  blood  in  a  well  by  means  of  a 
sponge.  They  had  all  their  servants — 
ninety-eight  in  number  —  baptized  by 
Pius  I.,  who  was  pope  from  141  to  157. 
In  consequence  of  a  decree  of  the  Emperor 
Antoninus,  that  the  Christians  were  to 
have  no  temples  but  to  worship  God  in 
their  own  houses,  Pius  used  to  say  mass 
in  the  house  of  these  two  sisters,  where 
there  was  an  oratory  called  in  their 
biography  a  title.  It  afterwards  became 
a  parish  church  and  is  considered  the 
oldest  in  the  world.  It  anciently  bore 
the  name  of  the  Church  of  the  Pastor 


and  is  now  called  by  the  name  of  Santa 
Prassede.  In  the  chapel  of  Sta.  Pras- 
sede,  near  the  door  of  this  church,  a  long 
marble  table,  protected  by  a  grating  of 
iron,  is  set  into  the  wall,  and  bears  this 
inscription :  "on  this  marble  slept  the 
holy  V.  Praxede."  Here  is  also  a  well 
surrounded  by  a  railing,  where  St. 
Praxedis  preserved  the  remains  of  the 
martyrs  and  into  which  she  poured  the 
blood  which  she  had  collected  with  a 
sponge. 

Their  life  purports  to  be  written  by 
a  holy  pastor,  an  eye-witness  of  their 
good  works  ;  supposed  to  be  Hernias, 
disciple  of  the  Apostles,  or  Hermes, 
brother  of  Pope  Pius  I. ;  but  Baillet 
says  the  document  was  forged  some, 
centuries  later  and  bears  no  sign  of 
authenticity. 

EM.  AA.SS.  Butler.  Baillet.  Mrs. 
Jameson.  Villegas.  King.  Bleser,  Eome 
et  ses  Monuments. 

St.  Praxedis  (2),  "a  pretended 
queen,"  honoured  July  21  as  one  of 
the  companions  of  ST.  URSULA.  Baillet. 

St.  Praxedis  (3),  July  10  or  Aug.  6 
(EUFRASIA,  EUPRAXIA,  called  by  the 
Saxons  ADELAIDE,  and  by  some  writers 
AGNES),  +  1109.  Daughter  of  Vsevolod, 
grand-prince  of  Eussia  (1078-1093),  and 
great  -  grand  -  daughter  of  Yaroslav  the 
great.  She  married  first  Henry,  mar 
grave  of  the  Nordmark,  a  member  of 
the  family  of  the  counts  of  Stad  :  he 
died  in  1087,  and  a  year  afterwards  she 
became  the  second  wife  of  the  Emperor 
Henry  IV.  He  treated  her  very  badly. 
She  escaped  from  his  custody  and  sought 
the  protection  of  the  Countess  Matilda, 
who  was  glad  to  avail  herself  of  the 
weapon  which  Praxedis's  charges  against 
her  husband  put  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies.  Matilda  recommended  her  to 
Pope  Urban  II.,  who  advised  her  return 
to  her  own  country.  The  synod  of 
Placentia,  in  March,  1095,  was  greatly 
occupied  with  the  case.  The  dreadful 
accusations  were  never  proved  or  dis 
proved  ;  but  the  Pope  and  his  party 
took  the  side  of  Praxedis  against  their 
enemy  the  emperor.  After  his  death, 
she  went,  in  1106,  into  a  convent  at 
Kiew.  According  to  Giesebrecht,  she 
died  there.  Others  say  she  died  Abbess 


ST.   PRISCILLA 


ofKiimpen.   Giesobrecht,  III.   Karamsin. 
Bucelinns.     Wion,  Lignum  Vitse. 

St.  Praxedis  (4),  PARASCEVE  (5), 
patron  of  Polotsk. 

St.  Prece,  APRINCIA. 

St.  Precia  or  PHETIA,  Sep.  19,  V. 
Abbess.  Sister  of  ST.  VICTORINA,  and 
dangliter  of  Goerich,  bishop  of  Sens 
(741-750),  who  was  cured  of  blindness 
by  touching  a  pebble  stained  with  the 
blood  of  St.  Stephen.  Martin.  Stadler. 

St.  Predislava,  EUPHROSYNE  (7), 
patron  of  Polotsk. 

St.  Preminola,  abbess  of  St. 
Cesarius.  7th  or  8th  century.  Gall. 
Chr.  I.  620,  B. 

St.  Pretextata,  May  19,  M.  at 
Getulia  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Pretia,  PRECIA. 

St.  Preuve,  PROBA  (3). 

St.  Pribislawa,  PRZBISLAWA. 

SS.  Prima,  seven  martyrs  at  different 
times  and  places.  AA.SS. 

St.  Primaeva,M. with  ST.VICTORIA  (2). 

St.  Primiatula,  PRIVATULA. 

St.  Primina  (1),  Oct.  9,  M.  at  Eome. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Primina  (2),  March  7,  perhaps 
same  as  IRMINA  (1),  founder  and  abbess 
of  Horres.  (See  MODESTA  (3).)  AA.SS., 
P  roster. 

St.  Primitia,  April  18,  V.  M.  Her 
body  was  translated  from  Rome  to 
Bologna,  1G22.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Primitiva  (1),  May  11,  M.  Be 
headed  with  parents,  brothers  and  sister. 
AA.88. 

St.  Primitiva  (2,  3),  July  23,  Feb. 
24,  MM.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Primosa,  June  2,  one  of  two 
hundred  aud  twenty  -  seven  Roman 
martyrs.  AA.SS. 

B.  Principia  (1),  Jan.  31,  V.  5th 
century.  Disciple  of  ST.  MARCELLA  (7), 
who  saved  her  from  the  soldiers  of 
Alaric  at  the  cost  of  her  own  life,  in  410. 
AA.SS.,  Prset/'r,  from  Razzi.  Lebeau,  v. 
365. 

St.  Principia  (2)  of  Themolac,  mother 
of  St.  Cybar  or  Eparchius,  a  native  of 
Perigord.  He  was  a  hermit  for  forty 
years  at  Augouleme  and  died  581. 
Stadler.  Guerin. 

SS.  Prinia  (1,  2),  June  1,  MM.  with 
ST.  AUCEGA. 


St.  Prisca  (1),  PRISCILLA  (1). 

St.  Prisca  (2),  Jan.  18,  V.  M.  1st 
century.  Called  the  first  martyr  at 
Rome.  Represented  holding  a  palm,  a 
lion  at  her  feet,  an  eagle  hovering  over. 
A  young  Roman  girl  of  a  noble  and 
powerful  family,  baptized  at  thirteen,  by 
St.  Peter,  in  her  father's  house  on  the 
Aventine,  where  he  was  often  entertained. 
She  underwent  cruel  scourging  and  other 
tortures  rather  than  renounce  her  faith ; 
the  English  edition  of  Villegas  says  she 
was  "buffetted  blacke  and  blew."  She 
was  thrown  to  the  wild  beasts  in  the 
amphitheatre,  but  they  would  not  touch 
her.  She  was  at  last  dragged  to  the 
Ostian  way  and  there  beheaded.  One  of 
the  oldest  churches  in  Rome  stands  on 
the  spot  where  she  was  baptized.  It  was 
consecrated  in  280  by  Pope  Eutychianus. 
Baillet  says  she  is  a  duplicate  of  ST. 
MARTINA  and  ST.  TATIANA.  E.M.  AA.SS. 
Leggendario.  Villegas.  Mrs.  Jameson. 
Bleser,  Rome  et  ses  Monuments.  Blunt's 
Annotated  Prayer-book  places  her  in  the 
3rd  century. 

SS.  Prisca  (3,  4),  June  3,  Sept.  28, 
martyrs.  AA.SS. 

St.  Priscilla  (1)  or  PRISCA,  July  8, 
Feb.  13.  She  is  called  PRISCA  by  St. 
Paul  (2  Tim.  iv.  19).  She  was  the 
wife  of  St.  Aquila,  who  was  a  native 
of  Pontus.  They  lived  at  Rome  in 
the  reign  of  Claudius  and  were  tent- 
makers.  When  with  all  the  other  Jews 
they  were  banished  from  Rome  by 
Claudius,  they  went  to  Corinth,  at  that 
time  the  chief  city  of  Greece  and  a  place 
of  extensive  trade.  It  is  not  known  ex 
actly  when  they  were  converted,  but  it  is 
probable  that  they  were  among  those 
Christians  to  whom  the  Jews  had  attri 
buted  the  tumults  of  which  they  them 
selves  were  the  authors  and  which  had 
led  to  the  expulsion  of  all  Jews  from 
Rome.  They  had  not  been  long  settled 
at  Corinth  when  St.  Paul  went  there 
from  Athens.  He  and  Aquila  became 
acquainted,  and  St.  Paul  lodged  with 
him  and  his  wife,  and  for  his  mainte 
nance  he  worked  at  their  common  trade 
of  making  the  Cilician  tent  or  hair 
cloth.  He  remained  there  eighteen 
months.  He  left  Corinth  to  return  to 
Jerusalem,  in  fulfilment  of  a  vow,  and 


ST.   PRISCILLA 


took  with  him  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  as 
far  as  Ephesus,  where  he  left  them  to 
instruct  the  faithful  and  convert  the 
heathen  who  were  in  that  town.  They 
were  still  at  Ephesus  three  years  after 
wards,  in  the  year  r>7,  when  the  apostle 
returned  there  and  greeted  the  Corin 
thians  in  their  name  in  his  first  epistle 
to  them.  It  is  probable  that  St.  Paul 
was  again  their  guest  at  that  time.  He 
stayed  at  Ephesus  about  three  years. 
They  helped  him  in  his  efforts  to  extend 
and  instruct  the  infant  Church.  He  bears 
witness  that  they  risked  their  lives  for 
him.  They  were  assisted  in  their  kind 
ness,  charity  and  hospitality  by  their 
servants  who  were  all  Christians.  They 
left  Ephesus  about  the  same  time  as  St. 
Paul  and  returned  to  Eonie  in  the  fourth 
year  of  Nero,  which  was  the  sixth  year 
of  the  banishment  of  the  Jews.  St.  Paul 
went  through  Phrygia  and  Macedonia  to 
Corinth,  whence  he  wrote  his  epistle  to 
the  Eomans,  in  which  he  salutes  Aquila 
and  Priscilla  first  and  praises  them 
specially.  It  is  not  known  whether  they 
were  still  at  Eome  when  St.  Paul  came 
there  as  a  prisoner  for  the  first  time,  but 
it  is  certain  tliat  they  had  returned  to  Asia 
at  the  time  of  his  second  imprisonment 
there,  which  was  followed  by  his  martyr 
dom.  They  survived  St.  Paul,  but  the 
time  and  place  of  their  death  are  not 
known  with  any  certainty,  although 
they  are  sometimes  said  to  have  been 
martyred  at  Eome.  They  are  worshipped 
in  the  Greek  Church,  Feb.  13,  and  St. 
Aquila  alone,  July  14.  Acts  xviii.  2. 
1  Cor.  xvi.  19.  Eom.  xvi.  3,  4,  5.  EM. 
Baillet. 

St.  Priscilla  (2),  Jan.  10, 1st  century. 
A  Eoman  matron.  Mother  of  St.  Pudens, 
the  senator  who  was  father  of  SS.  PRAX- 
EDIS  and  PUDENTIANA.  Priscilla  received 
St.  Peter  at  her  house  and  was  his  dis 
ciple  and  is  said  to  have  made  at  her 
expense  the  cemetery  called  by  her 
name  in  the  Via  Salaria.  Others  say  it 
was  made  by  Pope  St.  Marcellus  at  the 
expense  of  another  ST.  PRISCILLA,  early 
in  the  fourth  century.  E.M.  AA.SS. 
Compare  CLAUDIA  (1). 

St.  Priscilla  (3),  Jan.  18,  M.  at 
Avitiua.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Priscilla  (4)  and  Luina,  Jan.  u>, 


c.  304.  When  Maxentius  came  to  the 
throne,  there  were  many  Christians  in 
Eome  and  throughout  Italy.  He  knew 
that  they  looked  for  indulgence  from 
Constantine,  who  followed  his  father's 
example  of  toleration.  Maxentius,  to  vie 
with  Constantine,  ingratiated  himself 
with  the  Christians  by  stopping  the 
persecutions  and  restoring  the  churches, 
and  even  pretended  at  one  time  to  join 
their  religion.  The  Church  took  breath. 
The  number  of  the  faithful  increased 
every  day.  Pope  Marcellus  made  twenty- 
five  new  titles,  like  so  many  parishes,  in 
the  town  of  Eome,  which  were  depart 
ments  for  twenty-five  priests  to  provide 
for  all  the  baptisms  and  other  spiritual 
needs  of  the  converts.  He  also  induced 
two  rich  and  pious  women  named  Pris 
cilla  and  Luina,  one  to  build  a  cemetery 
on  the  Via  Salaria,  the  other  to  leave  the 
Church  heir  to  all  her  wealth.  These 
donations  did  not  tend  to  the  well-being 
of  the  community.  Maxentius,  angry 
and  jealous,  threw  off  the  mask,  ordered 
Marcellus  to  sacrifice,  and  on  his  refusal, 
shut  him  up  in  his  stables  to  clean  the 
horses :  there  he  died  of  the  hardships. 
Le  Beau,  Pas  empire. 

This  Priscilla  is  in  the  German  Mar- 
tyrologies  and  in  Ferrari  us'  Catalogue  of 
Italian  Saints,  but  Bollandus  thought  it 
was  perhaps  no  other  than  PRISCILLA  (2) 
mother  of  Pudens,  and  that  an  error  in 
the  date  had  given  rise  to  the  story  of 
another  saint  of  a  later  generation. 
AA.SS.,  Jan.  16.  > 

St.  Privata  (1)  or  PBIVITA,  June  7, 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Privata  (2),  May  2,  M.    AA.8S. 

St.  Privatula  or  PRIMIATULA,  Feb. 
2,  M.  in  Africa  with  thirty-seven  others, 
commemorated  in  Jerome's  and  other  old 
Calendars.  AA.SS. 

St.  Privita,  PRIVATA  (1). 

St.  Proba  (1),  PROCLA. 

SS.  Proba  (2)  and  Lollia,  June  23, 
MM.  end  of  3rd  or  beginning  of  4th 
century.  Daughters  of  St.  Gainus  and 
sisters  of  St.  TJrbanus.  They  lived  at 
Lystra  and  were  all  converted  and  bap 
tized  by  their  uncle  or  grandfather,  St. 
Eustochius,  who  had  formerly  been  a 
heathen  priest.  They  were  taken  with 
him  to  Ancyra  to  be  tried  as  Christians. 


ST.   PROTASIA 


107 


There  they  suffered  horrible  tortures 
with  some  miraculous  circumstances,  and 
were  all  beheaded  in  the  reign  of  Max- 
imian.  AA.SS. 

St.  Proba  (3),  Sept.  5,  April  28, 
called  in  French  PREUVE,  V.,  an  Irish 
recluse,  martyred  in  her  retreat  at  Laou 
in  Picardy.  She  is  worshipped  with 
GKIMONIA  or  GERMANA.  Their  relics  are 
at  Herford  in  Westphalia.  A  chapel 
was  built  on  the  site  of  their  martyr 
dom  and  became  famous  for  miracles. 
The  town  of  Chapelle  grew  up  round 
it  and  took  its  name  from  its  origin. 

Proba  is  mentioned  by  Molanus  and 
Canisius  and  in  several  other  important 
calendars.  AA.SS.,  April  28.  French 
Mart.,  Sept.  5. 

Stadler  says  that  Proba  lived  at  Tonson 
near  Laon  and  was  beheaded;  that 
Germana  was  the  daughter  of  a  heathen 
Irish  Prince,  and  that  they  have  un 
doubtedly  long  been  honoured  together 
in  Belgium.  (See  ST.  GKIMONIA.) 

St.  Probata  or  PROBATUS,  May  10, 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Probedigna,  PR^EPEDIGNA. 

St.  Processa,  May  G,  M.  at  Milan 
with  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Procla,  PROCULA  or  PROBA,  Octo 
ber  27,  the  wife  of  Pilate,  mentioned 
but  not  named  by  St.  Matthew,  xxvii. 
1 9 ;  worshipped  among  the  Greeks  and 
Russians,  but  never  in  the  Western 
Church.  AA.SS.,  Prset<r. 

St.  Proclina,  April  15,  M.  in  Italy, 
towards  the  end  of  the  first  century, 
honoured  with  several  other  martyrs. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Procula  (1),  PROCLA. 

St.  Procula  (2),  Oct.  12,  V.  M.,  time 
uncertain,  at  Gaimatum  or  Gannacum  in 
Auvergne.  It  is  certain  that  her  worship 
was  established  in  Auvergne  and  sanc 
tioned  by  the  local  authorities  of  the 
Church  as  that  of  a  martyr  of  chastity, 
but  the  following  tradition  does  not  rest 
on  any  good  foundation.  She  was  of  a 
noble  family  living  in  the  mountains 
between  Auvergne  and  Rutheni.  She 
was  piously  brought  up  and  early  made 
a  vow  of  celibacy.  She  lived  the  life  of 
a  nun  in  her  parents'  house  until  she 
was  thrown  into  great  consternation  by 
their  entertaining  a  plan  for  her  mar 


riage,  the  alliance  being  sought  by  all 
the  neighbouring  families.  Abhorring 
the  idea  of  a  temporal  union,  as  she  con 
sidered  herself  the  wife  of  Christ,  she 
tried  to  change  the  resolution  of  her 
father  and  mother  by  persuasion,  entreaty, 
and  tears;  but  finding  her  efforts  vain,  she 
fled  in  disguise  to  a  thicket  in  the  moun 
tains  between  Auvergne  and  Bourbon. 
Here  she  considered  herself  safe,  but  her 
retreat  was  discovered  by  her  pretendu, 
who  offered  her  marriage  or  death.  Her 
choice  was  quickly  made.  Her  head 
was  cut  off  and  she  carried  it  in  her 
hands,  singing  psalms  all  the  way  to  the 
church  where  she  gave  it  to  Paul  the 
chaplain,  and  received  the  sacraments  of 
the  ^Church.  The  miracle  of  a  martyr 
carrying  his  or  her  head  after  decapi 
tation  is  here  and  elsewhere  stigmatized 
as  fable  by  hagiographers.  AA.SS. 
Appendix. 

SS.  Procula  (3,  4),  April  2,  June  3, 
MM.  AAJ3S. 

St.  Procusa,  June  1,  M.  with  ST. 
AUCKGA.  AA.SS. 

St.  Prodixia,  PRODOCIA. 

SS.  Prodocia,  PRODIXIA,  or  PERDICIA, 
Veronica  and  Speciosa,  July  11. 
Three  holy  virgins  of  Antioch  whose 
names  are  in  the  Martyrology  of  St. 
Jerome.  AAJSS. 

St.  Prompta,  or  PROMPTIA,  sister  of 
POSENNA. 

St.  Propedigna,  PROPEDIGNA. 

St.  Prosdoce,  or  PRODOCE,  M., 
daughter  of  ST.  DOMNINA  (3)  of  Antioch 
and  sister  of  ST.  BERENICE  (2).  AA.SS. 
Baillet. 

St.  Proseria  or  PROSIRIA,  Oct.  12, 
M.  in  Syria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Prospera,  Sept.  4,  V.  M.  Her 
body  is  worshipped  in  the  church  of  St. 
Radgund  at  Milan,  but  as  her  name  does 
not  appear  in  the  Martyrology  it  is  pro 
bable  this  name  has  been  given  after  her 
translation,  to  the  body  of  some  unknown 
martyr  brought  from  one  of  the  Roman 
cemeteries.  AA.SS.  Prseter. 

St.  Protasia,  or  PROTHASIA,  May  20, 
Dec.  19,  Dec.  18,  V.  M.  c.  287.  Thief 
patron  of  Senlis  in  the  diocese  of  Beau- 
vais,  where  her  relics  are  kept  in  the 
cathedral.  In  1392  they  were  brought 
out  with  a  solemn  procession  to  restore 


108 


ST.   PROTOMINORISSA 


health  to  Charles  VI.  king  of  France  ; 
and  in  1529,  under  Francis  L,  to 
obtain  peace.  Chastelain.  Gynecseum. 
Guerin. 

St.  Protominorissa.  St.  Francis 
called  his  brethren  "  Minors  " — Lesser 
Brother*.  ST.  CLARA  (2)  was  the  first 
woman  of  the  order,  the  Protominorissa. 

St.  Prudentia  (l),  April  15,  M.  at 
Antioch  in  Syria.  AA.SS. 

B.  Prudentia  (2)  Casati,  May  6, 
1414-1492.  V.  O.S.A.  Nun  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Martha  at  Milan.  About 
1454  she  was  sent  to  Como  to  preside 
over  a  new  community  there,  which  she 
did  for  thirty-eight  years.  B.  BEATRICE 
(11)  was  of  the  same  family  and  lived  at 
the  same  time.  They  may  have  been 
sisters.  AA.SS. 

St.  Prudentia  (<>),  locally  spelt 
PRUDENCIA.  Early  17th  century.  A 
peasant  woman  of  Aurrecoachea  in  the 
chestnut  woods  of  Goyerri,  on  the  moun 
tains  of  Berriz  in  the  Biscayan  pro 
vinces.  She  was  left  a  young  widow 
with  a  posthumous  son,  Ignacio.  He 
went  to  sea  against  her  wish.  She  spent 
the  time  of  his  absence  in  prayer.  Long 
ing  greatly  to  see  him  again,  she  was  one 
day  transported  with  joy  because  she 
thought  she  saw  his  ship.  She  walked 
a  great  distance,  as  though  treading  on 
air,  to  be  on  the  shore  by  the  time  he  ar 
rived,  but  she  found  it  was  another  ship 
and  no  tidings  of  her  sou  were  to  be  had  ; 
so  she  walked  the  long  way  back,  up  the 
steep  paths  with  a  heavy  heart,  and  when 
she  got  home  to  her  poor  little  dwelling, 
she  died  at  midnight. 

On  the  top  of  the  hill  above  Aurre- 
coschea,  stood  a  hermitage  of  St.  Bar 
tholomew,  the  care  of  which  was  con 
fided  to  a  holy  woman  living  near  and 
called  the  nun  of  Berriz.  She  was 
praying  at  midnight  and  at  the  moment 
of  Prudencia's  death  she  saw  in  a  vision 
that  the  hermitage  had  disappeared  and 
in  its  place  the  gates  of  heaven  were 
standing  wide  open  and  she  saw  Pru- 
dencia  entering  the  gates  amidst  a  legion 
of  happy  mothers  whose  love  and  sacri 
fices  had  obtained  for  them  the  aureole 
of  the  saints.  Notwithstanding  her  joy 
and  thankfulness,  she  felt  a  pang  of 
regret  that  there  would  be  no  one  left 


to  welcome  Ignacio  when  he  returned. 
But  he  never  did  return,  and  none  knew 
when  or  where  he  died.  The  house 
where  he  was  born  was  eventually  con 
verted  into  a  convent  of  Capuchin  Trini 
tarians,  whose  first  superior  used  to 
apply  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass  for 
the  salvation  of  the  son  of  Prudencia. 
Basque  legend,  from  Miss  Monteiro's 
collection. 

St.  Przbislawa,  PRZIPISLAVVA,  or 
PRIBISLAVA,  loth  century.  One  of  the 
native  Patron  Saints  of  Bohemia.  Grand 
daughter  of  ST.  LUDMILLA.  Daughter 
of  Wratislaus,  duke  of  Bohemia  (+  916) 
and  his  heathen  wife  Drahomira.  Sister 
of  St.  Wenceslas  and  of  Boleslas  the 
cruel.  Aunt  of  ST.  MLADA.  Drahomira 
and  Boleslas  were  strong  upholders  of  the 
heathen  party  in  the  State  while  Wen 
ceslas  was  an  earnest  Christian.  In  938 
Boleslas  killed  Wenceslas  at  the  door  of 
the  church.  In  the  struggle  Wenceslas's 
left  ear  was  cut  off.  After  a  time  so 
many  miracles  were  wrought  by  the 
murdered  Saint,  that  his  guilty  brother 
became  alarmed  and  had  his  body  trans 
lated  into  the  church  of  St.  Vitus,  in 
Prague  ;  but  the  severed  ear  was  miss 
ing  until  it  was  divinely  revealed  to  his 
holy  sister  Przbislawa  in  what  place  it 
must  be  sought  for.  She  was  buried 
first  near  the  village  of  Jablon,  under 
Mount  Krutina,  where  God  honoured 
her  body  with  celestial  lights  and 
angelic  songs,  whereby  many  heathen 
were  won  to  Christ,  and  after  several 
years  she  was  solemnly  translated  to  a 
church  built  in  her  name  and  honour, 
by  a  certain  Christian  named  Chotislaw. 
Now  she  lies  in  the  citadel  of  Prague, 
beside  her  brother  St.  Wenceslas,  near 
the  door  of  the  cathedral. 

Chanowski,  Vestigium  Bohemise  Pise. 
Dlugosch,  Hist.  Polonise,  I.  90.  Palacky, 
Gesch.  v.  BoTimen.  Balbinus.  Hist. 
Ducibus  ac  Regibus  Bohemise. 

Przbislawa  is  possibly  the  same  as 
STRZEZISLAWA,  mother  of  St.  Adalbert. 
Strzezislawa  is  called  daughter  of  Wra- 
tislaw,  and,  in  certain  monastic  records 
referred  to  by  Chanowski,  she  is  styled  a 
sister  of  St.  Wenceslaus.  She  married 
Count  Slawnic  of  Libic,  who  was  re 
lated  on  his  mothar's  side  to  the  ducal 


ST.   PULCHERIA 


109 


house  of  Saxony.  Slawnick  and  Strze- 
zislawa  had  six  sons,  of  whom  five  at 
least  were  martyrs.  The  most  famous 
was  Woytesch  or  Wojtjch,  afterwards 
called  Adalbert.  He  was  the  second 
bishop  of  Prague,  succeeding  Ditmar  in 
082.  He  "was  most  earnest  in  teaching 
and  spreading  the  Christian  religion 
in  his  own  country  and  in  Poland  and 
Hungary,  and  was  for  some  years  a  monk 
in  Italy.  After  his  return  to  Bohemia, 
he  was  murdered  by  heathens,  and  is 
accounted  a  martyr.  One  of  his  brothers, 
Radim,  was  devoted  to  him  and  was  per 
haps  killed  with  him  in  907  ;  the  other 
four  were  besieged  in  their  ancestral 
castle  of  Libic,  by  the  Wrsowces,  and 
being  driven  at  last  to  take  refuge  in 
the  church,  were  murdered  before  the 
altar.  Palacky.  Chanowski,  Vestiyia, 
II.  42. 

St.  Publia  (1),  Jan.  27,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.88. 

St.  Publia  (2)  or  POPLIA,  Oct.  9.  c. 
302.  Mother  of  John,  a  holy  priest  of 
Antioch.  In  her  widowhood,  she  was  a 
deaconess  of  the  church  of  Antioch,  and 
had  the  care  of  several  younger  women. 
They  used  to  wing  psalms,  and  one  day 
as  the  Emperor  Julian  was  passing  by, 
they  sang,  "  The  idols  of  the  heathen  are 
silver  and  gold."  As  the  emperor  ordered 
them  to  be  silent,  Publia  sang  the  same 
verse  over  again  louder.  He  sent  for 
her  and  as  she  still  sang,  he  ordered  his 
soldiers  to  strike  her  on  the  mouth ; 
whereupon  she  reviled  him  for  his 
cruelty,  and  went  home  and  there  con 
tinued  her  singing. 

EM.  Menology  of  Basil  AA.SS. 
Baillet,  from  Theodoret's  History  of  the 
Church.  Le  Beau,  III.  10. 

St.  Pudentella,  PORENTELLA. 

St.  Pudentiana  (1)  or  POTENTIANA, 
May  10,  July  21,  V.  One  of  the  patrons 
of  Rome.  Sister  of  ST.  PRAXEDIS.  Pu 
dentiana  died  first  and  was  buried  be 
side  her  father  Pudens,  in  the  cemetery 
of  Priscilla.  She  has  a  church  in  Rome, 
with  very  ancient  mosaics  representing 
the  two  sisters  offering  crowns  to  SS. 
Peter  and  Paul.  BM. 

B.  Pudentiana  (2)  Zagnoni,  Feb. 
1 4,  V.  1 003.  O.S.F.  in  Bologna.  She  one 
day  put  on  a  silver  ring  in  obedience  to 


her  mother  ;  then  took  it  off  and  threw 
it  away.  Next  day,  when  praying,  shut 
up  in  her  little  room,  an  angel  came  and 
gave  it  back  to  her.  Her  life  was 
written  by  John  Andreas  Bota.  Prayer 
Book,  3rd  O.S.F.  Bagatta,  Admiranda. 

SS.  Puelles,  Oct.  17,  2nd  or  3rd 
century.  A  place  in  the  diocese  of  Car 
cassonne  is  called  Mas-Saintes-Puelles 
( Mansus  Sanctarum  Puellarum),  five 
miles  from  Recand.  When  St.  Saturni- 
nus,  first  bishop  of  Toulouse,  was  martyred 
by  being  tied  to  a  bull,  none  of  the  few 
Christians  in  the  city  dared  to  bury  him, 
except  two  young  girls  whose  names  are 
not  preserved.  They  were  seized  by 
the  heathen  persecutors,  put  in  prison, 
scourged,  insulted,  and  cast  out  of  the 
city.  They  fled  to  Recand  and  remained 
there  for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  AA.SS. 

Mas  Latrie  says  the  date  was  about 
260,  and  the  place  was  Castelnaudry, 
which  was  afterwards  more  famous  as 
the  birthplace  of  St.  Peter  of  Nolasca, 
founder  of  the  Order  of  St.  Mary  for  the 
Redemption  of  Captives. 

St.  Pulcheria,  CHERIE  or  PULQUERIK, 
V.  Sept.  10,  July  7,  300-453.  Em 
press  of  the  East. 

As  a  great  promoter  of  the  worship  of 
the  BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY,  she  is  repre 
sented  in  imperial  robes,  holding  in  one 
hand  a  lily,  in  the  other  a  tablet  bearing 
the  word  0EOTOKOC  (TlieotoJcos,  Mother 
of  God),  or  in  a  group  with  her  two 
young  sisters.  Her  noble  face  is  still 
to  be  seen  on  coins. 

She  was  granddaughter  of  Theodosius 
the  Great ;  daughter  of  Arcadius  (395- 
408),  her  mother  being  Eudoxia,a  Frank ; 
sister  of  Theodosius  II.  (408-450) ;  and 
wife  of  Marcian  (450-457.) 

^Elia  Pulcheria  was  the  eldest  child 
of  her  parents,  and  when  her  father  died 
in  408,  she  had  already  shown  so  much 
virtue  and  ability  that,  although  only 
sixteen,  she  was  at  once  invested  with 
the  title  of  Augusta,  and  became  the 
guardian  and  spokeswoman  of  her 
brother  Theodosius  II.,  who  was  two 
years  her  junior  and  was  weak  and 
indolent  although  amiable. 

Foreseeing  the  troublesome  compli 
cations  that  were  sure  to  arise  if  mar 
riage  with  herself  or  either  of  her  sisters 


170 


ST.  PULCHERIA 


were  a  goal  for  every  man's  ambition, 
and  influenced  by  the  religious  fashion 
of  the  time,  which  extolled  celibacy  as 
the  highest  state,  and  pronounced  chas 
tity  a  hundred  times  higher  than  all  the 
other  virtues  put  together,  she  and  her 
sisters — Arcadia  and  Marina— publicly 
bound  themselves  by  a  solemn  vow  of 
virginity,  and  in  a  grand  religious  ser 
vice,  in  presence  of  a  vast  concourse  of 
people,  they  offered  in  the  church  of  St. 
Sophia  at  Constantinople,  a  jewelled 
golden  tablet  on  which  their  vow  was 
inscribed.  From  this  time  they  re 
nounced  all  splendour  and  frivolity  and 
passed  their  time  in  studying  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  in  visiting  the  poor,  and  in 
prayer  for  the  welfare  of  souls.  At 
fixed  hours  Pulcheria  devoted  herself  to 
the  business  of  the  State  and  the  educa 
tion  of  her  brother.  She  took  care  that 
he  should  acquire  the  best  manners  and 
accomplishments  of  a  gentleman  of  his 
day.  Feeble  though  he  was,  his  watch 
ful  guardian  had  the  satisfaction  of  see 
ing  him  free  from  vice,  and  on  the 
whole,  well  disposed.  He  was  incurably 
indolent,  but  would  make  a  point  of 
rising  at  dawn  for  the  morning  prayers 
with  his  sisters. 

The  Eastern  empire  was  never  more 
flourishing,  nor  were  virtue,  art  and 
science  more  protected  and  encouraged 
than  under  the  rule  of  Pulcheria.  Among 
all  the  descendants  of  the  great  Theodo- 
sius,  she  alone  appears  to  have  inherited 
any  share  of  his  manly  spirit  and 
abilities.  She  has  the  credit  of  abolish 
ing  the  remains  of  heathenism  in  several 
parts  of  her  brother's  dominions.  The 
numerous  churches  and  hospitals  she 
built  were  paid  for  without  costing  a 
sigh  to  the  poor.  She  did  not  omit  to 
say  the  proper  prayers  of  each  hour  and 
sing  the  psalms  with  her  sisters,  but  she 
gave  careful  attention  to  public  business 
and  had  all  orders  executed  with  incred 
ible  expedition,  although  always  in  the 
Emperor's  name.  She  was  easy  of 
access  to  all  classes  of  her  people ;  any 
oue^who  failed  to  obtain  justice  in  the 
ordinary  manner  could  bring  his  case 
before  her  and  be  sure  of  a  patient  hear 
ing.  It  was  in  pursuance  of  this  custom 
that  she  became  acquainted  with  Athe- 


na'is,  the  beautiful  and  learned  daughter 
of  a  philosopher  of  Athens ;  who  com 
plained  that  her  brothers  had  taken  the 
whole  of  their  father's  inheritance  and 
left  her  no  means  of  support. 

Pulcheria  was  so  much  impressed  with 
the  beauty  and  charm  of  Athenai's  that 
she  subsequently  suggested  her  to  Theo- 
dosius  as  a  suitable  bride.  Athenai's 
became  an  easy  convert  to  Christianity, 
and  was  baptized  by  the  name  of  Eudo- 
cia.  The  marriage  took  place  with  great 
splendour  in  421  and  led  to  many  years 
of  happy  union,  while  the  most  cordial 
relations  existed  between  the  sisters-in- 
law. 

About  423,  Pulcheria  and  Theodosius 
welcomed  to  Constantinople  their  aunt, 
the  exiled  ST.  PLACIDIA  with  her  children. 
She  was  several  years  older  than  Pul 
cheria.  She  had  reigned  as  queen  among 
the  Goths  and  as  empress  at  Ravenna  ; 
yet  her  status  as  empress  was  not  ad 
mitted.  She  chafed  at  her  subordination 
to  Pulcheria,  whose  superior  she  should 
have  been  by  age  and  relationship,  but 
on  the  death  of  Honorius,  emperor  of 
the  West,  Theodosius  and  Pulcheria  con 
ferred  on  Placidia  the  title  of  Augusta 
and  sent  her  back  to  Ravenna  to  estab 
lish  her  son  Yalentinian  III.  on  the 
throne  of  his  uncle. 

One  of  Pulcheria's  pious  works  was 
to  send  to  Coinana  in  Pontus,  to  bring 
home  the  body  of  St.  John  Chrysostom, 
who  had  been  banished  by  Arcadius  and 
Eudoxia,  and  had  died  there  in  exile. 
The  dead  saint  was  received  with  the 
highest  honour.  Theodosius  and  Pul 
cheria  devoutly  walked  in  the  procession 
with  the  Patriarch  St.  Proclus,  and  asked 
pardon  of  God  for  the  sin  their  father 
and  mother  had  committed  in  persecut 
ing  the  holy  man.  He  was  buried 
among  the  emperors  and  bishops  in  the 
church  of  the  Apostles,  in  438. 

In  the  same  year  was  completed  and 
published  the  world-famous  Codex  Theo- 
dosianus,  a  collection  of  all  the  laws 
since  Constantine.  Within  a  few  years 
it  was  acknowledged  as  the  law  book  of 
the  Eastern  and  Western  empires.  It 
was  the  solid  civil  bond  of  the  Byzantine 
empire,  and  gave  to  the  barbarians  ideas 
of  justice  and  civilization.  Theodosius 


ST.  PUSINNA 


171 


and  Pnlcheria  deserve  the  credit  of  en 
trusting  this  important  work  to  capable 
and  worthy  men,  and  of  giving   it  to 
their  subjects.     (Gregorovius,  Athencm.) 
Pulcheria  continued  to   govern  until 
Chrysaphius,     one     of     the     emperor's 
favourite  officers,  inspired  Eudocia  with 
jealousy  of  her  ascendency,  and  Theo- 
dosius,  after  resisting  the  influence  of 
his  wife  and  his  minister  as  long  as  his 
feeble  nature  was  able,  complied  with 
their  suggestion  that  the  reins  should  be 
taken  from  her  hands,  and  to  this  end, 
commanded  St.  Flavian,  bishop  of  Con 
stantinople,    to   make   her  a   deaconess 
of  his   church.     Had  this   been    done, 
she  could  never  again  have  taken  part 
in  secular  affairs,  but  Flavian,  who  con 
sidered  her  duty  was  at  the  helm  of  the 
State,  secretly  sent  a  message  advising 
her  not  to  be  found  when  she  should  be 
sent    for.       She   accordingly   withdrew 
from  Court  in  447,  and    lived    quietly 
for  a  few  years,  at  a  country  place  of 
her   own,  in  the   plains   of  Hebdomon. 
During    her    absence,   the   empire   and 
the  Church  fared   badly.     In  449,  was 
held    the    second  council   of    Ephesus, 
called  Latrocinium  (assembly  of  robbers). 
Pope  Leo   I.,  the  Great,  wrote  to  Pul 
cheria    urging    her    to   return  to    Con 
stantinople   and  remonstrate    with    her 
brother  on  the  persecutions  and  abuses 
which   were   carried   on   in   his    name. 
This    she    did    with    such   effect   that 
Theodosius  at  once    banished    Chrysa- 
phius.    Theodosius  II.  died  in  450.    His 
daughter  Eudoxia  was  married  to  Valen- 
tinian  III.,  emperor  of  the  West,  but  no 
one  in  either  empire  thought  of  making 
over  the  succession  to  them.     Pulcheria 
became    sole  empress ;    but   as   it    was 
unprecedented    that  the  empire  should 
be  ruled  by  a  woman,  solely  in  her  own 
right  and  name,  it  was  expedient,  not 
withstanding  her  age  and   her  vow  of 
virginity  publicly  made,  that  she  should 
marry.    Her  choice  of  a  husband  was  as 
wise  and  as  popular  as  her  other  decisions. 
She  gave  her  hand  to  Marcian,  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  generals  in  the 
imperial   service,  making  him  her  col 
league  and  consort.     She  was  over  fifty, 
and  he,  little  under  sixty.     He  was  of 
obscure  birth  and  had  risen  by  his  own 


merit  without  bribery  or  patronage.  He 
had  won  laurels  in  the  wars  against  the 
Persians  and  the  Vandals,  and  had  ener 
getically  carried  out  the  wishes  of 
Pulcheria  and  her  brother  in  the  interests 
of  the  persecuted  Christians  in  Persia 
and  the  Catholics  in  North  Africa.  Mar 
cian  had  a  daughter  Euphemia,  whom 
Pulcheria  married  to  Anthimius,  after 
wards  emperor  of  the  old  Rome. 

Pulcheria  died  in  4r><>,  and  Marcian, 
by  firm  and  equitable  rule,  continued  to 
justify  her  choice  for  seven  years.  He 
stopped  the  advance  of  the  barbarians. 
He  repeatedly  demanded  from  Genseric 
the  release  of  Pulcheria's  niece  Eu 
doxia,  widow  of  Valeutinian,  and  her 
daughter  ST.  PLACIDIA  (3). 

Among  Pulcheria's  claims  to  the  vene 
ration  of  the  Church,  her  promotion  of 
the  worship  of  the  B.  V.  MARY  is 
prominent ;  dedications  in  her  name 
were  not  as  yet  so  usual  as  they  soon 
became.  Pulcheria  built  three  magnifi 
cent  churches  in  Constantinople,  in 
honour  of  the  Mother  of  the  Saviour; 
one  of  these  had  for  its  chief  treasure, 
the  girdle  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  ;  another 
possessed  her  shirt,  while  the  third 
boasted  of  a  picture  of  the  B.  Virgin, 
painted  by  St.  Luke. 

Pulcheria  appears  in  the  E.M.,  Sept.  1 0, 
and  is  also  honoured,  July  7,  and  with 
her  husband  Marcian,  Feb.  1 7.  There 
is  abundance  of  contemporary  testimony 
to  all  the  chief  events  of  the  life  of  this 
empress.  Among  modern  authorities 
are  Gibbon,  Lebeau,  Sismondi,  Stephens 
(W.  E.),  St.  Chrysostom,  his  Life  and 
Times.  Her  special  works  of  piety  and 
claims  to  saintship  are  treated  of  by 
Tillemout.  Baillet,  Butler. 

St.  Pulvenna,  honoured  at  Berri. 
Guerin. 

St.  Pumice  or  PUMEIA,  July  27,  V. 
in  Scotland.  Guerin. 

St.  Pusinna  or  PUSINE,  April  23. 
Perhaps  5th  century.  Very  little  is 
known  about  her.  It  is  said  that  she 
was  the  daughter  of  Sigmar  and  ST.  Lu- 
TRUDE,  sister  of  ST.  HOYLDA.  She  never 
went  visiting,  knowing  how  Dinah  came 
to  mischief  when  so  engaged.  She  has 
been  erroneously  called  abbess  of  St. 
Maurice,  and  abbess  of  St.  Laurence. 


172 


ST.  PYRISKA 


She  and  one  or  more  of  her  sisters  were 
nuns  at  Corbie.  She  was  translated  to 
the  new  abbey  of  Herford,  in  Saxony,  in 
the  9th  century.  The  Saxons  had  no 
early  saints  of  their  own.  They  had 
been  converted  at  the  point  of  the 
sword.  Among  their  ancestors  were  no 
martyred  Christians :  the  persecution 
was  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  it  was  a 
war  almost  of  extermination  by  Chris 
tians  against  heathen.  Therefore,  when 
they  built  churches  they  had  to  import 


relics  and  bodies  of  saints  from  other 
places.  The  reign  of  Hadewy,  one  of 
the  early  abbesses  of  Herford,  was 
chiefly  distinguished  by  the  translation 
of  the  body  of  St.  Pusiuna  to  the  church 
of  Hadewy's  monastery ;  it  was  sent 
from  Corbie  by  the  abbess's  brother 
Kobbo,  a  great  Saxon  chief.  AA.SS. 
Eckenstein. 

St.  Pyriska,  IRENE  (16),  wife  of  the 
Emperor  John. 


Q 


St.  Quadragesima,  May  4,  V.  M. 
Her  body  was  found  at  Cagliari,  Feb.  14, 
1626.  She  is  said  to  have  been  mar 
tyred  in  the  time  of  Adrian.  Hensche- 
nius  considered  the  authority  for  her 
worship  and  martyrdom  insufficient,  and 
placed  her  among  the  Prsetermissi  on  both 
days.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quartia  (1),  one  of  the  Martyrs 
of  Lyons  who  died  in  prison  or  was  be 
headed.  (See  BLANDINA.) 

St.  Quartilla  (1),  March  19,  M.  at 
Sorrento,  with  Quinctus,  QTJINTILLA,  and 
others.  E.M. 

St.  Quartilla  (2),  April  6,  M.  at 
Nicomedia,  in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quartillosia,  Feb.  24,  M.  in 
Africa  with  St.  Montarius,  in  whose 
Acts  she  is  mentioned.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quelindra,  CHELINDRA. 

St.  Quenburga,  QUIMBURG. 

St.  Queta,  QUIETA. 

St.  Quieta  or  QUETA,  Nov.  28,  +  c. 
450.  Wife  of  St.  Hilary,  a  senator  of 
Dijon.  They  had  several  children, 
among  whom  was  St.  John,  abbot  of 
Eeome.  Hilary  was  buried  in  the 
church  of  St.  John  at  Dijon,  and  when  a 
year  later,  Quieta  was  laid  in  the  same 
grave,  he  stretched  out  his  right  hand, 
put  it  round  her  neck  and  drew  her  to 
his  heart.  Guerin.  Gynecseum. 

St.  Quietia,  June  1,  M.  with  ST. 
AUCEGA. 

St.  Quihere,  QUITERIA.    Chastelain. 

St.  Quilina,  June  24.  Supposed 
to  be  AQUILINA  (2)  or  (3). 

B.  Quilisinda,  Jan.  20,  Aug.  22,  -f 


650.  Nun  under  ST.  FAR  A.  She  did 
not  know  her  letters,  but  knew  the  Pen 
tateuch  and  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul  by  heart.  Bucelinus.  Gyne- 
cseum. 

St.  Quimburg,  COENBUBGA,  QUEN- 
BURGA,  or  QUINBERG.  Sister  of  ST. 
CUTHBURGA,  and  commemorated  with  her 
at  Wimborne. 

St.  Quinctia  Marcella,  June  28, 
M.  202.  Mother  of  POTAMTCENA  (1). 
Both  falsely  claimed  by  Spanish  writers 
as  belonging  to  their  country.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quinta  (1),  CHONTA,  COINTA, 
CONCHA,  CORINTHA,  COVITA,  COYTA, 
THONNA,  or  TONITA,  M.  249.  A  Chris 
tian  of  Alexandria,  where,  during  the 
winter  of  249,  the  mob  were  excited 
against  the  Christians  by  a  man  who 
united  the  professions  of  poet  and  sooth 
sayer.  A  few  days  after  the  martyrdom 
of  the  aged  St.  Metras,  Quinta  was 
seized,  dragged  into  a  temple,  and  or 
dered  to  worship  the  idol  there.  On  her 
refusal  she  was  tied  by  the  feet  and 
dragged  over  the  rough  pavement  of  the 
city  to  a  place  outside  the  walls,  where 
they  stoned  her.  ST.  APOLONIA  (1) 
suffered  in  the  same  persecution.  AA.SS. 
Neale,  Eastern  Church.  Craik. 

St.  Quinta  (2),  May  7,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quinta  (3),  April  20,  M.  in 
Via  Nomentana  at  Eorne.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quintianilla  or  CANTIONILLA, 
June  14,  M.  at  Specia.  The  place 
cannot  be  identified.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quintigerna,  KENTIGERNA. 


ST.   QUITERIA 


173 


St.  Quintilla  or  QUINTILLUS,  March 
19,  M.  at  Sorrento  with  QUARTILLA.  EM. 

St.  Quintula,  May  10,  M.  at  Tar 
sus,  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quiriaca  (1)  or  QUIRIACUS, 
April  2,  M.  AA.S8. 

B.  Quiriaca  (2),  widow.  (See  SOTEKIS 

St.  Quirica,  April  6,  M.  at  Nico- 
media,  in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quirilla,  May  15,  V.  M.  Her 
body  was  preserved  at  Rome  with  that 
of  ST.  SOPHIA.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quiteria  or  QUIHERE,  May  22. 
2nd  century.  Patron  of  Aire  in  Gascony ; 
of  Gimont ;  of  dogs  and  against  hydro 
phobia  in  Spain. 

Represented  (1)  carrying  her  head  in 
her  hands,  angels  holding  a  crown  over 
it,  and  blood  spouting  up  from  her 
throat;  (2)  holding  a' dog  on  a  leash, 
his  tongue  hanging  out  to  denote  hydro 
phobia. 

She  was  the  eldest  of  nine  daughters 
(all   SS.   and   VV.)   of    Lucius    Caius 
Attilius,    governor    of     Lusitania    and 
Galicia,  under  the  Romans, — more  com 
monly  called,  in  the   popular  legends, 
"  King,"  and  the  daughters  called  "  In 
fantas."     His    wife's   name   was    Calfia 
and  they  lived  at  Braga  in   Portugal. 
Calfia  expected  to  have  a  son,  and  she 
and  her  husband  were  already  proud  and 
glad  in  anticipation  of  the  child's  birth  ; 
but  to  the  horror  of  the  mother,  instead 
of  one    son,    she   gave    birth    to   nine 
daughters.     She    thought   her  husband 
would  be  angry  and  all  the  people  would 
laugh  at  her,  so  she  confided  the  babes 
to  her  faithful  maid  ST.  SILA,  and  bade 
her  take  them  away  quickly  and  drown 
them  before  the  king  or  any  one  else 
could     discover    what     had    happened. 
Meantime  she  caused  it  to  be  understood 
that  she  had  given  birth  to  a  dead  child. 
Sila  was   a    Christian,  though  secretly 
for  fear  of  the  Romans,  and  she  thought 
it  a  great  pity  that  nine  little  human  lives 
should  be  extinguished  on  the  threshold 
of   the  world,  and   a   still    greater   sin 
that  nine  little  souls  should  perish  for 
want   of    baptism,    so    she    gave    them 
to  a  Christian  woman  of  her  acquaint 
ance,  and  they  were  brought  up  piously 
and  christened  in  due  time.     When  they 


were  ten  years  old,  they  were  told  who 
they  were,  whereupon  they  left  their 
foster-mother  and  lived  together  in 
one  house,  and  made  a  vow  of  celibacy. 
As  they  were  very  pretty,  they  were 
continually  besieged  by  lovers  and  offers 
of  marriage,  which  they  could  not  accept 
on  account  of  their  vow.  This  soon 
drew  attention  to  them,  and  on  a  perse 
cution  arising  against  the  Christians,  it 
was  reported  that  the  nine  sisters,  who 
would  not  be  tempted  by  riches  or  any 
other  inducement  to  marry,  must  belong 
to  this  despised  sect.  They  were  ar 
rested  and  brought  before  Lucius  Caius, 
and  on  being  asked  in  the  usual  form 
who  they  were,  ST.  GINEVRA,  speaking 
for  them  all,  answered,  "  We  are  your 
daughters."  The  king  believing  that  he 
had  only  had  one  child,  which  did  not 
survive  its  birth,  was  quite  astonished 
to  be  told  that  he  had  nine  beautiful 
daughters,  and  at  first  could  hardly 
believe  it ;  but  they  related  the  whole 
story  of  their  birth  and  life,  and  appealed 
to  their  mother,  who  confessed  that  she 
had  had  nine  daughters  at  a  birth,  and 
for  fear  of  ridicule  had  commissioned 
ST.  SILA  to  drown  them  all.  Lucius  and 
Calfia  now  offered  to  adopt  their  own 
children  and  to  give  them  a  little  time 
to  abandon  their  religion,  previous  to 
their  reception  at  court.  Meantime 
they  were  set  at  liberty.  When  they 
were  out  of  sight  of  their  parents,  they 
took  an  affectionate  leave  of  each  other 
and  all  went  off  in  different  directions. 
After  a  time,  Quiteria  was  captured 
by  some  of  her  father's  people  and 
brought  back.  She  lived  like  a  nun  in 
her  father's  house  and  he  allowed  her 
to  exercise  her  religion  without  moles 
tation,  in  the  hope  that  she  would  re 
nounce  it,  or  at  least  her  vow  of  chastity. 
Meantime,  she  was  guarded  and  directed 
by  an  angel,  who  took  her  every  day  up 
to  Mount  Oria  to  pray.  Her  daily  re 
sort  to  this  mountain  was  made  the 
subject  of  a  scandal  against  her  to 
which  her  father  never  would  listen. 
At  last  two  princes  who  were  for  a  time 
rival  suitors  for  the  hand  of  the  princess, 
united  to  persecute  her.  She  fled  to 
the  valley  of  Aufragia  or  Eufrasia,  and 
thence,  still  guided  by  her  guardian 


174 


ST.  QUITERIA 


angel,  to  Mount  Columbiano  or  Pom 
beyro,  in  the  province  of  Entre  Minho  e 
Douro,  where  her  head  was  cut  off. 

WILGEFORTIS  is  said  in  this  story  to 
be  one  of  the  sisters  of  Quiteria. 

The  account  of  St.  Quiteria  given  in 
the  Flos  Sanctorum  makes  her  a  native 
of  Bayonne,  and  does  not  mention  the 
extraordinary  circumstances  of  her 
birth  and  childhood,  but  relates  that 
thirty  maidens  and  eight  young  men, 
her  companions  and  disciples,  were  mar 
tyred  with  her,  as  well  as  King  Ludivan, 
who  had  at  one  time  been  her  bitter 
enemy  and  persecutor  and  whom  she 
had  converted  from  heathenism  and 
avarice.  The  chief  of  her  fellow-mar 
tyrs  was  the  Infanta  ST.  COLUMBINA. 
When  Quiteria's  head  was  cut  off,  she 
carried  it  in  her  hands  to  the  place 
where  she  wished  to  be  buried. 

The  Bollandists  pronounce  her  story 
to  be  utterly  fabulous.  She  is  wor 
shipped  in  Gascony  and  the  north  of 
Spain.  She  is  not  mentioned  in  the  old 
martyrologies. 


Chastelain  says  she  was  martyred,  not 
in  Spain,  but  at  Aire  in  Gascony,  and 
Cahier  says  that,  at  Alenquer  in  Portugal, 
hydrophobia  is  cured  with  bread  soaked 
in  the  oil  of  the  lamp  that  burns  before 
her  picture. 

E.M.  AA.SS.  Vida  e  Martirio  de 
Sa.  Quiteria  .  .  .  no  Monte  de  Pombeyro 
Interamnense,  by  Fr.  Bento  da  Ascene 
A.M.  abbott  of  Pombeyro.  Lisboa  Oc 
cidental,  1722. 

St.  Quiteria  (2)  or  QUITTA.  Sister 
of  ST.  DODA  (3).  Perhaps  same  as 
QUITERIA  (1),  or  same  as  QUITTERIE. 

St.  Quitterie,  May  22,  V.  M.,  said 
by  Martin  to  be  not  the  same  as  QUITERIA, 
but  a  martyr  at  Chateaudun  in  the 
diocese  of  Chartres. 

St.  Quoamalia  or  QUOAMALIUS,  April 
15,  M.  in  Galatia  or  Galaecia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Quoronta.  A  monastery  of  this 
name,  in  Albania  or  the  Ionian  islands, 
is  mentioned  by  Kavanagh  in  his  Yacht 
ing  Tour.  Perhaps  a  corruption  of 
Quaranta  meaning  the  Forty  Martyrs. 

St.  Quorrair,  March  8,  CORCAIR  (1). 


St.  Raab  or  RAABE,  EAHAB. 

St.  Rabacia,  one  of  the  11,000  VV. 
of  Cologne.  (See  ST.  URSULA.) 

St.  Rachab,  KAHAB. 

St.  Rachel  (1)  or  RAHEL,  Sept.  2. 
As  an  ancestor  of  our  Saviour,  the  wife 
of  the  patriarch  Jacob  is  honoured  with 
her  husband  and  her  sister  LEAH,  not 
withstanding  the  imperfections  that  some 
persons  remark  in  the  characters  of  both 
these  women.  Eachel's  tomb  was  on  the 
road  between  Bethlehem  and  Rama,  on 
the  confines  of  the  tribes  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin.  The  Christians  built  a  large 
chapel  over  it,  and  it  was  among  the 
sacred  places  to  which  thousands  of 
pilgrims  resorted.  Smith's  Dictionary  of 
the  Bible.  Baillet. 

St.  Rachel  (2),  CATHERINE  (2). 

St.  Rachild,  May  2,  July  7,  Nov.  23, 
V.  -f  946,  recluse  at  St.  Gall  in  Switzer 
land,  was  a  native  of  Frickthal  in  the 
Aargau,  and  was  related  to  Count  Ekke- 
hard  I.  and  to  ST.  VIBORADA.  As  a 
child  she  was  conspicuously  pious,  and 


when,  in  920,  she  was  cured  of  an  inter 
mittent  fever,  by  Viborada,  she  had 
a  cell  built  for  herself  beside  that  of  her 
friend,  whom  she  considered  as  a  second 
mother.  Here  she  remained  for  twenty- 
six  years.  In  925  the  Huns  devastated 
the  country,  the  monks  fled  from  the 
monastery,  but  Viborada  advised  Rachild 
to  stay  where  she  was.  She  remained 
there  unhurt,  although-  Viborada  was 
killed.  As  Rachild  mourned  for  her 
friend,  she  saw  her  happy  spirit  and 
was  comforted.  She  suffered  for  many 
years  from  a  dreadful  skin  disease.  She 
was  buried  beside  Viborada  in  the 
church  of  St.  Magnus,  and  her  grave  was 
honoured  with  many  miracles.  Stadler. 
Mas  Latrie.  Guerin. 

St.  Radeglind  (1),  queen  of  France, 

Aug.       13        (AllADEGUNDIS,       ARAGONDE, 

ARAGONE,  AREGUNDIS,  RADGUND,  RAD- 
REIME,  RAGONDE,  RAGUNT,  RATGUNT, 
REDIGUNDIS,  REGONDE,  RHADEGUND,  etc.). 
Sixth  century. 

Patron  of  Poitiers,  Peronne,  Chinon, 


ST.   RADEGUND 


175 


and  La  Charite  sur  Loire,  and  of  the 
Trinitarians  or  Mathurins,  whose  charity 
was  directed  chiefly  towards  prisoners 
and  captives. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  Berthaire, 
king  of  Thuriugia,  and  wife  of  Clothaire, 
youngest  son  of  (Jlovis,  king  of  France, 
and  CLOTILDA  (1). 

Clothaire,  then  king  of  Neustria,  the 
capital  of  Soissons,  in  529,  went  to  the 
assistance  of  his  brother  Thierry,  king 
of  Austrasia,  who  had  been  called  in  by 
the  eldest  of  the  three  brothers,  kings  of 
Thuringia,  to  help  to  avenge  the  murder 
of  Berthaire,  the  youngest,  and  compel 
the  second  to  limit  his  pretensions  to  his 
own  share  of  the  kingdom.  The  Thu- 
ringians  did  not  keep  their  promises 
about  the  portion  of  the  spoil  that 
Thierry  was  to  have,  so  Clothaire  gladly 
joined  him  in  raiding  the  whole  country, 
burning,  slaying,  looting.  They  mas 
sacred  an  untold  number  of  persons, 
including  the  whole  of  the  royal  family, 
with  the  exception  of  three  children, 
Eadegund,  her  brother,  and  Amalfroi  or 
Hermalafred,  the  son  of  one  of  the 
other  kings.  These  they  brought  with 
the  rest  of  their  booty  back  to  France, 
and  in  dividing  the  spoil,  Clothaire 
insisted  on  keeping  the  three  royal 
children  as  part  of  his  share.  He  placed 
Eadegund  with  attendants  and  instruc 
tors  suitable  to  her  rank,  at  Athies  on 
the  Somme,  in  Vermandois.  The  mis 
fortunes  that  had  befallen  her  and  the 
horrors  she  had  witnessed  had  impressed 
a  premature  gravity  on  the  character 
of  the  young  princess.  Spenser,  in 
Mother  Hublard's  Tale,  quotes  her  as 
a  pattern  of  serious  piety.  She  had 
no  love  of  the  amusements  generally 
welcome  to  girls  of  her  age,  neither  had 
she  any  desire  for  wealth,  power,  or 
earthly  distinction.  She  was  clever  and 
studious,  and  gladly  attended  to  the 
lessons  given  her  by  her  Christian 
teachers,  one  of  whom  was  St.  Medard, 
bishop  of  Soissons.  With  rapid  success 
she  mastered  all  the  literature  within 
her  reach.  She  knew  she  was  destined 
to  be  one  of  the  king's  wives,  but  she 
had  no  wish  to  be  married  to  the  man 
who  had  deprived  her  of  fu-edom,  de 
vastated  her  country,  and  massacred  her 


relations.  She  confided  to  her  com 
panions  that  next  to  martyrdom  she 
considered  the  quiet  of  the  cloister  the 
most  enviable  lot.  When  she  was 
eighteen,  hearing  that  the  king  had  or 
dered  grand  preparations  to  be  made  for 
the  wedding,  she  determined  to  escape 
from  the  unwelcome  honour,  and  fled  in 
a  boat  down  the  Somme ;  but  was  very 
soon  overtaken  and  enrolled  among  the 
king's  recognised  wives,  of  whom  there 
were  several.  Those  who  were  daughters 
of  kings  were  called  queens  ;  those  of 
lower  rank  were  sometimes  promoted  to 
that  title  when  they  had  borne  the  king 
children.  Eadegund  was  his  favourite. 
She  strove  to  do  her  duty  to  her  master, 
although  she  neither  loved  nor  feared 
him.  He  was  vexed  by  her  coolness 
and  frequently  complained  of  her  unfit- 
ness  for  married  life  and  royal  state, 
saying  she  was  not  a  queen  but  a  nun. 
When  he  summoned  her,  she  would  often 
keep  him  waiting  until  she  had  finished 
her  prayers  and  her  pious  readings  ;  he 
would  reproach  her  violently  and  after 
wards  apologize  and  try  to  atone  for  his 
conduct  by  splendid  presents.  She 
passed  her  days  in  the  study  of  religious 
books,  in  conversation  with  the  clergy 
who  frequented  the  court,  and  in  tend 
ing  with  her  own  hands  a  number  of 
poor  persons  and  sick  women,  for  whom 
she  founded  a  hospital  at  Athies.  After 
her  marriage  she  generally  lived  at 
Braine,  near  Soissons,  which  was  Cloth- 
aire's  favourite  residence.  One  day  as 
she  was  going  in  royal  state  to  dine  with 
a  Frankish  lady,  she  made  use  of  her 
retinue  to  pull  down  a  heathen  temple 
which  they  had  to  pass.  The  Franks, 
many  of  whom  were  still  idolaters,  made 
a  furious  resistance,  but  Eadegund  sat 
quietly  on  her  horse,  watching  the  fight 
between  her  servants  and  the  populace, 
and  would  not  proceed  on  her  way  until 
she  saw  the  antichristian  building  com 
pletely  overthrown. 

When  she  had  been  married  six  years, 
Clothaire  killed  her  promising  young 
brother,  the  companion  of  her  captivity, 
the  solace  of  her  uncongenial  life.  The 
reason  is  not  known.  Eadegund,  who 
had  never  loved  her  husband,  now 
looked  upon  him  with  horror.  What 


176 


ST.  RADEGUND 


passed  between  the  murderer  and  his 
wife  we  do  not  know,  but  almost  imme 
diately  afterwards,  he  allowed  her  to 
leave  the  Court.  About  the  same  time, 
Amalfroi,  to  whom  as  the  only  survivor 
of  her  family  she  was  much  attached, 
also  left  Soissons,  and  after  a  short 
residence  in  Italy,  found  a  home  at  the 
Court  of  Constantinople.  Kadegund,  on 
leaving  Soissons,  went  to  Noyon  and 
demanded  that  the  Bishop  should  at 
once  consecrate  her  a  nun.  St.  Medard 
had  great  influence  with  the  king,  but 
feared  to  take  so  daring  a  step.  While 
he  hesitated,  some  Frankish  nobles  who 
were  present,  dragged  him  from  the 
altar  and  bade  him  not  presume  to  im 
mure  their  queen  in  a  nunnery.  Kade 
gund  then  went  into  the  sacristy,  and 
finding  a  religious  dress,  probably  that 
of  some  deaconess  engaged  in  the  service 
of  the  church,  put  it  on,  and  returned  to 
the  altar.  Presenting  herself  before  the 
astonished  bishop,  she  asked  him  whether 
he  feared  these  men  who  threatened  him 
more  than  God,  Who  would  require  at 
his  hands  the  souls  of  His  sheep.  He 
hesitated  no  longer,  but  laid  his  hands 
on  her  and  consecrated  her  a  deaconess. 
Confident  in  the  respect  always  shown 
by  Clothaire  and  his  family  to  the  rights 
of  the  Church,  she  went  from  shrine 
to  shrine,  giving  her  jewels  and  royal 
robes  as  offerings.  She  visited  the 
church  of  St.  Martin  at  Tours,  and  must 
have  seen  her  mother-in-law,  ST.  CLO 
TILDA,  the  widow  of  Clovis,  who  was 
expiating  her  vengeances  and  preparing 
for  her  death  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Martin, 
and  who  died  there  about  a  year  after 
wards. 

Clothaire  gave  Eadegund  the  lands  of 
Saix  in  Poitou,  and  there  she  fixed  her 
residence,  living  in  the  severest  asceti 
cism  and  tending  lepers  with  great  devo 
tion.  No  long  time  elapsed  before  the 
king  repented  that  he  had  let  her  go, 
and  she  heard  that  he  was  coming  to 
take  her  home  again.  She  redoubled 
her  austerities  and  begged  the  interces 
sion  of  a  holy  hermit,  that  she  who  had 
given  herself  to  the  King  of  heaven 
might  not  be  again  delivered  up  to  this 
king  of  earth.  She  claimed  sanctuary 
at  the  tomb  of  St.  Hilary  of  Poitiers. 


Clothaire  pursued  her,  determined  to 
assert  his  authority,  but  the  barrier  of 
coldness  and  piety  that  had  so  often  kept 
him  at  a  distance,  the  charm  that  fas 
cinated  him  while  it  held  him  off,  reas 
serted  its  empire,  and  derived  new  force 
from  the  fear  of  violating  the  sanctuary 
of  a  saint's  tomb,  and  seizing  his  wife 
who  had  now  been  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  God.  He  allowed  her  to 
build  a  monastery  at  Poitiers,  where 
their  last  interview  took  place,  and  to 
take  the  veil  there.  The  building  was 
finished  in  550,  and  she  entered  it  in 
triumph,  amid  the  sympathy  of  the  people 
who  crowded  the  streets  and  the  very 
roofs,  to  see  their  queen  and  her  train  of 
young  disciples  and  companions  enter 
the  cloister.  She  was  the  first  of  many 
queens  who  became  nuns,  most  of  them 
in  widowhood.  Before  long,  she  heard 
that  Clothaire  was  at  Tours  and  would 
proceed  to  Poitiers  to  claim  his  wife. 
She  wrote  to  the  venerable  St.  Germain, 
bishop  of  Paris,  begging  him  to  interfere. 
He  went  to  Tours  to  meet  the  king  before 
the  tomb  of  St.  Martin  and  implored  him 
on  his  knees  not  to  go  to  Poitiers.  The 
king  raised  the  aged  bishop  from  the 
ground,  and  kneeling  before  him,  asked 
him  to  go  and  beg  the  holy  queen  to 
forgive  all  the  vexation  he  had  ever 
caused  her.  From  that  time  he  left  her 
in  peace. 

In  560,  by  the  death  of  his  brother, 
Clothaire  became  sole  king  of  France, 
but  he  had  lived  very  hard'  during  his 
fifty  years'  reign,  and  although  not  a 
very  old  man,  having  succeeded  to  his 
quarter  of  the  kingdom  at  the  early  age 
of  twelve,  he  had  little  pleasure  or  glory 
in  his  accession  of  greatness.  He  had, 
however,  something  better  which  came 
to  him  through  the  prayers  of  his  clois 
tered  wife.  He  began  to  desire  earnestly 
to  repent  of  his  sins.  He  went  to  the 
tomb  of  St.  Martin,  where  he  made  a 
full  confession,  and  bestowed  princely 
gifts  on  the  church.  He  founded  the 
abbey  of  St.  Medard  at  Soissons.  How 
ever,  he  was  still  a  thorough  barbarian, 
and  one  of  the  last  acts  of  his  life  was 
to  burn  alive,  with  wife  and  children, 
one  of  his  -ions  who  had  rebelled  against 
him.  C'othaire  died  at  Compiegne  and 


ST.   RADEGUND 


177 


was  buried  at  Soissons  by  his  four  sur 
viving  sons.  One  of  his  grandsons  (the 
son  of  Clothaire's  youngest  son  Sigebert 
and  the  famous  Queen  Brunehaut)  was 
Childebert  II.,  who,  on  the  death  of  his 
father  and  uncles,  succeeded  to  the  whole 
kingdom,  during  the  life  of  Kadegund, 
and  was  a  reverent  disciple  and  dutiful 
friend  and  patron  of  that  holy  woman 
aud  her  monastery. 

The  queen,  who  had  hastily  built  her 
self  a  house  as  soon  as  she  received  the 
king's  permission  to  do  so,  in  time  made 
important  additions  to  it,  and  built  be 
side  it  a  church  and  a  college  for  monks 
to  attend  to  the  church.  This  was  the 
first  of  those  great  double  monasteries 
that  so  soon  abounded  in  France  and 
England.  It  soon  became  famous  as  the 
Monastery  of  the  Holy  Cross  of  Poitiers. 
Over  two  hundred  maidens  of  different 
ranks  and  nations  were  gathered  in  the 
nunnery,  among  them  were  Merovingian 
princesses,  but  the  greater  number  were 
Gallo-Eomans,  some  of  senatorial  rank 
and  others  of  less  distinction.  Kade 
gund,  accompanied  by  AGNES  (6)  went 
to  Aries  to  learn  the  rule  which  St. 
Cesarius  had  compiled  for  his  sister  ST. 
CESARIA  (3).  They  stayed  in  her  monas 
tery,  and  she  had  the  rule  copied  for 
them.  Eadegund  having  made  over  the 
government  of  the  community  to  Agnes, 
subsided  into  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
nuns,  and  took  her  turn  with  them  in 
performing  all  the  work  of  the  house 
and  attending  with  redoubled  zeal  to  the 
poor  and  suffering.  She  only  reserved 
to  herself  the  privilege  of  passing  Lent 
alone  and  with  special  asceticism.  During 
her  whole  life  she  continued  her  diligent 
study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the 
writings  of  the  Fathers. 

When  the  monastery  was  finished  and 
all  in  order,  she  sent  to  the  Emperor 
Justin  to  beg  for  a  piece  of  the  cross  of 
Christ,  with  which  to  enrich  her  church. 
The  priceless  relic  arrived  in  509.  She 
received  it  with  raptures  of  devotion, 
and  Fortunatus,  her  chaplain,  secretary, 
and  almoner,  composed  for  the  occasion, 
the  famous  hymns  Vexilla  Regis  and 
Pancje  Lingua.  St.  Gregory  records,  as  an 
eye-witness,  the  miracles  wrought  when 
the  holy  relic  was  carried  through  Tours. 

VOL.  II. 


In  the  stillness  of  her  happy  solitude, 
Eadegund  did  not  forget  the  interests 
of  her  adopted  country.  The  tragic  fate 
of  two  of  the  wives  of  her  stepson  Chil- 
peric,  AUDOVERA  and  GALSWINTHA,  must 
have  appealed  strongly  to  her  sympa 
thies,  for  she  regarded  all  the  Merovin 
gians  as  her  family.  She  wrote  a  poem 
about  Galswintha.  Time  and  death  had 
softened  the  memory  of  her  wrongs,  and 
from  her  peaceful  cloister,  she  endea 
voured  to  make  peace  between  her  four 
stepsons  who  now  shared  the  kingdom 
amongst  them.  She  was  universally 
respected  and  trusted.  In  cases  of  con 
flicting  evidence,  her  word  was  accepted 
and  put  an  end  to  all  uncertainty. 
She  received  into  her  monastery  the 
wretched  Basine,  a  daughter  of  Chil- 
peric.  Chrodielde,  too,  another  princess 
of  the  same  family,  came  among  the 
peaceful  nuns  of  Ste.  Croix  as  a  dis 
turber  and  firebrand,  bringing  with  her 
an  unwilling  and  worldly  heart.  After 
the  death  of  Eadegund  and  AGNES  (6), 
these  bad  nuns  gave  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  in  the  monastery  and  caused 
much  scandal.  A  full  account  of  the 
affair  is  given  in  Mezeray's  History  of 
France. 

Fortunatus  represents  Eadegund  as 
longing  affectionately  for  tidings  of  her 
cousin  Amalafroi.  He  was  at  Con 
stantinople,  living  in  peace  and  civiliza 
tion,  having  long  abandoned  any  idea 
of  attempting  to  regain  the  throne  of 
his  ancestors.  His  silence  and  the  death 
of  all  her  other  relations  only  concen 
trated  her  affections  more  intensely  on 
her  nuns.  Besides  Fortunatus,  she  had 
a  friend  named  Juuian,  a  nobleman  of 
Poitou  who  became  a  monk  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Benedict.  His  charity  rivalled 
that  of  Eadegund.  His  clothing  was 
all  spun  for  him  by  the  hands  of  the 
cloistered  queen.  On  his  part,  he  pre 
sented  her  with  a  penitential  chain  which 
she  wore  as  long  as  she  lived.  They 
mutually  promised  that  whichever  sur 
vived  should  pray  for  the  other,  but  they 
died  in  the  same  hour  on  the  13th  of 
August,  587,  and  the  messengers  bearing 
the  news  of  each  death  met  half  way 
between  the  houses.  St.  Gregory  of 
Tours,  who  buried  Eadegund,  records 


178 


ST.  RADEGUND 


the  great  grief  of  her  nuns,  and  their 
regret  that  the  strict  rule  of  St.  Cesarius 
forbade  their  leaving  their  cloister  even 
to  follow  their  beloved  mother  to  the 
grave. 

The  Queen's  Will  is  preserved  in 
Pertz'  Monumenta,  vol.  XXVII.;  it  is 
the  first  of  the  Diplomcda  Regum  Fran- 
corum  G  Stirpe  Merovingica.  In  it  she 
leaves  property  to  the  monastery  and 
says  that  she  built  and  endowed  it  by 
the  aid  of  her  husband  Clothaire  the 
king,  and  his  sons  Charibert,  Gunt- 
chramn,  Chilperic,  and  Sigibert.  She 
charges  the  Holy  Cross  and  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  St.  Hilary  and  St.  Martin 
to  prevent  any  one  from  persecuting 
Sister  Agnes  the  abbess,  or  taking  away 
the  lands  or  revenues  of  the  monastery. 
She  entreats  all  kings  and  bishops  not 
to  allow  the  rule  to  be  changed  or  the 
community  injured. 

Radegund  is  one  of  three  very  famous 
royal  sainted  ladies  of  Thuringia  and 
the  only  one  of  them  who  was  a  native 
of  that  country.  See  WALBURGA  (1)  and 
ELIZABETH  (11). 

The  ruins  of  a  grand  old  abbey  of  the 
Premonstratensian  Order,  dedicated  in 
the  name  of  St.  Radegund,  may  be  seen 
at  Alkham,  near  Folkestone.  It  was 
built  in  the  reign  of  Richard  I.  and  was 
of  considerable  strength.  She  has  other 
dedications  in  England. 

One  of  the  chief  authorities  for  the  daily 
life  of  the  good  queen  within  the  nunnery 
walls  is  her  secretary  and  biographer, 
Venantius  Honorius  Clementianus  For- 
tunatns,  who  has  been  called  the  last 
representative  of  Latin  poetry  in  Gaul, 
and  who  was  for  some  years  an  inmate 
of  the  monastery  and  eventually  became 
bishop  of  Poitiers.  In  his  Life  of  Rade- 
gund  he  speaks  with  great  affection  of 
the^  Queen  and  the  Abbess  Agnes,  qf 
their  strictness  to  themselves  and  their 
indulgence  towards  others.  He  tells  us 
that  even  when  their  rule  compelled 
them  to  fast,  they  provided  a  luxurious 
little  dinner  for  a  favoured  guest,  strew 
ing  the  table  with  rose  leaves  and  en 
hancing  the  pleasures  of  the  repast  by 
their  charming  conversation.  Eadegund 
was  indulgent  to  her  nuns  in  the  matter 
of  recreation.  She  allowed  them  to  see 


friends  from  outside  the  monastery.  She 
sometimes  permitted  those  dramatic  en 
tertainments  which  were  beginning  to 
be  introduced  into  the  religious  world. 

Miss  Eckenstein,  in  Woman  under 
Monasticism,  gives  extracts  from  some 
of  Radegund's  poems.  Her  life  was 
also  written  by  one  of  her  nuns.  She 
is  mentioned  by  Gregory  of  Tours,  and 
all  the  historians  of  the  time. 

EM.  AA.SS.  Sismondi.  Butler.  Mon- 
talembert,  Moines  d  Occident.  Thierry, 
Recits  Merovingiens.  Fortunatus.  Migne, 
Cursus  completus,  LXXXVIIL,  506. 
Adams,  Cyclopaedia  of  Female  Biography. 
Radegund's  whole  history  is  so  well 
authenticated  and  so  rational  that  it  is 
almost  a  pity  to  add  a  miraculous  legend, 
which  is  borrowed  from  the  story  of  the 
flight  of  the  B.  V.  MARY  into  Egypt. 
The  story  told  by  Cahier  is  that  when 
Radegund's  husband  was  pursuing  her, 
she  passed  through  a  field  where  the 
peasants  and  serfs  were  sowing  corn.  She 
said  to  the  workmen,  "  If  any  one  asks 
you  whether  I  passed  through  your 
fields,  be  sure  you  say  it  was  when  you 
were  sowing  the  corn."  They  promised. 
The  corn  grew  up  and  ripened  in  a 
single  night,  and  next  day,  when  the 
king  and  his  men  came  that  way  and 
asked  whether  the  queen  had  been  seen, 
they  pointed  to  the  ripe  corn,  and  said, 
"  Yes,  she  was  here  when  we  were  sow 
ing  this  field."  So  the  pursuers  were 
thrown  off  the  track. 

St.  Radegund  (2)  of  Chelles,  Jan. 
26,  Feb.  3,  +  670  or  680.  A  god 
daughter  of  BATHILDE  (1),  queen  of 
France,  who  took  the  child  with  her 
when  she  went  to  live  as  a  nun  in  the 
monastery  of  Chelles.  Bathilde  attended 
carefully  to  her  education  and  became 
very  fond  of  her,  and  prayed  that  Rade- 
gund  might  not  survive  her,  lest  she 
should  fall  away  from  holy  innocence 
when  deprived  of  her  care.  She  died  at 
the  age  of  seven,  on  the  same  day  as  her 
god-mother,  or  by  other  accounts,  three 
days  before  her,  and  they  were  buried 
together.  Radegund  is  sometimes  called 
LITTLE  ST.  BATHILDIS.  Butler,  "  St. 
Bathildis." 

B.  Radegund  (3)  of  Trevino  near 
Burgos,  Jan.  29  (REDEGUNDIS,  REDIGUND, 


ST.   RAHAB 


179 


WEDIGUND,  WEIRGONDK),  V.  +  1152. 
The  last  nun  of  the  Premonstratensian 
convent  of  St.  Paul  near  Villa  Mayor, 
seven  miles  from  Burgos  in  Spain.  The 
convent  fell  to  ruin  and  the  church  of 
St.  Michael  of  Trevino  was  built  close 
to  the  spot.  Eadegund  went  to  Eome 
and  on  her  return  shut  herself  up  in  a 
cell  adjoining  that  church,  and  lived 
there  in  extraordinary  asceticism  for  the 
rest  of  her  days.  Her  body  was  pre 
served  with  great  veneration  in  the 
church  until  the  seventeenth  century. 
AA.SS.  Cahier.  Le  Paige. 

St.  Radegund  (4),  KADTANA. 

St.  Radegund  (5)  of  Combrailles, 
honoured  at  Libersac.  Guerin.  Mas 
Latrie. 

St.  Radgund,  EADEGUND. 

St.  Radiana  or  EADEGUND  (4),  Aug. 
13,  V.  of  Wellenburg.  14th  or  end  of 
13th  century.  Patron  of  Salzburg  and 
against  wolves,  and  invoked  to  grant 
plenty  of  milk  and  butter. 

In  an  old  print,  in  Imagines  Sanctorum 
AugtLstinorwn,  she  is  being  devoured  by 
wild  beasts  in  a  forest ;  at  her  feet  lies  a 
comb,  brush,  basin  and  jug  upset.  In 
another  part  of  the  picture,  she  appears 
inside  an  open  door,  a  man  kneeling  at 
her  feet,  she  seems  to  be  blessing  him  or 
brushing  his  hair. 

She  was  born  at  Wolfratshausen.  She 
became  a  servant  in  the  castle  of  Wellen 
burg.  Wellenburg  belonged  to  a  patri 
cian  of  Augsburg,  named  Portner,  who 
is  said  to  have  bought  it  in  1329. 
Eadiana  was  very  industrious  and  faith 
ful.  When  her  daily  work  was  done, 
her  favourite  recreation  was  to  wait  upon 
the  poor  and  sick  of  the  neighbourhood 
and  give  them  the  food  she  denied  her 
self  for  their  sake.  With  especial  de 
votion  did  she  tend  the  lepers  in  the 
neighbouring  lazaret.  Once  her  master 
suspected  she  was  carrying  out  of  his 
house  something  he  did  not  approve  of. 
He  looked  into  her  apron  and  saw 
nothing  but  combs,  soap  and  linen  with 
which  she  was  going  to  dress  her  lepers. 
On  her  usual  charitable  expedition,  she 
was  attacked  by  wolves  and  so  badly 
torn  and  bitten  that  she  died  in  three 
days.  Her  master  wished  to  bury  her 
in  his  family  vault  in  Augsburg,  but  the 


cart  which  was  carrying  her  body,  stood 
miraculously  still  and  became  immov 
able.  So  a  pair  of  oxen  were  harnessed 
to  the  cart,  and  left  them  to  draw  it 
whither  they  would.  They  went  straight 
to  her  beloved  leper-house,  and  there 
she  was  buried,  and  a  chapel  was  built 
near  and  called  by  her  name.  She  has 
been  a  very  popular  saint  in  that  district 
for  centuries  and  her  comb  and  slippers 
are  kept  with  great  reverence  in  the 
chapel  of  Wellenburg  castle.  Stadler 
gives  a  long  account  of  her  worship 
and  of  the  peculiar  honours  paid  her  by 
the  famous  wealthy  family  of  Fugger, 
who  became  the  owners  of  Wellenburg 
in  1597.  She  has  no  day,  but  Cuper, 
the  Bollandist,  gives  her  story,  Aug.  13, 
that  being  the  festival  of  the  ;more 
famous  St.  Eadegund,  queen  of  France. 
AA.SS.  Stadler,  Lexikon. 

St.  Radreime,  EADEGUND. 

St.  Rafica,  Sept.  4,  M.  in  Ethiopia, 
with  her  five  sons.  AAJSS.  Stadler. 

St.  Ragengardis,  EAINGARD. 

St.  Ragenufla,  EAINOFLE. 

St.  Raginfledis,  EAINFREDE. 

St.  Raginfredis,  EAINFREDE. 

St.  Ragnild  (1),  EEYNELD. 

St.  Ragnild  (2)  or  EAGNHILD,  July 
28,  -f  1120.  Wife  of  Ingo,  king  of 
Sweden,  1118-1129.  Johannes  Magnus, 
Hist.  Got.,  places  Ingo's  accession  in 
1086,  and  says  that  there  was  great 
peace  in  his  time,  at  home  and  abroad. 
Eagnild  was  very  devout  and  ascetic 
from  her  infancy,  and  as  queen  she 
was  the  mother  of  the  poor  and  of  the 
servants  of  God.  She  was  buried  at 
Telga,  where  miracles  rewarded  the 
veneration  paid  to  her.  The  informa 
tion  regarding  her  is  very  scanty.  She 
was  perhaps  the  mother  or  grandmother 
of  CHRISTINA  (8)  wife  of  St.  Eric,  king 
of  Sweden.  Vastovius 

St.  Ragonde,  EADEGUND. 

St.  Ragunt,  EADEGUND. 

St.  Rahab,  EACHAB  or  EAABE,  Sept. 
1,  called  in  the  Bible  "the  harlot,"  was 
an  innkeeper,  perhaps  also  a  trader  and 
dyer  of  Jericho.  She  had  heard,  pro 
bably  from  other  traders  and  travellers, 
how  "the  Lord  dried  up  the  water  of 
the  Eed  Sea"  for  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  the  other  wonderful  events  of  their 


180 


ST.    RAHEL 


journey ;  and  she  perceived  that  their 
God  was  the  one  true  God  and  that  He 
had  given  them  the  land.  She  was 
ready  to  hail  the  purer  religion  intro 
duced  by  them,  with  the  worship  of  the 
One  God.  She  gladly  received  and 
concealed  the  spies  whom  Joshua  sent 
to  view  the  land,  and  aided  their  escape, 
letting  them  down  by  a  cord  from  the 
window  of  her  house  which  stood  on  the 
town  wall.  In  return  she  and  all  her 
kindred  were  spared  when  Jericho  was 
taken  by  the  Israelites,  a  scarlet  line 
being  used  to  distinguish  the  house.  She 
married  Salmon  of  Naason,  who  is  sup 
posed  to  have  been  one  of  the  spies. 
She  was  the  mother  of  Boaz  and  thus 
an  ancestor  of  the  Messiah.  Another 
tradition  says  that  she  became  the  wife  of 
Joshua  and  that  ST.  HULDAH  and  eight 
other  prophets  were  descended  from  her. 
Joshua  ii.  St.  James  ii.  25.  Hebrews 
xi.  31.  Mart,  of  Salisbury.  Smith,  Diet, 
of  the  Bible. 

St.  Rahel,  EACHEL. 

St.  Rainfrede,  Oct.  8,  July  1 
(EAGINFLEDIS,  EAGINFREDIS,  EEFROIE, 
EEGINFREDE,  EEINFREDE,  EENFROI),  -j-  c. 
805.  Patron  of  Denain.  Bucelinus  says 
she  is  patron  of  Embrica,  Eesia  and  Hove- 
pelle.  Eepresented  with  a  church  in  her 
hand  as  a  founder,  although  the  house  of 
canonesses  of  which  she  was  first  abbess 
was  built  for  her  by  her  mother,  ST. 
EEGINA  (6),  niece  of  KingPepin.  Eain- 
frede  was  the  eldest  of  the  ten  daughters 
of  St.  Adalbert  or  Aubert,  count  of  Os- 
trovandia.  Her  sisters  were  SS.  EOSA, 
EUPHROSYNE,  PAULINA,  BB.  CELESTINA, 
AMBROSIA,  AVA,  HELEN,  NEPTALINA,  and 
CAROLA.  Eainfrede  has  a  proper  office 
in  the  Breviary  of  Denain.  AA.SS., 
Oct.  8  ;  Bucelinus,  Oct.  8 ;  Stadler  gives 
her  also  July  1. 

St.  Raingard  or  EAGENGARDIS,  June 
24,  +  1135.  Eepresented  with  a  skull 
and  a  broom.  She  was  of  noble  birth 
and  related  to  the  chief  personages  of 
Auvergne  and  Burgundy.  She  married 
a  nobleman,  named  Maurice,  whose  estate 
of  Montbaussier  lay  near  the  lands  of 
her  family.  They  were  rich  and  charit 
able.  They  had  eight  sons  and  some 
daughters.  Eaingard  had  a  bias  towards 
monastic  life,  and  loved  to  entertain 


every  monk  and  pilgrim  who  passed 
through  or  near  her  property.  One  of 
these  was  B.  Eobert  d'Arbrissel,  the 
founder  of  Fontevrault ;  he  remained 
in  the  house  some  days  and  was  much 
edified  by  the  piety  and  wisdom  of  his 
hosts.  Their  devotion  received  a  new 
impulse  from  his  instruction.  Eaingard 
decided  to  take  the  veil  at  Fontev 
rault  ;  Maurice,  after  much  consulta 
tion,  consented  to  this  step  and 
resolved  to  become  a  monk.  He  died, 
however,  before  he  could  carry  out  his 
intention.  During  his  last  illness,  his 
wife  nursed  him  with  devoted  tender 
ness,  praying  and  working  earnestly  for 
his  salvation.  When  he  died,  she  made 
all  equitable  arrangements  necessary 
for  leaving  her  home  and  resigning  her 
authority  there,  and  waited  until  Easter 
to  take  the  veil.  But  by  this  time 
Eobert  d'Arbrissel  was  dead  and  she 
heard  that  the  nuns  of  Fontevrault  were 
not  strict  enough  in  their  rule  to  come 
up  to  her  ideal  of  cloistered  life,  so  she 
resolved  to  choose  another  retreat. 
Meantime,  she  went  to  Cluny  and  com 
mended  her  husband's  soul  to  the  prayers 
of  the  monks.  The  last  night  she  spent 
in  the  outer  world,  she  visited  his  tomb 
in  the  dark  and  there  confessed  all  her 
sins  to  God ;  then  she  went  to  a  priest 
and  confessed  first  all  Maurice's  sins, 
and  then  all  her  own,  and  begged  him 
to  shut  her  up  in  the  monastery  of 
Marsigny  to  do  penance  for  the  rest  of 
her  life.  Marsigny  was  then  very  poor. 
It  was  a  double  monastery,  ruled  by  B. 
Gerard,  under  the  authority  of  Dom 
Godfrey  of  Semur.  Gerard  had  recently 
had  a  dream  that  a  dove  came  fluttering 
about  him  and  that  he  caught  it  and 
clipped  its  wings,  put  it  in  a  cage  and 
presented  it  to  Hugh,  the  superior  of  the 
Order.  So  when  Eaingard  arrived  with 
an  escort  suitable  to  her  rank,  he 
thought  this  was  the  dove  of  his  dream, 
and  at  once  sent  for  the  prioress  and  all 
the  nuns,  of  whom  there  were  about  a 
hundred.  Eaingard  addressed  them 
humbly,  declaring  her  wish  to  be  ad 
mitted  amongst  them.  They  were  only 
too  delighted  to  receive  her,  but  the 
gentlemen  who  had  come  with  her  were 
very  angry  and  declared  this  was  no  fit 


ST.   RECTINEA 


181 


place  for  so  great  a  lady,  and  that  if  she 
were  detained  there,  they  would  pull 
down  the  house.  Seeing  her  determina 
tion  was  not  to  be  moved  by  threats, 
they  next  resorted  to  tears,  but  to  no 
purpose.  Baingard  stayed  there  for  the 
remaining  twenty  years  of  her  life.  Such 
was  her  desire  to  practise  humility  that 
she  always  insisted  on  serving  the  others 
and  taking  her  share  of  all  menial 
work.  The  nuns  soon  made  her  cellarer, 
a  post  which  she  filled  with  the  greatest 
satisfaction  to  all.  She  knew  each  nun, 
her  name  and  origin,  her  little  ailments, 
her  tastes  and  weaknesses,  and  remember 
ing  that  they  were  highly  born  and 
delicately  brought  up,  she  knew  what 
they  had  need  of,  and  learnt  various 
ways  of  cooking  to  make  variety  for 
them.  Needy  as  she  found  the  commu 
nity,  she  managed  so  well  that  she  made 
everybody  comfortable  and  always  had 
something  to  give  to  the  poor.  She  was 
Sara,  Martha,  Tabitha  and  Magdalene 
all  in  one. 

Meantime,  her  son  Peter  Maurice, 
abbot  of  Cluny,  called  Peter  the  Vener 
able,  travelled  much,  went  to  Eome,  to 
England,  and  other  places,  and  when  he 
returned  to  his  own  country,  he  always 
went  to  see  his  mother.  She  gave  him 
advice  as  a  son,  and  at  the  same  time 
honoured  him  as  a  father  and  a  priest. 
In  1134,  he  attended  the  council  of 
Pisa,  under  Innocent  II.,  and  was  absent 
when  his  mother  died.  On  his  return  to 
Cluny  he  had  first  to  entertain  the 
bishops  and  abbots,  who  had  travelled 
with  him.  Afterwards,  he  visited  the 
convent  where  his  mother  lay  dead.  He 
thanked  the  weeping  sisters  for  their 
goodness  to  her,  and  made  them  a  most 
touching  address. 

She  is  styled  Saint  in  the  calendars  of 
the  Order  of  Cluny  and  by  all  the  local 
chroniclers,  but  she  has  not  been  canon 
ized.  Her  life,  written  by  her  son  B. 
Peter,  is  in  Arnauld  d'Andilly's  Vies  des 
Saints  Peres.  Chambard,  Saints  Per- 
sonnages  d1  Anjou. 

St.  Rainild,  REYNELD. 

St.  Rainofle,  July  14  (RAGENUFLA, 
RAINOFRE,  RAYNOFFLE,  REGINULFA,  in 
Flemish,  RENOFELE).  7th  century.  She 
was  of  high  rank  and  related  to  SS.  GER 


TRUDE  of  Nivelle  and  BEGGA.  She  lived 
at  Aioncourt  in  Brabant,  supposed  to  be 
so  called  from  Ayus  and  Aya,  her  father 
and  mother.  A  young  nobleman,  named 
Ebroin,  was  accepted  by  her  parents  as 
her  suitor,  but  as  she  was  bent  on  devot 
ing  herself  to  religion  only,  she  took  the 
opportunity  of  her  mother  and  all  the 
household  being  intent  on  the  prepara 
tions  for  her  marriage,  and  when  the 
hour  had  nearly  come  for  that  ceremony, 
she  fled  with  one  maid,  and  concealed 
herself  in  the  forest,  where  she  soon 
died.  Her  parents  buried  her  and  built 
a  church  over  her  tomb,  where  miracles 
proved  her  sanctity.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rainofre,  RAINOFLE. 

St.  Rais  (1),  RHAIS  (1). 

St.  Rais  (2)  or  RAISSA,  IRAIS. 

St.  Raphaildis,  CRAPHAILDIS. 

St.  Rasalana,  M.  A  native  of 
Madagascar.  Probably  modern.  One 
of  a  group  of  female  martyrs  represented 
in  a  window  of  Eaton  Hall,  by  Mr. 
Shields.  The  others  in  the  same'  com 
partment  are  SS.  PERPETUA,  FELICITAS 
and  AGNES.  The  next  compartment 
contains  male  martyrs,  and  includes 
Bishop  Patteson.  Atlteneum,  Feb.  4, 
1882,  p.  105,  "  Fine  Art  Gossip." 

St.  Rasmensoida,  honoured  at 
Astere,  in  the  dioceso  of  Narnur. 
Stadler. 

St.  Rastragena,  May  12,  V.  M. 
honoured  at  Coincy,  between  Rheims 
and  Meaux,  and  supposed  to  be  a  con 
verted  barbarian  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Church,  and  a  martyr  of  chastity. 
AA.SS.J  Appendix. 

St.  Ratgunt,  RADEGUND. 

St.  Rathnata  or  RATHNOTA,  RETHNA. 

St.  Ratrude,  EPIPHANIA  (2). 

St.  Raurava.  Dec.  3,  M.  in  Ethiopia. 
Mas  Latrie.  Guerin. 

St.  Ravenosa,  honoured  in  Sicily, 
Dec.  8.  Mas  Latrie.  Guerin. 

St.  Raynoffle,  RAINOFLE. 

St.  Rayne.     (See  ST.  WHITE.) 

St.  Reata,  Sept.  6,  V.  M.,  came 
from  Spain  with  Sanctian,  Augustin, 
Felix  and  Aubert.  They  were  all  mar 
tyred  at  Sens,  where  a  church  is  built  in 
their  honour.  Martin. 

St.  Rectinea,  Oct.  27,  V.  Irish. 
Mart,  of  Donegal.  AA.SS.,  Praetcr. 


182 


ST.    RECTRUDE 


St.  Rectrude,  EICTRUDE. 

St.  Redegundis  or  BEDIGUND,  EADE- 

GUND  (3). 

St.  Redempta,  July  23,  a  disciple  of 
ST.  HIRUNDO  and  teacher  of  ST.  KOMULA. 

St.  Reducta  or  NEDUCTA,  June  2. 
One  of  227  Eoman  martyrs  commemo 
rated  together  this  day  in  the  Martyr- 
ology  of  St.  Jerome.  A A.SS. 

St.  Refroie,  EAINFREDE. 

St.  Regenfledis,  EEGENFLEGIS,  or 
EEGENFREDIS,  WILGEFORTIS. 

St.  Regenfrith,  WILGEFORTIS. 

St.  Regensvide  or  KEGENSWITHA, 
EEGINSIPIS. 

St.  Regia,  EEGINA  (1). 

St.  Regina  (1),  Sept.  7  (EEINE, 
EEGIA),  V.  M.  251  or  286,  or 
5th  century,  under  the  Vandals,  etc. 
Patron  of  Alise  and  against  itch  and 
other  skin  diseases.  Eepresented :  (1) 
with  signs  of  torture  and  martyrdom 
and  with  a  well  near  her,  being  one  of 
many  saints  wrho  either  made  a  well  or 
endowed  one  with  miraculous  properties; 
(2)  with  a  sheep  beside  her ;  (3)  with  a 
banner,  but  this  is  probably  from  con 
fusing  her  with  St.  Margaret. 

Legend  says  she  was  daughter  of 
Clement,  a  heathen  nobleman  of  Alise, 
in  Burgundy,  once  the  large  town  of 
Alexia  besieged  by  Caesar.  Eegina  was 
brought  up  at  the  cottage  of  her  Chris 
tian  nurse,  and  kept  her  sheep.  When 
she  was  grown  up,  a  young  nobleman, 
named  Olybrius,  was  riding  by  on  a 
visit  to  Clement,  and  seeing  a  beautiful 
shepherdess,  inquired  who  she  was. 
When  he  found  that  she  was  the  daughter 
of  his  friend,  he  proposed  to  marry  her 
and  was  accepted  by  her  father.  Eegina, 
however,  had  made  a  vow  of  celibacy, 
and  declined  to  marry.  Clement  or 
dered  her  immediately  to  renounce  her 
vow  and  her  religion,  and  on  her  re 
newed  refusal,  carried  her  off  to  the 
castle  of  Grignon,  and  shut  her  up  in  a 
tower.  The  stone  to  which  she  was 
chained,  and  the  chain  which  bound  her 
to  it  by  the  waist  are  still  shown  in  the 
abbey  of  Flavigny,  whither  her  relics 
were  translated  in  864.  A  small  town 
near  Alise  is  called  Ste.  Eeine  in  memory 
of  her. 

Theophilus,  who  fed  her  in  prison,  is 


said  to  be  the  writer  of  her  Life.  Butler 
says  she  was  beheaded  for  the  faith 
either  under  Decius,  251,  or  under  Maxi- 
mian  Hercules  in  286.  Her  legend  is  a 
duplicate  of  that  of  St.  Margaret  (1), 
also  fabulous.  EM.  A  A.SS.  Baillet. 
Butler. 

St.  Regina  (2),  April  2,  M.  in  Africa, 
with  St.  Marcellenus. 

St.  Regina  (3),  March  1 ,  M.  at  Nico- 
meclia,  with  ST.  ANTIGA.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Regina  (4,  5).  Two  saints  of 
this  name,  perhaps  queens  whose  names 
are  lost,  were  among  the  companions  of 
ST.  URSULA. 

St.  Regina  (<>)  or  EEINE,  July  1, 
8th  century;  translations  April  17  and 
March  17.  Eepresented  wearing  a 
crown  and  holding  an  abbess'  staff  but 
without  the  nun's  veil.  Of  royal  de 
scent,  she  married  Adalbert  or  Auberfc, 
count  of  Ostrovandia  or  Estrevant,  who 
held  high  office  under  Pepiu  d'Herstal, 
the  second  of  the  three  great  Pepins. 
They  had  ten  daughters  and  built  for 
them  the  monastery  of  Denain  on  the 
Scheldt,  not  far  from  Valenciennes, 
which  they  dedicated  in  the  names  of 
St.  Mary  and  St.  Martin.  Their  eldest 
daughter,  ST.  EAINFREDE,  was  the  first 
abbess.  AA.SS.  Bucelinus.  Stadler. 

St.  Reginfrede,  EAINFREDE. 

St.  Reginsidis,  EEGENSVLDE,  EEGENS- 
WITHA,  EEGINSWINDIS,  EEGNISIDIS,  July 
15,  V.  M.  9th  century,  at  Lauffen  on 
the  Neckar,  in  the  diocese  of  Wurtz- 
burg.  Only  child  of  Ernest,  landgrave 
of  Leuchtenburg  in  Swabia,  and  Fried- 
burg,  his  wife.  When  she  was  seven 
years  old,  her  nurse's  brother,  who  had 
the  charge  of  a  drove  of  horses  belong 
ing  to  the  landgrave,  neglected  them, 
causing  great  loss  to  his  master.  The 
landgrave  had  him  flogged;  his  sister, 
the  nurse,  was  so  angry  that  no  ven 
geance  seemed  too  great  for  her;  she 
killed  Eeginsidis  and  threw  her  from 
the  castle  of  Lauffen  into  the  river 
Neckar  which  ran  deep  and  swift  below. 
The  little  girl  was  drowned  but  the 
waters  would  neither  cover  the  innocent 
child  nor  carry  her  away.  Hubert, 
bishop  of  Wurtzburg,  saw  in  a  vision 
the  little  princess  crowned  with  lilies 
amongst  the  heavenly  choir  following 


ST.   RESPONSA 


183 


the  Lamb  and  singing  the  praises  of  her 
crucified  Lord.  The  body  was  trans 
lated  with  great  pomp  and  reverence 
into  the  Church,  and  wrought  miracles. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Reginswindis,  EEGINSIDIS. 

St.  Reginulfa,  EAINOFLE. 

St.  Regiola,  Feb.  11,  Aug.  30,  M. 
at  Avitina  with  VICTORIA  (2). 

St.  Regnach  or  EEGNACIA,  sister  of 
the  great  St.  Finnian  of  Clonard  who 
lived  in  the  6th  century.  Kegnach  was 
abbess  of  Kilreynagh  in  Meath,  a  monas 
tery  built  for  her  and  devoted  to  the 
Christian  education  of  women.  One  of 
her  pupils  was  LASSARA.  Lanigan. 

St.  Regnisidis,  KEGINSIDIS. 

St.  Regonde,  EADEGUND. 

St.  Regula  (1 ).     (See  VICTORIA  (2).) 

St.  Regula  (2)  or  EIEULE,  Sep.  11, 
Oct.  11,  V.  M.  end  of  3rd  or  begin 
ning  of  4th  century.  Patron,  with  her 
brother  St.  Felix,  of  Zurich  and  Heili- 
genberg.  After  the  massacre  of  the 
Theban  legion,  Eegula  with  her  brother 
Felix  who  was  one  of  the  soldiers,  wan 
dered  through  Switzerland,  but  being 
ambitious  of  martyrdom,  they  gave  them 
selves  up  at  Zurich,  to  their  pursuers. 
Regula  was  condemned  to  swallow  melted 
lead ;  she  told  her  judge  it  was  sweeter 
than  milk  and  honey.  Their  trial  and 
tortures  were  attended  with  divers  mira 
cles  ;  at  last  they  were  beheaded,  and 
taking  i their  heads  up  in  their  hands, 
they  carried  them  a  considerable  dis 
tance.  AA.SS.  King. 

St.  Regunfledis,  WILGEFORTIS. 

St.  Reine,  EEGINA. 

St.  Reineld,  EEYNELD. 

St.  Reinfrede,  EAINFREDE. 

St.  Reingar  or  EHIENGAR.  (See 
ALMHEDA.) 

St.  Reinhild,  EEYNELD.  Sometimes 
EELIND. 

St.  Reinila,  EELIND. 

St.  Reinildis,  EEYNELD.  Sometimes 
EELIND. 

St.  Reinula,  EELIND. 

St.  Relind  (1),  Oct.  12,  Feb.  G, 
Mar.  22  (ERNELLA,  EEINHILD,  EEINILA, 
EEINILD,  EEINULA,  EELNIDE,  EENELLE, 
EENULA,  etc.),  +  c.  750.  Joint  abbess 
and  patron  of  Maasech,  with  her  sister 
ST.  HARLIND. 


St.  Relind  (2),  Nov.  10.  10th  cen 
tury.  A  recluse  at  Flemalia,  near 
Liege,  commemorated  with  her  sisters 
SS.  BENEDICTA  (13)  and  CECILIA  (11), 
daughters  of  Zuentibold,  son  of  the 
Emperor  Arnulf  (887-899)  Bucelinus, 
Men.  Ben. 

St.  Renata,  in  French,  EENEE,  M. 
Eelics  venerated  at  Auxerre.  Stadler. 

St.  Renee,  RENATA. 

St.  Renelle,  EELIND. 

St.  Renfroi,  EAINFREDE. 

St.  Renofele,  EAINOFLE. 

St.  Renula,  EELIND. 

St.  Reparata,  Oct.  8,  2nd  century. 
V.  M.  at  Csesarea  in  Palestine.  Eepre- 
sented  carrying  a  banner.  Patron  of 
Florence,  of  Nice  in  Provence,  of  Cor- 
reggio,  and  of  Atri  (Adria).  In  the  per 
secution  under  Decius,  she  was  placed 
beside  a  caldron  of  boiling  lead,  into 
which  she  was  to  be  plunged  if  she 
would  not  renounce  her  Christianity ; 
the  lead  became  cold  and  solid.  Then 
her  breasts  were  cut  off;  burning  torches 
were  held  against  her,  and  she  was 
thrown  into  a  furnace.  As  none  of  these 
tortures  induced  her  to  apostatize,  she 
was  led  naked  round  the  city,  to  the 
horror  of  all  the  Christians,  and  finally 
beheaded.  Her  soul,  in  the  form  of  a 
white  dove,  was  seen  to  leave  her  body. 
Such  is  the  account  given  by  Eabanus 
Maurus  in  his  Martyrology  in  the  ninth 
century.  Her  body  is  said  to  have 
crossed  the  Mediterranean  in  a  Moorish 
ship  without  sails  or  crew,  to  Cam 
pania,  and  it  then  settled  at  Teano  in 
Apuglia. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  real  Eeparata 
lived  and  was  martyred  at  Florence, 
where  a  church  bore  her  name  in  the 
4th  century,  and  that  when  her  history 
was  forgotten,  the  above  wonderful 
legend  was  manufactured,  grounded 
partly  on  that  of  ST.  ALBINA  (1). 

EM.  Baillet.  Cahier.  Mrs.  Jameson. 
Stadler. 

St.  Reposita,  Jan.  2l,M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Respecta,  July  20,  +  c.  GOO, 
abbess  of  the  nuns  of  Monte  Cassino. 
Guenebault. 

St.  Responsa,  April  23,  companion 
of  ST.  URSULA.  Eesponsa's  relics  were 
venerated  in  the  convent  of  Minorite  nuns 


184 


ST.   RESTITUTA 


of  St.  Antonio  de  Alcacer  do  Sal,  in 
Portugal.  AA.SS.,  Pr&ter. 

St.  Restituta  (1),  May  17,  V.  M. 
3rd  century.  In  the  time  of  the  Em 
peror  Valerian  (253-260),  Eestituta, 
after  undergoing  many  tortures,  was 
condemned,  in  Africa,  by  Proculus,  to 
be  set  adrift  in  a  boat  with  a  quantity 
of  burning  pitch  and  tow;  the  flames 
turned  upon  those  who  kindled  them, 
and  Restituta  gave  up  her  soul  to  God  ; 
the  boat  floated  to  the  island  of  Ischia 
and  was  received  by  the  Christians  with 
great  veneration.  Afterwards  Constan 
tino  the  Great  had  a  dream  about  this 
martyr,  and  on  investigation  found  her 
sacred  body  shining  like  snow.  He  built 
a  church  in  Naples  in  honour  of  her. 
E.N.  AA.SS. 

St.  Restituta  (2),  May  27,  +  c.  272, 
time  of  Aurelian.  Patron  of  Sora  in 
Campania  (with  St.  Julian,  M.,  and  St. 
Dominic,  abbot),  and  of  Pont  Arcy,  near 
Soissons.  Daughter  of  Ethel  and  Dabia 
who  lived  in  the  part  of  Eome  now  called 
Trastevere.  Eestituta  was  young,  beau 
tiful,  rich  and  nobly  born.  During  the 
persecution,  she  made  a  vow  of  virginity. 
Desiring  to  serve  Christ,  and  praying 
for  direction,  it  was  revealed  to  her  that 
she  must  go  to  Sora  and  deliver  His 
people  from  the  tyranny  under  which 
they  groaned  and  that  she  must  not  be 
deterred  by  any  misgiving  on  account 
of  her  age  and  sex.  She  prayed  again, 
"  Lord,  I  have  hardly  ever  gone  out  of 
the  house  for  fear  of  meeting  evil  com 
panions,  or  coming  to  harm;  how  then 
can  I  go  to  a  city  of  which  I  do  not  even 
know  in  what  part  of  the  world  it  is 
situated  ?  "  The  Lord  answered,  "  Early 
to-morrow,  go  to  the  Lateran  gate,  and 
there  thou  shalt  find  a  guide  sent  by 
Me."  There  she  met  an  angel,  and 
when  she  had  explained  her  mission,  he 
told  her  it  was  a  long  journey,  forty 
miles,  and  she  had  better  sleep  and  rest 
before  setting  out;  she  did  so,  and  he 
transported  her  during  her  sleep  to  the 
outside  of  the  gate  of  Sora,  where  she 
found  herself  when  she  awoke.  She 
entered  the  city  and  went  to  the 
house  of  a  widow  whose  son  Cyril  was 
afflicted  with  leprosy.  She  cured  him 
and  converted  him,  his  mother,  and  forty 


others.  Crowds  came  to  see  him,  and 
he  preached  Christianity  to  them. 
Agathius,  the  proconsul,  heard  that 
Cyril  was  neglecting  the  gods  for  the 
new  religion,  sent  for  him,  and  asked 
an  account  of  his  conversion.  Then  he 
said,  "  Where  is  Eestituta?  "  Cyril  said, 
"  She  lodges  with  us."  "  Bring  her 
here,"  said  Agathius.  She  came,  and 
when  he  saw  a  beautiful  young  lady, 
he  spoke  civilly  to  her :  "  It  appears 
that  you  do  not  know  that  the  honour 
you  give  to  Christ  is  an  insult  to 
the  emperor,  but  as  you  seem  to  be 
very  young,  I  will  treat  your  ignor 
ance  with  indulgence.  Give  up  your 
superstitions,  offer  incense  to  our  gods, 
and  I  will  marry  you  ;  and  as  you 
seem  to  be  very  poor,  you  shall  immedi 
ately  be  made  rich."  Eestituta  answered, 
"  You  propose  to  me  three  things ;  one 
of  which  I  abhor  as  impious,  and  the 
others  I  condemn  as  frivolous :  to  re 
nounce  the  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of 
Lords  for  a  mortal  king ;  to  renounce 
an  immortal  Husband  for  thee,  who  art 
in  bondage  to  an  earthly  lord  and  wilt 
soon  be  food  for  worms ;  and  as  for 
wealth,  I  utterly  despise  it !  "  Agathius 
was  very  angry  and  ordered  her  to  be 
scourged.  Under  this  torture,  she  sang 
hymns.  She  was  next  bound  with  seven 
iron  chains,  then  kept  seven  days  with 
out  food,  all  the  time  miraculously  sus 
tained.  She  converted  thirty-nine  gaolers, 
who  were  all  baptized  and  then,  with 
Eestituta,  brought  up  for  judgment  be 
fore  Agathius,  when  the  guards  and 
other  attendants  were  converted  also. 
Eestituta  and  her  convert  Cyril  were 
beheaded  with  two  others,  and  their 
bodies  ordered  to  be  left  for  the  beasts 
and  birds  of  prey;  but  the  Christians 
took  them  and  buried  them  reverently. 
The  heads  were  not  with  the  bodies, 
but  Eestituta  appeared  in  glory,  seven 
days  afterwards,  to  the  venerable 
Amasius,  bishop  of  Sora,  and  told  him 
where  they  were  to  be  found. 

After  the  death  of  Aurelian,  the 
Church  had  peace.  Amasius  built  a 
church  over  the  bodies  of  these  martyrs. 
In  the  9th  century,  the  bodies  were 
taken  to  Eome  for  fear  of  the  Saracens  ; 
that  of  Eestituta  was  given  by  Pope 


ST.   RHA1S 


185 


Leo  IV.  to  the  Emperor  Louis  II.,  who 
had  helped  him  against  the  Lombards 
and  whom  he  anointed  Emperor.  It 
was  brought  to  France  ;  miracles  oc 
curred  at  many  places  along  the  way. 
Her  body  and  those  of  two  other  mar 
tyrs  were  found  at  Sora  in  the  time  of 
Gregory,  bishop  of  Terracina,  who,  in 
1G;>2,  compiled  her  Acts  from  several 
MSS.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Restituta  (3),  Feb.  11,  V.  M. 
with  ST.  VICTOEIA  (2),  at  Avitina. 

St.  Restituta  (4),  June  15,  widow. 
M.,  311,  at  Cagliari.  Mother  of  St. 
Eusebius  (Aug.  1),  bishop  of  Vercelli. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Rethna,  EATHNATA,  EATHNOTA 
or  EUTHEXA,  V.  Aug.  3  or  5,  6th  cen 
tury,  lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Liffey, 
in  Ireland.  She  had  a  holy  disciple  and 
nursling,  St.  Colommanus,  whom  she  sent 
to  be  ordained  bishop  by  St.  Columba  at 
lona.  When  he  returned  she  said, 
"  My  son,  my  dear  daughter  is  very  ill ; 
come  therefore  to  ST.  ITA  that  she  may 
bless  you  and  that  she  may  help  your 
companion."  So  they  harnessed  the 
horse  to  the  car  and  set  off,  but  the  devil 
threw  many  obstacles  in  their  way. 
That  day  Ita  said  to  her  household, 
"  Prepare  baths  and  a  feast,  for  to-day 
we  shall  have  holy  guests  from  a  long 
way  off."  When  they  arrived,  she 
asked  for  the  bishop's  blessing,  although 
no  one  had  told  her  that  he  was  a  bishop  ; 
and  then  before  they  had  time  to  speak 
of  the  woman  who  was  ill,  she  said  to 
Eethna,  "  Your  daughter  who  is  ill ; 
choose  now ;  would  you  have  her  well  in 
body  and  let  her  lose  her  soul,  or  would 
you  have  her  suffering  pain  and  have  her 
soul  saved  ?  "  They  chose  temporal  suf 
fering  and  eternal  life  for  her  ;  and  it 
was  so.  Then  Eethna  told  Ita  that 
she  had  a  dear  friend,  a  holy  virgin,  in 
the  south  of  Ireland,  and  asked  if  she 
would  advise  her  to  go  and  see  her.  Ita 
said,  "  No,  for  she  is  on  her  way  to  see 
you  and  you  will  meet  her  between 
Momonia  and  Leinster."  And  so  it 
happened.  Colgan  calls  Eethna's  pupil 
Columbanus.  AA.SS.,  "  St.  Itta."  Col 
gan,  "  St.  Itta." 

St.  Retrude,  EPIPHANIA  (2). 

St.  Retticula,  Aug.  16,  V.  at  Aries. 


Preferring  a  religious  life  to  a  brilliant 
marriage,  she  entered  the  convent  which 
St.  Cesarius  had  long  before  founded  for 
his  sister.  Eetticula  became  prioress. 
Her  good  works  and  miracles  proved  her 
innocence  under  a  cruel  persecution. 
French  Mart. 

St.  Reuma,  RUMA. 

St.  Revocata  or  RIVOCATA,  Feb  G, 
M.  at  Viana  in  Portugal,  with  Theo- 
philus  and  Saturninus,  either  in  the 
sixth  persecution,  under  Maximianus, 
239,  or  in  the  seventh,  under  Decius, 
200.  Some  calendars  have  the  names 
Eevocatus  and  Theophila,  and  some  give 
Achaia  as  the  place  of  martyrdom,  while 
others  mention  different  places  in  Ga- 
licia  and  Asturias.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Reyneld,  ERNELLA,  RAGNILD, 
EAINILD,  EEINELDE,  EEINHILD  or  REIN- 
ILDIS,  July  16,  21,  Aug.  13,  V.M.  c.  860. 
Patron  of  Conde.  Represented  carrying 
a  pilgrim's  staff  and  a  martyr's  palm. 
Daughter  of  B.  Witger,  count,  and  ST. 
AMALBERGA  (1).  Sister  of  St.  Emebert, 
bishop  of  Arras  and  Cambrai,  and  SS. 
GUDULA  and  PHARAILDIS.  Her  father 
became  a  monk;  her  mother,  a  nun  at 
Maubeuge.  Eeyneld  went  as  a  pilgrim 
to  the  Holy  Land,  and  on  her  return 
settled  on  an  estate  she  had  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Saintes,  near  Halle  in 
the  Henegau,  and  there  lived  a  life  of 
charity  and  self-denial,  giving  everything 
she  had  to  the  poor.  About  G80,  an  inroad 
of  barbarians  from  East  Friesland  and 
Lower  Saxony  made  most  of  the  dwel 
lers  in  the  Henegau  take  to  flight ;  but 
Eeyneld  shut  herself  up  in  the  church. 
When  the  enemy  had  burnt  and  plun 
dered  all  the  other  houses,  they  broke 
into  the  church  and  tore  the  saint  from 
the  altar  to  which  she  was  clinging,  and 
after  dragging  her  about  the  church  by 
her  hair,  they  cut  off  her  head.  A  priest 
of  the  name  of  Grimoald  and  a  servant 
named  Gondulph  were  murdered  with 
her,  and  the  three  are  venerated  as 
martyrs.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Rhadegund,  EADEGUND. 

St.  Rhais  (1),  EALS,  or  HERA'IS, 
June  28,  a  catechumen,  M.  with  ST.  Po- 
TAMICEXA,  at  Alexandria,  in  the  reign  of 
Severus  (222-235).  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rhais  (2),  IRAIS. 


186 


ST.   RHIENGAR 


St.  Rhiengar.     (See  ALMHEDA.) 

St.  Rhipsime,  EIPSIMA. 

St.  Rhoda  or  KOSULA,  Nov.  2,  M.  at 
Cagliari  in  Sardina,  with  many  others 
who  went  there  from  Rome.  AA.SS., 
Prseter. 

St.  Rhodana,  one  of  the  martyrs 
of  Lyons,  beheaded,  being  a  Koman 
citizen.  (See  BLANDINA.) 

St.  Rhothild  or  EHOTILD,  CLOTILDA 

CO- 
St.  Rhuddlad,  Sept.  4.     Patron  of 
Llanrhuddlad  in   Anglesey.     Daughter 
of  a  king   of  Leinster.      Kees,   Welsli 
Saints. 

St.  Richa  (1),  EIXA. 
Yen.  Richa  (2),  July  2,  V.  12th 
century.  Nun  of  the  Order  of  Cluny. 
St.  Otto  was  bishop  of  Bamberg  (1139) 
and  apostle  of  Pomerania.  On  his  jour 
ney  to  Pomerania,  he  passed  through  the 
Bohemian  forest  and  rested  at  Cladrim, 
a  Cluniac  religious  house,  where  he  was 
hospitably  received  and  where  he  conse 
crated  a  church  by  the  name  of  St. 
Nicolas  and  gave  the  sacred  veil  to 
several  nuns ;  among  them,  one  named 
Eicha.  During  the  ceremony  she  seemed 
to  be  overcome  with  grief,  and  he  com 
forted  her,  saying,  "  Weep  not,  daughter; 
be  sure  that  at  the  day  of  judgment  I 
will  give  your  soul  into  the  hands  of 
your  God  and  Husband,  Jesus  Christ." 
After  many  years,  on  the  anniversary 
of  his  burial,  Eicha  died,  depending  on 
his  promise.  She  is  commemorated  by 
Bucelinus  and  Menardus,  but  there  is  no 
authority  for  worshipping  her.  AA.SS., 
«  St.  Otto." 

St.  Richarda,  EICHGAEDIS  or  Ei- 
GARDA,  Sept.  18,9th  century.  Empress. 
Eepresented  undergoing  trial  by 
ordeal — not  walking  over  the  plough 
shares  like  Cunegund,  but  handling  them 
in  the  fire. 

She  is  said  by  Wion,  Bucelinus,  and 
others  to  be  a  daughter  of  Gregory,  king 
of  the  Scots  ;  Stadler  says  her  father  was 
Erchangar,  count  of  Alsace.  She  was 
wife  of  Charles  the  Fat,  king  of  France 
and  Italy,  and  emperor.  They  went  to 
Eome  in  880  and  were  crowned  by  the 
Pope.  Eicharda  lived  ten,  twelve  or,  by 
other  accounts,  twenty-five  years  at 
Court,  a  virgin,  and  a  pattern  of  every 


virtue.  She  founded  the  monastery  of 
Andlau  or  Andelaha  in  Alsace,  on  her 
own  estates  in  the  Vosges,  for  twelve 
canons  and  twelve  canonesses,  under  the 
invocation  of  SS.  Fabian  and  Felicitas. 

Charles  suffered  excruciating  pains  in 
his  head,  and  attributed  it  to  some  sort 
of  diabolic  possession,  for  which  he  was 
exorcised,  but  the  pain  continued.  Then 
he  had  incisions  made  in  his  head  to  get 
rid  of  the  devil,  but  the  pain  only  grew 
worse.  Among  other  delusions,  he  sus 
pected  his  wife  of  misconduct  with  Luit- 
ward,  bishop  of  Vercelli.  She  demanded 
to  clear  her  character,  either  by  having  a 
champion  to  fight  for  her  or  by  some 
other  ordeal.  The  trial  consisted  of  the 
accused  being  wrapped  in  linen  cloth 
soaked  with  inflammable  liquid  and  set 
on  fire  at  the  four  corners.  It  was  burnt 
away  to  nothing,  and  the  innocent  queen 
remained  unhurt.  Thus  was  her  inno 
cence  proved.  Some  say  the  emperor 
would  have  no  trial.  The  empress  was 
divorced,  however,  and  retired  to  the 
monastery  she  had  built.  There  she 
took  the  veil,  and  was  soon  elected 
abbess.  Afterwards  she  went  to  the 
monastery  of  St.  Felix  and  St.  Eegula 
at  Tigurim,  in  Switzerland.  Others  say 
she  was  abbess  of  Landau  and  Seckingen. 
Very  soon  after  the  divorce,  Charles 
was  deposed  and  succeeded  by  Arnulf. 
Eicharda  lived  a  few  years  longer. 

Cratepol  says  she  rests  in  her  monas 
tery  of  Andlau,  where  also  is  preserved 
the  body  of  St.  Lazarus  whom  Christ 
raised.  In  1049,  Leo  IX.  ordered  a 
solemn  translation  of  her  body,  and  she 
is  honoured  as  a  saint  in  France  and 
Germany,  especially  in  Alsace. 

AA.S8.  Tritheim,  Viris  Elustris. 
Cratepol,  De  Sanctis  Germanise.  Buce 
linus.  Mezeray,  Hist,  de  France.  Ott, 
Die  Legende.  Cahier.  Encyclopedia 
Metropolitana.  Leibnitz.  Wion,  Lignum 
Vitse.  Stadler. 

St.  Richella,  May  19.  Mart,  of 
TamlagJit.  (See  CINNA  and  CINNENUM.) 

St.  Richense,  EIXA. 

St.  Richeye,  EIXA. 

St.  Richeza,  EIXA. 

St.  Richgardis,  EICHAIIDA. 

St.  Richilda  or  EICHILDIS,  Aug.  23, 
+  1100,  a  recluse.  She  belonged  to 


ST.   RICTRUDE 


187 


tlie  community  of  nuns  in  the  Benedictine 
monastery  of  Hohenwart  in  Bavaria, 
under  its  first  abbess,  B.  WILTRUDE  (2), 
but  lived  apart  in  a  little  cell  outside 
the  house,  as  was  the  custom  of  recluses 
at  that  time.  She  attained  to  so  great 
a  reputation  for  holiness  that  she  was 
buried  under  the  high  altar,  and  by-and- 
by  was  translated  into  her  cell,  which 
was  transformed  into  a  chapel,  and  be 
came  a  favourite  resort  of  pilgrims. 
Although  no  decree  of  Beatification  was 
ever  pronounced,  the  popularity  of  her 
worship  continues  to  the  present  day. 
AA.SS.  Stadlor. 

St.     Richinna.       (See    CINNA    and 

ClNNENUM.) 

St.  Richissa,  RIXA. 

Ven.  Richlind,  Dec.  2G,  abbess  of 
Odilienberg,  O.S.B.  In  1140  she  was 
called  from  Berg  in  the  diocese  of  Eich- 
stadt,  to  reform  Odilienberg.  Stadler. 

B.  Richmera,  Oct.  17,  mm  at  Pre- 
montre.  AA.SS.9  Prseter. 

B.  Richmunda,  Oct.  23,  V.  Nun  in 
the  Cistercian  monastery  of  ST.  WAL- 
BURGA,  near  Cologne.  She  had  heavenly 
visions,  and  is  called  Saint,  Blessed,  and 
Venerable  by  many  writers,  but  there  is 
no  authority  for  her  worship.  Buceli- 
nus,  Chalemot,  and  Henriquez  called  her 
Blessed.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ricinne.  (See  CINNA  and  CIN- 
NENUM.) 

B.  Ricovera  or  EICWERA,  May  23, 
+  1136.  The  first  Praemonstratensian 
canoness.  She  was  the  wife  of  Raymond 
de  Clastres,  who  belonged,  like  herself, 
to  the  nobility  of  Vermandois.  She  had 
a  great  desire  to  lead  a  holier  life  and 
received  the  veil  from  St.  Norbert,  the 
founder  of  the  Praemonstratensian  Order. 
The  rule  was  very  severe  ;  the  canonesses 
kept  perpetual  silence,  not  even  singing 
in  church ;  their  clothing  was  of  the 
coarsest  woollen  stuff.  Having  once 
entered  the  convent,  they  could  never 
leave  it,  and  if  they  received  a  visitor, 
even  if  it  were  a  near  relation,  the  inter 
view  was  hedged  round  with  so  many 
difficulties  and  precautions  that  there 
was  little  temptation  to  repeat  the  in 
dulgence.  So  many  women  followed 
the  example  of  .Ricovera  that  before  the 
death  of  the  founder,  in  1134,  there  were 


ten  thousand  canonesses  of  the  Order. 
Ricovera  was  set  over  the  hospital  of  the 
poor,  where  she  shone  with  the  combined 
virtues  of  Martha  and  Mary.  The  more 
loathsome  the  affliction  of  any  patient, 
the  more  anxious  was  she  to  minister  to 
it  with  her  own  hands.  She  was  buried 
in  the  cemetery  of  the  poor  at  Premontre. 
AA.SS.  Le  Paige,  Hist.  Ord.  Prsem, 
Helyot. 

St.  Rictrith  or  RICTHRITH,  Sept.  21, 
Abbess,  +  786.  Queen  of  Northumber 
land.  She  was  wife  perhaps  of  Egbert, 
king  of  Northumberland  (738-759),  who 
after  a  tolerably  prosperous  and  popular 
reign,  resigned  the  crown  and  became  a 
monk,  and  died  in  768  ;  or  she  may  have 
been  theiwife  of  Egbert's  son  Oswulf,  who 
succeeded  his  father,  and  was  murdered 
by  his  own  servants  in  less  than  a  year 
after  his  accession.  Hoveden.  Strutt. 
Lappenberg.  British  Mart.,  supplement. 

St.  Rictrude,  May  12,  c.  614-688. 
Abbess,  founder  and  patron  of  Marchi- 
ennes  in  Hainault,  and  mother  of  four 
saints.  Born  in  Gascony.  Her  parents 
Ernold  and  Lichia,  were  heathens ;  they 
were  descended  from  the  Visigothic 
kings  who  had  possessed  all  that  country. 
St.  Amandus  being  banished  by  King 
Dagobert  to  the  south  of  France,  was 
received  by  them  and  converted,  and  he 
instructed  Rictrude.  She  married  St. 
Adalbald,  one  of  the  chief  nobles  at  the 
Court  of  the  king  of  the  Franks  ;  he  was 
the  son  or  grandson  of  ST.  GERTRUDE  (4) 
and  perhaps  brother  of  Sigfried,  whose 
wife  ST.  BERTHA  (3),  was  abbess  of 
Blangy.  Adalbald  had  great  posses 
sions  in  Flanders  and  founded  a  monas 
tery  at  Douai,  but  notwithstanding  his 
rank,  wealth,  and  good  qualities,  some 
of  Rictrude's  relations  did  not  consider 
him  a  fit  match  for  a  daughter  of  their 
house,  as  he  came  of  the  hated  race  of 
Franks  who  had  wrested  the  power  from 
the  Visigoths.  Accordingly,  as  he  was 
returning  from  a  visit  to  his  estates  in 
Flanders,  they  caused  him  to  be  assassi 
nated. 

Clovis  II.,  king  of  the  Franks,  tried  to 
insist  on  Rictrude's  marriage  with  another 
of  his  nobles,  as  she  was  still  young  and 
beautiful,  and  her  wealth  was  immense. 
She  invited  the  king  to  a  feast,  and  when 


188 


ST.   RICTRUDE 


lie  was  in  a  cheerful  mood  and  well  dis 
posed  towards  his  hostess,  she  asked  him 
if  he  would  give  her  leave  to  take  for 
her  own  whatever  in  her  house  she  most 
prized.  The  king  thought  she  meant 
himself,  and  was  quite  ready  to  marry 
the  beautiful  young  widow,  so  he  gladly 
consented  to  her  wish.  To  his  disgust, 
she  took  a  veil  which  Amandus  had  con 
secrated  for  her  and  placed  it  on  her  own 
head.  Clovis  was  very  angry  and  abruptly 
left  the  table. 

In  646  she  built  a  nunnery  at  Mar- 
chiennes,  beside  the  monastery  which  her 
husband  and  Amandus  had  already  built 
for  men.  Here  she  lived  as  abbess  for 
forty  years. 

Like  ST.  AMELBEEGA'S  and  ST.  SALA- 
BEEGA'S,  all  her  children  were  saints. 
She  had  one  son,  St.  Maurontus,  a  soldier, 
afterwards  a  priest  and  monk,  and  three 
daughters,  ST.  CLOTSEND  (2),  ST.  EUSE- 
BIA  (5),  and  ST.  ADALASENDA. 

After  ruling  her  nuns  for  forty  years, 
Eictrude  placed  the  business  and  care 
of  the  community  in  younger  hands 
and  gave  herself  entirely  to  preparation 
for  her  holy  death.  Her  chief  festival 
is  May  12,  the  anniversary  of  her 
death;  but  various  translations  of  her 
relics  are  commemorated  on  different 
days. 

The  nunnery  was  abolished  in  1028, 
and  Rictrude's  body  was  preserved  there 
by  the  monks  who  kept  possession  of  the 
place  and  its  revenues. 

The  contemporary  accounts  of  her 
life  having  perished  in  the  devastations 
of  the  Normans,  Stephen,  bishop  of 
Liege,  a  man  of  great  age  and  extra 
ordinary  sanctity,  in  907  chose  Hucbald, 
a  pious  and  learned  monk  of  St.  Amand's, 
to  write  the  life  of  Rictrude  from  the 
traditions  of  the  elders  and  from  sundry 
other  documents.  This  life  is  preserved 
in  AA.SS.O.S.B.  and  in  AAJSS. 

Baillet.     Martin.     Wilbert.     Butler. 

St.  Rictrude  (2)  RICHTEUDA  or 
RECTBTJDE,  April  9,  +  c.  790.  An 
English  nun  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict. 
She  and  her  sister  GISLA  were  nuns  at 
Canterbury,  famous  for  their  learning 
and  piety  ;  they  were  disciples  of  Alcuin, 
who  dedicated  to  them  his  Commentary 
on  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  They  were 


commemorated  in  the  north  of  England. 
Menardus.  Bucelinus.  Ancient  British 
Piety,  supplement.  Smith  and  Wace, 
Diet,  of  Christian  Biography,  says  they 
were  daughters  of  Charlemagne. 

St.  Ricwera,  RICOVEEA. 

St.  Ricza,  RIXA. 

St.  Rieule,  REGULA. 

St.  Rigarda,  KICHABDA. 

St.  Rikscha,  RIXA. 

St.  Rinna,  M.  with  PINNA. 

St.  Riparia  or  RISPAEIA,  patron  of  a 
church  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Brescia. 
Stadler. 

St.  Ripsima  or  RHIPSIME,  Sept.  29, 
V.  M.  c.  301,  one  of  the  patrons  of 
Armenia.  She  belonged  to  a  religious 
community  under  ST.  GAIANA,  at  Rome. 
Her  beauty  having  attracted  the  atten 
tion  of  Diocletian,  they  all  fled  from 
Italy,  about  300,  and  took  refuge  in 
Armenia,  in  the  reign  of  Tiridates  III., 
son  and  successor  of  Chosroes.  They 
built  a  house  for  themselves  outside  the 
walls  of  Valarshabad,  the  capital  of  the 
province  of  Ararat.  When  Tiridates  saw 
Ripsima,  he  was  no  less  struck  by  her 
beauty  than  Diocletian  had  been,  and 
he  had  her  brought  to  his  palace.  She 
escaped,  but  was  pursued  and  murdered 
with  Gaiana  and  thirty-three  nuns,  her 
companions.  Divine  vengeance  fell  upon 
Tiridates,  for  he  was  transformed  into  a 
wild  boar  and  his  people  suffered  divers 
plagues.  At  length  it  was  revealed  to 
the  king's  sister  that  these  plagues  had 
come  upon  them  for  their  wickedness 
in  rejecting  Christianity  and  persecuting 
the  servants  of  God. 

St.  Gregory, called  "the  Illuminator," 
had  been  the  friend  of  Tiridates,  and 
had  endeavoured,  fourteen  years  before 
this  time,  to  dissuade  him  from  wor 
shipping  the  goddess  Anahid  and  to 
influence  him  to  receive  instead  the 
faith  of  Christ.  Tiridates,  angry  and 
obstinate,  after  putting  his  friend  to 
various  horrible  tortures,  cast  him  into 
a  pit  full  of  loathsome  reptiles,  where 
malefactors  were  thrown  and  left  to  die. 
Gregory  was  fed  in  the  pit  by  a  Christian 
woman,  and  remained  there  alive  for 
several  years,  but  the  king's  sister  an 
nounced  that  lie  must  be  brought  back 
and  restored  to  favour,  as  a  condition  of 


ST.   RITA 


189 


the  cessation  of  the  plagues.  Gregory 
now  publicly  instructed  the  people  and 
prepared  them  for  baptism.  He  then 
told  them  of  a  vision  he  had  seen  of 
Christ  appearing  from  heaven  and  of 
three  pedestals,  each  surmounted  by  a 
cross  of  light.  Whereupon  they  built 
three  churches,  one  at  the  spot  where 
St.  Eipsima  was  murdered,  one  on  the 
site  of  the  martyrdom  of  Gaiana,  and 
the  third  on  that  where  the  thirty-three 
nuns  were  massacred.  The  place  was 
called  Etchmiadzin,  tlie  descent  of  tlie 
Only  Begotten ;  the  Turkish  name  of  the 
place  is  Utch-Kilise,  the  three  churches ; 
on  that  spot  was  Gregory's  cathedral 
church  when  he  was  made  first  patriarch 
of  Armenia.  Thus  Armenia  became 
the  first  Christian  nation,  several  years 
before  the  Eoman  empire  adopted  the 
true  faith. 

R.M.      Neale,  Holy   Eastern    Church. 
Kev.    L.   Davidson,    "  St.    Gregory    the 
Illuminator,"  in  Smith  and  Wace,  Diet, 
of  Christian  Biography. 
St.  Risparia,  RIPAKIA. 
St.  Ristha,  Nov.  1,  M.  at  Terracina, 
end  of   1st  century,  with    seven   other 
women  and  seven  men.     AA.SS. 

St.  Rita  or  KITTA,  May  22,  of  the 
Order  of  Hermits  of  St.  Augustine,  -f 
1443  or  1456.  Patron  of  the  town  of 
Cascia,  and  against  small-pox,  on  account 
of  a  wound  in  her  forehead. 

Represented  holding  roses  and  figs, 
sometimes  holding  three  crowns  and  a 
palm,  but  this  is  supposed  to  be  a 
mistake. 

She  was  born  at  Rocca-Porena,  in  the 
diocese  of  Spoleto.  Her  parents  were  a 
very  pious  old  couple,  given  to  good 
works  and  distinguished  particularly  by 
the  spirit  of  concord,  so  that  they  were 
called  the  peace-makers  of  Jesus  Christ. 
They  had  lived  to  a  great  age  without 
children,  when  God  rewarded  their  vir 
tues  by  the  gift  of  a  daughter,  who  was 
to  be  famous  throughout  the  world  for 
her  sanctity  and  miracles.  An  angel 
appeared  to  the  good  old  woman  and 
bade  her  be  of  good  courage  for  her 
daughter  would  be  acceptable  to  God. 
She  was  delivered  without  pain,  and 
while  they  doubted  what  name  they 
should  give  the  child,  they  were  in 


structed  in  a  vision  to  call  her  Rita, 
which  is  a  contraction  of  Margaret,  and 
accordingly  she  was  baptized  by  that 
name.  As  she  lay  in  her  cradle,  swarms 
of  white  bees  were  seen  to  go  in  and 
out  of  her  mouth.  She  was  brought  up 
very  carefully  and  married  young  to  a 
man  who  proved  to  be  extremely  cruel 
and  ill-tempered ;  but  Rita  influenced 
him  so  well  that  his  disposition  changed 
and  he  became  kind  and  gentle.  They 
lived  for  twenty  years  without  quarrel 
ling,  to  the  admiration  of  all  their  neigh 
bours.  Although  so  gentle  to  his  wife, 
his  temper  made  him  some  enemies,  by 
whom  he  was  murdered.  She  was  not 
more  afflicted  by  his  death  than  by  the 
intention  of  her  twin  sous  to  take  ven 
geance  on  his  murderers.  As  she  could 
not  induce  them  to  give  up  the  project, 
she  prayed  that  God  would  take  their 
lives  rather  than  suffer  them  to  stain 
their  hands  with  blood.  Her  prayer 
was  answered:  they  died,  and  their 
death  was  accepted  by  God  as  a  sacrifice 
from  Rita.  Being  now  free  from  all 
domestic  ties,  she  applied  for  admission 
to  the  Augustinian  convent  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalene  at  Cascia.  The  abbess  re 
fused  to  receive  her,  but  after  three 
refusals,  Rita  was  miraculously  conveyed 
into  the  convent  in  the  night,  by  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  St.  Nicholas  of  Tolentino, 
and  St.  Augustine.  The  nuns  convinced 
that  this  interference  was  from  heaven, 
gladly  welcomed  the  new  sister,  and 
from  this  time  her  life  was  marked  by 
wonderful  devotion  and  mortification ; 
her  prayers  were  efficacious  for  healing 
the  sick  and  procuring  other  graces  and 
blessings.  Once  as  she  was  praying 
before  a  crucifix,  she  entreated  that 
she  might  feel  the  pain  of  one  of  the 
thorns  that  pierced  the  head  of  Christ. 
Her  prayer  was  granted.  The  thorn 
pierced  her  forehead,  and  left  a  deep 
wound  and  a  horrible  sore  for  the  rest 
of  her  life ;  it  was  only  healed  for  a 
short  time,  to  enable  her  to  go  to 
Rome  in  the  jubilee  year.  As  several 
nuns  of  her  convent  were  going,  she 
besought  the  abbess  to  allow  her  to  go 
with  them.  She  answered  that  she 
could  not  let  Rita  go  until  that  sore 
was  healed.  She  put  on  some  ointment 


190 


ST.   RITTA 


and  it  healed  immediately,  so  that  she 
fulfilled  her  pious  wish,  and  on  her 
return  to  Cascia,  the  wound  again  be 
came  distressing  to  her  neighbours  and 
delightful  to  herself.  Once,  when  she 
lay  very  ill,  in  mid-winter,  one  of  her 
loving  friends  said  to  her,  "  Is  there 
anything  you  would  like?"  "Yes," 
answered  Eita,  "bring  me  some  roses 
and  figs  from  your  garden."  The  friend 
thought  she  was  wandering  in  her  mind 
from  weakness,  but  went  to  the  garden 
to  see  what  she  could  bring,  and  there 
indeed  she  found  amid  the  snow,  one 
beautiful  rose  and  two  exquisite  ripe 
figs,  and  brought  them  to  Rita.  At 
her  death  all  the  bells  in  the  town 
rang  without  human  agency.  She  was 
beatified  by  Urban  VIII.,  and  was 
canonized  in  May  1900. 

R.M.  Lessons  for  her  day,  in  the 
Breviary  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine. 
AA.SS.  The  Tablet,  May  26,  1900. 

St.  Ritta,  EITA. 

B.  Ritza,  Aug.  30,  V.  Supposed 
10th  or  llth  century.  Nothing  is  known 
of  her  life.  She  is  buried  in  the  church 
of  St.  Castor,  at  Coblentz,  where  her 
festival  used  to  be  kept  every  year ;  but 
notwithstanding  hei*  numerous  miracles, 
her  worship,  which  can  be  traced  to 
the  twelfth  century,  is  now  somewhat 
neglected.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Rivanona,  6th  century.  Mother 
of  St.  Herve  of  Bretagne,  who  was  born 
blind.  Hyvarnion,  a  disciple  of  St. 
Kadoc,  was  one  of  the  bards  who  sat  at 
the  table  of  Chilperic,  king  of  the 
Franks  (probably  513-517).  Wander 
ing  through  Bretagne,  Hyvarnion  saw 
a  beautiful  girl,  with  a  complexion  of 
dazzling  pink  and  white,  sitting  by  an 
enchanted  fountain,  gathering  herbs  to 
make  cures  for  the  ills  of  life.  Having 
already  seen  her  in  a  vision,  he  knew 
she  was  Eivanona,  his  destined  wife.  He 
asked  what  herbs  she  was  gathering, 
and  she  told  him  she  was  looking  for 
three  more  precious  than  all  others — - 
Vervain,  which  is  good  for  a  sad  heart 
because  it  sprang  at  the  foot  of  the  cross 
of  Christ ;  Selage,  which  will  cure  blind 
ness  because  it  derives  its  light  from 
the  aureoles  of  the  saints  and  none  but 
a  saint  can  find  it ;  and  the  Flower  of 


Life,  which  will  cure  death  if  you  can 
find  it.  When  Eivanona  died,  a  ladder 
of  light  was  seen  above  her  oratory,  and 
angels  were  heard  singing  up  and  down 
the  ladder.  Villemarque,  Legcnde 
celtique.  (See  CHRISTINA  (5).) 
St.  Rivocata,  EEVOCATA. 

St.    RlXa,  ElCHA,  ElCHENSE,  ElCHEYE, 
ElCHEZA,     ElCHISSA,    ElCZA,    ElKSCHA     Or 

EYXA,  May  21,  queen  of  Poland,  -f- 
1063.  Eldest  of  the  seven  daughters  of 
Herenfried  or  Ezo,  count  palatine  of  the 
Ehine,  and  his  wife,  B.  MATiLDA,daughter 
of  the  Emperor  Otho  II.  The  marriage 
of  her  parents  had  been  arranged  under 
peculiar  and  romantic  circumstances, 
and  her  own  history  was  no  less  out  of 
the  common.  Dlugosch  relates  that  in 
1001  Otto  III.  was  very  ill,  and  hearing 
the  fame  of  the  miracles  of  St.  Adalbert, 
archbishop  of  Gnesen,  he  vowed  that  if 
that  saint  would  cure  him,  he  would 
visit  his  tomb.  He  recovered  and  sot 
out  for  Guesen,  intending  at  the  same 
time  to  pay  a  visit  to  Boleslaus,  duke  of 
Poland,  who  had  redeemed  for  its  weight 
in  gold,  the  body  of  Sfc.  Adalbert  from 
his  murderers,  the  heathen  Prussians. 
Boleslaus  gave  the  Emperor  a  magnifi 
cent  reception  at  Posnania,  and  as  Otto's 
vow  obliged  him  to  go  on  foot  to  Gnesen, 
seven  miles,  Boleslaus  had  the  whole  of 
the  road  laid  with  cloth  of  various 
colours,  so  that  the  Emperor  and  his 
retinue  should  not  step  on  the  ground. 
Boleslaus  walked  with  him  and  had  a 
grand  gathering  of  bishops,  nobles, 
and  great  ladies,  magnificently  dressed 
and  blazing  with  jewels,  to  receive  them 
in  Gnesen.  Thus  Otto  went  to  the  holy 
tomb  and  returned  thanks  for  his  re 
covery.  Boleslaus  took  care  to  entertain 
him  and  all  his  attendants  sumptuously 
and  hospitably  during  every  day  of  their 
stay,  and  presented  them  with  cups  of 
gold  and  silver,  hawks,  horses,  furs, 
jewels,  and  purple  vestments.  Otto  was 
astonished  at  the  grandeur  of  this  sove 
reign  of  a  people  who  but  yesterday  were 
heathen  savages ;  he  was  like  the  Queen 
of  Sheba  when  she  beheld  the  grandeur  of 
Solomon.  He  desired  to  give  the  duke 
some  reward,  and  pay  him  some  compli 
ment  worthy  of  such  a  splendid  and  hos 
pitable  reception,  so  he  ordered  him  to  be 


ST.   RIXA 


191 


anointed  King.  Otto  sat  on  his  horse 
that  all  the  people  might  see  him,  and 
with  his  own  hands  he  placed  the  crown 
on  the  head  of  Boleslatis.  On  the  same 
day  he  gave  his  niece  Bixa  for  a  wife  to 
Mieczslaw,  the  son  of  Boleslaus.  He  also 
gave  the  new-made  king  a  nail  of  the 
cross  of  Christ,  and  the  lance  of  St. 
Maurice  of  the  Theban  legion,  in  order 
that  he  might  vanquish  all  barbarians. 
Boleslaus,  in  exchange,  gave  Otto  an 
arm  of  St.  Adalbert.  As  the  emperor 
was  returning  to  Magdeburg,  Boleslaus 
escorted  him  to  the  frontier,  and  sent  a 
company  of  his  chief  men  to  fetch 
Princess  Rixa  and  to  carry  rich  gifts 
to  her  parents,  the  count  and  countess 
palatine. 

The  infant  bride  lived  in  Poland  with 
her  mother-in-law,  Queen  Judith  of 
Hungary,  for  twelve  years,  until,  in 
1013,  she  was  given  to  her  husband, 
Mieczslaw,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne 
in  1025.  He  was  very  far  below  his  father 
in  energy  and  ability.  Dlugosch  says 
he  was  lazy  and  gluttonous  and  was 
ruled  by  women  and  that  the  Poles  de 
spised  him,  and  many  of  the  newly 
annexed  provinces  threw  off  the  Polish 
rule.  The  clergy,  however,  spoke  well 
of  him,  as  he  encouraged  the  spread  of 
Christianity.  The  Gospel  was  preached 
in  Poland  in  his  time  in  three  languages, 
Latin,  Greek,  and  Polish.  Wolski  says 
he  was  ruled  entirely  by  his  German 
wife,  and  her  influence  was  prejudicial 
to  Poland.  He  went  mad  at  fifty,  and 
Kixa  was  Kegent  during  his  madness. 
He  died  in  1034.  Half  the  people 
elected  his  son  Chatimir  or  Casimir, 
who  was  twenty  years  old.  The 
coronation  was  deferred  because  many 
feared  that  he  would  inherit  his  father's 
madness.  Kixa  gave  offence  by  increas 
ing  the  taxes  and  by  trying  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  the  lower  classes,  and 
still  more  by  mistrusting  the  Poles, 
appointing  Germans  to  all  the  principal 
offices,  and  taking  Germans  for  her 
advisers.  After  a  time  of  great  diffi 
culty  and  anxiety,  the  nobles  deposed  her 
and  she  had  to  fly  from  the  country  with 
her  son,  and  take  refuge  at  the  Court  of 
her  kinsman,  the  Emperor  Conrad  IT. 
(Dlugosch,  History  of  Poland.) 


The  Life  of  Kixa,  by  a  monk  of  Brau- 
willer,  says  that  she  was  divorced  from 
her  husband  through  the  intrigues  of 
one  of  his  mistresses,  and  at  that  time 
fled  in  disguise,  with  a  very  small  re 
tinue,  to  Saxony,  to  Conrad,  taking  with 
her  the  two  crowns,  her  husband's  and 
her  own.  This  was  a  very  important  gift, 
as  the  possession  of  the  kingdom  was 
always  supposed  to  go  with  that  of 
the  crown.  Conrad  therefore  invaded 
Poland,  took  Mieczslaw  prisoner,  and 
laid  the  whole  country  under  tribute. 
When,  in  1034,  she  fled  for  the  second 
time,  Conrad  was  still  reigning  and  she 
gave  him  the  two  crowns. 

Casimir  studied  for  two  years  in  Paris, 
and  then  became  a  monk  at  Cluny 
(Wolski  says  at  Liege). 

When  the  queen  and  the  young  king 
were  gone,  the  Poles  fell  to  fighting 
among  themselves.  The  people  rose 
against  the  nobles,  the  serfs  against  their 
lords,  the  laymen  against  the  clergy; 
the  towns  and  churches  lay  in  ruins, 
the  fields  were  untilled,  bands  of  robbers 
infested  the  country,  famine  and  bri 
gandage  were  rife.  Yaroslav,  duke  of 
Kussia,  attacked  Poland,  carrying  away 
great  spoil  and  many  captives.  Then 
the  Poles  knew  that  anarchy  was  the 
worst  of  all  conditions.  They  sent  to 
various  countries  in  search  of  their  pro 
scribed  king.  For  a  long  time  his  mother 
would  not  reveal  to  the  messengers  the 
place  of  his  retreat.  She  thought  he 
would  be  happier  in  a  peaceful  and 
law-abiding  country  than  on  the  stormy 
throne  of  Poland.  When  at  last  the 
messengers  found  him,  in  1041,  ho 
refused  to  leave  the  peaceful  cloister 
where  he  had  lived  for  five  years.  He 
had  renounced  the  world  and  was  not 
only  a  Cluniac  monk,  but  also  a  deacon 
and  was  intending  soon  to  be  ordained  a 
priest. 

The  Emperor  also,  who,  before  he  be 
came  a  monk,  had  advised  him  to  be 
content  with  the  rich  inheritance  of  his 
mother  and  uncles  and  not  to  tempt  the 
uncertain  fortune  that  awaited  him  in 
Poland,  approved  of  his  remaining  in 
the  monastery.  The  abbot,  however, 
and  Rixa,  were  both  moved  to  compas 
sion  ut  the  miserable  state  of  Poland,  and 


192 


ST.  ROA 


persuaded  him  to  return.  Pope  Bene 
dict  IX.  approved  of  the  step,  and  ab 
solved  him  from  his  monastic  and  clerical 
vows.  Casimir  kissed  every  one  of  the 
monks  and  begged  them  all  to  pray  for 
him  and  his  kingdom.  He  went  back  to 
Poland,  and  was  set  on  the  throne  in  his 
habit  and  cowl.  The  courtiers  shaved 
their  heads  in  compliment  to  him  ;  and 
the  shaven  crown  came  to  be  the  height 
of  fashion  and  sign  of  nobility.  He  drove 
out  the  Pomeranians,  Prussians,  and  all 
heathen  invaders.  He  married  Mary 
Dobrogneva,  a  good  and  pious  woman, 
daughter  of  St.  Vladimir  sister  of  Yaro- 
slav,  grand-prince  of  Russia,  and  perhaps 
grand-aunt  of  ST.  MARGARET  of  Scotland. 
(See  ST.  ANNA  (14).)  Casimir  was  sur- 
named  the  Pacific.  He  died  in  1058, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Boles- 
laus  II. 

Meantime,  Rixa  seems  to  have  found 
her  chief  solace  in  a  religious  life  and 
in  the  society  of  her  brother.  She 
declined  to  return  with  her  son,  but  gave 
him  all  the  jewels  that  ought  to  belong 
to  him,  and  begged  the  Emperor 
Henry  III.  to  restore  to  him  the  crowns 
which  she  had  given  into  the  keeping  of 
his  father  Conrad  II.;  and  he  did  so. 
Eixa  nearly  died  of  grief  for  the  death 
of  her  brother  Ofcto,  count  palatine,  and 
duke  of  Suabia,  which  occurred  in  the 
same  year  as  her  son's  restoration.  She 
offered  all  her  jewels  and  golden  orna 
ments  on  the  altar,  and  took  the  veil 
from  the  hands  of  Bruno,  bishop  of  Toul, 
afterwards  Pope  Leo  IX.,  and  she  charged 
all  her  friends  and  dependents  to  bury 
her  beside  her  brother.  Her  remaining 
brother  Herman,  archbishop  of  Cologne, 
died  in  1056,  and  was  succeeded  by  Anno. 

Rixa  gave  immense  estates  to  the 
Church,  subject  to-  her  use  of  them 
during  her  life.  The  monastery  of 
Brau wilier,  founded  by  her  parents,  was 
completed  in  1061,  and  endowed  by  her 
with  the  lands  of  Clotten  and  other  great 
estates.  She  built  another  monastery 
near  Wurtzburg,  on  the  spot  consecrated 
by  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Kilian  and  his 
companions,  and  at  the  same  time  she 
gave  the  lands  of  Soltz  in  Henneberg, 
to  the  bishop  of  Wurtzburg. 

She  died  at  Salevelt  and  was  buried, 


according  to  her  wish,  in  the  church  of 
St.  Mary  ad  Gradus,  at  Cologne.  She 
was  represented  on  her  tomb  by  the 
side  of  her  brother,  the  archbishop,  both 
wearing  halos  like  saints,  and  in  one  of 
the  windows  of  the  church  she  is  pic 
tured  between  two  of  its  tutelary  saints, 
her  uncle  Anno  and  Agilulph,  and  is 
called  in  the  inscription,  Sancta  Richeza, 
and  her  body  is  exhibited  for  veneration 
on  certain  great  festivals. 

Ferrarius,  Molanus  and  Cratepol  call 
her  Saint,  but  the  Bollandists  do  not. 
No  miracles  are  recorded  of  her. 

Besides  her  son  Casimir,  Eixa  had  a 
son  Boleslaus,  who  died  in  childhood, 
and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom,  Rixa, 
married  Bela,  brother  of  Andrew  I.  of 
Hungary,  and  was  the  mother  of  St. 
Ladislaus,  king  of  Hungary. 

Palacky,  Gesch.vonBohmen.  Karamsin. 
Hist,  de  Eussie.  Salvandy,  Hist,  de 
Pologne.  Dunham,  Hist,  of  Poland.  An 
account  by  a  monk  of  Brauwiller,  in 
Leibnitz  Scriptores.  Kalixt  Wolski, 
Poland,  her  Glories,  etc. 

St.  Roa  or  AROA,  July  5,  M.  at 
Cyrene,  in  Libya.  (See  CYPRILLA.) 

St.  Rodafia,  RODALIA,  RODAPIA,  Ro- 

DASIA,    RODESIA,    RoDINIA,    RoDOFIA,    Ro- 

DOLIA,  RODOPIA,  or  RODOSIA,  July  5,  M. 
at  Tomis.  AA.SS.  (See  MERONA.) 

St.  Rodena,  Sept.  22,  V.  1st  cent. 
Honoured  with  SS.  Silvanus  and  Silves 
ter,  who  were  sent  from  Rome  by  St. 
Peter  to  preach  in  Gaul.  Silvester  died 
at  Bethany,  a  short  distance  from  Rome. 
Silvanus  buried  him,  and  being  uncertain 
whether  he  ought  to  proceed  alone  on 
his  mission,  he  returned  to  the  blessed 
apostle  for  further  instructions.  St. 
Peter  seeing  how  sad  he  was  for  the  loss 
of  his  companion,  gave  him  his  pastoral 
staff,  bidding  him  touch  Silvester  with 
it  and  tell  him,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  to 
arise.  This  being  done,  the  two  mis 
sionaries  went  on  their  way.  One  night 
they  came  to  a  house  where  they  were 
kindly  received  by  a  heathen  and  enter 
tained  for  the  night.  The  man  had  a 
daughter  Rodena,  betrothed  to  a  young 
nobleman  called  Corusculus.  When  she 
heard  that  her  guests  were  Christians, 
she  was  inspired  with  a  wish  to  know 
more  about  them  and  their  God.  She 


ST.   ROMANA 


193 


went  to  them  in  the  middle  of  the  night 
and  told  them  to  get  up  and  baptize  her. 
They  said  they  could  not  well  do  it 
there,  but  they  were  on  their  way  to 
Gabatum  (now  Levroux),  where  she  could 
be  baptized.  One  day  when  they  were 
preaching  there,  Eodena  came  and  was 
baptized,  and  immediately  began  preach 
ing  with  them.  A  short  time  afterwards, 
Corusculus  discovered  where  she  was, 
and  came  with  forty-four  soldiers  to 
bring  her  back.  When  she  heard  it  she 
took  out  her  scissors  and  cut  off  her 
nose,  lips  and  ears,  and  thus  adorned, 
went  to  meet  her  fiance.  Silvanus  in 
presence  of  Corusculus,  put  on  the  nose 
and  lips,  and  left  no  scar  or  wound. 
Corusculus  was  not  converted,  but  he 
and  his  men  mounted  their  horses 
and  went  away.  When  they  had  gone 
about  a  mile,  their  horses  began  to  sink 
into  the  ground  although  it  was  quite 
dry.  The  men  themselves  lost  the  use 
of  their  feet ;  so  they  turned  back,  and 
crawling  on  their  elbows  and  knees, 
humbly  begged  for  baptism  and  forgive 
ness.  A  great  many  people  were  con 
verted  by  this  miracle.  Silvanus  and 
Silvester  built  a  church  in  honour  of 
God  and  St.  Peter, and  there  they  wrought 
wonderful  cures  and  taught  the  people. 
At  last  Silvanus  found  he  was  dying. 
Silvester  and  Rodena  lamented  and 
begged  him  not  to  leave  them.  He 
answered,  "Do  not  mourn;  you  will 
not  long  be  left  without  me."  Two 
hours  after  his  death  they  also  died. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Rodesia,  EODAFIA. 

St.  Rodilia,  June  2.  One  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  Roman 
martyrs,  commemorated  together  in  the 
Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rodinia,  RODAFIA. 

St.  Rodofia,  RODOLIA,  RODOPIA,  or 
RODOSIA,  RODAFIA. 

St.  Rodrue,  ROTKUDE. 

St.  Rogata  ( J ),  June  2.  One  of  the 
Martyrs  of  Lyons  who,  being  a  Roman 
citizen,  was  beheaded  instead  of  being 
thrown  to  the  wild  beasts  of  the  amphi 
theatre.  (See  BLANDINA.)  AA.SS. 

SS.  Rogata.  Eleven  MM.  in  sun 
dry  places  are  remembered  on  different 


VOL.  TI. 


St.  Rogatiana  (1),  March  1,  M.  at 
Nicomedia,  with  many  others.  AAJSS. 
(See  ANTIGA.) 

St.  Rogatiana  (2),  June  1,  M.  with 
ST.  AUCEGA. 

St.  Rogatilla,  Feb.  24,  M.  with  a 
great  number  of  Christians  at  Nicomedia, 
in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rogatina,  May  10,  M.  at  Tarsus, 
in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Roisia,  ROYES. 

St.  Rolendis,  ROLLANDE,  ROLLEINDE 
or  DOLENDIS,  May  13,  V.  7th  or  8th  cen 
tury.  Patron  against  colic  and  gravel. 
Daughter  of  Desiderius,  a  king  or  chief 
of  the  Gauls,  supposed  by  some  writers 
to  be  a  king  of  the  Lombards  defeated 
and  deposed  by  Charlemagne.  An  illus 
trious  warrior,  son  of  a  king  of  the 
Scots,  having  heard  of  the  beauty, 
wisdom  and  piety  of  this  princess,  sent 
to  offer  himself  to  Desiderius  as  a  son- 
in-law.  Desiderius  was  willing  to  accept 
the  alliance,  but  Rolendis  preferred  to 
join  herself  to  the  eleven  thousand 
Virgins  of  Cologne,  to  whom  she  had  a 
special  devotion,  and  set  out  on  a  pil 
grimage  to  the  place  of  their  martyrdom, 
poorly  dressed  and  accompanied  only  by 
three  maids  and  two  men-servants.  They 
tried  to  persuade  her  to  rest  at  Gerpina, 
near  Namur,  on  her  way,  but  such  was 
her  anxiety  to  arrive  at  Cologne  that  she 
pursued  her  journey  too  hurriedly,  fell 
ill  by  the  way,  and  died  at  a  place  called 
Villiers  La  Potterie,  after  eight  days' 
illness,  in  the  house  of  a  peasant  who 
received  the  pilgrims  hospitably.  An 
other  tradition  says  she  was  taken  ill  at 
Villiers  and  lodged  there  with  a  peasant, 
but  that  she  went  on  and-  died  at  Ger 
pina,  a  village  on  a  stream  flowing  into 
the  Sambre.  Others  say  she  died  at 
Fosse.  She  is  specially  honoured  at 
Gerpina,  which  claims  to  be  her  burial 
place,  and  where  her  sanctity  was  at 
tested  by  many  miracles.  AA.SS. 
St.  Rollande  or  Rolleinde,  Ro- 

LENUIS. 

St.  Romana  0)  or  ROMAINE,  March 
13,  V.  Martin. 

St.  Romana  (2),  May  10,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.S8. 

St.  Romana  (3),  April  6,  M.  at 
Nicomedia,  in  Bithynia.  AAJ38. 

o 


194 


ST.   ROMANA 


St.  Romana  (4),  April  6,  M.  at 
Sirmium,  in  Pannonia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Romana  (5),  June  1,  M.  with 
ST.  AUCEGA. 

SS.  Romana  (6)  and  Varula,  Nov. 
18,  MM.  291,  at  Antioch,  under  Dio 
cletian.  Adam  King. 

St.  Romana  (7)  of  Beauvais,  Oct.  3, 
V.  M.  in  the  time  of  Diocletian.  One  of 
twelve  holy  virgins  who  left  Eome  to 
teach  Christianity  in  Gaul.  Two  of  them, 
SS.  BENEDICTA  (7)  and  LEOBEKIA  went  to 
Laon,  in  the  diocese  of  Soissons,  and 
Eomana  went  to  Beauvais,  where  her 
piety  pointed  her  out  to  the  persecutors 
of  the  faith  and  she  was  martyred  with 
a  sword.  AA.SS.  from  an  anonymous 
MS.  found  in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Quentin 
at  Beauvais.  Baillet  supposes  her  to  be 
either  a  duplicate  of  St.  Benedicta  of 
Origny  or  a  companion — real  or  imag 
inary — of  her  mission  and  martyrdom. 
He  thinks  both  stories  are  borrowed  from 
that  of  ST.  SATURNINA. 

St.  Romana  (8)  or  CALPURNIA  (2) 
of  Todi,  Feb.  23,  V.,  +  c.  324.  As  a 
child  she  was  instructed  in  the  Christian 
faith  unknown  to  her  parents.  She  went 
to  Mount  Soracte  to  look  for  the  Pope 
and  was  baptized  by  him.  She  then 
lived  alone  in  a  cave,  where  two  priests 
found  her  and  saw  a  white  dove  flying 
round  her  head  while  she  prayed.  She 
died  at  the  age  of  eleven  or  twelve.  Just 
before  her  death,  her  parents  discovered 
the  place  of  her  retreat,  and  on  hearing 
her  story,  they  were  converted.  In  1301, 
she  was  translated  into  the  church  of  St. 
Fortunatus,  where  she  lies  in  a  marble 
tomb.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Romana  (9),  an  abbess  or 
deaconness  in  Antioch,  deputed  by  St. 
Nonnus,  bishop,  to  instruct  ST.  PELAGIA 
(9)  in  the  Christian  religion,  on  her 
forsaking  her  sins.  Leyende  Doree. 

SS.Romula,EEDEMpTAand  Hirundo 
or  HEUUNDINES,  VV.,  July  23.  6th  cen 
tury.  At  the  time  when  St.  Gregory 
the  Great  retired  from  the  world  and 
became  a  monk,  there  was  at  Borne  a 
very  old  woman  named  REDEMPTA,  who 
lived  as  a  recluse  in  a  hermitage  built 
against  the  church  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
believed  to  be  that  of  Santa  Maria 
Maggiore.  She  wore  the  religious  habit 


and  practised  the  piety  in  which  she  had 
been  educated  by  another  holy  virgin 
named  Hirundo,  who  had  led  a  solitary 
life  on  the  mountains  near  Palestrina. 
Bedempta  took  two  companions  to  share 
her  retreat  and  her  prayers ;  one  of  them 
was  BOMULA  ;  St.  Gregory  did  not  know 
the  name  of  the  other,  although  he  had 
often  seen  her  and  she  was  still  alive 
when  he  wrote.  Bomula  attained  to 
greater  perfection  than  her  friends,  but 
it  pleased  God  to  afflict  her  with  paraly 
sis.  Once  in  the  middle  of  the  night 
she  called  Kedempta  and  her  other 
companion.  When  they  went  to  her 
they  found  her  room  filled  with  a  bright 
light  and  a  sweet  odour,  and  they  heard 
a  noise  as  of  a  number  of  people  going 
into  the  room.  Komula  reassured  Be- 
dempta,  who  was  frightened,  and  told 
her  she  was  not  going  to  die  yet.  The 
fourth  night  after  this,  she  called  them 
again  and  begged  them  to  procure  for 
her  the  holy  viaticum.  Immediately 
afterwards,  she  died,  and  they  heard  the 
heavenly  choirs  singing  to  welcome  her 
to  heaven.  AA.SS.  and  Baillet,  from 
St.  Gregory  the  Great. 

St.  Rosalie  of  Palermo,  Sept.  4, 
July  15  (BOSOLEE,  EOSOLINE),  -f-  c.  1160. 
Patron  of  Nice,  Palermo,  Sicily,  and 
against  pestilence. 

Eepresented  in  a  cave  conversing  with 
angels  and  expelling  devils ;  cutting  an 
inscription  on  a  rock;  presenting  roses 
to  an  angel ;  receiving  roses  from  angels ; 
conducted  by  angels  from  one  retreat  to 
another ;  praying  in  a  cave ;  carrying  a 
branch  bearing  roses ;  crowned  by  the 
Infant  Christ;  crowned  with  roses; 
carrying  a  double  cross. 

She  was  descended  from  Charlemagne, 
and  was  the  daughter  of  Sinibaldo,  lord 
of  Quisquina,  and  Eosas,  who  belonged 
to  a  branch  of  the  ancient  and  powerful 
family  of  the  Counts  of  Marsi.  On  her 
mother's  side,  Eosalie  was  related  to 
Eoger,  king  of  Sicily,  and  was  for  some 
time  in  attendance  on  his  queen,  Mar 
garet  of  Navarre.  At  the  Court  of 
Palermo,  Eosalie  was  disgusted  with  the 
pomps  and  vanity  and  the  wickedness 
and  worldliness  which  surrounded  her. 
The  king  and  queen  disapproved  of  her 
silence  and  love  of  retirement.  She 


ST.   ROSE 


195 


withdrew  from  the  Court  and  from  the 
world,  and  led  the  life  of  a  hermit  on 
Monte  Pellogrino,  about  three  miles 
from  Palermo.  The  place  of  her  retreat 
was  not  discovered  for  centuries,  but  in 
the  year  of  the  Jubilee,  1025,  her  body 
was  found  in  perfect  preservation,  with 
a  crown  of  roses  placed  on  her  head  by 
angels.  An  inscription  cut  by  herself 
in  the  rock,  was  as  follows — 

"  Ego  Rosalia  Sinibaldi  QuisquinaB  et 
Rosariini  Domini  filia.  amore  Domini 
inei  Jesu  Christi  ini  hoc  antro  habitare 
decrevi." 

She  was  translated  into  the  principal 
church  of  Palermo.  A  grievous  pesti 
lence  was  raging  in  that  city,  and  ST. 
CHRISTINA,  its  patron,  had  been  appealed 
to  in  vain  to  stop  it,  but  as  prayers  were 
now  addressed  to  Rosalie,  it  ceased.  In 
the  following  year,  Rosalie  was  canonized 
by  Urban  VIII.,  and  superseded  Christina 
as  chief  patron  of  Palermo. 

Her  festival,  which  is  kept  in  the 
middle  of  summer,  lasts  for  four  days 
and  is  very  picturesque ;  thousands  of 
people  ascend  Mount  Pellegrino  to  visit 
the  grotto;  a  great  car,  carrying  her 
statue,  is  drawn  through  the  town  by 
sometimes  as  many  as  fifty  oxen  and  is 
so  tall  that  it  has  been  known  to  carry 
away  balconies  from  the  upper  windows 
of  the  streets  through  which  it  passes; 
the  wheels  sometimes  stick,  as  the  weight 
is  immense.  Fireworks,  illuminations, 
and  all  sorts  of  amusements  make  these 
few  days  a  very  gay  time.  The  shrine 
of  the  Saint  is  often  enriched  with  costly 
gifts  from  her  votaries. 

EM.  Her  Life  by  Felix  de  Lucio 
Espinossa  y  Malo.  Mrs.  Jameson.  Hare, 
Southern  lialtj. 

St.  or  B.  Rosamond  (1)  or  ROSE- 
MUNDA,  April :».  Wife  of  John  de  Vernon. 
They  lived  at  Vernon  on  the  Seine,  in 
the  diocese  of  Rouen ;  both  were  emi 
nently  pious  and  good.  They  had  a  son 
St.  Adjutor,  who  was  a  soldier  and  went 
to  the  crusades  in  1095.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Saracens,  but  was  mira 
culously  released  and  brought  home  by 
St.  Bernard,  whom  he  had  known  in  the 
body,  but  who  was  then  a  saint  in  heaven  : 
ST.  MARY  MAGDALENE  assisted  in  the 
rescue.  Adjutor  became  a  hermit.  After 


her  husband's  death  and  her  son's  return 
from  the  crusade,  Rosamond  became  a 
nun  at  Tyro  in  Pertois.  She  was  buried 
in  the  family  chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magda 
lene  at  Vernon,  beside  her  son  who  died 
in  1131,  and  she  is  worshipped  with  him. 
Saussaye  says  she  has  no  day  and  is 
remembered  on  her  son's  festival,  April 
30 ;  German  folk-lore,  however,  makes 
April  3  her  day.  She  is  mentioned  in 
the  Life  of  St.  Adjutor,  but  does  not 
seem  to  have  any  authorized  worship. 
AA.SS.,  April  30.  Gynecseum.  Saussaye. 
Swainson,  Weather  Folk-lore. 

Rosamond  (2),  12th  century.  The 
mistress  of  Henry  II.  of  England,  com 
monly  called  "  Fair  Rosamond,"  was 
canonized  by  the  ecclesiastics  of  the 
district  where  she  lived,  on  account  of  a 
gift  to  a  monastery ;  but  as  her  morality 
was  not  equal  to  her  generosity,  her  body 
was  cast  out  of  the  church  by  St.  Hugh, 
bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  to  honour  her  as 
a  saint  was  forbidden.  Baillet. 

St.  Rosana,  HUMILITY. 

St.  Rosceline,  ROSSELINE, 

St.  Rose  (1)  of  Sardinia,  Sept.  1,  in 
the  time  of  Trajan  or  Hadrian.  Patron 
of  Sassari  in  Sardinia.  She  was  mother 
of  St.  Antiochus,  and  perhaps  of  St. 
Platanus,  with  whom  she  is  honoured. 
AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Rose  (2),  Feb.  21,  VARDA. 

B.  Rose  (3),  one  of  the  nine  sisters 
of  ST.  RAINFHEDE. 

St.  Rose  (4),  Dec.  13,  13th  century. 
Nun  at  Chelles  and  first  abbess  of  Ville 
Chasson  in  Gatinois.  Stadler. 

St.  Rose  (5)  of  Viterbo,  Sept.  4,  7, 
11,  March  G,  8,  V.  O.S.F.,  +  1252. 
She  shares  with  St.  Louis  of  Toulouse 
and  ST.  ELISABETH  (11)  the  patronage  of 
the  third  O.S.F. 

Represented  in  the  Franciscan  habit, 
holding  a  rose. 

Viterbo,  in  1234,  when  she  was  born 
there,  was  a  flourishing  town  on  the 
road  from  Siena  to  Rome,  and  was  often 
the  residence  of  the  Pope.  Her  parents, 
John  and  Catherine,  were  certainly  not 
rich.  From  her  earliest  years,  she 
strove  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  in  His  humility,  poverty,  self- 
denial,  His  kindness  and  charity,  His 
obedience  to  His  parents,  and  as  far  as 


196 


ST.   ROSE 


she  conld  understand  His  life  to  follow 
in   His   steps,   in   every  respect.     This 
virtue  was  after  many  years  rewarded  by 
the    power    of    conferring    miraculous 
benefits   and   by  the    gift  of  prophecy. 
She  joined    the    Third    Order    of    St. 
Francis,   and    preached    in   the    public 
places  of  the  town.     In   the  night  she 
walked  through  the  streets,  singing  holy 
hymns.     Never  had  that  generation  seen 
or  heard  of  so  young  a  girl  showing  such 
earnestness  and  devotion,  such  complete 
abnegation  of  self.     Acting  entirely  for 
the  service  of  God,  asking  nothing  and 
fearing  nothing  of  the  world,  she  acquired 
a  wonderful  influence  over  her   fellow- 
citizens.     Viterbo   took   for  a  time   the 
side  of  Frederick  II.  in  his  quarrels  with 
the  Pope,  but  she  persuaded  the  people 
to  go  over  to  the  party  of  the  Church. 
At  the  same  time  she  got  them  to  give 
up  many  irregularities  and  crimes  which 
were  common  amongst  them,  and  to  be 
more  moral  and  orderly.     Such  reforms 
were    not    universally    welcome.      The 
governor  banished  her  and  her  parents. 
They  went   to  Sorano,  and   there  Eose 
soon   converted    the   inhabitants.      She 
preached  and  taught  in  other  places  with 
similar  results.     At  Vitorchiano,  in  par 
ticular,  where  the  people  were  under  the 
baleful    influence    of   a    sorceress,    she 
emphasized   her   teaching   by   speaking 
from  a  burning  pile  in  the  middle  of  the 
public    piazza.      The    flames    made    a 
hollow  shrine  round  her  as  if  she  had 
been   standing   between   swelling   sails, 
swelling,  however,  in  opposite  directions 
and  leaving  her  safe  between  them.    She 
went  from  Vitorchiano,  into  the  neigh 
bouring   country,   labouring   to   convert 
sinners  and  to  comfort  the  poor  and  the 
sick,  and   to  heal    diseases.     After   the 
death  of   Frederick  II.,  which  she  had 
foretold,    she    was    brought    back    in 
triumph    to    Viterbo.      Being    refused 
admittance  to   the   Franciscan   nunnery 
there,  she  spent  her  life  in  a  hut  adjoin 
ing  it. 

She  died  March  6,  1252,  and  was  at 
once  honoured  and  invoked  as  a  Saint. 
On  September  4,  1258,  Pope  Alexander 
IV.  had  her  translated  into  the  church 
of  St.  Damian,  which  very  soon 
came  to  be  called  the  church  of 


St.  Rose.  At  the  same  time  he  com 
manded  that  her  memory  should  be 
honoured  yearly  on  that  day  and  on  the 
anniversary  of  her  death.  Succeeding 
Popes  approved  of  the  veneration  paid 
to  her,  and  Calixtus  IV.,  in  1457,  after 
renewed  investigation  of  her  life  and 
miracles,  accomplished  her  solemn 
canonization.  One  author  says  she  is  still 
shown  in  the  church  in  perfect  preserva 
tion,  her  face  looking  as  if  the  five  and  a 
half  centuries  that  have  passed  since  her 
death  had  been  but  so  many  hours. 

The  Roman  Martyrology,  the  Mar- 
tyrologies  of  the  Camaldolese,  Vallom- 
brosians,  Cistercians  and  Franciscans 
mark  her  festival  as  September  4.  The 
Jeronomites  commemorate  her  on  March 
6  ;  the  Dominicans  on  March  7  ;  the 
Hermits  of  St.  Augustine  on  September 
11. 

AA.SS.  Butler.  Mrs.  Jameson.  The 
Tablet,  Oct.  13,  1900. 

St.  Rose  (6)  of  Lima,  Aug.  26,  30, 
3rd.  O.S.D.,  1586-1617,  ROSA  DI  SANTA 
MARIA,  or  ISABEL  FLORES  Y  OLIVA, 
called  by  Clement  IX.  the  "First 
Flower  of  Holiness  in  Western  India." 

Patron  of  Lima,  Callao,  Peru,  South 
America,  and  the  Dominicans. 

Represented :  (1)  in  a  cavern  or 
grotto,  in  a  grey  gown,  holding  a  lily, 
wearing  a  wreath  of  roses,  nails  showing 
amongst  the  flowers ;  (2)  with  an 
anchor  as  patron  of  Callao,  the  seaport 
of  Lima ;  (3)  holding  up  on  an  anchor 
having  four  points,  a  walled  town  sur 
rounded  by  sea,  in  allusion  to  the  earth 
quake  of  1746;  (4)  with  a  cock;  (5) 
grouped  with  four  men,  canonized  by 
Clement  X.  in  1671,  on  the  same  day  as 
herself,  namely,  SS.  Francis  Borgia, 
Louis  Bertrand,  Philip  Benizzi,  and 
Gaetan. 

Rose  was  daughter  of  Gasparo  Flores 
and  Maria  de  Oliva,  both  of  whom  were 
of  good  Spanish  descent  but  poor. 
Almost  from  her  infancy  she  was 
remarkable  for  an  extreme  fear  of  doing 
wrong,  for  great  courage  and  patience 
in  bearing  pain,  and  for  an  extraordinary 
love  of  self  torture.  She  was  hardly 
weaned  when  she  surrounded  herself 
with  thorns.  When  she  was  only  three 
years  old,  a  heavy  lid  of  a  box  fell  upon 


ST.   ROSE 


197 


her  finger  ;  she  uttered  not  a  cry  of  pain 
and  she  dissembled  her  suffering  so  well 
that  no  one  knew  she  was  hurt  until  the 
finger  became  so  sore  that  surgical  treat 
ment,  both  with  knife  and  fire,  was 
necessary ;  this  also  she  bore  with 
unchanging  countenance  and  in  brave 
silence,  her  hand  remaining  disfigured 
for  life.  In  the  matter  of  food  she 
began  her  mortifications  at  a  very  early 
age,  always  refusing  to  eat  fruit,  although 
she  had  the  same  natural  taste  for  it  as 
other  children.  Three  days  in  the  week 
she  lived  on  bread  and  water.  At  five 
years  old  she  took  ST.  CATHERINE  OF 
SIENA  for  her  pattern ;  made  a  vow  of 
perpetual  virginity  and  cut  off  all  her 
hair  to  consecrate  herself  to  her  divine 
Master.  She  was  christened  Isabel,  but 
her  mother  soon  called  her  Eose,  either 
on  account  of  her  bright  colour  or, 
according  to  a  legend,  because  a  rose 
appeared  over  her  cradle  as  she  slept, 
and  miraculously  disappeared.  As  she 
had  scruples  about  being  called  by  a 
different  name  from  that  she  received  in 
her  baptism,  she  applied  to  the  B.  V. 
MARY  to  have  her  doubts  resolved.  Rose 
believed  that  the  Virgin  answered  that 
the  name  of  Eose  was  particularly 
pleasing  to  her  divine  Son,  but  that  she 
should  add  to  it  that  of  His  mother  and 
call  herself  Eose  of  Saint  Mary. 

She  was  scrupulously  obedient  to  her 
parents.  Once  her  mother,  who  was 
always  severe  to  her,  insisted  on  her 
wearing  a  wreath  of  flowers,  and  she,  with 
her  plan  of  perpetual  self-torture,  wore 
the  wreath  but  pinned  it  into  her  head 
with  a  large  strong  needle.  To  please 
her  mother,  she  one  night  wore  gloves 
to  make  her  hands  soft,  but  feeling  the 
skin  burning,  she  pulled  the  gloves  off 
and  saw  flames  and  sparks  on  her  hands ; 
next  morning  she  showed  the  marks  of 
burning  to  her  mother,  who  then  per 
ceived  that  she  must  not  bring  this  child 
up  for  the  vanities  of  the  world.  Once 
a  neighbour  admired  the  whiteness  and 
delicacy  of  Eose's  hands,  and  she,  think 
ing  she  had  sinned  in  hearing  any 
praise  of  herself  and  fearing  a  tempta 
tion  to  vanity,  rushed  to  some  quicklime 
and  burned  her  hands  in  it  until  they 
were  so  ulcerated  that  she  was  unable  to 


use  them  for  thirty  days.  She  made  a 
vow  never  to  taste  animal  food  unless 
expressly  commanded  by  her  parents  to 
do  so.  When  compelled  by  excessive 
pains  in  her  sides  to  which  she  was  sub 
ject,  to  take  soup,  she  put  cinders  in  it, 
which  made  her  mouth  sore  and  pre 
vented  her  having  any  sensuous  pleasure 
in  this  necessary  indulgence.  On  Fridays 
she  ate  gall  with  her  bread,  and  that 
only  in  the  evening.  These  fasts,  says  the 
Leggendario,  did  not  reduce  or  disfigure 
her,  but  she  grew  fatter  and  fairer. 
For  some  time,  her  habit  was  to  pray 
for  twelve  hours,  during  which  she 
was  obliged  to  resort  to  most  extraordi 
nary  methods  to  keep  herself  awake, 
hanging  herself  up  by  the  hair,  so  that 
only  the  tips  of  her  toes  rested  on  the 
ground ;  or  tying  her  hands  to  a  cross. 
She  worked  for  her  family  ten  hours  and 
slept  only  two  hours,  and  that  upon  a 
bed  as  uncomfortable  as  stones,  bricks 
and  thorns  could  make  it.  From  that 
place  of  rest,  she  affirmed  that  the  Virgin 
Mary  used  to  shake  her  when  it  was  time 
to  recommence  her  prayers.  Sometimes 
the  Infant  Christ  appeared  to  her  and 
filled  her  with  such  great  delight  that 
she  fainted.  She  was  advised  by  her 
confessor  to  take  the  veil ;  she  did  not 
wish  it,  but  in  deference  to  his  advice, 
she  went  to  a  convent  where  the  nuns 
prepared  with  great  joy  to  receive  her, 
but  she  had  no  sooner  entered  the  Chapel 
of  the  Madonna  del  Eosario  than  she 
found  herself  rooted  to  the  spot  and 
unable  to  move.  She  understood  that 
she  was  not  to  become  a  nun  and  resolved, 
in  imitation  of  Catherine  of  Siena,  to 
lead  a  life  of  religious  retirement  in  the 
midst  of  the  world,  and  to  take  the  habit 
of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  No 
sooner  had  she  so  decided  than  she  found 
herself  able  to  leave  the  church.  As  an 
exercise  of  humility  and  an  opportunity 
of  suffering,  she  submitted  to  the  rudest 
ill-usage  from  a  native  servant,  often 
throwing  herself  at  her  feet  and  refusing 
to  rise  from  the  ground  until  consoled 
with  blows  and  kicks  from  the  Indian. 

She  frequently  said  if  she  had  been  a 
man  she  would  have  been  a  missionary, 
and  often  exhorted  others  to  go  and 
preach  Christianity  to  the  Indians,  and 


198 


ST.   ROSE 


she  shed  tears  when  she  looked  on  the 
vast  mountains  of  her  country  and  thought 
of  the  thousands  of  unconverted  inhabi 
tants  whose  souls  must  be  lost.  She  was 
most  anxious  to  suffer  martyrdom  for 
Christ,  her  spiritual  Husband,  and  once 
she  thought  she  was  about  to  have  this 
ambition  satisfied  when  the  Dutch  fleet 
approached  Lima,  in  1615.  She  placed 
herself  in  front  of  the  altar,  hoping  to 
be  put  to  death  in  defence  of  the  holy 
sacrament,  by  these  heretic  Protestants 
who,  however,  much  to  her  disappoint 
ment,  did  not  even  land  at  Lima. 

When  Rose  was  about  thirty,  her 
family,  who  had  never  been  rich,  were 
reduced  to  poverty  and  wished  that  she 
would  marry,  that  they  might  see  her 
provided  for.  They  were  very  angry  at 
her  refusal.  She  said  she  would  go  out 
as  a  servant,  and  that  would  do  as  well. 
Their  neighbours  Don  Gonzalez  de  la 
Massa  and  his  wife,  begged  her  parents 
to  let  her  live  with  them ;  they  esteemed 
it  a  privilege  to  have  her  in  their  house. 
She  spent  the  last  three  years  of  her  life 
with  them.  She  worked  with  great  as 
siduity  for  them,  both  with  the  spade 
and  with  her  needle. 

She  had  a  crown  made  of  metal  with 
three  rows  of  sharp  teeth,  and  with  two 
strings,  by  pulling  which  she  could  make 
the  teeth  run  further  into  her  head  and 
cause  acute  pain  and  effusion  of  blood ; 
she  found  it  an  effectual  cure  for  the 
wicked  thoughts  with  which  the  devil 
tried  to  tempt  her,  sometimes  in  the  form 
of  a  man  and  sometimes  of  a  horrible 
monster.  This  crown  was  afterwards 
exchanged  for  a  plate  of  silver  about 
two  inches  broad,  concealed  in  her  hair 
and  furnished  with  sharp  teeth.  Her 
confessor  advised  her  to  leave  it  off,  but 
she  persuaded  him  that  her  wickedness 
required  this  check.  She  suffered  severe 
pain  in  her  hands  and  feet  from  gout, 
and  was  subject  to  asthma  and  inflam 
mation  of  the  throat.  For  some  years 
she  was  paralysed,  and  from  poverty  of 
blood  she  had  other  ailments ;  but  the 
suffering  of  all  these  bodily  complaints 
and  their  treatment  was  not  to  compare 
with  another  affliction  she  had  to  endure. 
She  said  it  was  a  spiritual  blindness  and 
an  indescribable  torment  that  oppressed 


her  for  one  hour  every  day  for  fifteen 
years.  She  could  give  no  more  intel 
ligible  account  of  it  than  that  it  resem 
bled  the  pains  of  hell.  She  used  to  have 
visions  of  the  Saviour,  and  in  one  of 
these,  while  she  was  suffering  from  the 
inflamed  throat  to  which  she  was  subject, 
He  came  and  played  a  game  with  her. 
She  won,  and  asked,  as  the  meed  of 
victory,  to  be  delivered  from  this  daily 
torment.  She  was  cured.  Soon  after 
wards  they  played  again.  She  lost  the 
game  and  had  to  forfeit  her  immunity, 
and  the  same  suffering  returned  upon 
her. 

Rose  had  a  pet  chicken  which  grew  to 
be  a  splendid  cock  as  to  plumage,  but  it 
was  a  large,  useless  creature,  and  would 
not  crow,  and  at  last  her  mother  con 
demned  it  to  be  killed  and  roasted.  Rose 
was  very  sorry  and  said  to  her  pet, 
"Crow,  and  save  your  life."  Immediately, 
he  crowed  loudly  and  seemed  to  awake 
to  a  sense  of  his  importance. 

Although  so  willing  to  endure  pain 
herself,  she  was  sympathetic  and  com 
passionate  to  other  suffering  women,  and 
used  to  collect  them  from  all  ranks, 
whether  Spaniards,  Indians,  or  negresses, 
free  or  slaves,  who  were  tormented  with 
loathsome  diseases.  She  nursed  them 
with  the  greatest  kindness  in  her  mother's 
house,  and  when  she  had  no  patients 
there  she  would  go  to  the  hospital  and 
bestow  her  tender  care  on  those  whose 
cases  might  cause  the  usual  attendants 
to  turn  away  in  disgust.  She  had  a 
room  built  there  for  her  as  small  as  the 
one  she  had  at  home.  Being  espoused 
to  Christ  in  a  vision  in  presence  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  angels,  she  had  a  ring 
made  in  memory  of  the  vision  and  had  it 
placed  in  the  pix  where  the  sacrament 
was  kept ;  this  was  on  Maundy  Thurs 
day,  and  on  Easter  Sunday  the  ring  re 
turned  to  her  finger  without  having  been 
taken  out  of  the  tabernacle  by  mortal 
hands. 

She  used  to  perform  some  of  her 
devotions  in  an  arbour  or  grotto  in  her 
master's  garden.  No  one  else  could  have 
spent  hours  there,  on  account  of  the 
mosquitoes ;  but  Rose  obtained  complete 
immunity  from  their  bites,  and  procured 
the  same  privilege  for  her  mother,  her 


B.    ROSSELINE   DE   VILLENEUVE 


190 


master,  his  wife,  and  Sister  Catherine  de 
Santa  Maria,  like  herself  a  member  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic. 

On  her  death-bed  she  suffered  excessive 
pain,  which  she  described  as  a  burning 
cross  inside  her,  and  attributed  to  her 
earnest  desire  to  share  the  sufferings  of 
Christ.  She  broke  a  blood-vessel  and 
prayed  that  Christ  would  accept  this 
bloodshed  and  remember  that  she  had 
always  wished  to  shed  her  blood  for  His 
sake.  She  died  in  1617  and  was  taken  to 
the  church  of  St.  Dominic,  where  an  im 
mense  concourse  of  people  flocked  to  see 
her,  so  that  although  the  church  was 
very  large  there  was  a  dense  crowd  during 
the  three  days  that  she  lay  exposed  there  ; 
and  such  was  the  anxiety  of  the  people 
to  have  pieces  of  her  wreath  that  a  guard 
of  soldiers  had  to  be  placed  round  the 
bier,  and  finally  the  doors  were  locked 
and  she  was  privately  buried  in  the  tomb 
of  her  family. 

All  the  religious  inhabitants  of  her 
country  and  indeed  all  Christian  America, 
immediately  after  her  death,  demanded 
her  canonization.  Measures  were  taken 
to  procure  it,  but  the  proceedings  were 
stopped  by  a  decree  forbidding  new  de 
votions,  and  she  was  not  formally  cano 
nized  until  1761. 

KM.  Aug.  26  and  30.  AA.SS.  Aug. 
26.  Legyendario  delle  Santissime  Veryini. 
Butler.  Baillet. 

B.  Rose  (7)  Govone,  born,  1716,  at 
Mondovi  in  Piedmont,  +  1776.  Founder 
of  the  Order  of  Rosines,  still  doing  good 
work  in  Italy.  An  orphan  with  no  means 
of  livelihood,  she  managed  to  keep  her 
self  from  want  by  sheer  hard  work.  One 
day  she  met  a  girl  of  her  own  age,  desti 
tute  like  herself,  and  giving  way  to 
despair.  Full  of  sympathy,  Rosa  took 
her  to  her  own  poor  dwelling  and  taught 
her  to  work  for  her  living.  Very  soon 
they  gathered  around  them  other  poor 
girls,  whom  they  instructed  and  be 
friended  until  this  interesting  society 
became  so  numerous  as  to  attract  public 
attention,  and  as  everybody  approved  of 
the  good  work,  they  gave  her  a  house  for 
her  seventy  girls  in  the  plain  of  Brao ; 
and  after  a  short  time,  enlarged  the  build 
ing  so  that  Rose  might  establish  a  wool 
factory.  She  saw  so  well  the  need,  even 


in  the  country,  for  saving  girls  from 
destitution  and  all  its  dangers,  that  she 
bethought  her  how  much  greater  was  the 
danger  to  poor  girls  in  towns.  So, 
leaving  her  first  associate  in  charge  of 
the  establishment  at  Mondovi,  she  went 
to  Turin  in  1755,  and  started  a  humble 
branch  there.  King  Charles  Emmanuel 
III.  heard  of  the  good  work  and  went  to 
see  it.  He  gave  the  workers  the  name 
of  Hosine,  and  conferred  on  them  a  large 
building  which  had  belonged  to  the 
Brothers  of  St.  Jean-de-Dieu.  Thus  en 
couraged,  Rose  set  off  on  foot  to  other 
towns,  invited  indigent  girls  to  come  and 
learn  to  live  by  the  work  of  their  hands, 
and  founded  houses  at  Novara  Fossano, 
Savigliano,  and  several  other  places. 
The  Government  further  encouraged  the 
Society  by  ordering  from  them  the  cloth 
for  the  soldiers'  clothes;  at  the  same 
time,  the  poorest  bought  from  the 
Rosines  the  coarse  woollen  stuff  for 
their  humble  garments.  Rose  died  at 
Turin,  Feb.  28,  1776.  Her  unostentatious 
work  survives  her.  None  die  Biographic 
Generale. 

St.  Rosebie,  ROSEBE,  or  ROSEBIA, 
Nov.  20,  V.  M.  Servant  of  MAXENTIA 
(2).  St.  Barbeus,  an  old  man,  was 
fellow  servant  of  Rosebie,  and  put  to 
death  with  her.  Mart,  of  Salisbury. 

St.  Roseline,  ROSSELINE. 

Rosemunda,  ROSAMOND. 

St.   Rosette,  a  corruption  of  CEND- 

RENSETTE   (CINDERELLA)    in    the    SOUth    of 

France.  Saturday  Review,  March  llth, 
1893,  p.  261,  "Blunders." 

St.  Rosina,  RUSINA. 

St.  Rosolee  or  ROSOLINE,  ROSSOLINE. 

St.  Rossana,  HUMILITY. 

B.  Rosseline  de  Villeneuve, 
June  11,  Oct.  16  (ROSCELINE,  and  erro 
neously  ROSELINE),  c.  1263-1321) ;  some 
times  incorrectly  placed  a  century  earlier. 
Patron  of  Carthusian  monks  and  of  the 
Order  of  Malta. 

Represented  in  the  dress  of  her  Order  : 

1)  carrying  two  eyes  in  a  reliquary; 

2)  putting  to  flight  a  troop  of  Moham 
medans  ;  (3)  carrying  roses  in  her  lap, 
being  one  of  the  many  saints  who  were 
carrying  bread  to  the  poor,  which  turned 
into  roses  when  some  grudging  master 
looked  into  the  bundle  ;  it  is  sometimes 


200 


ST.   ROSULA 


said  that  she  was  christened  Jeanne  and 
called  Roseline  from  this  incident,  but 
this  seems  a  confusion  with  her  aunt  B. 
DIANA  or  JEANNE.  The  arms  of  Sabran 
sometimes  appear  in  her  pictures. 

The  name  Rosseline  or  Rossoline  is 
common  in  Provence  and  is  derived  from 
Rufa,  and  those  who  spell  it  Roseline 
and  make  verses  about  -roses  d  propos  of 
it  are  mistaken. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  Armand  do 
Villeneuve,  baron  des  Ares ;  her  mother 
was  Sibylla  dc  Sabran,  cousin  of  St. 
Elzear  and  of  his  wife  ST.  DELPHINE. 
Her  family  for  a  time  opposed  her  wish 
to  be  a  nun,  until  Josselin,  bishop  of 
Orange,  came  to  visit  at  the  chateau  des 
Ares,  when  she  persuaded  him  to  take 
her  to  the  convent  of  St.  Andre  des 
Ramieres,  between  Orange  and  Vaison. 
Here  she  was  entrusted  with  the  care  of 
the  kitchen.  She  entered  the  Order  of 
Chartreuses  at  thirteen  but  could  only 
make  her  profession  at  sixteen  and  take 
the  solemn  vows  at  twenty-five.  She 
was  then  consecrated  deaconess,  clothed 
with  a  stole  like  a  deacon,  and  a  crown 
was  placed  on  her  head. 

She  made  her  profession  at  Bertauld, 
the  chief  Chartreux  nunnery  in  Provence, 
and  there  she  lived  until  her  family 
built  a  monastery  at  Celle  Roubaud  (or 
Sobrives)  near  les  Ares,  where  she  was 
for  a  time  under  her  aunt  B.  Jeanne, 
whom  she  succeeded  as  prioress  in 
1300.  A  brief  of  Pope  John  XXII. 
is  addressed  to  Rosselyne,  which  proves 
that  she  was  head  of  that  house  in 
1323. 

She  died  Jan.  17,  1329.  Her  first 
translation  occurred  June  11,  1334. 
Her  brother  B.  Elzear,  bishop  of  Digne 
(and  in  13(30,  of  Marseilles),  laid  her 
body  in  a  shrine  near  the  altar  and  placed 
her  eyes  separately  in  a  reliquary,  where 
they  retained  for  centuries  the  bright 
ness  of  life.  A  few  years  after  her 
death,  her  brother  Elie  or  Helion  de 
Villeneuve,  grand-master  of  the  Knights 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  being  in  great 
danger  from  a  troop  of  Saracens,  invoked 
her  aid  and  straightway  the  enemy  were 
smitten  with  panic  and  fled. 

She  was  never  canonized  but  her  wor 
ship  and  her  miracles  were  persistent. 


There    are    some   discrepancies    in   the 
accounts  of  her  life. 

AA.SS.  Helyot.  Cahier.  Madame 
d'Oppede,  Vie  de  Stc.  Delpltine.  Oet- 
tinger  says  that  Rosseline's  life  was 
written  by  P.  J.  de  Haitze,  and  published 
at  Aix,  1720.  Morin,  La  Petite  France 
pontificate,  1889. 

St.  Rosula  (1)  or  RHODA,  Nov.  2,  M.  at 
Cagliari,  in  the  time  of  Trajan,  witli 
many  others  who  went  thither  from 
Rome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rosula  (2),  Sep.  14,  M.  in  Africa, 
under  Valerian,  with  St.  Cyprian,  bishop 
of  Carthage,  at  a  place  on  the  seashoro 
six  miles  from  Carthage.  R.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rosula  (3),  May  15,  M.  in  304, 
either  at  Fausina,  now  Terra  Nova  in 
Sardinia,  or  at  Filesia  in.  Wallachia,  or 
Phila  in  Macedonia,  with  St.  Simplicius, 
and  a  man  named  Florentius.  They 
were  tortured  in  divers  ways  and  finally 
run  through  with  a  spear.  Henschenius 
commemorates  St.  Simplicius  but  seems 
to  think  the  martyrdom  of  his  com 
panions  rests  on  insufficient  authority. 
AA.88. 

B.  Roswitha,  ROSWIDA,  or  HROTS- 
VITH,  -f-  927.  She  was  abbess  of  Gander- 
sheim,  and  distinguished  for  literary 
acquirements  :  she  wrote  treatises  on  logic 
and  rhetoric,  which  are  lost.  She  forced 
the  devil  to  return  a  bond  signed  with 
blood,  by  which  a  youth  had  pledged 
away  his  soul.  Five  years  after  her 
death,  was  born  the  more  famous  Hrots- 
vith,  authoress  of  several  plays  and 
poems,  including  a  panegyric  on  the 
Emperor  Otho  I.  These  two  Roswithas 
are  often  confounded  together.  Only 
the  elder  is  invoked  as  a  saint.  Ecken- 
stein. 

St.  Rota,  June  2,  one  of  227  Roman 
martyrs.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rotheres,  May  12,  V.  M.  pro 
bably  at  Rome,  with  more  than  five 
hundred  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rothlauga,  HADELOGA. 

St.  Rotilda  or  RHOTILDA,  SEPT.  1, 
same  as  CLOTILDA  (1).  Baillet. 

St.  Rotrou,  ROTHUDE. 

St.  Rotrude,  V.  June  22  (RODRUE, 
ROTROU,  ORTRUDE),  Her  history  is  lost. 
Her  body,  which  the  French  Martyr- 
ology  says  was  brought  from  England, 


ST.   RUFINA 


201 


was  placed  in  the  Benedictine  monastery 
of  Andrenses,  in  Flanders,  built  in  1084 
by  the  pious  Count  of  Guines,  a  relation 
and  friend  of  Charles,  count  of  Flanders. 
Peter,  the  fifth  abbot,  wrote  a  history  of 
the  saint  which  used  to  be  read  during 
dinner  on  her  festival.  In  course  of  time  so 
many  munificent  offerings  were  made  to 
Rotrude  and  her  ministers  that  Baldwin 
Bochard,  lord  of  the  surrounding  district, 
fearing  that  some  of  his  possessions  also 
would  gradually  be  absorbed  by  the 
Church,  destroyed  the  book,  hoping 
therewith  to  destroy  the  saint  and  her 
worship,  and  said  so  much  against  the 
monks  and  the  miracles,  that  at  last  it 
was  agreed  that  the  bones  of  the  saint 
should  be  tried  with  fire  ;  an  immense 
concourse  of  people  collected  to  see  the 
trial  which  turned  out  greatly  to  the 
honour  of  St.  Eotrude  and  of  the  Church, 
and  to  the  confusion  of  their  enemies, 
for  the  fire  glorified  in  the  sight  of  all 
the  people,  the  sacred  bone  that  was 
thrown  into  it,  and  put  the  infidels  to 
shame.  Some  of  her  relics  were  trans 
lated  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Bertin, 
near  ST.  Omer,  and  were  attributed  to  ST. 
RICTRUDE  of  Marchiennes,  who  is,  there 
fore,  sometimes  by  mistake  called 
Rotrude.  Bucelinus.  AA.SS. 

St.  Roxana,  HUMILITY. 

St.  Royes  or  KOISIA.  An  ancient 
subterranean  chapel  at  Royston,  on  the 
borders  of  Hertfordshire  and  Cambridge 
shire,  was  dedicated  in  honour  of  SS. 
Lawrence  and  Hippolytus.  Stukeley 
(Palaeograpia  Britcmnica)  says  this 
chapel,  with  the  famous  cross  on  the 
highway,  called  Roheys  -  Cross,  was 
founded  by  Roisia,  daughter  of  Alberic 
de  Vere,  earl  of  Oxford,  and  widow  of 
Geoffery  de  Magneville,  earl  of  Essex 
who  died  in  1 1 48.  After  her  second 
marriage  to  Pain  de  Beauchamp,  she 
founded  the  convent  of  Chikesand,  in 
Bedfordshire,  where  she  afterwards  took 
the  veil  and  died ;  but  Parkin  says  the 
chapel  is  much  older,  and  named  from 
Koyes,  a  Saxon  or  British  saint.  A 
convent  near  High  Cross  in  Hertford 
shire  was  called  Roheyney  or  Roheenia. 
In  another  church  of  St.  Hippolytus, 
near  Royston,  horses  were  blessed  at 
the  high  altar  with  great  devotion. 


The  town  was  called  Hippolytes,  Eppa- 
lets,  Pallets.  Butler,  "  St.  Hippolytus," 
Aug.  13. 

B.  Ruessella.     (See  FULCIDE.) 

St.  Rufania  or  RUFINA,  Feb.  28,  M. 
with  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ruffina,  RUFINA.  The  name  in 
Latin  is  Rufina ;  in  modern  Italian  the 
"  f  "  is  doubled. 

St.  Rufina  (1),  Claudia  (I). 

SS.  Rufina  (2)  and  Secunda,  or 
RUFFINA  and  SECONDA,  VV.  MM.  257. 
Patrons  of  Porto  and  of  Selva  Candida. 
Daughters  of  Asterius,  a  Roman  senator. 
They  were  betrothed  respectively  to 
Armentario  and  Verino,  Christians  who, 
in  the  persecution  under  Valerian  and 
Gallienus,  abjured  their  faith  and  tried 
to  persuade  Rufina  and  Secunda  to  do 
the  same.  This  proposition  filled  them 
with  horror  and  they  fled  from  Rome, 
but  were  overtaken  and  brought  before 
the  Prefect,  Junius  Donatus,  to  whom 
they  were  accused  of  being  Christians. 
After  torturing  them  in  various  ways, 
he  had  them  beheaded  in  a  wood  twelve 
miles  from  Rome.  On  the  site  of  their 
martyrdom  a  chapel  was  soon  built, 
which  Pope  (St.)  Julius  I.  converted 
into  a  magnificent  church.  A  town 
afterwards  arose  around  it,  called  Selva 
Candida,  which  became  a  bishop's  see. 
The  JR.if.,  July  10,  says  their  bodies 
are  preserved  in  the  church  of  St.  John 
Lateran,  near  the  font.  Moroni,  Diz. 
Storico-ecdesiastico. 

St.  Rufina  (3),  Aug.  31,  M.  3rd 
century.  She  was  cast  into  prison  with 
her  husband,  St.  Theodotus,  at  Cossarea 
in  Cappadocia ;  while  under  sentence 
of  death  and  awaiting  their  execution, 
Rufina  gave  birth  to  a  son,  afterwards 
known  as  Mamas  the  Martyr:  he  was 
at  once  adopted  by  a  charitable  woman, 
commemorated  as  ST.  AMMIA,  with  SS. 
Theodotus  and  Rufina.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rufina  (4).     (See  JUSTA  (2).) 

St.  Rufina  (5),  RUFANIA. 

St.  Rufina  (6),  June  1,  M.  with  ST. 

AUCEGA. 

St.  Rufina  (7),  Feb.  28,  M.  place 
unknown. 

St.  Rufina  (8),  May  3,  M.  in  Africa. 

St.  Rufina  (9),  April  6,  M.  at 
Sirmium. 


202 


ST.   RUFINA 


St.  Rufina  (10),  April  24,  M.  at 
Alexandria. 

St.  Rufina  (11),  June  3,  M.  at 
Eome. 

B.  Rufina  (12)  or  KUFFINA  of 
Fabriano,  in  the  March  of  Ancona,  3rd 
O.S.D.  In  1607  her  picture  was  to  be 
seen  in  the  church  of  the  Order  at 
Fabriano,  in  a  Dominican  dress,  with 
rays  of  glory  round  her  head.  Her 
story  and  date  are  unknown,  although 
she  is  believed  to  be  less  ancient  than 
B.  ANNA  (23)  and  B.  ANGELA  (5),  who 
both  belong  to  Ancona.  Pio. 

St.  Ruma,  EEUMA,  or  CHEISTIANA 
(4),  Oct.  24,  M.  523.  A  rich  and 
beautiful  widow  of  Negran  in  Arabia 
Felix,  put  to  death  with  her  daughters, 
by  Dedaan  or  Dhu  Nowas,  a  Jewish 
king  or  chief,  who  was  tributary  to  St. 
Elesbaan,  the  Christian  king  of  Ethiopia ; 
Nowas  rebelled  and  was  beaten,  but  took 
advantage  of  the  winter  when  Elesbaan 
could  not  come  against  him,  to  plunder 
and  massacre  the  Christians.  He  took 
the  town  of  Negran,  put  to  death  Arethas, 
the  ruler  of  the  town,  Euma, — whom 
some  accounts  make  to  be  his  wife  or 
daughter-in-law — and  about  four  thou 
sand  others  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages ; 
some  of  the  women  had  little  children 
with  them;  one  boy  of  five  was  con 
spicuous  by  his  courage  and  devotion 
to  his  Church  and  party.  Ten  of  the 
women  were  canonesses ;  they  demanded 
the  honour  of  dying  first,  but  the  matrons 
said,  "  No,  we  will  die  first  that  we  may 
not  see  the  sufferings  of  our  husbands  and 
children."  Dhu  Nowas  was  defeated 
and  put  to  death  by  Elesbaan  in  525. 
Thus  ended  the  kingdom  called  in  the 
Bible,  Saba,  and  by  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  Homeritis.  It  was  at  that  time 
the  oldest  in  the  world,  having  been 
founded  by  Saba,  the  son  of  Chus,  the 
son  of  Ham,  the  son  of  Noah.  Elesbaan 
became  a  monk  and  attained  to  great 
sanctity.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rumetina,  April  30,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Rusina,  July  19,  sometimes 
erroneously  called  ROSINA. 

Once  on  a  time,  there  was  a  king  of 
Rome,  named  Auster,  who  had  for  his 
wife,  Rusina,  a  beautiful  and  clever 
woman  ;  but  childless.  They  were  both 


idolaters  and  cruelly  persecuted  the 
Christians,  thinking  by  such  means  to 
propitiate  their  gods,  that  they  might 
bless  them  with  children.  The  queen 
in  particular  was  unceasing  in  her 
prayers,  but  as  they  were  of  no  avail, 
she  bethought  herself  of  a  holy  Christian 
Father,  for  whom  she  secretly  sent. 
She  told  him  that  ,if  his  God  proved 
more  powerful  than  her  gods,  she  would 
love  and  serve  Him  always.  The 
reverend  Father  gave  her  a  book  with 
an  account  of  the  miracles  wrought  by 
Christ  on  earth,  and  begged  her  to  read 
and  study  it,  while  he  meanwhile  would 
go  and  pray  that  she  might  be  enlightened 
to  see  the  true  God.  The  prayers  of  the 
holy  man  were  answered,  and  the  queen 
accepted  Christianity  and  was  privately 
baptized.  By-and-bye,  to  the  great  joy 
of  the  king,  Queen  Rusina  said  she  hoped 
in  some  months  to  be  a  mother,  at  the 
same  time  she  confessed  to  her  husband 
that  she  had  become  a  Christian,  and 
related  all  that  the  holy  man  had  told 
her.  The  king  read  some  of  the  books 
which  had  been  given  to  Rusina,  sent 
for  the  priest  and  received  baptism  at 
his  hands.  Soon  after  this,  the  queen 
expressed  a  strong  desire  to  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  in  order  to 
see  the  holy  places  where  Christ  had 
suffered  and  died ;  and  to  see  the  house 
where  the  VIRGIN  MAKY  had  lived.  The 
king  was  ready  to  comply  with  her 
request,  but  said  that  the  enterprise 
would  be  attended  with  great  danger,  as 
they  would  have  to  pass  through  the 
country  of  Csesarea,  whose  king  was  an 
enemy  to  Rome;  however,  he  thought 
that  by  taking  a  large  armed  escort 
with  them,  they  might  accomplish  their 
purpose  safely.  He  summoned  his 
Parliament  and  told  the  lords  and 
barons  that  he  and  his  wife  had  become 
Christians,  and  Rusina  standing  up  in 
their  midst  spoke  so  eloquently  to  them, 
that  with  one  accord  they  were  all  con 
verted  and  received  holy  baptism. 

Shortly  after  this,  attended  by  a  great 
company  of  horse  and  foot,  the  king  and 
queen  started  for  the  Holy  Land.  When 
they  got  to  Cassarea,  the  king  of  that 
country  sent  500  horsemen,  and  footmen 
without  number,  to  attack  the  Romans 


ST.    RUSINA 


203 


and  put  them  all  to  death.  The 
Crcsarcans  fell  on  the  Romans  at  a 
narrow  and  dangerous  pass,  where  after 
a  desperate  struggle,  they  succeeded  in 
defeating  them  and  killing  every  one 
except  Queen  Rusina,  who  was  taken  a 
prisoner  to  the  Court.  The  king  much 
struck  by  her  remarkable  beauty  and 
still  more  by  her  wisdom  and  good 
sense,  treated  her  with  every  kindness 
and  consideration,  and  appointed  pages 
and  ladies  to  attend  on  her. 

She  had  been  but  a  few  days  in  cap 
tivity  when  a  beautiful  daughter  was  born 
to  the  queen  of  Rome,  who  committed 
her  to  the  care  of  the  king  of  Caosarea, 
begging  him  to  send  her  to  Rome,  so 
that  she  might  enjoy  her  inheritance. 
She  also  asked  that  a  Christian  priest 
might  be  sent  for,  so  that  she  could  see 
her  child  baptized.  The  king  promised 
that  her  daughter  should  be  brought  up 
as  if  she  were  his  own,  and  at  once 
summoned  a  priest  who  baptized  the 
child,  calling  her  Rusina  after  her 
mother.  The  dying  queen  took  the 
babe  in  her  arms  and  blessed  her,  and 
soon  after  passed  away  to  eternal  life ; 
angels  were  plainly  seen  bearing  her 
soul  to  Paradise.  The  news  of  this 
miracle  spread  abroad  and  many  people 
hearing  of  it  became  Christians.  The 
king  with  universal  approbation  buried 
Rusina  with  the  highest  honours,  accord 
ing  to  the  custom  of  the  country.  A 
few  days  afterwards  a  son  was  born  to 
the  king,  to  the  great  delight  of  the 
people,  who  requested  that  he  might  be 
called  Elemento.  The  two  children 
were  brought  up  together  and  treated 
exactly  alike  until  they  were  fifteen, 
when  the  queen  perceived  that  Elemento 
could  think  of  nothing  but  his  companion, 
love  for  whom  so  completely  filled  his 
heart  that  he  could  neither  eat  nor  drink, 
but  was  wasting  away.  She  did  not  wish 
to  have  Rusina  for  a  daughter-in-law, 
as  she  was  a  foreigner,  and  they  could 
derive  no  benefit  from  a  marriage  with 
her  ;  so  she  advised  her  husband  to  send 
Elemento  with  a  good  escort  to  Paris, 
that  he  might  learn  all  that  became 
a  prince,  and  also  might  forget  this 
boyish  love.  The  king,  although  very 
fond  of  Rusina,  agreed  to  his  wife's 


proposition,  and  sending  for  Elemento 
made  known  their  wishes  to  him.  The 
young  prince  acquiesced.  He  said, "  Since 
you  wish  it  I  will  go,  but  I  pray  you  to 
take  great  care  of  Rusina,  for  she  has 
my  heart  and  soul  in  her  keeping."  He 
then  went  to  Rusina,  and  told  her,  with 
many  tears,  that  his  parents  wished  him 
to  go  to  Paris,  adding  that  he  could  not 
bear  the  thought  of  separation  from  her, 
and  if  she  wished  it  he  would  remain  in 
Caasarea.  Rusina  answered  that  he  was 
a  man  and  therefore  not  perfect ;  three 
things  there  were  which  would  make 
him  good  :  to  love  and  fear  God ;  to  be 
baptized ;  and  to  obey  his  father  and 
mother.  Elemento  answered  that  for 
love  of  her  he  would  do  anything,  so 
Rusina  sent  for  a  priest  and  had  him 
baptized.  She  said,  *'  I  beg  you  for  love 
of  me  to  be  loyal,  pure,  and  innocent,  and 
I  will  be  the  same  for  love  of  you." 

Elemento  was  kindly  received  in  Paris 
by  the  king.  A  palace  was  given  to  him 
for  as  long  as  he  chose  to  remain  in 
France,  and  there  he  lived  and  dili 
gently  studied.  Near  this  palace  was 
the  house  of  a  young  and  beautiful  widow, 
who  began  to  love  Elemento,  and  sent 
him  a  message  to  that  effect.  He  replied 
that  he  had  given  his  love  to  the  most 
beautiful  woman  in  the  world,  and  could 
care  for  no  other. 

About  this  time  Elemento  sent  letters 
to  Rusina,  who  wrote  to  him  in  answer, 
that  she  trusted  he  would  continue  to 
love  and  fear  God,  and  be  honest  and 
good.  The  messenger  employed  by 
Elemento  was  a  friend  of  the  widow, 
and  on  his  return,  he  told  her  of  the 
beauty  and  charm  of  Rusina,  at  the 
same  time  showing  the  rich  presents 
she  had  given  him.  The  widow,  being 
a  rich  woman  and  therefore  able  to 
gratify  all  her  caprices,  at  once  deter 
mined  that  she  would  make  a  pilgrimage 
to  Cacsarea  in  order  to  see  Rusina,  and 
invited  the  messenger  to  accompany  her. 
As  he  was  quite  willing,  they  soon  started, 
and  in  due  course  reached  Caesarea. 

On  her  arrival  there  the  widow  begged 
for  the  honour  of  an  audience  with  the 
king,  which  was  granted  her.  She  told 
him  she  had  just  come  from  Jerusalem 
and  was  on  her  way  back  to  Paris,  where 


204 


ST.   RUSINA 


she  lived  near  the  palace  of  Prince  Ele- 
mento.  She  said  he  loved  a  young  lady 
of  Caesarea  so  much  that  he  had  wasted 
nearly  to  death.  The  king  and  queen 
were  much  distressed  by  this  news,  and 
when  they  had  given  the  widow  some 
magnificent  presents  and  bidden  her  fare 
well,  they  consulted  together  as  to  what 
was  best  to  be  done.  The  queen  wished 
Eusina  to  be  put  to  death.  The  king 
demurred  to  this  and  thought  he  would 
sell  her  to  some  Babylonish  merchants. 
He  accordingly  sent  for  two  who  were 
then  in  port,  and  after  seeing  Eusina, 
they  readily  agreed  to  buy  her  for  a 
large  sum  of  money.  The  king  told 
Eusina  that  these  merchants  were  going 
to  take  her  to  Elemento,  but  she  knew 
instinctively  that  he  was  deceiving 
her,  and  begged  for  mercy.  He,  how 
ever,  remained  obdurate,  merely  tell 
ing  the  merchants  to  gag  her,  so  that 
her  screams  might  not  be  heard.  On 
board  ship  the  gag  was  soon  removed 
from  her  mouth,  and  she  was  kindly 
treated  by  the  men,  but  nothing  could 
console  her,  and  she  wept  and  prayed 
for  days,  growing  so  thin  that  her  pur 
chasers  became  alarmed  for  her  life.  On 
their  arrival  at  Babylon,  they  went  to 
the  best  inn,  where  they  did  what  they 
could  to  restore  Eusina  to  health,  and 
then  went  to  the  Sultan  and  told  him 
they  had  brought  from  Ceesarea  the  most 
beautiful  maiden  that  ever  was  seen. 
He  commanded  her  to  be  brought  be 
fore  him.  To  please  the  merchants  she 
dressed  in  her  most  splendid  clothes, 
and  commending  herself  to  the  protec 
tion  of  God,  was  led  to  her  new  master 
weeping  copiously  all  the  time.  The 
Sultan,  touched  alike  by  her  beauty  and 
her  distress,  promised  that  she  should 
be  honoured  among  the  women  of  the 
Seraglio.  He  had  a  magical  cup,  by 
means  of  which  he  could  tell  when  he 
bought  a  slave  for  his  harem  whether 
her  virtue  was  equal  to  her  beauty,  for 
unless  she  was  perfectly  innocent  she 
would  certainly  spill  all  the  wine  when 
she  tried  to  drink  it.  He  sent  for  the 
cup,  which  was  of  gold  set  with  precious 
stones.  He  filled  it  to  the  brim  with 
beautiful  red  wine,  handed  it  to  Eusina, 
and  bade  her  drink.  She  drank  the 


wine  without  spilling  a  drop.  He  was 
charmed  and  gave  more  money  to  the 
merchants  than  they  had  asked,  and  told 
the  keeper  of  the  Seraglio  that  Eusina 
was  to  have  the  lion-painted  room  and 
to  be  treated  with  every  attention.  Soon 
after  the  Sultan  had  given  these  orders, 
he  was  seized  with  a  sudden  illness,  and 
lay  sick  for  many  days. 

In  the  mean  time  Elemento  had  had 
letters  sent  to  him  by  one  of  the  barons 
of  his  father's  kingdom,  telling  him  that 
Eusina  had  been  sold  to  the  Sultan  of 
Babylon.  His  distress  was  great.  He 
at  once  determined  to  rescue  her  or 
perish  in  the  attempt.  All  his  com 
panions  volunteered  to  go  with  him  and 
render  him  what  help  they  could. 
Touched  by  his  sad  story,  the  king  and 
queen  of  France  promised  him  an  escort 
of  a  thousand  knights.  In  three  days 
they  all  left  Paris  for  Caesarea.  When 
they  arrived  there  Elemento  did  not  go 
to  see  his  father  and  mother,  but  re 
mained  at  the  house  of  his  friend  the 
baron.  The  king  on  hearing  of  his 
arrival  went  to  see  him  and  reproached 
him  for  not  coming  to  his  own  house. 
Elemento  answered,  "I  do  not  wish  it 
ever  to  be  my  own  house,  and  I  no 
longer  consider  you  and  the  queen,  my 
father  and  mother,  because  you  have 
been  so  cruel  to  Eusina,  who  was  the 
hope  of  rny  life.  She  loved  me  better 
than  you  and  my  mother,  for  she  loves 
and  fears  the  God  of  Paradise,  which 
you  do  not.  You  have  sold  her  for  a 
slave,  although  you  know  that  she  is  the 
daughter  of  a  greater  King  than  you. 
May  the  King  of  Kings  give  you  what 
you  deserve !  If  it  were  not  that  I  still 
owe  you  some  consideration  as  my  father, 
I  would  run  this  sword  through  you.  I 
will  not  return  evil  for  evil,  but  I  tell 
you  plainly,  that  you  will  not  see  me 
again  without  her.  Since  it  pleases  you 
and  my  mother  that  I  should  go  and 
die  in  Babylon,  I  see  clearly  that  you 
do  not  love  me  much."  The  king  was 
•deeply  distressed.  Seeing  this,  Elemento 
became  reconciled  to  him,  and  he  there 
upon  undertook  to  give  his  son  money 
and  jewels,  and  recommended  Elemento 
to  try  to  effect  Eusina's  recovery  by 
their  means  sooner  than  have  recourse 


ST.   RUSINA 


205 


to  arms.  He  arranged  that  five  of  his 
wisest  barons  should  go  with  Elemento 
to  help  him  with  judicious  counsel ;  at 
the  same  time,  he  loaded  the  French 
knights  with  money  and  gifts  and  gave 
them  a  great  entertainment. 

The  next  day  they  all  set  sail  and 
soon  reached  Eiva  Doria,  a  sea-port  about 
a  hundred  miles  from  Babylon.  Here 
it  was  agreed  that  four  of  the  barons 
should  travel  to  Babylon  with  Elemento, 
in  the  disguise  of  merchants,  the  others 
remaining  quietly  in  the  ships  at  Eiva 
Doria.  When  they  had  been  a  few  days 
in  the  inn  at  Babylon,  they  saw  that  the 
host  and  his  wife  were  honest  people,  and 
Elemento  confided  to  them  the  reason 
of  his  presence  there.  The  innkeeper 
told  him  that  Eusina  had  stayed  in  his 
house  and  had  excited  his  compassion. 
It  was  arranged  that  the  wife  of  the  inn 
keeper  should  try  to  gain  admittance  to 
the  Seraglio,  and  by  some  means,  tell 
Eusina  that  Elemento  had  come  to  try 
and  save  her.  Taking  a  piece  of  em 
broidery  to  show  to  some  of  the  ladies, 
the  woman  was  soon  in  the  Seraglio. 
She  then  asked  to  see  Rusina,  as  she 
had  heard  she  was  so  beautiful.  She 
was  conducted  to  a  room,  where  Eusina 
sat  reading  the  office  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 
So  overjoyed  was  she  to  hear  of  her 
lover's  arrival  that  she  fainted ;  on  her 
recovery  she  sent  many  messages  to  him, 
charging  him  to  be  prudent.  The  woman, 
on  her  return  to  the  inn,  was  liberally 
rewarded  by  the  prince.  Then  her  hus 
band  bethought  him  of  the  sultan's 
porter,  who  was  a  friend  of  his  and  loved 
a  good  dinner  and  pleasant  company. 
He  was  invited  to  the  inn  and  there  saw 
Elemeuto,  who  exerted  himself  to  be 
agreeable,  and  soon  the  porter  thought 
no  day  well  spent  when  he  did  not  see 
the  young  merchant.  At  last,  Elemento 
told  him  who  he  was  and  asked  his  aid. 
This  the  porter  promised,  but  stipulated 
that  he  should  be  taken  away  also,  as 
otherwise  the  sultan  would  put  him  to 
death.  Elemento  agreed  to  this,  and 
promised  to  make  the  porter  a  baron  and 
give  him  a  town  and  a  castle.  Every 
thing  was  then  settled;  the  landlord 
was  paid  liberally,  the  barons  were  sent 
to  the  harbour,  there  to  wait  in  a  boat 


with  all  their  goods.  At  midnight, 
Elemento  went  alone  to  the  gate  of  the 
palace,  where  the  porter  was  waiting 
for  him.  They  went  softly  to  Eusina's 
room,  who  at  the  sight  of  her  beloved 
Elemento  lost  consciousness;  so  he  and 
the  porter  took  her  between  them  and 
carried  her  to  the  boat ;  their  friends  at 
once  rowed  rapidly  down  the  river  to 
Eiva  .Doria,  where  the  rest  of  the  party 
were  still  waiting  with  the  ships.  They 
all  rejoiced  greatly  when  they  saw 
Eusina,  and  heard  that  she  had  been 
rescued  without  drawing  a  sword.  The 
next  day  they  set  sail  for  Csesarea. 

The  sultan,  meanwhile,  hearing  that 
Rusina  had  escaped  by  the  connivance 
of  the  porter,  ordered  ten  galleys  to 
be  manned  and  put  to  sea,  to  overtake 
and  bring  them  back.  However,  after 
a  severe  engagement,  Elemento  and  his 
knights  were  victorious  and  seven  of  the 
enemy's  galleys  were  sunk.  On  hearing 
of  this  loss,  the  sultan  was  in  despair 
and  said,  "I  made  a  very  bad  bargain 
when  I  bought  Eusina.  She  never  was 
of  any  use  to  me,  and  now  I  have  lost  all 
these  good  men  and  ships  through  her. 
Alas,  it  was  an  evil  day  for  me  when  she 
came  to  Babylon !  " 

After  a  voyage  of  sixty  days,  Elemento 
and  Eusina  arrived  at  Cassarea,  where 
they  were  received  with  joy  by  the 
people  and  the  king.  The  queen  also, 
through  the  .mediation  of  the  porter, 
was  once  more  reconciled  to  her  son  and 
Eusina,  and  great  rejoicings  were  held. 
The  knights  of  France  were  handsomely 
rewarded  for  all  they  had  done.  When 
they  left  for  their  own  country,  many 
messages  were  sent  to  the  king  by 
Elemento,  assuring  him  of  his  readi 
ness  to  help  and  serve  him  in  case  of 
need. 

In  course  of  time,  in  answer  to  the 
many  fervent  prayers  of  Eusina  and 
Elemento,  the  king  and  queen  became 
Christians.  The  National  Assembly 
was  convened,  and  Elemento  and  Eusina 
told  the  barons  and  people  so  much  of 
the  teaching  of  Christ  that  they  all  with 
one  accord  accepted  the  Christian  faith. 
The  king  then  ordered  all  the  idols  to  be 
destroyed,  and  built  many  churches  and 
hermitages  throughout  the  kingdom.  So 


206 


ST.   RUSTICA 


they  all  lived  virtuously  and  happily 
and  when  they  died  they  went  straight 
to  heaven. 

Leggendario  delle  Santissime  Vergini. 

St.  Rustica,  Dec.  31,  M.  at  Rome, 
with  several  other  women.  H.M. 

St.  Rusticula  or  MARCIA,  Aug.  11, 
555-632,  abhess  of  Aries.  She  was 
born — of  an  ancient  Gallo-Koman  family 
• — on  the  day  of  her  father's  death,  and 
was  christened  Rusticula.  Her  brother 
died,  and  she  became  the  sole  heiress  and 
consolation  of  her  mother.  At  five  years 
old  she  was  carried  off  by  a  young  noble 
man,  named  Cheran  or  Cheraonius,  who 
intended  to  marry  her  when  she  was  old 
enough.  The  good  Abbess  LILIOLA  of 
the  convent  of  St.  Cesarius  at  Aries, 
applied  to  the  Bishop  of  Autun  to  obtain 
an  order  from  King  Gontram,  to  compel 
Cheran  to  give  up  the  child,  consequently, 
she  was  placed  in  the  convent  at  Aries  at 
the  age  of  seven.  Some  years  later,  her 
mother,  Clemence,  wanted  to  get  her 
back  again,  but  Eusticula  had  become 
devoted  to  the  monastic  life,  in  which 
she  attained  such  excellence  that  on  the 
death  of  her  adopted  mother  Liliola,  she 
was  chosen  abbess  in  her  stead.  In  614 
Rusticula  was  accused  to  King  Clothaire 
II.  of  sheltering  in  her  convent,  the  young 
Prince  Childebert,  the  rightful  sovereign 
of  Aries  and  Avignon,  who  had  escaped 
when  Clothaire  murdered  the  rest  of  the 
descendants  of  Brunehault. ,  St.Maximus, 
bishop  of  Avignon,  was  one  of  her  accusers. 
She  was  pelted  with  stones  by  the  mob, 
as  she  was  being  taken  from  her  convent, 
under  an  accusation  of  treason.  On  the 


way  to  the  king's  presence  she  worked 
miraculous  cures.  St.  Domnolus,  bishop 
of  Vienne,  arrived  at  Court  before  her 
and  defended  her  so  well  that,  on  her 
swearing  that  she  was  not  guilty  of  the 
offence  laid  to  her  charge,  she  was  sent 
home  again  with  every  mark  of  respect 
and  was  enthusiastically  received  by  the 
people  of  Aries.  She  governed  her 
convent  in  peace  and  with  great  wisdom 
for  many  years.  One  of  her  rules  was 
never  to  impose  on  her  nuns  tasks  beyond 
their  strength,  nor  to  vex  or  weary  them 
without  reason;  at  the  same  time,  she 
took  care  that  they  should  not  lead  a  life 
of  idleness  or  self-indulgence.  AA.SS. 
Her  life  by  Florentius.  Baronius. 
Bucelinus.  Baillet. 

St.  Ruth,  Sept.  1,  14,  one  of  the 
four  women  named  by  St.  Matthew  in  the 
genealogy  of  Christ.  She  was  a  Moabi- 
tess  and  the  widow  of  Mahlon,  a  Hebrew. 
Her  attachment  to  his  mother  Naomi, 
induced  her  to  accompany  her  mother- 
in-law  when  she  returned  to  her  own 
country,  after  the  death  of  her  husband 
and  sons.  There  Ruth  married  Boaz,  a 
relation  of  her  late  husband.  The  great- 
grandson  of  Boaz  and  Ruth  was  King 
David.  Among  the  ancestresses  of  our 
Saviour,  she  is  honoured  Sept.  1.  Book 
o£  Ruth  in  the  Old  Testament.  Mart. 
of  Salisbury,  Sept.  14.  She  is  styled 
"  Saint  "  by  Canisius.  (See  Judith  (1).) 

St.  Ruthena,  RETHNA. 

St.  Rutila.     (See  CLAUDIA  (2).) 

St.  Rutilla,  June  1,  M.  with  ST. 
AUCEGA.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ryxa,  RIXA. 


St.  Sabbatia,  SEBASTIA. 

Sabbilina,  SABINELLA. 

St.  Sabela,  Dec.  28,  a  holy  woman 
of  Ethiopia,  who  had  the  gift  of  prophecy 
and  interpreted  dreams.  She  used  her 
power  to  bring  sinners  to  repentance  and 
heathens  to  Christianity.  Migne. 

St.  Sabigotho,  NATALIA  (3). 

St.  Sabina  (1).    (Sec  SEUAPIA.) 

St.  Sabina  (2)  of  Samos,  sometimes 
called  of  Troyes,  V.,  Aug.  29,  Jan.  29. 
2nd  century. 


In  the  beautiful  island  of  Samos,  in 
the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Adrian,  or  his 
successor  Antoninus  Pius,  lived  a  weal  thy 
citizen,  named  Sabinus.  He  had  one  sou 
and  one  daughter,  Sabinian  and  Sabina, 
who  loved  each  other  with  the  most 
devoted  affection.  Some  of  the  books  of 
the  Christians  fell  into  their  hands : 
their  lessons  of  sublime  and  simple 
morality  and  unselfishness  found  a  re 
sponse  in  the  young  hearts  of  the  brother 
and  sister;  and  although  it  does  not 


ST.   SABINA 


207 


appear  that  either  of  them  had  direct 
intercourse  with  Christians,  they  began 
to  adopt  their  tenets  and  follow  their 
teaching.  Sabinus  had  allowed  his 
children  to  spend  freely  on  their  wants 
and  pleasures  whatever  they  chose ;  but 
when  he  found  that  his  son  gave  his  most 
precious  possessions  to  the  poor,  taking 
for  them  everything  he  could  lay  his 
hands  on,  and  lavishing  large  sums  on 
beggars,  he  was  very  angry,  and  dis 
tressing  scenes  occurred  between  the 
father  and  son. 

One  day  Sabinian  took  off  his  silken 
robe  and  clothed  himself  in  sackcloth. 
His  father,  exasperated  at  this  new  out 
rage,  accused  him  of  intending  to  ruin 
his  family,  and  threatened  to  put  him  to 
death,  saying  with  bitter  maledictions, 
"  It;  is  better  for  me  to  kill  you  alone, 
than  that  you  should  destroy  us  all." 
Sabinian  fled  from  his  home,  and  when 
Sabinus's  anger  had  cooled,  and  he 
wanted  to  reason  with  his  refractory 
son,  the  youth  could  not  be  found.  They 
sought  him  with  ever-increasing  anxiety, 
but  in  vain.  Sabina  fretted  for  him, 
and  her  longing  to  know  at  least  what 
had  become  of  him  left  her  no  rest :  she 
neither  ate  nor  slept,  nor  employed  her 
self  as  before. 

Sabinus  was  half  inclined  to  curse  her 
too,  but  restrained  the  cruel  words,  re 
membering  what  his  violence  had  cost 
him  already,  and  tried  instead  every 
means  to  soothe  and  amuse  the  poor  girl. 
He  brought  her  jewels  and  beautiful 
articles  of  dress  and  curiosities,  but  she 
would  not  look  at  them.  One  day,  ac 
companied  by  her  faithful  servant  and 
foster-sister  Maximinola,  she  went  ac 
cording  to  her  custom  to  the  temple  of 
Juno,  that  famous  Heraeum  which  ranked 
with  the  temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus  as 
one  of  the  greatest  works  of  the  Greeks, 
and  of  which  one  solitary  giant  pillar 
btill  stands  to  tell  of  the  days  of  its 
grandeur.  Sabina,  exhausted  with  fret 
ting  and  weeping,  fell  asleep  in  the 
temple,  and  saw  in  a  dream  a  heavenly 
being,  who  bade  her  be  comforted,  for 
she  should  be  delivered  from  the  vain 
and  impious  religion  in  which  she  had 
been  brought  up,  and  should  meet  her 
brother  again,  and  find  him  promoted  to 


great  honour.  The  two  girls  consulted 
and  planned  how  they  could  set  out  in 
search  of  him.  Ships  were  continually 
leaving  the  island  for  all  sorts  of  ports 
far  and  near,  so  it  was  easy  to  get  away 
unobserved ;  and  this  they  soon  did. 
They  wandered  by  unknown  ways, 
through  many  countries  and  across 
many  waters,  led  on  from  day  to  day 
by  the  hope  of  soon  finding  Sabinian, 
and  as  "  all  ways  lead  to  Rome,"  they 
came  there  in  course  of  time,  and  lived 
amongst  the  Christians  with  a  holy 
woman  named  Justina,  who  in  due  time 
had  them  baptized. 

They  remained  at  Rome  some  years, 
always  expecting  to  see  Sabinian,  or  re 
ceive  some  message  from  him.  During 
this  time  Sabina  acquired  a  consider 
able  reputation  for  sanctity,  and  people 
suffering  from  divers  afflictions  resorted 
to  her  that  they  might  be  cured  by  her 
prayers.  From  time  to  time,  her  brother 
appeared  to  her  in  her  dreams,  encourag 
ing  her  to  hope  for  reunion  with  him. 
At  last  a  more  distinct  and  decided 
vision  showed  her  Sabinian  wearing  a 
crown  set  with  dazzling  jewels,  and 
beckoning  her  to  come  to  him.  She 
therefore  determined  to  set  out  again  in 
search  of  him.  She  remembered  her 
first  dream  of  him  in  the  Temple  of 
Juno  at  Samos.  The  Christians  loved 
her  and  wished  to  keep  her  amongst 
them.  Maximinola  urged  her  to  stay 
for  the  rest  of  her  life  in  peace;  but 
again  angels  appeared,  and  told  her  that 
at  Trecas  (now  Troyes)  in  Gaul,  Sabinian 
was  crowned  with  gold  and  jewels,  and 
raised  to  the  highest  honours,  and  that 
she  should  go  and  meet  him  there. 

Again  the  two  women  started  on  a 
long  and  difficult  pilgrimage.  After 
many  a  toilsome  day's  journey  and  many 
an  anxious  and  comfortless  night,  some 
times  accompanied  on  their  way  by  other 
pilgrims,  sometimes  alone,  sometimes 
finding  welcome  and  shelter  in  the 
houses  of  Christians,  sometimes  lodging 
on  the  cold  ground  under  the  open  sky, 
they  found  themselves  getting  near 
Troyes.  At  last,  after  a  night  passed  in 
a  thick  wood  in  considerable  danger  from 
wild  beasts,  the  rising  day  revealed  to 
them  at  no  great  distance  the  towers  and 


208 


ST.   SABINA 


battlements  of  a  city.  They  met  a  shep 
herd  and  asked  him  what  town  it  was. 
He  said  it  was  Troyes  and  the  travellers 
gave  thanks  to  God  for  having  led  them 
to  the  end  of  their  journey,  and  not  let 
their  strength  or  their  faith  fail  them  by 
the  way.  Sabina  sat  down  on  a  stone 
by  the  wayside  and  said  to  Maximinola 
that  they  would  wait  a  little,  and  per 
haps  when  the  gates  were  opened  some 
one  would  come  out  and  give  them 
tidings  of  Sabinian. 

Soon  Licerius,  the  venerable  pastor 
of  the  little  Christian  flock  in  Troyes, 
came  out  of  the  town  and  seeing  the 
two  strangers  asked  who  they  were. 
They  told  him  their  story  and  asked 
whether  he  knew  Sabinian. 

"Daughter,"  said  the  old  priest  to 
Sabina,  "  your  brother  was  indeed  here, 
and,  for  his  sake,  you  are  welcome 
among  the  Christians  of  Troyes.  You 
might  well  dream  that  he  was  promoted 
to  great  honour,  for  he  has  attained  the 
highest  of  all  honours — that  of  martyr 
dom.  He  dwelt  among  us  for  a  long 
time,  but  when  the  Emperor  Aurelian 
persecuted  the  Church  a  few  months 
ago,  Sabinian  was  conspicuous  for  his 
good  works,  so  the  heathen  officers 
arrested  him  and  ordered  him  to  re 
nounce  the  faith  and  sacrifice  to  the 
gods,  and  when  he  refused  to  obey  he 
was  beheaded.  We  buried  him  at  a 
place  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  a  few 
miles  from  here  and  a  pious  woman  has 
built  a  little  chapel  over  his  grave.  Go 
thither  and  say  a  prayer  and  return  to 
us.  You  shall  be  as  one  of  ourselves, 
and  all  that  we  have  we  will  share  with 
you." 

Kind  and  fatherly  as  were  the  words 
of  the  aged  priest,  they  fell  with  the 
chill  of  death  on  the  heart  of  the  dis 
appointed  pilgrim.  Her  stiffening  limbs 
would  not  carry  her  to  the  banks  of  the 
Seine,  for  she  had  come  to  the  brink  of 
a  broader  river.  When  the  old  man 
had  left  her,  she  fell  on  her  face  on 
the  ground  and  prayed  that  she  might 
rest  from  her  wanderings  and  no  longer 
drag  her  weary  feet  through  difficult 
journeys.  She  commended  her  faithful 
companion  to  God  and  went  straight 
from  the  dust  where  she  lay,  to  rejoin 


in  paradise,  the  brother  she  had  wandered 
so  far  to  see  on  earth. 

The  venerable  Licerius  fetched  a 
choice  robe  to  wrap  round  her,  and 
summoned  all  the  Christians  to  bring 
in  a  pilgrim  who  had  died  outside  the 
gate.  They  could  not  move  the  body, 
and  some  of  those  who  tried  to  lift  it 
were  cured  of  blindness  and  other  ills ; 
they  buried  her  where  she  lay,  and 
Licerius  gave  a  funeral  feast  to  all  the 
Christians  and  all  the  poor.  He  wished 
to  build  an  oratory  over  Sabina's  grave, 
but  an  angel  told  him  that  this  should 
be  done  by  his  successor  as  he  was  soon 
to  rest  from  his  labours.  R.M.,  Jan.  29. 
AAJ3B. 

Sabina  and  her  brother  are  honoured 
as  martyrs,  Aug.  29,  Jan.  24,  in  the 
church  of  Troyes.  In  the  church  of 
Treves,  which  is  constantly  confounded 
with  Troyes  in  the  various  records,  there 
is  a  commemoration  on  Aug.  19,  of  St. 
Sabina  and  her  maid. 

St.  Sabina  (3),  Oct.  27,  V.,  M.  c. 
303,  either  at  Evora  or  Talavera,  with 
her  sister  ST.  CHRISTETA  and  their 
brother  St.  Vincent.  They  are  patrons 
of  Avila. 

Dacian,  prefect  of  Gaul,  under  the 
orders  of  the  Emperors  Maximian  and 
Diocletian,  was  trying  to  root  the  Chris 
tian  religion  out  of  Spain.  One  day 
his  men  brought  him  a  youth,  named 
Vincent.  Dacian  argued  with  the 
prisoner  on  the  folly  of  worshipping  a 
God  who  had  been  crucified  as  a  male 
factor;  at  the  same  time  he  promised, 
in  consideration  of  Vincent's  youth,  not 
to  punish  him,  if  he  would  renounce 
his  errors  and  offer  sacrifice  to  the  gods ; 
as  Vincent  remained  firm,  Dacian  ordered 
him  to  be  led  away  to  the  place  where 
the  sacrifices  were  offered,  and  com 
manded  that  if  he  refused  to  sacrifice 
he  should  instantly  be  put  to  death. 
As  they  were  leading  him  across  the 
Plaqa,  he  put  his  foot  on  a  stone,  which 
retained  the  mark  as  if  it  had  been  wax. 
The  soldiers,  struck  by  the  miracle,  re 
turned  immediately  to  Dacian  and  begged 
that  this  wonderful  man  might  have  at 
least  a  few  days'  respite.  The  governor 
granted  him  three  days.  His  sisters, 
Sabina  and  Christeta  entreated  him,  with 


ST.  SACRA 


209 


many  tears,  to  flee  with  them,  as  they 
had  no  other  protector  and  would  be  at 
the  mercy  of  the  infidels  if  they  were 
deprived  of  his  care.  "If  we  escape," 
said  they,  "  we  will  all  lead  a  holy  life ; 
and  if  we  are  taken,  we  will  die  martyrs 
together."  So  they  fled  but  were  over 
taken  at  Avila,  and  after  being  put  to 
many  tortures,  they  were  made  to  lay 
their  heads  on  stones  to  be  beaten  with 
clubs  until  they  died.  Their  bodies 
were  thrown  on  the  rocks  outside  the 
gate,  to  be  devoured  by  vultures  and 
wild  beasts,  and  the  murderers  returned 
cheerfully  to  Dacian.  It  happened  that 
a  great  serpent  which  was  in  the  habit 
of  eating  people,  lived  in  a  cleft  in  those 
rocks.  It  came  out  of  its  hole  and 
looked  at  the  dead  bodies  and  mangled 
heads.  A  Jew  who  was  passing  by  also 
looked  with  so  much  pleasure  on  the 
murdered  Christians  that  he  did  not 
observe  the  serpent  until  he  suddenly 
found  himself  tightly  clasped  in  its 
coils.  In  his  terror  he  called  upon  the 
God  of  the  Christians,  resolving  that  if 
He  would  deliver  him,  he  would  be 
converted  and  build  a  church  on  that 
spot.  The  serpent  instantly  disappeared 
and  never  was  seen  again.  The  grateful 
Jew  buried  the  three  martyrs  with  his 
own  hands  and  built  over  their  grave  a 
church  which  was  dedicated  in  the  name 
of  St.  Vincent.  The  rock  is  still  shown 
in  the  crypt  below  the  eastern  apse  of 
the  beautiful  church  of  San  Vicente, 
outside  the  gates  of  Avila,  and  whoever 
prays  in  faith  on  that  rock  is  straightway 
delivered  from  his  troubles.  EM.  Flos 
Sanctorum.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sabina  (4)  or  SAVINA  of  Lodi, 
Jan.  30,  matron.  Beginning  of  4th 
century.  Patron  of  Lodi  and  of  Milan. 
She  visited  SS.  Nabor  and  Felix,  soldiers, 
in  prison  at  Lodi  Vecchio,  and  after  their 
martyrdom  took  their  bodies  and  buried 
them  in  her  own  house  there.  At  night 
a  bright  light  appeared  over  the  place 
where  she  had  laid  the  martyred  soldiers, 
and  she  understood  that  they  were  worthy 
of  a  more  honourable  sepulchre ;  so  she 
took  them  in  a  cart  to  Milan.  At  Leg- 
nanum.  she  was  stopped  by  soldiers  who 
asked  her  what  she  was  carrying.  She 
answered,  "  Honey."  They  did  not  be- 

VOL.    II. 


lieve  her,  and  stuck  their  lances  into 
the  cart.  Honey  ran  out,  and  she,  see 
ing  the  miracle,  confessed  what  the  real 
load  was.  The  soldiers  were  converted. 
The  place  is  said  to  have  been  called 
Mellegnano,  in  honour  of  the  miracle, 
which  name  was  afterwards  corrupted 
into  Merignano.  Sabina  built  a  tomb 
for  SS.  Nabor  and  Felix,  and  died 
praying  there.  It.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sabina  (5),  Oct.  28.  Vargas 
makes  ST.  FAITH  (2)  (Santa  Fe)  a  native 
of  Spain,  and  says  that  St.  Sabiiia,  also 
a  Spaniard  of  Merida,  was  martyred 
with  her  at  Agen.  The  Bollandists 
say  this  is  a  mere  invention,  grounded 
on  the  fact  that  some  relics  of  ST.  SABINA 
(3)  were  taken  to  Ager  in  Catalonia. 
AAJ33. 

SS.  Sabina  (6,  7,  8,  9),  MM.  at 
Eome,  Smyrna,  Alexandria  and  Africa 
respectively.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sabina  (10),  Nov.  5,  6th  or  early 
7th  century.  Grandmother  of  St.  Cuth- 
bert.  Ferrarius.  Stadler. 

Ven.  Sabina  (11).     (See  ALFRIDA.) 

St.  Sabina  (12),  April  30,  V.,O.S.B. 
12th  century.  Nun  at  Jouarre,  in  the 
diocese  of  Meaux.  On  April  29,  1109, 
she  had  a  vision  of  the  BLESSED  VIRGIN 
MARY  surrounded  by  a  great  number  of 
saints,  and  saw  that  St.  Hugh,  abbot  of 
Cluny,  arrived  amongst  them.  She  told 
her  vision  to  the  other  nuns  and  soon 
afterwards  a  messenger  arrived  to  an 
nounce  the  death  of  St.  Hugh  in  his 
eighty-sixth  year.  Sabina  soon  followed 
him  to  heaven.  Bucelinus.  AA.SS., 
Prseter.  "  St.  Hugh/'  April  29. 

St.  Sabinella  (l),  CLAUDIA  (1). 

St.  Sabinella  (2),  SABBILINA,  SAVI- 
NILLA  or  SIBINELLA,  Feb.  14,  buried  St. 
Valentine  on  the  spot  of  his  martyrdom 
at  Rome,  about  209,  and  is  mentioned 
in  his  Life.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sabiniana  (1)  or  SABINIANUS, 
March  3,  M.  in  Africa,  with  GAIOLA  and 
many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sabiniana  (2),  a  holy  deaconess 
of  advanced  years  who  followed  St. 
Chrysostom  into  exile  and  ministered  to 
him.  Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Sabitha,  NATALIA  (3). 

St.  Sacculina,  SIGOLENA. 

St.  Sacra,  March  8.     Her  body  was 


210 


ST.   SACUSA 


kept  before  the  altar  of  ST.  GENEVIEVE 
in  the  monastery  of  Royac  at  Glermont 
in  Auvergne.  She  is  mentioned  by  the 
ecclesiastical  historians  of  that  place, 
but  Henschenius  considers  her  existence 
doubtful  and  thinks  that  the  words 
"sacra  ossa"  sacred  bones,  have  been 
misinterpreted  to  mean  the  bones  of  a 
saint  named  Sacra.  Prseter. 

St.  Sacusa,  SECUSA,  or  SECURA,  May 

10,  M.  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.     AA.SS. 
St.  Sadalaberge,  SALABERGA.  Cahier. 
St.  Saethrith,  generally  means  SE- 

DRIDO.  Miss  Eckenstein  gives  the  name 
as  a  variant  of  ST.  SYRE. 

St.  Salaberga  (l),  Feb.  6,  M.  in 
the  Vandal  persecution. 

St.  Salaberga  (2),  SADALABERGA  or 
SALABERNA,  Sept.  22,  +  c.  665.  Founder 
and  abbess  of  St.  Jean  de  Laon.  Patron 
of  Laon.  She  was  a  member  of  one  of 
the  principal  families  of  the  Sicambri 
and  was  born  at  Gondrecourt  on  the 
Meuse,  on  the  borders  of  Champagne 
and  Lorraine.  Her  father  and  mother 
were  Gondwin  and  Saretrude.  One  day 
Gondwin  received  at  his  house  St. 
Eustasius,  second  abbot  of  Luxeuil,  who 
had  been  preaching  to  the  heathen  in 
Bavaria ;  Gondwin  presented  to  him  his 
two  sons  that  he  might  bless  them. 
Eustasius  asked  if  he  had  no  more 
children,  and  he  said  he  had  a  daughter, 
Salaberga,  but  that  she  had  been  blind 
for  some  little  time.  They  sent  for  the 
child,  and  Eustasius  asked  her  if  she 
would  like  to  serve  God ;  she  said  that 
was  her  greatest  desire.  After  fasting 
for  some  days  and  making  many  prayers 
for  her,  he  anointed  her  eyes  with  holy 

011,  and  so  restored  her  sight.     He  after 
wards  cured  her  of  dysentery.    Salaberga 
soon  recovered  her  good  looks  as  well  as 
her  health,  and  was  married  young,  to 
Eichran,   a  young   nobleman  who   died 
two  months  afterwards.    She  then  wished 
to  be  a  nun  under  ST.  MACTAFLEDE  ;  but 
her  parents,  supported  by  the  authority 
of    King    Dagobert  I.,  obliged    her    to 
marry     B.    Blandin,    surnamed    Bason. 
They  were  "  of  one  heart  and  one  mind  " 
with^  regard    to    religion  and    charity. 
Having  been  childless  for  some  years, 
Salaberga  vowed  that  if  God  would  give 
her  children,  she  would  dedicate  them  to 


His  service.  She  had  three  daughters 
and  two  sons  in  eight  years.  She  con 
sidered  she  would  best  fulfil  her  vow  by 
giving  them  an  excellent  education.  She 
was  aided  in  all  her  doings  by  the 
counsels  of  St.  Walbert,  who  had  suc 
ceeded  Eustasius  as  abbot  of  Luxeuil. 
Her  husband  being  as  pious  as  herself, 
encouraged  her  to  build  a  monastery  in 
the  Vosges,  and  thither,  with  his  consent, 
she  withdrew  from  the  world,  with  about 
a  hundred  holy  virgins ;  but  reflecting 
that  this  place  was  too  far  from  the  pro 
tection  of  large  towns  and  too  near  the 
boundary  between  Austrasia  and  Bur 
gundy,  she  removed  the  community,  by 
the  advice  of  St.  Walbert,  to  Laon.  She 
built  a  large  monastery  and  six  churches 
for  her  spiritual  daughters,  and  as  all 
the  large  monasteries  of  those  days  were 
double,  she  built  a  smaller  monastery 
and  one  church  for  men;  she  presided 
over  both  for  about  ten  years.  At  the 
approach  of  death,  when  she  was  about 
fifty,  she  made  over  her  authority  to  her 
daughter  ST.  AUSTRUDE. 

Salaberga  was  buried  in  her  own 
church,  where  also  are  preserved  the 
bodies,  in  whole  or  in  part,  of  her 
husband,  her  daughter,  her  eldest  son 
St.  Eustasius  who  died  in  childhood, 
her  second  son  and  youngest  child  St. 
Baldwin,  and  her  brother  St.  Bodo  or 
Leudwin.  The  sanctificatiou  of  all 
these  persons  is  considered  to  be  in  a 
great  measure  due  to  the  holiness  of 
Salaberga. 

Her  Life  was  written  during  the  lives 
of  her  children,  and  bears  every  appear 
ance  of  truth.  EM.  AA.SS.  Baillet. 
Montalembert.  In  the  Konigliche  Mu 
seum  at  Berlin,  is  a  beautiful  psalter  in 
uncial  characters,  written  by  the  hand  of 
Salaberga  for  the  use  of  her  nuns  ;  it  is 
still  in  perfect  preservation.  It  forms 
part  of  the  precious  collection  of  Manu 
scripts,  which  belonged  to  the  Duke  of 
Hamilton  and  was  sold  en  masse  to  the 
German  government  in  1882.  Edinburgh 
Courant,  Nov.  8,  1882. 

St.  Salaberna,  SALABERGA. 

B.  Salaphtha,  Feb.  20,  called  in 
Greek  IRENE  V.  5th  century.  About 
the  year  421,  Salaphtha  who  was  four 
teen  years  old,  was  living  at  Gaza, 


ST.    SALOME 


211 


working  hard  to  support  her  infirm 
grandmother.  One  day  there  was  a 
tumult  in  the  town,  and  Salaphtha  found 
the  Bishop,  St.  Porphyry  and  one  of  his 
disciples  hiding  from  the  violence  of  the 
rioters,  on  the  roof  of  her  house.  Al 
though  she  was  not  a  Christian,  she  knew 
Porphyry  to  be  a  holy  man,  and  throw 
ing  herself  at  his  feet,  asked  his  blessing. 
The  fugitives  requested  her  to  bring  them 
a  mat  and  let  them  remain  concealed  on 
the  roof  until  the  city  was  quiet  again. 
She  did  so  and  brought  them  also  a  share 
of  her  humble  food,  which  consisted  of 
bread,  cheese,  olives,  and  cooked  vege 
tables,  begging  them  not  to  despise  her 
poverty.  They  accepted  her  hospitality 
and  in  return  instructed  her  in  the 
Christian  religion.  AVhen  the  insurrec 
tion  was  over  and  the  bishop  had  re 
turned  to  his  church,  Salaphtha  brought 
her  aunt  to  him  and  he  baptized  them 
both.  He  explained  to  Salaphtha  that 
although  a  Christian,  she  was  at  liberty 
to  marry  and  might  serve  God  in  the 
world.  She  wept  and  said,  "  If  I  can  be 
the  spouse  of  the  King  of  glory,  why 
should  I  leave  Him  and  marry  a  poor 
mean  man  ?  "  When  her  grandmother 
died,  the  bishop  gave  Salaphtha  the 
regular  habit,  commended  her  to  the  care 
of  a  deaconess,  named  Manaris,  with 
whom  she  lived  an  austere  and  saintly 
life  and  was  a  pattern  to  many. 

Henschenius  considers  it  uncertain 
whether  she  should  be  included  among 
the  saints,  but  gives  the  foregoing  ac 
count  of  her  from  an  old  Greek  Life  of 
St.  Porphyry,  bishop  of  Gaza,  by  his 
disciple  Mark.  AA.SS. 

St.  Salbina,probablySABiNA.  AA.SS. 

St.  Salfa,  FALSA  or  SALSA,  May  20, 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Salla,  or  SALLOP,  July  9,  V. 
Abbess.  Stadler. 

St.  Salla  Rua,  SCALLERVA  or  SCAL- 
LKUIA,  March  io,  M.  with  others  at 
Nicomedia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sallustia,  SALUSTIA. 

St.  Salome  (1)  or  SOLOMONIA,  Aug. 
1,  Oct.  24,  M.  B.C.  167,  mother  of  the 
Maccabees,  seven  brothers  who  were 
carried  captives  from  Jerusalem  to  An- 
tioch  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  Salome 
courageously  witnessed  the  tortures  and 


death  of  her  sons  and  then  shared  their 
martyrdom.  After  the  death  of  six  of 
them,  she  was  exhorted  by  the  persecu 
tors,  under  Antiochus,  to  save  the  life  of 
her  youngest  and  only  remaining  son,  by 
persuading  him  to  eat  swine's  flesh,  in 
token  of  submission  to  the  heathen  con 
queror  ;  but  she  bade  him  not  grieve 
and  shame  her  by  cowardice  and  apos 
tasy.  The  history  of  the  persecution  is 
in  the  Books  of  the  Maccabees.  These 
martyrs,  with  the  old  priest  Eleazar  who 
was  put  to  death  on  the  same  occasion, 
were  the  first  pre-Christian  saints 
honoured  with  a  regular  worship  by 
Christians,  and  although  other  Old 
Testament  saints  are  mentioned  in  Chris 
tian  calendars — chiefly  those  of  the 
Eastern  Church — the  Maccabees  alone 
are  honoured  with  an  office  or  com 
memoration  in  the  Breviary.  Their 
relics  were  deposited  in  the  great  church 
of  St.  Peter  ad  vincula  in  Rome,  and 
their  festival  is  that  of  its  dedication. 
EM.  AA.SS.  Baillet.  Men.  Basil. 
Butler.  In  the  Grseco-Slavonian  Calen 
dar  this  Saint  is  called  "  St.  Salomonia, 
wife  of  Eleazar."  Her  name  is  not  in 
the  Books  of  the  Maccabees  nor  in  the 
EM.  Marti  no  v. 

St.  Salome  (2)  called  in  the  EM. 
MARY  SALOME,  Oct.  22.  1st  century. 
Wife  of  Zebedee.  Mother  of  St.  James 
the  Greater,  and  of  St.  John  the  Evange 
list.  She  is  said  by  the  Greeks  to  be 
the  daughter  of  St.  Joseph,  but  there  is 
no  authority  for  this.  A  legend  of  ST. 
ANNA  (3)  makes  Salome  her  daughter 
by  her  third  husband.  Salome  was  a 
native  of  Galilee.  Her  husband  and 
sons  were  fishermen  of  the  lake  of  Gen- 
nesaret.  It  appears  that  when  her  sous 
left  their  nets  to  follow  Christ,  Salome 
followed  Him  also.  She  prayed  Him  to 
grant  that  they  might  sit  next  to  Him 
in  His  kingdom.  He  replied  that  that 
honour  was  not  His  to  give,  but  granted 
that  they  should  share  His  sufferings. 
(St. Matt. xx.)  She ishonoured  separately, 
Oct.  22,  and  on  various  days,  conjointly 
with  the  holy  women  who  ministered  to 
our  Lord,  witnessed  His  death,  and  made 
preparations  to  embalm  Him.  (St.  Matt, 
xxvii.  5(5.  St.  Mark  xv.  40).  A  ground 
less  tradition  says  that  she  migrated  to 


212 


ST.   SALOME 


Provence.  MARY  SALOME,  MARY  MAG 
DALENE  and  MARY  OF  CLOPAS  are  called 
"lestrois  Maries."  EM.  AA.SS.  Baillet. 

St.  Salome  (3),  May  1,  an  ascetic, 
honoured  by  the  Ethiopians.  Stadler. 

B.  Salome  (4),  June  29.  9th,  10th 
or  llth  century.  A  recluse  at  Alteich, 
or  Altaha,  in  Bavaria.  Niece  or  sister- 
in-law,  and  adopted  daughter  of  a  king 
of  England.  Disgusted  with  the  pomps 
and  vanity  of  the  Court,  she  persuaded 
her  two  maids  to  accompany  her  in  dis 
guise  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem.  On 
her  way  back,  passing  through  Bavaria, 
she  stayed  for  a  short  time  at  Regensburg. 
Here  her  beauty  and  dignified  manner 
attracted  the  admiration  of  a  worldly 
young  man.  Ashamed  of  herself,  she 
went  into  a  forest  and  prayed  that  her 
beauty  might  depart  from  her.  Im 
mediately  she  was  struck  with  blindness. 
Not  knowing  where  she  walked,  she  soon 
fell  into  the  Danube  and  was  rescued 
from  drowning,  by  some  fishermen,  who 
took  her  in  their  boat  to  Passau.  There . 
she  became  a  leper  and  lived  on  alms. 
She  was  kindly  received  by  a  pious 
woman,  named  Heika,  with  whom  she 
lived  for  about  three  years.  Then  Heika 
mentioned  her  case  to  the  Abbot  of 
Upper  Alteich,  who  built  her  a  cell  near 
his  church.  Meantime,  the  king  of 
England,  supposing  her  to  have  eloped, 
searched  for  her  through  all  his  own 
country  until  at  last  it  became  known 
that  she  had  gone  on  a  pilgrimage,  from 
motives  of  piety.  Her  cousin  JUTTA  (3), 
being  a  widow  and  bereaved  of  all  her 
children,  went  from  place  to  place  seek 
ing  for  Salome,  and  at  last  discovered 
and  shared  her  retreat.  By  other  ac 
counts,  Jutta  settled  at  Alteich  before 
Salome,  who  joined  her  there  when  she 
had  recovered  from  her  leprosy.  Salome 
died  first.  Jutta  was  eventually  buried 
beside  her.  AA.SS.  Wattembach  con 
siders  the  story  fabulous. 

St.  Salome  (5),  Nov.  10, 17,  1224- 
1268.  Queen  of  Halitscbor  Galicia,  and 
duchess  of  Sandonrir.  A  patron  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Francis. 

Her  Life  by  Kobielski  contains  twenty- 
four  woodcuts  illustrating  different  scenes 
in  her  life  ;  among  the  most  remarkable 
are — No.  3,  where  she  appears  as  a  little 


girl  in  a  garden  of  lilies,  attended  by  an 
old  nurse ;  a  Lamb,  amidst  clouds,  is 
saying  to  her,  "  Where  is  thy  treasure  ?  " 
With  one  hand  she  offers  Him  a  flaming 
heart,  and  in  the  other  she  holds  a  lily ; 
No.  4,  in  which  her  parents  sit  on  their 
throne  while  the  child  is  led  away  by 
the  Hungarian  ambassador;  No.  13, 
where,  after  a  Tartar  raid,  she  is  seen 
kneeling  on  the  ground,  wearing  the  halo 
of  a  saint ;  the  ruins  of  her  convent  are 
in  the  background,  and  all  round  her  the 
heads  and  decapitated  bodies  of  her 
nuns  ;  No.  21  shows  her  with  her  earthly 
crown  overturned  at  her  feet,  the  Infant 
Christ  presenting  her  with  another ;  her 
church  and  convent  are  in  the  back 
ground,  and  underneath  is  written,  St. 
Salomea,  Virgin,  Queen  of  Halitsch,  of 
the  Order  of  Saint  Clara,  born  1202,  died 
in  her  convent  of  St.  Mary's  Stone,  1268 ; 
Beatified  1673. 

She  is  also  represented  in  the  clouds, 
with  the  BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY,  helping 
the  Poles  to  gain  the  battle  of  Chotim, 
against  the  Turks  under  Husseim  Pasha. 

Salome  was  the  daughter  of  Lestko 
the  White,  duke  of  Cracow  and  king  of 
Poland  (1194-1227);  her  mother  was 
Grzimislaw,  a  Russian  princess.  Salome 
was  sister  of  Boleslas  V.,  surnamed 
Pudicus,  whose  wife  was  ST.  CUNEGUND 
(4).  For  some  centuries  Galicia  was 
generally  an  appanage  of  one  or  other 
of  the  Russian  princes.  In  the  continual 
wars  and  revolts,  the  combatants  appealed 
to  their  neighbours  for  help,  and  thus  it 
happened  that  Andrew  II.,  king  of  Hun 
gary  (father  of  ST.  ELISABETH  (11)),  and 
Lestko  V.  of  Poland  were  called  upon 
to  side  with  some  of  the  Russian  princes 
who  were  fighting  for  the  possession  of 
Galicia.  Instead  of  reinstating  either 
of  the  Russians,  they  agreed  to  give  the 
kingdom  to  Koloman,  the  son  of  Andrew, 
and  marry  him  to  Salome,  daughter  of 
Lestko.  She  was  then  three  years  old, 
and  was  taken  to  Hungary  and  brought 
up  at  the  Court  of  her  father-in-law. 
She  was  deeply  religious  from  her  in 
fancy  ;  she  took  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis  as  soon  as  possible,  and  lived 
like  a  nun,  both  before  and  after  her 
marriage.  Koloman  was  small,  deformed, 
one-eyed,  lame ;  but  clever,  enterprising, 


ST.  SALUSTIA 


213 


and  cunning.  He  wrote  to  Pope  Inno 
cent  III.,  that  Galicia,  which  was  under 
the  Russian  Church,  wished  to  join  that 
of  Rome,  and  had  begged  Andrew  of 
Hungary  to  give  them  his  son  for  their 
king.  The  Pope  of  course  encouraged 
the  Hungarian  rule.  In  1217  the  young 
couple  went  to  reign  in  Galicia ;  but  as 
soon  as  the  Archbishop  of  Gnesna,  in  the 
name  of  Pope  Honorius  III.,  had  set 
the  crowns  on  the  heads  of  Koloman  and 
Salome,  the  young  king,  in  obedience  to 
his  father  and  the  Pope,  drove  out  the 
Russian  bishop  and  priests.  At  the 
same  time,  Andrew  and  Lestko  quar 
relled,  and  the  Russian  princes  took 
advantage  of  the  confusion  to  forward 
their  own  ambitions.  The  war  went  on 
again  with  circumstances  of  gross  bru 
tality.  The  young  king  and  queen  shut 
themselves  up,  with  a  few  followers,  in 
the  church  of  our  Lady  at  Lemberg; 
but  after  three  days,  being  in  fear  of 
starvation  and  doubtful  as  to  the  loyalty 
of  their  subjects,  they  surrendered  to  the 
Russian  Prince  Mstislaf,  who  imprisoned 
them  in  Tortschesk.  Another  king  and 
queen  were  chosen,  but  the  Pope  would 
not  consent  to  the  transfer,  saying  that 
Koloman  and  Salome  had  received  the 
crown  on  apostolic  authority.  Andrew, 
by  threats  and  promises,  induced  the 
Russian  princes  to  withdraw  from  the 
contest;  at  the  same  time,  the  Mongol 
invasion  frightened  them  into  suspending 
their  private  quarrels  and  personal  am 
bitions,  that  all  Christendom  might  unite 
against  the  common  foe.  Thus  it  hap 
pened  that  Koloman  and  Salome  were 
reinstated  for  a  time ;  again  exiled ;  a 
second  time  restored;  Koloman  was 
finally  expelled  from  Galicia  a  third 
time ;  he  returned  to  Hungary  and  fell 
in  1240,  fighting  against  the  Mongols. 
At  his  death,  Salome  transferred  herself 
to  the  Second  Order  of  St.  Francis,  and 
built  a  convent  at  Zawichost,  where  she 
collected  a  number  of  virgins  and  took 
the  solemn  vows  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Clara. 

In  1260,  when  the  Tartars  overran 
Silesia  and  Moravia,  they  burnt  her 
convent  and  massacred  most  of  the  nuns, 
beheading  sixty  of  them  at  once.  Salome 
happened  to  be  absent.  When  she  had 


buried  her  nuns,  she  built  the  convent  of 
St.  Mary's  Stone  at  Zkamiena,  or  Skata  ; 
she  placed  the  survivors  there  and  filled 
up  their  ranks  with  young  girls.  Hero 
she  died  Nov.  17,  1208.  Her  tomb  being 
honoured  with  miracles,  her  body  was 
translated  into  the  cathedral  of  St. 
Francis  at  Cracow,  built  by  her  brother 
King  Boleslas.  Clement  X.,  in  167o, 
finding  that  the  Poles  had  worshipped 
her  for  four  hundred  years  and  were  in 
the  habit  of  obtaining  miracles  through 
her  intercession,  allowed  the  whole  order 
of  St.  Francis  to  celebrate  her  festival 
with  a  double  rite  on  the  anniversary  of 
her  death. 

A  church  was  dedicated  in  the  name 
of  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
and  B.  Salome,  at  Skata,  in  1642 ;  but  it 
fell  to  ruins  in  thirty-five  years. 

Salome  is  called  Saint  by  the  Polish 
and  some  other  historians,  Blessed  in 
the  E.M.,  O.S.F.,  and  by  Hueber  and 
Ferrarius. 

Dlugosch.    Mailath.    Karamsin.    Fer 
rarius,    Catalotjus.     Moroni,   Dizionario. 
Lambertini,  De  Scrvorum  Dei.     AA.SS., 
11  CUNEGUND,  July  24."   Kobielski,  Florcs 
Vitde    B.    Salomcse     Virginis.     Hueber, 
Franciscan  Menology.     Pertz. 
St.  Salomonia,  SALOME  (1). 
St.  Salonica,  SALONITA,  or  SOLONITA. 
June  25,  M.  with  others,  in  Thessalonica. 
AAJSS. 

St.  Salpurnia,  June  2,  one  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  Roman  mar 
tyrs  commemorated  in  the  Martyroloyy 
of  St.  Jerome  on  this  day.  AA.SS. 
St.  Salsa  (1),  SALFA. 
St.  Salsa  (2),  Oct.  10,  M.  Africa,  in 
the  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  or  4th  century.  AA.SS. 
St.  Salustia  or  SALLUSTIA,  Sept.  14, 
M.  252.  When  St.  Cornelius,  pope  and 
martyr,  was  led  by  soldiers  to  a  heathen 
temple  where  the  Emperor  Docius  had 
ordered  that  ho  should  sacrifice,  one  of 
the  soldiers,  named  Cerealis,  asked  him, 
by  the  way,  to  visit  his  wife,  Salustia,  who 
had  been  paralyzed  and  helpless  for  five 
years.  He  went,  and  cured  her  at  once. 
She  begged  him  to  baptize  her,  and  ran 
to  fetch  him  some  water  for  the  purpose  ; 
the  other  soldiers  seeing  the  miracle 
were  converted  and  baptized.  Then 
Cerealis  and  Salustia,  with  Cornelius 


214 


ST.   SALVIA 


and  all  his  new  converts,  were  beheaded, 
and  ST.  LUCINA  (2)  buried  them.   AA.SS. 

St.  Salvia  (I),  May  8,  M.  at  Con 
stantinople,  with  St.  Acacius.  (See  AGATHA 
(2).)  AA.8S. 

St.  Salvia  (2),  SILVIA. 

St.  Salvina  (1),  SABINA. 

St.  Salvina  (2),  4th  and  5th  century. 
Daughter  of  Gildo,  a  Moor,  tributary 
king  of  Mauritania  and  count  of  Africa, 
a  man  of  immense  wealth  and  con 
siderable  ability,  but  guilty  of  great 
crimes :  he  died  by  his  own  hand. 
Salvina  became  the  wife  of  Nebridius,  a 
most  amiable  and  estimable  young  man, 
nephew  of  ST.  FLACCILLA,  after  whose 
death  the  Emperor  adopted  Nebridius 
and  brought  him  up  with  his  own  sons, 
the  future  Emperors  Arcadius  and  Hono- 
rius.  High  official  dignities  were  heaped 
upon  him,  and  about  396  he  was  Pro- 
Consul  of  Africa.  He  died  young, 
leaving  Salvina  with  one  son  and  one 
daughter. 

St.  Jerome's  79th  letter  is  addressed 
to  Salvina.  He  had  never  seen  her,  but 
loved  her  husband.  He  advises  her  to 
remain  a  widow,  and  to  devote  herself 
to  her  children,  and  to  ascetic  and  pious 
practices ;  to  have  a  maiden  aunt  to  live 
with  her  and  a  respectable  aged  man  to 
overlook  her  servants.  He  says  of  her 
son,  quoting  Virgil,  "  that  narrow  frame 
contains  a  hero's  heart,"  and  he  calls  the 
little  daughter  of  Nebridius  and  Salvina, 
"  a  basket  of  roses  and  lilies,  a  mixture 
of  ivory  and  purple."  In  warning  Salvina 
against  all  luxury  and  splendour,  he 
says,  "  Never  let  pheasant  be  seen  upon 
your  table,  nor  plump  turtle  doves  nor 
black-cock  from  lona,  or  any  of  those 
birds  so  expensive  that  they  fly  away 
with  the  largest  properties,  and  do  not 
fancy  that  you  eschew  meat  when  you 
reject  ...  the  flesh  .  .  .  of  quadrupeds. 
It  is  not  the  number  of  feet  .  .  .  that 
makes  the  difference."  He  says,  "  Let  the 
scriptures  be  ever  in  your  hands,  and 
give  yourself  .  .  .  frequently  to  prayer." 
Salvina  became  a  deaconess,  and  was 
among  those  devout  women  who,  in  after 
years,  upheld  St.  Chrysostom  under  his 
persecutions.  Lebeau  speaks  of  her  as  a 
Saint,  but  she  does  not  appear  to  have  a 
day  of  commemoration. 


Lebeau.     Smith  and  Wace. 
St.  Samaritana,  PHOTINA  (1). 
St.  Sambacia,  April  24,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Sambaria,  July  19  (translation). 
Probably  same  as  the  companion  of  ST. 
UKSULA,  mentioned  in  Gynecseum,  Oct.  22. 
AA.SS.,  Prsetcr. 

St.  Samdyne  or  SAMTHANA,  Dec.  1 9, 
+  738.  "  In  yrelonde  the  feest  of  saynt 
Samdyne  a  virgyn,  borne  of  noble  blode, 
and  by  her  frendes  maryed,  but  for  the 
desyre  of  virginite  she  was  delyuered 
from  her  spouse  by  myracle,  and  so 
entred  religion,  wherein  she  came  to 
hygh  perfeccyon  and  was  abbesse,  a  grcte 
almes  woman  and  very  pyteous,  and  many 
persons  she  delyuered  from  shame  and 
rebuke,  many  also  from  pryson  by  my 
racle,  and  by  her  prayer  she  remoued  a 
chirche,  with  many  other  notable  actes." 
(Mart,  of  Salisbury.)  She  was  abbess  of 
Clonbrone  or  Cluainbronach,  co.  Long 
ford.  Butler,  Appendix. 

St.  Samina,  June  2.  One  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  Eoman  mar 
tyrs  commemorated  together.  AA.SS. 
Mart,  of  St.  Jerome. 

St.  Sammata,  June  2,  M.  at  Eomc. 
Stadler. 

SS.  Samo  or  SAMOS  and  Guria, 
Nov.  20,  MM.  at  Edessa.  They  went 
about  comforting  the  Christians  and 
converting  the  heathen.  They  were  hung 
up,  starved,  and  then  beheaded.  Usuard 
and  Molanus. 

St.  Samthana,  SAMDYNE. 
St.  Sanaen,  July  4,  M.  at  Maudau- 
rum  in  Africa,  with  St.  Namphanio  and 
others.     EM.     Ferrarius. 

St.  Sancha  (1),  March  13  (with  her 
sister),  June  17,  -f  c.  1230.  Daughter 
of  Sancho  I.,  king  of  Portugal  (1185- 
1212).  Sister  of  Alfonso  II.  (1212- 
1223),  and  of  ST.  THERESA  (5),  queen  of 
Leon,  and  B.  MAFALDA,  queen  of  Castile. 
Their  mother's  name  was  Dulce.  King 
Sancho  gave  Sancha  the  town  of  Alen- 
quer,  and  confirmed  it  to  her  by  will ; 
but  her  brother  Alfonso  the  Fat  tried  to 
deprive  her  of  this  and  the  rest  of  her 
inheritance ;  he  invaded  her  estates  and 
killed  a  number  of  her  people.  At  last 
peace  was  restored,  and  Sancha  seeing 
that  her  sister  Theresa  ruled  over  the 


ST.   SANULA 


215 


\ 

i 


Cistercian  convent  of  Lorvan  with  great 
success,  determined  to  build  another  of 
the  same  Order  at  Alenquer;  but  by 
divine  revelation  she  went  instead  to 
Coimbra  and  built  near  that  town,  her 
monastery  of  Sfca.  Maria  das  Cellas,  and 
into  it  she  removed  a  number  of  recluses 
called  Muratas  who,  for  want  of  a  nun 
nery  had  been  walled  up  each  in  a  little 
cell,  a  very  small  window  only  being 
left  open  at  which  to  pass  in  food.  They 
received  the  veil  from  the  Abbot  of 
Alcobaza.  Her  brother  urged  her  to 
marry  her  nephew,  the  king  of  Leon 
and  Castile,  in  order  to  make  peace 
between  Spain  and  Portugal;  but  she 
declined  and  assumed  the  Cistercian 
habit.  She  did  not  yet,  however,  give 
up  her  property  and  liberty,  but  returned 
to  Alenquer  to  attend  to  her  estates  and 
affairs.  At  this  time,  St.  Francis,  who 
was  living  in  Italy,  sent  five  of  his 
friars  to  preach  to  the  Moors.  Passing 
through  Portugal,  they  visited  Alfonso. 
Sancha  took  so  much  interest  in  their 
mission  that  she  built  at  Jerabrica,  on 
her  own  estate,  a  chapel  and  cells  for  six 
or  seven  brothers  of  the  Order.  This 
was  the  first  Franciscan  religious  house 
in  Portugal.  The  five  friars  passed  on 
to  Africa,  where  they  all  suffered  mar 
tyrdom.  Sancha  was  also  a  benefactor 
to  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  When 
she  had  settled  her  affairs,  she  shut  her 
self  up,  with  her  nuns,  in  her  convent  at 
Alenquer.  She  died  about  1230,  and  her 
sister  Theresa  carried  off  her  body  by 
stealth  and  buried  it  at  Lorvan.  They 
are  commemorated  together.  AA.SS., 
June  17.  Bucelinus,  March  13.  Henri- 
quez,  Lilia. 

B.  Sancha  (2),  surnamed  Carillo, 
July  25,  Aug.  13,  abbess  andcommenda- 
trix  of  the  military  Order  of  St.  James. 
Daughter  of  Alfonso  IX.,  king  of  Leon 
(1188-1214).  Sister  of  (St.)  Ferdinand 
III.  (1217-1252).  Guerin.  Stadler. 
Florez  says  she  lies  honoured  as  a  Saint 
in  Santa  Fe  di  Toledo. 

Sancia  or  SANCTIA,  SANCHA. 

St.  Sancta  (1),  July  28,  M.  at  Chios. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

B.  Sancta  (2).     (See  FULCIDE.) 

St.  Sanctia.     (See  JULIANA  (5).) 

B.  Santa,  SANTUCCIA. 


Santillana,  SANTA  JULIANA.  Espana 
Sagrada. 

B.  Santuccia  or  SANTA,  March  21, 
Sept.  8,  +  1305.  Bora  at  Gubbio,  in 
Umbria,  of  the  ancient  and  respectable 
family  of  Terrabotti.  She  was  married 
and  had  a  daughter  Julia,  who  directly 
after  her  birth,  while  she  was  being 
washed, distinctly  said,  "Jesus.  Mary." 
This  child  died  young. 

B.  Sperandio  and  his  wife  B.  GENNAIA, 
nobles  of  Gubbio,  having  betaken  them 
selves  to  a  monastic  life,  Santuccia  and  her 
husband  resolved  to  follow  their  example: 
he  became  a  monk  in  the  Benedictine 
monastery  of  St.  Peter,  and  she,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  abbot,  spent  her  sub 
stance  in  building  a  convent  on  a  hill  near 
the  town;  it  was  placed  under  the  protec 
tion  of  the  B.  V.  MAIIY,  and  called  Serve 
della  Madonna.  As  soon  as  it  was  finished, 
Santuccia  took  the  veil  on  St.  Benedict^ 
day,  March  21,  and  established  there  the 
Benedictine  rule  of  St.  Sperandio.  She 
was  elected  abbess,  and  her  piety  and 
good  government  were  so  eminent  that 
the  Templars  presented  to  her  the 
church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Julia  at  Rome, 
with  the  adjacent  buildings  for  a  con 
vent  of  her  Order.  Sperandio  gave  her 
an  oratory  at  Bolgaviano,  outside  the 
walls  of  Perugia,  where  she  founded 
a  convent.  She  founded  and  was  supe 
rior  general  of  twenty-four  convents, 
all  forming  one  congregation  under  the 
name  of  St.  Sperandio.  The  nuns  were 
popularly  called  le  Santuccie.  In  12G4, 
John,  abbot  of  St.  Peter's  at  Gubbio, 
pronounced  an  anathema  against  her, 
because  she  said  that  she  and  her  con 
vents  were  not  subject  to  him.  Pope 
Clement  IV.,  however,  annulled  the  ana 
thema,  and  made  her  Order  to  depend 
immediately  on  the  holy  see. 

She  is  erroneously  claimed  as  a 
member  of  the  Third  Order  of  Servites, 
which  was  not  established  until  after 
her  death.  Her  rule  was  Benedictine  ; 
that  of  the  Servites  Augustine.  Helyot. 
AA.SS.  Jacobilli,  Santi  dell'  Umbria, 
Sept.  8. 

St.  Sanula,  Feb.  24,  M.  at  Nicome- 
dia,  in  Bithynia,  with  sixteen  other 
women  and  about  a  hundred  and  forty 
men.  AA.SS. 


21  fi 


ST.   SANYSIA 


St.  Sanysia,  Dec.  o(),  M.  at  Thessa- 
lonica.  R.M. 

St.  Sapida,  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Sapientia  (1),  SOPHIA  (1). 

St.  Sapientia  (2).  (See  BRIGID  (1).) 

B.  Sapientia  (3),  March  31,  prioress 
of  tlie  Cistercian  nunnery  of  Mont 
Cornillon,  near  Liege.  She  brought  up 
ST.  JULIANA  (21)  and  her  sister  Agnes. 
Henriqucz.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Sara  (1),  SARAH,  or  SARAI, 
March  19,  wife  of  the  patriarch  Abra 
ham  and — at  the  age  of  ninety — mother 
of  Isaac.  Supposed  to  be  the  same  as 
Iscah,  daughter  of  Haran  and  sister  of 
Milcah,  wife  of  Nahor.  This  is  the 
Jewish  tradition  and  is  followed  by 
Josephus  and  St.  Jerome.  On  this 
theory,  Lot  was  the  brother  of  Sarah. 
Jewish  tradition  also  says  that  she  died 
of  the  shock  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  and 
that  when  Abraham  returned  from 
Mount  Moriah  he  found  her  dead.  She 
died  at  Hebron  at  the  age  of  a  hundred 
and  twenty- seven,  and  was  buried  in  the 
cave  of  Macpelah,  which  was  bought  by 
Abraham  for  that  purpose  and  was  the 
only  spot  of  ground  he  had  in  the  land 
promised  to  his  descendants.  It  is  a 
place  of  pilgrimage  to  Christians,  Jews 
and  Mohammedans,  and  her  resting- 
place  is  pointed  out  opposite  to  that  of 
Abraham,  with  those  of  Isaac  and 
Eebekah  on  one  side  and  Jacob  and 
Leah  on  the  other.  Smith's  Dictionary 
of  the  Bible.  Baillet. 

St.  Sara  (2)  or  SARETTE,  April  9, 
serving-maid  to  ST.  MARY  (5).  Sara's 
body  was  taken  to  France  and  there 
hidden ;  it  was  discovered  in  1448. 
Azevedo. 

St.  Sara  (3),  April  24,  V.  M.  in 
Syria.  Not  found  in  the  oldest  mar- 
tyrologies  but  mentioned  by  Greven 
and  Canisius. 

St.  Sara  (4),  July  13,  V.  Abbess  in 
the  desert  of  Scete,  in  Libya,  towards 
the  end  of  the  4th  century.  For 
thirteen  years  she  endured  perpetual 
persecution  from  an  evil  spirit,  who 
sometimes  appeared  visibly  to  her ;  she 
never  prayed  for  his  removal,  but  only 
for  fortitude  for  the  struggle.  She 
lived  for  sixty  years  close  to  a  river 


without    ever    caring     to    look    at    it. 
AA.SS.     Sylva  AnacJioretica. 

Sara  (5),  V.  Abbess.  Commemo 
rated  by  Witford,  de  Vitis  Patrum  prse- 
clarse  virtutis.  Perhaps  SARA  (4). 
AA.SS. 

St.  Sara  (6).     (See  BEEN  AN.) 

St.  Sarachilde,  PHARAILDIS. 

St.  Sarbilia,  DABEBOA  (2). 

St.  Sarmata  (1),  Jan.  18,  M.  One 
of  thirty-seven  martyrs  in  Egypt. 
AAJB8. 

St.  Sarmata  (2),  Oct.  11,  M.  in 
Thebais.  EM. 

St.  Sarmatia,  SARMITIA,  or  SERMATIA, 
June  2.  One  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  Roman  martyrs  com 
memorated  together  by  St.  Jerome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Sarnata  of  Dairinis,  April  15. 
Irish.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Sarta  or  SATA,  Jan.  17,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.88. 

St.  Satira,  May  10,  M.  at  Tarsus  in 
Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sativola,  SIDWELL. 

St.  Saturna  (1),  May  10,  M.  at 
Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  AA.88. 

St.  Saturna  (2)  or,  according  to 
St.  Jerome,  SATURNUS,  Feb.  7,  M.  Com 
memorated  with  Anatolius  and  other 
martyrs,  Jan.  7,  in  several  old  martyr- 
ologies.  AA.SS.,  Feb.  7. 

St.  Saturnia  or  SATURNINA,  May  24, 
M.  in  Syria. 

St.  Saturnilla,  Feb.  9,  M.  One  of 
many  martyrs  in  Egypt,  commemorated 
on  this  day  in  the  Mart,  of  St.  Jerome. 
AA.SS. 

SB.  Saturnina  (1-23),  are  cited 
by  the  Bollandists  from  the  ancient 
calendars ;  six  of  these  are  in  a  list  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  Roman 
martyrs  in  St.  Jerome's  Mart.,  June  2 ; 
two  are  in  the  list  with  ST.  AUCEGA, 
June  1  ;  one — but  it  is  not  known  which 
— is  patron  of  Heerse,  whither  she  was 
translated  from  Rome  with  miracles ; 
one  was  a  companion  of  SS.  MARY  (10) 
and  VICTORIA  at  Avitina. 

St.  Saturnina  (24),  June  4,  V.  of 
a  noble  family  in  Germany,  M.  at  Arras 
in  Artois.  At  an  early  age  she  made  a 
vow  of  celibacy,  and  fled  from  her  home 
to  avoid  being  compelled  to  marry.  Her 


ST.   SCHOLASTICA 


217 


affianced  husband  with  the  approbation 
of  her  parents,  pursued  her  and  overtook 
her  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Arras, 
where  she  was  hiding  among  some 
shepherds  in  a  field.  He  cut  off  her 
head.  She  took  it  in  her  hands  and 
carried  it  in  presence  of  all  the  people 
into  the  church  of  St.  Remi  (Remigius), 
which  stood  in  the  adjoining  village. 
There  she  was  buried  with  due  honour, 
and  long  afterwards,  a  portion  of  her 
relics  was  carried  to  Saxony. 

Baillet  says  the  Acts  of  St.  Saturnina 
have  been  copied  to  make  up  those  of 
ST.  ROMANA  (7)  and  ST.  BENEDICTA  (7). 
E.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Saula.  SS.  MARTHA  (11)  and 
SAULA,  Oct.  20,  VV.  MM.  with  many 
others,  at  Cologne.  Saula  is  sometimes 
called  a  companion  of  ST.  URSULA; 
sometimes  the  same  as  Ursula ;  but  it  is 
easier,  says  Baillet,  to  identify  the  two 
names  than  to  account  for  Martha  being 
put  first  of  the  two  saints.  E.M. 

St.  Saverstia,  ANGELINA  (5). 

St.  Savina,  SABINA. 

St.  Savinilla,  SABINELLA. 

St.  Scalleria  or  SCALLBRVA,  SALLA 
RUA. 

St.  Scamberg  or  SCANBERGA,  Oct.  2, 
matron.  Probably  the  same  as  SCARI- 
BERG. 

St.  Scaraberd,  SCARIBERG. 

St.  Scariberg,  SCARABERD,  or 
SCARRIBERGA,  July  18,  6th  century, 
V.  honoured  at  Silva  Aquilina,  near 
Chartres.  Niece  of  Clovis,  and  said,  in 
one  legend,  to  be  sister  of  St.  Patrick. 
Wife  of  St.  Arnulf,  who  preached  to  the 
Franks  after  the  baptism  of  Clovis. 
Arnulf  is  said  to  have  been  bishop  of 
Tours,  but  this  is  not  certain.  He 
preached  in  various  parts  of  France  and 
Spain,  and  was  murdered — it  is  said,  by 
some  of  his  wife's  servants — about  534, 
while  praying  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Remi 
gius.  Scariberg  found  him  dying,  and 
received  his  blessing  and  parting  advice. 
She  took  the  veil,  and  lived  some  time 
with  her  brother,  St.  Patrick ;  and  after 
his  death,  she  gave  herself  entirely  to 
austerity  and  devotion.  Neither  her 
story  nor  her  worship  is  well  established. 
AA.SS.  Butler.  Mas  Latrie  calls  her 
'Saint. 


St.  Scariola,  June  <>,  V.  at  Bourges. 
Mart,  of  Cologne  and  Lubeck,  written 
1490,  and  copied  by  some  later  writers. 
Supposed  to  be  the  same  as  ST.  EUSTA- 
DIOLA.  AA.SS.,  Prsetcr. 

St.  Schiria,  March  24,  6th  century. 
The  church  of  Killskire  or  Killkire  in 
Meath  was  called  after  her.  She  is  said 
to  have  been  the  daughter  of  Eugene, 
great-grandson  of  Fergus,  brother  of 
Neill  Negialliach.  She  had  a  sister, 
Corcaria  Keann  or  Caoin,  a  holy  virgin 
whose  name  is  not  in  the  calendars, 
unless  she  is  the  same  as  ST.  CORCCAGIA. 
Lanigan. 

St.  Scholastica  (l),  Feb.  0  or  10, 
Nov.  13,  July  11  (SCOLACE,  SCOLASSE, 
ECOLACE),  V.  +  c.  543.  Patron  of 
Le  Mans,  of  Vich  or  Vique  in  Cata 
lonia  ;  of  Benedictines,  and  against 
storms.  Represented  with  her  brother, 
St.  Benedict,  and  two  turtle  doves. 
Scholastica  and  Benedict  were  of  the 
noble  family  of  the  Anicii,  and  were 
born  in  Umbria,  at  Nursia  or  Norcia. 
She  was  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God 
from  a  very  tender  age,  and  as  St. 
Gregory  says  that  Benedict  governed 
nuns  as  well  as  monks,  it  is  inferred 
that  the  nuns  were  in  the  convent  of 
Plombariola,  under  the  superintendence 
of  Scholastica.  It  is  not,  however, 
certain  that  she  ever  was  a  professed 
nun.  All  that  is  told  of  her  in  the  Life 
of  Benedict  is  that  she  lived  in  a  cell, 
a  few  miles  from  Monte  Cassino,  and  that 
she  used  to  visit  her  brother  once  a 
year;  but  as  no  woman  was  allowed 
to  enter  the  monastery,  St.  Benedict 
with  a  few  of  his  monks,  used  to  meet 
her  at  a  small  house  near  the  gate,  where 
they  passed  the  day  together  in  singing 
hymns  and  talking  of  heavenly  things. 
The  last  time  she  visited  him,  when  they 
had  spent  the  day  as  usual  and  had 
dined  together,  she  besought  him  not 
to  leave  her  that  night.  He  refused  to 
stay  as  it  was  contrary  to  his  rule,  and 
she  laid  her  head  on  her  hands  on  the 
table  and  prayed  God  to  let  him  stay. 
Although  the  sky  was  perfectly  clear  up 
to  that  moment,  a  frightful  storm  of 
thunder,  lightning  and  rain  immediately 
came  on,  so  that  Benedict  and  his 
monks  could  not  stir  from  the  house. 


218 


ST.    SCHOLASTICA 


As  soon  as  Scholastica  lifted  her  head 
from  her  hands  the  storm  ceased,  Benedict 
perceived  that  God  had  granted  her  the 
request  which  he  had  refused,  so  he 
stayed  with  her.  Next  day  she  returned 
to  her  cell.  Three  days  afterwards,  as 
Benedict  was  praying  in  his  cell,  he  saw 
his  sister's  soul  ascending  to  heaven. 
Holy  women  of  the  Order  of  St.  Bene 
dict  arc  commemorated  on  Nov.  1  3. 
Dialogues  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great. 
Gregory  learned  the  details  he  records 
from  four  abbots,  who  were  monks 
under  Benedict  at  Monte  Cassino. 
AA.SS.  Butler.  Baillet. 

The  brother  and  sister  are  buried 
together  in  a  subterranean  chapel  under 
the  high  altar  in  Benedict's  monastery 
of  San  Germano,  Monte  Cassino. 

Some  relics  of  St.  Scholastica  were 
kept  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter  at  Le 
Mans  ;  and  on  July  11,  1563,  while  the 
inhabitants  were  celebrating  her  fete,  a 
sudden  panic  seized  the  Protestant 
garrison,  and  they  fled  and  rid  the 
Christians  of  their  presence,  leaving 
behind  them  the  registers  of  their 
consistory.  A  solemn  procession  was 
annually  held  on  the  anniversary  of 
this  great  deliverance.  Cahier.  Chaste- 
lain. 

St.  Scholastica  (2),  V.  Wife  of 
Injuriosus.  When  he  laid  her  in  her 
grave,  he  said,  "  Lord,  I  give  Thee  back 
this  treasure,  stainless  as  I  received  her 
from  Thee."  She  opened  her  eyes  and 
smiled,  but  said,  "  Why  dost  thou  reveal 
that  which  was  a  secret  between  thee 
and  me  ?  "  Some  years  after,  Injuriosus 
died,  and  they  made  him  a  grave  beside 
that  of  Scholastica.  Next  day  the  two 
tombs  were  found  to  have  become  one, 
and  people  called  it  the  grave  of  the  two 
lovers.  Les  Mystiques,  from  St.  Gregory 
of  Tours. 

St.  Schwellmerg.     (See  TRIADS.) 

St.  Sciala  or  STIALA,  AIALA. 

Scillitan  Martyrs.     (See  JANUARIA 

St.  Scoberia.     (See  Libaria.) 

St.  Scolace,  SCHOLASTICA  (I). 

St.  Scolastica,  SCHOLASTICA. 

St.  Scoth  (1)  or  SCOTA,  July  16, 
5th  century.  Descended  from  the  first 
Connor,  king  of  Ireland.  She  was  the 


daughter  of  Cobhtach.  Her  monastery 
was  a  few  miles  from  Mullingar  and 
thither  her  nephew  St.  Senan  betook 
himself  that  he  might  remain  absorbed 
in  prayer,  in  preparation  for  his  ap 
proaching  death.  O'Hanlon. 

SS.  Scoth  (2),  Feammor,  Blath 
(1)  and  Ana,  Jan.  18,  VV.  honoured 
at  Cluain  Greanach,  in  Ireland.  It  is 
probable  that  some,  if  not  all  of  them, 
lived  in  the  5th  century.  O'Hanlon. 

St.  Scuriola,  EUSTADIOLA. 

St.  Scythe,  OSITH. 

St.  Sebastia  or  SABBATIA,  July  4, 
M.  with  many  others.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sebastiana  (1),  Sep.  16.  Con 
verted  by  St.  Paul.  Tortured  and  be 
headed  at  Heraclea  in  Thrace,  under 
the  Emperor  Domitian.  EM.  Mas 
Latrie. 

St.  Sebastiana  (2),  June  7,  hon 
oured  in  the  Greek  Church  as  a  worker 
of  miracles.  AA.8S. 

St.  Sebdanna,  -f  ^27,  abbess  of 
Kildare  in  Ireland.  Colgan. 

St.  Secildis,  SICILDIS. 

SS.  Secunda  (1-16),  MM.  in  the 
various  persecutions.  Some  are  sup 
posed  to  be  duplicates.  One  was  mother 
of  ST.  SEVERA  (l);  one  is  honoured  as 
a  companion  of  ST.  URSULA:  relics  at 
St.  Denis  near  Paris.  Three  are  in  the 
EM.  July  10,  17,  30. 

St.  Secundella,  Feb.  28,  M.  at 
Alexandria,  with  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secundiana,  May  7,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secundilla  (1)  or  SECUNDOLA 
(1),  March  2,  M.  at  Porto  Komano. 
EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secundilla  (2),  March  1,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secimdina  (l),  Aug.  1,  M.  at 
Rome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secundina  (2),  Jan.  13,  15, 
V.  M.,  middle  of  3rd  century,  at  Anagni, 
under  Decius.  St.  Magnus,  bishop  of 
Anagni,  was  taken  and  put  to  death. 
Secundina  was  also  arrested.  For  five 
months  many  ways  were  tried  to  induce 
her  to  renounce  her  religion;  but  in 
vain.  She  converted  several  of  her 
keepers  and  tormentors.  At  last  she 
was  beaten  to  death ;  milk  flowed  from 
her  wounds  instead  of  blood,  and  a 


ST.   SENORINA 


219 


dazzling  light  shone  from  her  body,  so 
that  the  executioners  could  not  fix  their 
eyes  upon  her.  In  the  midst  of  their 
impious  cruelty,  a  great  peal  of  thunder 
was  heard,  and  the  angels  came  and  took 
her  soul.  KM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secundina  (3),  May  8,  M.  at 
Constantinople,  with  St.  Acacius.  AA.SS. 
(Sre  AGATHA  (2).) 

St.  Secundola  (1),  SECUNDTLLA. 

St.  Secundola  (2),  Aug.  i,  M.  at 
Rome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secundula  (l),  Feb.  2,  M.  at 
Rome,  with  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secundula  (2)  M.  with  ANTIGA. 

St.  Secundula  (8),  Sept.  28,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secura,  SACUSA. 

St.  Securis,  Feb.  24,  M.  with  about 
a  hundred  and  sixty  others,  at  Nicomedia 
in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Secusa,  SACUSA. 

St.  Sedepha  or  SEDOPHA,  SODEPHA. 

St.  Sedrido,  SAETHBITH  or  SETHRYTH, 
Jan.  10.  7th  century.  Second  abbess 
of  Brie  (afterwards  called  Faremoutier). 
Daughter  of  ST.  HERESWITHA  by  her 
first  marriage.  Sedrido  left  England 
and  became  a  nun  at  Brie,  under  its  first 
abbess  ST.  FARA,  whom  she  succeeded. 
AA.SS.  Brit.  Sancta.  Butler,  "St. 
Fara"  Dec.  7.  (See  ST.  ERCONGOTA  and 
ST.  ETHELBURGA  (3).) 

St.  Segeberg,  GEGOBERGA. 

St.  Segnetia,  SEGRETIA. 

St.  Segnich,  V.,  abbess  of  Kill  Ailbe. 
Possibly  same  as  SINCHA.  Lanigan. 

St.  Segoberg,  GEGOBERGA. 

St.  Segolena,  SIGOLENA. 

St.  Segrauz,  SIGRADA. 

St.  Segrete,  SIGRADA. 

St.  Senve,  SEUVE. 

St.  Segretia  or  SEGNETIA,  Dec.  18, 
V.  said  to  have  been  sister  of  St.  Gerald, 
and  an  abbess  in  Ireland.  She  died  of 
jaundice,  with  a  hundred  of  her  nuns, 
when  that  pestilence  ravaged  Ireland  in 
064.  Lanigan. 

St.  Sellaris,  Feb.  24,  M.  with  many 
others  at  Nicomedia  in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sellenais,  June  5  or  8,  M. 
in  Egypt,  under  Galerius  Maximianus. 
Stadler  und  Heim. 

St.  Semibaria,  Oct.  22,  V.  M., 
companion  of  ST.  URSULA.  Specially 


honoured  at  St.  Denis.  The  body  was 
probably  brought  there  from  Cologne 
and  named  afterwards.  Martin.  Gyne- 

CSBWtt. 

B.  Semina,  Jan.  25,  a  Carthusian  V. 
AA.SS.,  Prsetcr. 

St.  Sempronia  or  SEMPRONIANA. 
(See  JULIANA  (15).) 

St.  Sena,  Feb.  0  in  the  calendar  of 
the  monastery  of  St.  Cyriacus  at  Rome, 
is  probably  ST.  XENA  or  EUSEBIA  (4)  or 
else  ST.  SERENA  (4).  AA.SS. 

St.  Senarde.  A  chapel  is  dedicated 
in  her  name  at  St.  Gilles  de  Soulans,  in 
the  diocese  of  Lucon.  Chastelain. 

St.  Senentia,  V.  Invoked  in  a 
litany  used  in  England  in  the  7th  cen 
tury.  Migne,  PcUrologtCB  Cursus  Com- 
pletns,  vol.  72.  Mabillon,  Analecta 
Vetera.  English  Mart.  1761. 

St.  Senorina,  April  22,  V.  924-982. 
Abbess  of  the  convent  of  St.  John  of 
Vieira  at  Basto,  in  Entre  Minho  y  Douro, 
Portugal.  Patron  of  Vieira.  Repre 
sented  with  a  large  jar  of  water ;  some 
times  with  a  frog  beside  her.  Senorina 
is  said  to  have  been  of  the  noble  family 
of  Sousa.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Ilufes  or  Adolphus,  count  of  Belfajal 
and  lord  of  the  territories  of  Vieira  and 
Basto.  She  lost  her  mother  while  still 
an  infant,  and  was  brought  up  by  her 
aunt  B.  GODINA,  whom  she  eventually 
succeeded  as  abbess  of  the  Benedictine 
convent  of  St.  John  of  Vieira.  Her 
father  built  her  a  new  monastery  at 
Basto.  St.  Rodesind  (March  1)  was 
her  dear  friend  and  near  relation ;  one 
day  when  he  paid  her  a  visit  at  her 
convent,  two  workmen,  who  were  mend 
ing  the  roof,  were  so  wicked  as  to  mis 
construe  the  friendship  of  the  two  saints  : 
hardly  had  this  impious  thought  arisen 
in  their  minds  when  they  both  fell  from 
the  roof  and  were  killed  on  the  spot: 
the  holy  abbess  and  bishop  then  raised 
them  to  life.  Once  Senorina  sent  a 
servant  to  bring  water  from  a  fountain  ; 
when  she  put  it  to  her  lips,  it  was  wine. 
Thinking  it  was  a  trick,  she  sent  for 
another  jug  of  water,  and  this  time  sent 
another  woman  to  watch  the  first  one. 
The  same  thing  happened,  and  then  she 
knew  it  was  a  miracle,  and  assembled 
her  household  to  share  this  divine  gift 


220 


ST.   SENTIA 


of  wine.  Sitting  at  a  table  reading, 
with  shelves  full  of  books  near  her,  she 
stopped  a  storm  which  was  going  to 
destroy  the  corn  that  was  ready  to  be 
reaped.  AA.SS.,  from  her  Life  by 
Salazar,  extracted  from  a  MS.  Leygen- 
dario  of  Coimbra. 

St.  Sentia,  companion  of  ST.  URSULA. 

St.  Sentiana,  M.  with  JULIANA  (5). 

St.  Sepaca,  June  2,  M.  at  Lyons, 
but  not  with  BLANDINA.  AA.SS. 

St.  Septemna,  SEPTIMA. 

St.  Septima,  SEPTIMIA,  SEPTEMNA,  or 
SEPTIMINA,  May  7,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Septimia  (l)  or  SEPTIMIA  SE- 
VERINA,  Dec.  1 11,  M.  Wife  of  St.  Ca- 
tervus,  M.  They,  with  the  help  of  St. 
Bassus,  converted  the  people  of  Tolen- 
tino  to  Christianity.  She  built  a  tomb 
for  her  husband  and  herself.  They  are 
commemorated  together.  Ughelli  calls 
her  Septimia  Severina,  V. '  Ferrarius. 

SS.  Septimia  (2-6),  MM.  Some- 
times  same  as  SEPTIMA  or  SEPTIMUS. 

St.  Septimina  (1),  May  10,  M.  at 
Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Septimina  (2),  SEPTIMA. 

St.  Serafina,   SERAPHINA. 

St.  Serant.  Perhaps  a  misprint  for 
SERAUT.  (See  SICILDIS.) 

St.  Seraphina  (1),  July  29,  is  said 
to  have  been  an  inhabitant  of  Galicia 
in  Spain,  converted  by  St.  James  the 
apostle.  It  is,  however,  believed  that 
this  is  a  mere  legend  and  that  the  real 
Seraphina  lived  in  Asia  Minor,  in  the 
5th  century.  AA.SS. 

St.  Seraphina  (2)  of  Monte  Feltre, 
Sept.  8,  9  (SERAFINA  SFORZA,  SERAFINA 
COLONNA),  1434-1478,  O.S.F.  Abbess 
of  Corpo  di  Cristo  at  Pesaro.  Daughter 
of  Guido  Antonio,  count  or  duke  of 
Urbino  and  of  Monte  Feltre.  She  was 
christened  SUEVA.  Her  parents  died 
when  she  was  a  child,  and  she  was 
brought  up  by  the  Colonna,  her  mother's 
relations  at  Kome ;  hence  the  supposi 
tion  that  she  was  born  there  of  the 
Colonna  family.  She  married  Alex 
ander  Sforza,  lord  of  Pesaro,  constable 
to  the  king  of  Sicily.  He  had,  by  his 
first  wife,  Constanza  Varana,  two  sons, 
Galeazzo  and  Costanzo,  whom  Sueva 
loved  as  if  they  were  her  own.  Alex 
ander  went  to  help  his  brother  Philip 


in  his  wars.  During  his  absence  he 
committed  the  care  of  all  his  affairs  and 
dominions  to  Sueva  ;  she  managed  every 
thing  very  well.  On  his  return  he  fell 
in  love  with  a  doctor's  wife,  named  Paci- 
fica,  and  began  to  ill  treat  Sueva  who, 
although  very  amiable,  was  small  and 
not  pretty.  He  tried  to  poison  and  to 
strangle  her,  and  at  last  ho  dragged  her 
by  her  hair  through  the  hall  where  many 
of  his  servants  were  standing,  and  strik 
ing  her  brutally,  pushed  her  out  of  the 
door  and  bade  her  go  and  keep  company 
with  the  Clarissans:  which  she  meekly 
did,  in  the  convent  of  Corpo  di  Cristo. 
(See  B.  FELICIA  (11)  B.  FRANCES  (4) 
of  Fano  was  a  nun  of  the  same  con 
vent).  Her  Roman  relations  were  very 
angry.  Alexander,  to  excuse  himself, 
said  he  had  treated  her  in  this  way, 
because  she  was  unfaithful  to  him,  and 
promised  that  she  should  confess  her 
guilt  to  them.  They  came  to  the  con 
vent,  accompanied  by  Alexander  and  a 
scribe,  hoping  to  hear  her  cleared  of  the 
calumny ;  but  she  declined  to  answer 
any  of  their  questions,  and  they  believed 
her  guilty  and  went  away  ashamed.  Her 
innocence  was  not  hidden,  for  a  young 
ass  bit  the  scribe  who  had  fabricated  the 
whole  story,  and  would  not  cease  from 
biting  the  hand  that  had  written  the 
falsehood,  until  he  openly  confessed  his 
guilt  and  proclaimed  the  innocence  of 
Sueva.  She  took  the  veil  and  with  it 
the  name  of  Seraphina.  Alexander  de 
manded  Seraphina's  wedding  ring;  she 
would  not  give  it  up  for  harlots  to  wear 
and  to  encourage  men  to  put  away  their 
wives.  After  a  time  he  ill  used  Pacifica 
as  he  had  done  Sueva,  and  when  she  left 
him  she  repented  and  did  penance  and 
died  piously.  Seraphina  never  ceased 
to  pray  for  her  husband's  conversion  and 
at  last  he  repented  and  spent  the  re 
maining  nine  years  of  his  life  in  good 
works.  He  died  in  1473. 

Seraphina  was  beloved  by  the  nuns, 
and  after  fifteen  years  of  conventual  life, 
was  unanimously  elected  abbess.  At 
her  death  a  great  concourse  of  the 
citizens  came  to  see  the  corpse  of  one 
whom  they  had  long  regarded  as  a 
saint.  She  was  worshipped  from  that 
time  and  her  worship  was  approved  as 


ST.   SERENA 


221 


immemorial  by  Pope  Benedict  XIV. 
A.R.M.  Romano  Serapkicwn,  Sept.  9. 
AA.SS.,  Sept.  8.  Franciscan  Breviary, 
Paris,  1760. 

SS.  Serapia,  V.  and  Sabina  (l)  or 

SAVINA,  Aug.  29,  Sept.  3,  MM.,  Serapia 
in  125,  Sabina,  126.  Sabina  is  patron 
of  Rome.  Serapia  is  represented  with 
torches  and  scourges  in  her  hand  or  near 
her.  She  was  a  native  of  Antioch  in 
Syria,  and  was  brought  very  young  to 
Italy,  apparently  as  a  slave.  In  the 
time  of  the  persecution  under  the  Em 
peror  Adrian,  she  was  living  in  a  little 
town  in  Umbria,  with  a  Eoman  widow  of 
high  rank,  named  Sabina,  whom  she  had 
converted  to  Christianity,  and  who  had, 
besides  Serapia,  several  Christian  maidens 
in  her  house.  Beryllus,  governor  of  the 
province,  hearing  that  they  were  all 
Christians,  requested  Sabina  to  send  him 
all  the  girls  she  had  in  her  house.  She 
excused  herself  and  forbade  any  of  them 
to  go  out.  Serapia,  however,  offered  to 
go  to  him,  hoping  thus  to  appease  him 
and  not  bring  down  his  wrath  on  them 
all.  Sabina  understanding  better  than 
Serapia  the  dangers  to  which  she  would 
be  exposed,  tried  to  dissuade  her,  but 
finding  her  bent  on  going,  she  ordered 
her  litter  and  went  with  her.  Beryllus 
heard  that  Sabina  was  at  the  door,  and 
having  more  respect  for  her  rank  than 
for  the  virtue  of  her  maids,  he  went  out 
to  meet  her  and  remonstrated  with  her 
for  taking  so  much  trouble  about  a 
miserable  sorceress,  for  so  he  called 
Serapia.  After  some  argument,  Sabina 
was  allowed  to  take  Serapia  home 
again ;  but  three  days  afterwards,  Beryl 
lus  sent  lictors  to  bring  Serapia  to  the 
Court  to  be  publicly  tried.  Sabina  fol 
lowed  her  on  foot,  and  said  all  she 
could  to  Beryllus  to  persuade  him  not 
to  do  any  harm  to  her  protegee.  As  she 
could  obtain  nothing,  she  went  home  in 
tears.  Beryllus  having  examined  Se 
rapia  as  to  her  worship  and  belief,  and 
finding  that  the  Christians  attached 
great  importance  to  purity  of  life,  gave 
her  into  the  power  of  two  wicked 
Egyptians,  but  they  could  not  even  look 
at  her,  for  when  she  prayed  to  be  pro 
tected  from  them,  they  were  struck 
blind  and  when  they  attempted  to 


approach  her,  they  fell  down  helpless. 
Next  day  Beryllus  condemned  her  to 
sundry  tortures  and  ordered  her  to  be 
beaten ;  a  splinter  of  one  of  the  sticks 
flew  into  his  eye  and  blinded  him.  She 
was  then  beheaded. 

Sabina  buried  her  in  a  handsome  tomb, 
which  she  had  prepared  for  herself.  In 
consideration  of  her  position,  she  was 
left  without  further  molestation  until 
the  following  year,  when  Elpidius  was 
deputed  by  Beryllus  to  get  rid  of  her. 
He  brought  her  to  trial  and  on  her 
steadfast  refusal  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods, 
had  her  beheaded.  The  bodies  of  the 
two  martyrs  were  afterwards  removed  to 
Rome,  which  has  given  occasion  to 
some  collectors  of  Lives  of  the  martyrs 
to  say  that  they  lived  and  died  at  Rome. 

Some  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the 
ancient  churches  in  Rome  are  on  the 
Aventine ;  one  of  them  is  St.  Sabina's. 
It  existed  in  423  and  is  said  to  be  on  the 
site  of  her  house;  it  was  given  to  St. 
Dominic  in  the  twelfth  century,  with  a 
part  of  the  adjoining  Savelli  palace  for 
a  cloister.  Although  much  spoilt  by 
restoration,  it  is  still  beautiful ;  the 
altar-piece  by  Zucchero  represents  Sa 
bina  being  dragged  up  the  marble  steps 
of  a  temple,  by  an  executioner,  with  a 
drawn  sword  in  his  hand. 

E.M.  AA.SS.  Butler.  Baillet.  Ca- 
hier.  Mrs.  Jameson.  Hemans. 

St.  Seraute,  SICILDIS. 

St.  Sereine,  SERENA. 

St.  Seremione,  HEKMIONB. 

St.  Serena  (1),  May  8,  M.  at  Byzan 
tium,  with  St.  Acacius.  AA.SS.  (See 
AGATHA  (2).) 

St.  Serena  (2),  Feb.  21,  M.   AAJSS. 

St.  Serena  (3),  Aug.  16,  +  2i>8. 
Wife  of  the  Emperor  Diocletian.  She 
secretly  favoured  the  Christians  and 
encouraged  her  friend  SUSANNA  (8)  in 
refusing  the  marriage  proposed  for  her 
by  the  emperor.  After  her  martyrdom, 
Serena  buried  her  in  the  catacombs  near 
St.  Alexander.  Serena  and  her  daughter 
AKTEMIA  (1),  were  converted  by  St. 
Cyriacus.  Serena  grieved  and  fretted 
about  her  husband's  persecution  of  the 
Christians,  to  such  an  extent,  that  she 
fell  ill  of  fever  and  died. 

Her   story   is    not    true.      Diocletian 


222 


ST.  SERENA 


never  had  a  wife  Serena,  Prisca  was  the 
name  of  the  Empress  in  the  time  of  St. 
Susanna.  Serena  is  mentioned  in  the 
Acts  of  St.  Susanna  and  those  of  St. 
Cyriacus,  neither  of  which  are  authentic. 

EM.     AA.8S.     (SW3  ST.  ALEXANDRA  (1).) 

St.  Serena  (4),  Jan.  30,  translation 
June  25.  M.  under  Diocletian.  She  is 
said  by  Saussaye  to  have  been  put  to 
death  for  her  kindness  to  the  martyrs  at 
Cordova,  and  her  body  translated  to 
Metz.  By  another  account,  she  was  an 
inhabitant  of  Spoleto,  who  spent  the 
thirty-three  years  of  her  widowhood  in 
acts  of  piety  and  charity.  When  St. 
Sabinus,  bishop  of  Assisi,  had  his  hands 
cut  off  by  the  persecutors  she  tended 
him,  dressed  his  wounds,  and  preserved 
his  hands  in  a  glass  case.  He  rewarded 
her  by  placing  the  stumps  on  the  eyes  of 
her  beloved  blind  nephew  Priscian,  and 
thus  restoring  his  sight.  Sabinus  was 
put  to  death  soon  afterwards,  and  Serena 
buried  him.  AA.SS.  Jacobilli,  Santi 
dell*  Umbria.  She  is  probably  the  same 
whom  Stadler  gives  as  M.  at  Spoleto, 
Dec.  7. 

St.  Serena  (5),  or  SYRENA,  IKENB  (8). 

St.  Sermata,  Feb.  9,  M.  in  Egypt. 
Mart,  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sermatia,  SARMATIA. 

St.  Serolde,  SICILDIS. 

St.  Seronne,  Nov.  15,  V.  inlePerche. 
Chastelain. 

St.  Serote,  SICILDIS. 

St.  Serotina,  Dec.  31,  M.  at  Rome, 
with  DONATA  and  others,  in  the  cemetery 
of  ST.  PRISCILLA,  on  the  Via  Salaria. 
EM. 

St.  Servilia  (1),  Feb.  28,  M.  with 
many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Servilia  (2),  ORBILIA. 

St.  Sesaute,  SICILDIS.     Chastelain. 

St.  Sethrid  or  SETHRYTH,  SEDRIDO. 

St.  Seuve,  SEVA  or  SENVE  of  Lobi- 
ncau,  Nov.  30.  Daughter  of  ST.  COPAGIA 
and  sister  of  St.  Tugdnal,  British  Piety, 
supplement. 

B.  Seve  or  S-aEVA,  July  26,  nun  at 
Langoal  in  Bretagne.  Guerin.  Perhaps 
same  as  Seuve. 

St.  Severa  (l),  Jan.  29,  V.  M.  1st 
or  beginning  of  4th  century.  One  of  a 
family  of  martyrs  commemorated  together. 
Her  parents  were  S3.  Maximinus  and 


SECUNDA  ;  her  brothers,  SS.  Mark  and 
Calendine.  Maximinus  commanded  a 
thousand  soldiers,  many  of  whom  he 
converted.  He  was  condemned  by  the 
Emperor  Maximian,  to  work  in  the  mines, 
and  as  he  continued  to  make  converts, 
he  and  they  were  put  to  death  and  buried 
by  Pope  (St.)  Marcellus,  in  308.  On 
the  accession  of  a  new  emperor, — whom 
the  story  calls  Claudius  although  there 
was  no  emperor  so  named  at  that  time — 
Secunda  and  her  children  were  arrested 
and  brought  to  trial :  Secunda  then  and 
there  died.  Her  sons  and  daughter  were 
scourged  to  death  at  Pyrgum  (now  called 
St.  Severa),  on  the  seashore  thirty-five 
miles  from  Rome.  AA.SS.  Peter 
Natalibus. 

St.  Severa  (2),  June  3,  Roman 
martyr.  AA.SS. 

St,  Severa  (3),  Oct.  17,  M.  in  Mauri 
tania,  probably  304.  AA.SS. 

St.  Severa  (4),  July  20,  V.  +  c. 
660.  Sister  of  St.  Modoald,  bishop  of 
Treves  (May  12),  who  built  a  convent 
on  the  Moselle,  in  honour  of  St.  Sym- 
phorian,  M.  Severa  presided  over  it. 
She  was  aunt  or  cousin  of  ST.  GERTRUDE 
(5).  AA.SS. 

St.  Severiana.    (See  FUSCINA.) 

St.  Severina,  May  3.  2nd  century. 
Erroneously  called  by  Greven  and 
Ferrarius,  wife  of  the  Emperor  Aurelian  ; 
but  according  to  Papebroch,  her  hus 
band  was  an  officer  of  the  same  name, 
who,  in  119,  killed  Pope  (St.)  Alexander 
and  two  holy  priests.  Aurelian  heard 
a  voice  warning  him  that  these  martyrs 
had  gone  to  heaven,  but  that  he  should 
go  to  endless  torment.  He  was  seized 
with  fever  and  delirium  and  begged 
Severina  to  pray  to  her  God  for  him. 
She  said  she  would  go  and  bury  the 
saints,  lest  the  same  fate  should  overtake 
her;  she  did  so,  and  on  her  return, 
found  her  husband  in  a  raging  fever, 
of  which  he  presently  died.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Sewara  and  Sewenna.  (See 
ETHELREDA.) 

St.  Sexburga,  July  6,  queen  of 
Kent.  7th  century.  Daughter  of  Anna, 
king  of  the  East  Angles  (of  the  family 
of  the  Uffings)  and  perhaps  of  ST.  HERES- 
WITHA.  Wife  of  Ercombert,  king  of 
Kent  (640-664),  son  of  Eadbald,  king 


"' 


ST.   SIBINELLA 


223 


of  Kent,  and  Emma,  daughter  of  Clothaire 
II.  king  of  the  Franks. 

Sexburga  was  sister  of  SS.  ETHELREDA, 
ETHELBUBGA  (3),  and  WITHBUKGA  and 
half-sister  of  ST.  SEDRIDO.  She  was 
mother  of  SS.  ERMENILDA  and  ERCONGOTA 
and  grandmother  of  ST.  WEKEEURGA  of 
Chester.  She  was  sister-in-law  of  ST. 
EANSWITH,  and  aunt  by  marriage  of  ST. 

EllMENBURGA. 

Sexburga  began  in  her  husband's  life, 
to  build  a  religious  house  at  Sheppey  in 
Kent,  that  holy  virgins  might  attend 
divine  service  for  her,  day  and  night. 
Ercombert  died  of  the  "  yellow  plague," 
that  desolated  England  in  66-L  Of  those 
seized  with  the  malady  it  is  said  only 
about  30  recovered.  After  his  death, 
she  ruled  for  a  time  for  her  son  Egbert, 
and  when  he  had  no  further  need  of  her, 
she  retired  to  her  nunnery  and  assembled 
seventy-four  nuns  there ;  but  hearing  of 
the  great  sanctity  of  her  sister — Ethel- 
reda  of  Ely,  and  desiring  to  live  in 
greater  obscurity  than  she  could  enjoy 
as  head  of  her  own  monastery,  she  became 
a  nun  under  Ethelreda,  before  079,  and 
eventually  succeeded  her  as  abbess  of 
Ely,  where  she  lived  to  a  considerable 
age.  Her  two  sons  Egbert  and  Lothaire 
were  successively  kings  of  Kent.  Her 
daughter  Ermenilda,  queen  of  Mercia, 
succeeded  her  as  abbess,  first  at  Sheppey 
and  afterwards  at  Ely.  Her  convent  of 
Le  Minster,  in  Sheppey,  was  destroyed 
by  the  Danes,  but  restored  in  the  twelfth 
century.  AAJ38.  Butler.  Capgrave. 
Smith  and  Wace.  Mabillon.  British 
Mart. 

St.  Sibillina  or  SIBYLLA  of  Pavia, 
March  19,  3rd  O.S.D.  1287-1367. 
Daughter  of  Hubert  dei  Biscossi  and 
Honor  de  Veci  or  Verio,  his  wife.  At 
twelve  years  old  Sibillina  became  blind. 
She  was  then  placed  under  the  care  of 
certain  venerable  ladies  who  were  Sisters 
of  the  Penitence  of  St.  Dominic,  i.e. 
Third  Order  of  Preachers.  She  tried  in 
vain  to  learn  to  spin  well,  in  spite  of  her 
blindness.  She  prayed  continually  and 
fervently  for  the  restoration  of  her  sight, 
in  order  that  she  might  gain  her  liveli 
hood  by  her  own  labour.  She  firmly 
believed  that  on  the  feast  of  St.  Dominic, 
whose  aid  she  had  specially  implored, 


she  should  recover  her  sight :  as  the 
day  passed  without  her  being  cured,  she 
patiently  trusted  that  her  prayer  would 
be  granted  next  day ;  but  when  three 
days  had  passed,  she  reproached  her 
patron  saint,  saying :  "  Is  this  the  way 
you  cheat  me,  blessed  Dominic,  after  I 
have  prayed  so  long  and  so  fervently  to 
you  for  so  reasonable  an  object  ?  Give 
me  back  the  prayers  and  praises  and 
the  other  things  I  have  offered  you  in 
vain."  Immediately,  St.  Dominic  ap 
peared  to  her  and  took  her  from  her 
room  to  the  cathedral,  where  he  showed 
her  in  a  vision,  the  worfchlessness  of 
human  life  and  worldly  enjoyment  and 
the  blessedness  of  holiness  and  ever 
lasting  life ;  from  that  moment  she  no 
longer  wished  to  receive  her  sight. 

Close  to  the  church  of  the  Friars 
Preachers  was  a  cell  inhabited  by  a 
sister  of  the  Penitence  of  St.  Dominic. 
When  Sibillina  was  fifteen  and  had  been 
three  years  under  the  care  of  the  above- 
mentioned  ladies,  this  cell  became  vacant 
by  the  death  of  the  recluse,  and  Sibilliua 
went  to  live  there.  She  remained  there 
the  rest  of  her  life,  namely  sixty-four 
years,  only  coming  out  once  to  take  the 
sacrament  and  once  to  visit  a  nun  in  the 
convent  of  Josaphat.  The  first  seven 
years  of  her  stay  in  this  cell  were  de 
voted  to  almost  incredible  excesses  of 
penance.  She  had  no  fire  and  wore  the 
same  clothes  in  winter  as  in  summer. 
Her  hands  were  so  swollen  and  sore 
with  cold  that  she  could  not  break  her 
dry  bread  without  making  them  bleed. 
But  she  attained  great  charity  and  other 
spiritual  advantages,  especially  a  won 
derful  discernment  between  good  and 
evil,  and  between  true  revelations  and 
mere  illusions.  She  had  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  revealed  secret  things,  and 
had  visions  in  which  Christ  and  the 
saints  appeared  to  her. 

AA.SS.  Pio.  Hernandez.  Helyot. 
Hernandez  says  that  she  had  a  com 
panion  in  her  cell  for  the  first  three 
years,  and  for  the  rest  of  her  life  had 
a  maid  who  served  her.  Her  imme 
morial  worship  was  confirmed  by  Pius 
IX.  in  1854.  Analecta.  Dominican 
Breviary. 

St.  Sibinella,  SABINELLA. 


224 


B.   SIBYLLA   DE   GAGES 


B.  Sibylla  or  SYBILLA  de  Gages, 
Oct.  8,  9,  +  1240.  Daughter  of  Giles 
de  Gages,  a  nobleman  of  Aywieres  in 
Brabant.  She  was  equally  celebrated 
for  her  learning,  virtue  and  miracles, 
and  was  the  friend  of  ST.  LUTGARD. 
She  was  translated  in  1611,  by  the 
bishop  of  Namur.  Invoked  as  a  Saint 
with  SS.  LUTGAHD  and  ELISABETH  (13). 
Henriquez.  Bucelinus.  Stadler.  Re 
jected  by  the  Bollandists. 

St.  Sicaria,  SICHABIA. 

St.  Siccidis.     Probably  SICILDIS. 

St.  Sicharia,  Feb.  2  and  16  (SicAitiA, 
SIGARIA,  SYAGRIA,  SIGNARIA),  V.  at  Or 
leans,  commemorated  in  several  old 
martyrologies.  All  that  is  known  of 
her  is  that  she  lived  before  the  rule  of 
St.  Benedict  was  generally  established 
in  France,  and  that  the  names  Sicharius 
and  Sicharia  were  not  uncommon  in 
Gaul  about  the  time  of  Dagobert,  7th 
century.  AA.SS.  Saussaye.  Bucelinus, 
who  quotes  Bede.  Martin. 

St.  Sichild,  THEODECHILD. 

St.  Sicildis,  June  22  (SEROLDE  or 
SERAUT,  SEZAUT,  SEROTE,  SESAUTE,  CEROSE, 
etc.).  Supposed  8th  century.  V.  hon 
oured  at  Le  Mans,  where  she  was  re 
presented,  over  the  altar  in  her  own 
church,  in  a  nun's  dress.  Her  history 
is  lost  but  she  is  supposed  to  be  the 
same  as  SICCIDIS,  daughter  of  Asquarius 
and  ST.  ANEGLIA  ;  they  built  a  church 
at  Alciacum  (Auxy-le-Chateau) :  Siccidis 
took  the  veil  there  and  made  a  splendid 
tomb  and  ornamented  the  whole  church 
with  lights  and  flowers  to  honour  the 
funeral  of  their  friend  St.  Silvinus. 
AA.SS.  Chastelain. 

St.  Sicula,  DOMINICA  (1). 

St.  Sid,  SIDWELL. 

St.  Sidora,  Aug.  10,  M.    AAJSS. 

St.  Sidwell,  SATIVOLA,  SATWOLA,  SID, 

SlTHEFULLA  Or  SlTHEWELLA,DeC.  18,  V.  M. 

740.  Sister  of  SS.  Eadwara,  JUTHWARA, 
and  WILGITH.  Patron  of  Exeter  and 
titular  saint  of  a  church  in  Cornwall. 
She  was  martyred  and  buried  near  St. 
Sidwell's  church,  Exeter.  Near  to  this 
church  exists  an  ancient  well  supplied 
by  a  fine  spring  named  St.  Sid's  well, 
beside  which,  according  to  tradition,  she 
lived  the  life  of  a  recluse.  There  is  a 
representation  of  her  in  the  east  window 


of  Exeter  cathedral,  with  a  scythe  in 
her  hand  and  a  well  behind  her :  this 
is  probably  only  a  rebus  upon  her  name. 
On  one  of  the  columns  of  Exeter  cathedral 
she  is  represented  carrying  her  severed 
head  in  her  hand.  Butler,  "  St.  Maw, 
May  18,"  says  that  Sidwell  was  born 
at  Exeter  and  beheaded  by  Finseca, 
through  the  machinations  of  her  step 
mother.  Her  legend  is  said  to  be  given 
amongst  others,  abridged  for  the  use  of 
the  church  of  Exeter,  by  Bishop  John 
of  Grandeson,  in  1336.  British  Piety. 
Cahier.  Bees,  Welsh  SS.  (See  WELVELA). 

St.  Sigaria,  SICHARIA. 

St.  Sigillenda  or  SIGILINDIS.  (See 
ORSMARIA.) 

St.  Sigillendis,  a  British  widowed 
princess,  who  was  standing  on  the  bank 
of  the  Rhine  to  welcome  ST.  URSULA 
when  she  arrived.  Sigillendis  built  a 
monastery  at  Greesburg,  near  Cologne. 
Onghena. 

St.  Signaria,  SICHARIA. 

St.  Sigolena,  July  24  (SACCULINA, 
SEGOLENA,  SIGOULENE),  7th  or  8th  cen 
tury.  Abbess  of  Troclar.  Patron,  with 
St.  CECILIA,  of  Albi  in  Aquitaine.  Hon 
oured  at  Clermont.  Daughter  of  a 
nobleman  of  Aquitaine.  She  had  two 
brothers,  Sigebald,  bishop  of  Cahors, 
and  Babo,  governor  of  Albigeois.  She 
was  married  very  young  to  a  nobleman 
who  encouraged  her  in  piety  and  charity. 
After  his  death  she  became  a  deaconess. 
After  some  time,  her  father,  lest  she 
should  leave  him  and  take  the  veil  in 
some  distant  convent,  built  a  monastery 
for  her,  on  his  own  land  at  Troclar, 
near  Albi,  where  she  led  a  holy  and 
very  ascetic  life,  sleeping  on  cinders 
with  a  stone  for  a  pillow.  Sacculina 
is  incorrectly  claimed  as  a  Spaniard 
by  Tamayo.  AA.SS.  Mrs.  Jameson. 
Baillet. 

St.  Sigrada,  Aug.  4,  SEGRETE,  SE- 
GRETTE,  SEGRAUZ  and  SIGRADIZ.  7th 
century.  Mother  of  St.  Leger  (Leod«- 
garius)  bishop  of  Autun,  616-678  (Oct. 
2).  She  was  shut  up  in  the  monastery 
of  Notre  Dame  de  Soissons,  by  Ebroin, 
who  was  persecuting  all  her  family. 
Her  goods  were  confiscated;  her  son 
Guerin  or  Guarin  was  stoned.  St.  Leger 
was  ill  treated.  She  took  the  veil  at 


ST.   SILVIA   RtfFINA 


225 


Soissons  and  was  honoured  there  as  a 
saint.  AA.SS.  Guerin. 

Chastelain  says  she  was  a  nun  of 
Notre  Dame  do  Soissons  whom  St.  Leger 
regarded  as  his  spiritual  mother.  He 
adds  that  there  is  a  village  of  her  name 
in  the  diocese  of  Autun,  two  leagues 
from  Thye-en-Auxois  (Thyle  in  Alexi- 
cnsi-Pago). 

St.  Sila  or  CYTA,  Nov.  1,  V.  M. 
Nurse  of  the  holy  Queen  Calfia  and 
her  nine  children.  (Sec  QUITEKIA). 
Their  names  were :  GENEBRA,  VITTOEIA, 
EUFEMIA,  MAKINHA,  MARCIANA  (2),  GEII- 
MANA  (4),  BAZILIA,  QUITEHIA,  LIBERATA 
or  UVILGEFOHTE.  Nobody  need  doubt, 
says  the  Portuguese  Life  of  St.  Quiteria, 
that  Calfia  had  nine  children  at  a  birth, 
because  there  was  once  a  German  woman 
named  Dorothea,  who  had  twenty-one 
children  at  two  births,  eleven  and  ten ; 
also  a  Portuguese  woman  named  Branca 
da  Rocha  had  fourteen  at  once ;  all  alive. 
Immediately  after  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moors  from  Spain,  a  church  of  St.  Cyta 
was  found  at  Thomar,  where  this  saint's 
body  was  preserved  with  veneration. 

St.  Silissa,  Oct.  25,  V.  commemorated 
annually  at  Toulouse.  Unknown  to  the 
Bollandists.  Gi/nccseuiu.  AA.SS. 

St.  Silla,  V.  M.  Henschenius  thinks 
she  is  the  same  as  ZITA  of  Lucca. 

St.    Sillesia,    June   1,   M.  with   ST. 

AUCEGA. 

St.  Sillica,  June  1,  M.  with  ST. 
AUCEGA. 

St.  Silvana  (l;,  Juno  l,  M.  with 
ST.  AUCEGA. 

St.  Silvana  ('-),  June  3,  Roman 
Martyr.  AA.SS. 

St.  Silvana  (3),  Feb.  28,  M.  with 
many  others.  AAJ38. 

St.  Silvania,  SILVIA. 

St.  Silvia  (1)  Rufina,  Dec.  15, 
March  10  (SALVIA,  SILVANIA,  SYLVIA), 
-f-  between  395  and  409.  Represented 
with  a  little  earthen  dish  beside  her, 
probably  in  allusion  to  her  wonderful 
parsimony  in  the  use  of  water.  She  was 
sister  of  Rufinus,  the  clever,  unscrupu 
lous,  favoured  minister  of  Theodosius 
and  Arcadius,  to  the  latter  of  whom  he 
was  also  guardian,  but  was  murdered  in 
395,  by  the  soldiers.  No  doubt  his  rank 
and  power  had  something  to  do  with  the 

VOL.  n. 


great  consideration  with  which  Silvia 
was  everywhere  treated  on  her  travels. 

Silvia  was  born  at  Elusa  (modern 
Eauze)  in  Gascony ;  she  spent  some  years 
of  her  life  in  the  Thebaid  and  journey 
ing  in  Egypt  and  Palestine.  She  was 
probably  consecrated  to  the  religious 
life  from  her  birth,  as  she  speaks  of 
never  having  used  any  of  the  luxuries 
or  conveniences  in  which  the  ladies  of 
her  time  so  lavishly  indulged  ;  but  al 
though  consecrated,  she  was  not  clois 
tered  :  she  seems  to  have  had  entire 
liberty  to  go  where  and  when  she  chose, 
and  to  stay  as  long  as  she  chose. 

Palladius,  Historia  Lausiaca,  "  Vita 
Sanctae  Silvanise,"  says,  "  We  went  from 
^Elia  [Jerusalem]  to  Egypt,  taking  with 
MIS  B.  Silvania,  V.,  sister  of  Rufinus,  who 
was  'ex  Prrcfectis.' "  The  pious  and 
learned  Jubinus,  afterwards  bishop  of 
Ascalon,  was  with  them.  It  was  exces 
sively  hot.  He  washed  his  feet  and 
hands  with  very  cold  water,  and  then 
spread  a  skin  on  the  ground  and  reposed. 
Silvania  reprehended  him  for  his  eifemi- 
nacy.  She  said  she  was  in  her  sixtieth 
year  and  had  never  washed  but  the  tips 
of  her  fingers,  and  that  only  when  about 
to  receive  the  Holy  Communion,  and 
that  although  she  had  had  serious  ill 
nesses  and  physicians  had  prescribed 
baths  as  absolutely  necessary,  water  had 
never  touched  her  face  or  her  i'eet,  neither 
had  she  ever  gone  about  in  a  litter  nor 
slept  on  a  bed.  Palladius  further  says 
that  she  was  very  learned  and  spent  her 
nights  in  reading  the  Holy  Scripture, 
tta  best  commentaries,  or  Origen,  Gre 
gory,  Basil,  and  others,  not  superficially, 
but  reading  each  book  several  times,  and 
some  as  many  as  seven  or  eight  times. 

In  1883,  part  of  an  eleventh  century 
MS.,  a  copy  of  Silvia's  account  of  her 
travels  in  the  Holy  Land,  was  discovered 
in  a  library  at  Arezzo ;  it  is  bound  with 
part  of  a  book  by  St.  Hilary  and  is  ex 
tremely  interesting.  Her  story  is  re 
produced  in  English  by  Mr.  Bernard 
(Palestine  Pilgrims'  Society). 

Mart,  of  Salisbury.  Blommaert.  Smith 
and  Wacc.  Le  Beau.  Mrs.  Lewis,  How 
the  Codex  teas  found  (1893),  testifies  to 
the  accuracy  of  Silvia's  description,  and 
says  that,  "the  whole  diary  throws  a 

Q 


226 


ST    SILVIA 


flood  of  liglit  on  the  state  of  Eastern 
Christendom  before  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire." 

St.  Silvia  (2),  Nov.  3,  March  12. 
Gth  century.  She  was  of  the  great 
Roman  family  of  the  Anicii.  Wile  of 
Gordian,  and  mother  of  Pope  (St.) 
Gregory  the  Great.  AA.SS. 

St.  Silvina,  Nov.  9,  M.  at  Antioch 
with  ST.  POLLENTIA.  Mart,  of  Reichenau. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Simia.  April  26,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Simplicia  (l),  Nov.  1,  M.  at 
Terracina  end  of  1st  century,  with  six 
women  and  seven  men.  AA.SS. 

St.  Simplicia  (2),  M.  with  her 
daughter  Orsa  and  another.  Their  sacred 
remains  were  found  with  a  vase  of  blood, 
in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Ciriacus  in  Rome, 
early  in  the  19th  century.  Diario  di 
Roma,  March  22,  1820. 

St.  Simplicia  (3),  April  12,  V.  M. 
Body  preserved  in  the  monastery  of  San 
Ponzio  at  Nice.  Ferrarius.  Saussaye. 
AAJ3S. 

St.  Simpliciola,  Sept.  4,  V.  M.  in 
Africa.  Daughter  of  GALLA  (4).  Greven. 
German  Mart. 

St.  Sincha  or  SEGNIE,  V.  +  597. 
Colgan,  AA.SS.  Hibernise,  says  there 
were  seven  holy  virgins  of  the  name  of 
Sincha,  and  that  there  was  a  church  in 
Meath  called  Teagh-Sinche,  the  house  of 
Sincha.  He  conjectures  that  it  was  the 
same  as  Kill  Ailbe  in  East  Meath,  where 
St.  Abban  is  said  to  have  established  a 
nunnery  and  to  have  placed  over  it  a 
virgin  named  SEGNICH  :  Lanigan  calls  this 
a  loose  and  groundless  conjecture.  Cahier 
says  ST.  SINCHA  is  the  same  as  SYNECA. 

St.  Sinclita  or  SINCLITICA,  V.  Her 
name  is  in  an  ancient  Anglican  litany. 
Migne,  Patroloaise  Cursus  Completus,  vol. 
Ixxii.,  p.  620. 

St.Sindone.    (See  ST.  VERONICA  (1).) 

St.  Sinevo,  SUNNIVA. 

St.  Sinney,  SUNNIVA. 

St.  Sinnidia,  April  3,  M.  at  Tomis  in 
Scythia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sinoyslawa,  WOYSLAWA. 

St.  Sira,  May  18,  M.  558.  Repre 
sented  lying  dead,  surrounded  by  dogs. 
A  native  of  Chircaseleucus  in  Mesopo 
tamia.  Daughter  of  a  great  magician, 


who  would  not  allow  her  to  associate 
with  her  neighbours,  because  some  of 
them  held  intercourse  with  the  Chris 
tians.  He  brought  a  woman  to  teach 
her  from  a  distant  place,  where  the 
doctrines  of  the  Persians  were  held  more 
strictly.  Notwithstanding  these  pre 
cautions,  when  Sira  arrived  at  the  age 
of  eighteen,  she  was  dissatisfied  with  the 
religion  in  which  she  had  been  brought 
up.  She  had  no  pleasure  in  the  assem 
blies  of  women  of  her  class,  and  tried  to 
make  friends  with  those  of  lower  rank 
but  of  greater  virtue ;  and  when  she 
found  that  they  were  Christians,  she 
questioned  them  eagerly  and  went  se 
cretly  to  their  church  to  hear  the  scrip 
tures  read.  She  resolved  not  to  be  given 
in  marriage,  and  gradually  disfigured 
herself  with  fasting  and  vigils.  Still 
she  was  too  much  afraid  of  the  Magi  to 
confess  her  faith  openly.  She  was  seized 
with  a  dangerous  illness.  When  neither 
medicine  nor  the  fire  and  water  of  the 
heathen  rites  brought  her  relief,  remem 
bering  the  woman  of  Cana,  who  said  that 
the  dogs  might  eat  of  the  crumbs  from 
the  children's  table,  she  sent  and  asked 
one  of  the  Christian  priests  to  let  her 
have  some  dust  from  the  church,  trusting 
that  would  suffice  to  heal  her.  He  an 
swered  that  she  could  not  be  partaker  of 
the  table  of  the  Lord  and  of  the  table  of 
devils.  She  seized  hold  of  the  priest's 
robe  hastily  as  he  passed  her.  She 
was  healed  immediately.  Seeing  such 
virtue  in  the  mere  garment  of  His  ser 
vant,  she  thought  how  great  must  be  the 
power  of  the  Lord  Himself,  and  what 
vast  benefit  she  would  derive  from  holy 
baptism.  The  devil  made  her  believe 
that  he  was  the  God  who  had  healed  her, 
and  immediately  her  disease  returned ; 
but  on  her  repentance,  she  again  re 
covered.  In  consequence  of  several 
visions  in  which  her  own  future  sanctity 
was  revealed,  she  applied  to  the  bishop 
to  baptize  her.  He  required  that  she 
should  first  avow  her  conversion  to  her 
own  family.  While  she  wavered,  she 
had  a  vision  of  an  angel  of  God,  striking 
her  with  a  rod  of  iron  and  bidding  her 
take  courage  and  keep  her  promise.  Next 
morning  she  was  summoned  by  her  step 
mother  to  attend  the  Magian  religious 


ST.   STRUDE 


227 


rites  as  usual.  She  obeyed  the  call.  As 
soon  as  she  had  taken  the  firewood  which 
was  used  by  the  Magi,  she  saw  herself 
surrounded  by  a  splendid  flame.  En 
couraged  by  this  sign,  she  broke  the 
wood,  interrupted  the  sacrifice,  spat 
upon  the  fire  and  put  it  out,  saying,  "  I 
am  going  to  the  Church  of  the  Christians, 
and  no  one  shall  hinder  me  from  adopt 
ing  their  faith."  Hearing  this,  her 
brothers  and  other  relations  held  her 
and  ordered  the  gates  to  be  shut.  She 
requested  them  to  call  her  father,  that 
she  might  declare  her  resolution  in  his 
presence.  She  was  kept  in  fetters  with 
out  food  or  drink  for  many  days.  As 
she  persevered  in  spite  of  the  persuasions 
of  her  friends,  the  leader  of  the  Maviptas 
was  informed.  He  called  the  Magi  to 
gether,  brought  Sira  before  them  in  the 
Temple  of  fire,  and  asked  her  why  she 
had  departed  from  their  customs.  She 
answered  that  each  person  was  born  with 
intelligence  and  that  it  was  only  fit  for 
an  animal  to  go  on  doing  what  he  saw 
the  others  do,  without  considering 
whether  it  were  right  or  wrong ;  that 
therefore  she  had  used  her  reason,  and 
had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
Christian  faith  was  better  than  that 
taught  by  her  parents.  The  Mavipta 
threatened  her  with  tortures  and  death, 
which  she  said  did  not  frighten  her,  and 
she  began  to  sing.  He  asked  her  what 
words  she  was  saying.  As  some  of  the 
bystanders  said  they  were  Christian 
words,  he  sent  for  the  bishop.  He  came. 
Sira  perceiving  that  he  was  in  great  fear 
of  the  Magi,  said,  "Fear  not,  Father, 
but  remember  the  words  of  the  Scrip 
tures,"  and  she  quoted  Psalm  cxix.  46 
and  St.  Matt.  x.  28.  Then  the  bishop 
said  that  Sira  was  speaking  the  words  of 
the  Christians.  The  prince  of  the  Magi 
ordered  her  to  be  struck  on  the  mouth ; 
but  a  great  crowd  of  Christians  took 
her  back  to  her  father's  house.  The 
Mavipta  not  wishing  to  bring  disgrace 
on  so  illustrious  a  family,  advised  her 
father  to  persuade  her  by  gentle  means 
to  give  up  her  fancy  for  Christianity. 
The  Dar  (king  of  Persia)  sent  messen 
gers  to  threaten  her  with  death  if  she 
did  not  renounce  her  errors,  and  to 
promise  a  royal  reward  if  she  returned 


to  the  religion  of  her  family.  She  said 
she  would  like  to  be  taken  before  the  Dar 
and  to  give  him  an  account  of  her  faith. 
After  this  it  was  ordered  that  the  fetters 
were  to  be  made  heavier,  and  that  she 
was  to  be  thrown  into  a  well :  the  smiths 
and  guards  were  unable  to  fasten  the 
fetters  until  Sira  herself  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  over  them.  After  being  mira 
culously  delivered,  she  was  baptized,  but 
the  contemporary  author  says  that,  how, 
and  by  whom  this  was  managed,  he  was 
not  at  liberty  to  say. 

At  -this  time  the  Koman  legate  was 
about  to  return  to  his  own  country. 
The  Magi  feared  he  would  send  a  re 
quest  to  the  king  to  liberate  Sira,  so 
they  determined  to  anticipate  such  re 
quest,  by  sending  her  to  the  king  at 
once.  They  put  a  seal  on  her  neck 
which  could  only  be  removed  by  cutting 
off  her  head.  Fruitless  attempts  were 
made  to  induce  her  to  apostatize.  At 
last  she  was  condemned  to  death.  She 
fell  ill  and  was  much  afraid  that  the 
honour  of  martyrdom  would  not  be 
granted  to  her.  She  recovered,  how 
ever,  and  was  ordered  to  be  strangled. 
A  rope  was  put  round  her  neck,  and  when 
she  was  nearly  strangled,  it  was  loosened 
and  she  was  asked  if  she  would  purchase 
her  life  by  renouncing  her  faith.  She 
refused  and  the  same  thing  was  done 
again.  On  her  second  refusal  she  was 
strangled  to  death.  She  was  denied  the 
honour  of  burial  and  her  body  was 
thrown  to  the  dogs,  but  they  would  not 
touch  it  and  the  Christians  buried  her 
and  erected  an  oratory  over  her  grave. 
Other  Christians  were  martyred  with  her. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Siria,  SYEA  (1). 

St.  Siriana,  July  1 7,  M.    AA.SS. 

St.  Sirilla,  SIETILLA,  or  SYTILLA, 
April  1 2,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sirtilla,  SIRILLA. 

St.  Sirude,  or  SITEUDE,  Sept.  30, 
abbess.  7th  century.  Sister  of  St. 
Donatus  (Aug.  7),  bishop  of  Besanc,on 
in  Burgundy.  They  were  children  of 
Waldelen  and  Flavia  who  begged  St. 
Columbanus  to  pray  that  they  might  be 
blessed  with  children ;  then  they  had  a 
son  and  two  daughters.  When  Walde 
len  died,  Flavia  built  a  convent  for 


228 


ST.   SISETRUDE 


herself  and  her  daughters  in  the  town  of 
Besangon,  where  she  ruled  over  many 
holy  women.  Afterwards  Donatus  built 
two  other  monasteries,  with  his  mother's 
help ;  one  of  which  seems  to  have  been 
double,  and  over  it  Sirude  presided.  She 
and  Flavia  were  buried  there.  Sirude 
does  not  appear  to  be  worshipped.  Do 
natus  has  long  had  local  but  not  general 
worship.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Sisetrude,  SISINTRUDIS,  or  Sis- 
SETRUDE,  Dec.  7,  May  5,  -f  c.  65-5.  Nun 
under  ST.  FARA  at  Brie,  and  sister  of 
ST.  ERCONGOTA.  Sisetrude  was  cellarer 
of  the  convent.  She  was  warned  by  a 
heavenly  vision  that  she  would  die  in 
forty  days,  which  time  was  granted  her 
to  repent  of  all  her  sins.  She  spent 
thirty-seven  days  in  prayer,  repentance, 
and  the  strictest  attention  to  all  her 
duties.  Then  two  angels  came  and  took 
her  soul  to  heaven,  leaving  her  body  as 
if  dead.  They  brought  her  back  and 
gave  her  strict  injunctions  to  be  quite 
ready  in  three  days  for  her  final  depar 
ture.  When  she  found  herself  returned 
to  her  body,  she  called  the  abbess  and 
begged  that  she  might  have  the  prayers 
of  the  whole  community.  The  third  day, 
as  they  all  stood  about  her  praying,  she 
told  Fara  that  she  saw  the  two  angels 
coming  for  her  ;  they  did  not  see  them, 
but  they  heard  the  angelic  choir  rejoic 
ing  as  Sisetrude  entered  into  paradise. 
AAJS8.0.S.B. 

St.  Sissetrude,  SISETRUDE. 

St.  Sithe  (l),  ITA  (1). 

St.  Sithe  (2),  OSITH. 

St.  Sithefulla,  SIDWELL. 

St.  Sithewella,  SIDWELL. 

St.  Sitisberg,  IDABERG  (3). 

St.  Sitrude,  SIRUDE. 

St.  Sitta,  ZITA. 

St.     Smaragdus    or    SMARIDANUS, 

EUPHROSYNE  (5). 

St.  Smarve,  honoured  in  Poitou,  a 
corruption  of  St.  MARVE,  who  is  perhaps 
MERWIN  (1)  or  MORWENNA. 

St.  Snandulia  or  ISNANDUL,  Nov.  3, 
M.  4th  century,  in  Persia,  with  ST.  PHER- 
BUTHA  and  many  others.  Snandulia  is 
mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  the  venerable 
Bishop  St.  Acepsima.  She  was  put  to 
death  for  refusing  to  join  in  stoning  a 
Christian  priest  named  Joseph.  AA.SS., 


April    2.      Gneco-Slavonian    Calendar, 
Nov.  3. 

St.  Sodelbia.     (See  ETHNBA.) 

St.  Sodepha.     (See  MERONA.) 

St.  Sodera,  SODEPHA. 

St.  Soderina,  or  SODHINA,  Sept.  1,  a 
Servite  at  Florence.  Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Soffonia,  a  virgin  invoked  in  an 
ancient  Anglican  litany.  Migne,  vol. 
Ixxii.  p.  620. 

St.  Solange  or  SOLONGIA,  May  10, 
V.  M.  supposed  9th  century.  Patron  of 
Berri,  and  especially  of  Bourges.  In 
voked  for  rain  and  against  rain. 
Daughter  of  a  poor  peasant  of  Villemont. 
The  field  where  she  generally  led  her 
sheep  and  where  she  prayed  and  medi 
tated  on  the  sufferings  of  Christ  is  still 
called  the  Champ  de  Stc.  Solange,  and 
is  thought  to  produce  a  better  crop  than . 
any  other  in  the  neighbourhood.  She 
was  guided  by  a  star  which  always  ap 
peared  day  and  night  just  above  her 
head  in  the  sky.  She  had  a  wonderful 
gift  of  miracles,  dispelling  disease  and 
all  sorts  of  blight  and  tempests. 

Bernard,  the  son  of  the  count  of 
Bourges,  tried  to  induce  her  to  re 
nounce  her  vow  of  virginity  and  share 
his  rank  and  wealth.  He  was  very 
angry  at  her  refusal  as  he  thought 
he  was  doing  her  a  great  honour. 
He  carried  her  off  on  the  neck  of  his 
horse,  but  crossing  a  little  river  she 
threw  herself  down.  The  count  en 
raged,  sprang  from  his  horse,  and  cut 
off  her  head.  The  next  moment  he  was 
horrified  at  his  own  barbarity  and  wept 
for  his  crime  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 
She  continued  standing  and  held  her 
head  in  her  hands. 

She  was  buried  with  great  honour  in 
the  church  of  St.  Martin  du  Cros,  where 
she  wrought  many  miracles.  The  first 
translation  of  her  body  was  made  in 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
when  Michael  de  Bussy  was  archbishop 
of  Bourges.  AA.SS.  Martin. 

St.  Soleine  or  SOLENNE,  SOLINE. 

St.  Soline,  Oct.  17;  translations, 
Feb.  11  and  March  3,  M.  3rd  century. 
The  French  names  SOLEINE,  SOLENNE, 
SOULINE,  SULINE,  ZELiE,  ZisLiNE,  are  de 
rived  from  that  of  SOLINE,  and  are  not 
to  be  confounded  with  SOLANGE  or 


ST.    SOPHIA 


229 


SOLONGIA.  Soline  was  a  native  of  Aqui- 
taiue  and  proved  her  zeal  as  a  Christian 
by  making  many  converts.  To  avoid 
being  given  in  marriage  by  her  parents, 
she  fled  to  Chartres,  where  a  persecu 
tion  of  the  Christians  was  raging  and 
where  she  was  tortured  and  put  to  death. 
Cahier,  from  her  lessons  in  the  Abbey 
of  St.  Pierre-en- Vallee,  where  her  relics 
were  kept  in  a  gilded  shrine.  Martin. 
Stadler. 

St.  Solomonia,  SALOME  (1). 

St.  Solongia,  SOLANGE. 

St.  Solonita,  SALONICA. 

St.  SombergTie,  SUMBERGA.    Cahier. 

St.  Sommine,  French  for  SUNNIVA. 

St.  Sopatra  or  SOSIPATRA.  (See 
EUSTOLIA.) 

St.  Sophia  (1)  or  SAPIENTIA,  Sept.  17 
in  the  Byzantine  Church ;  Sept.  30,  July  1 , 
Aug.  1,  -f  c.  120.  Represented  with 
three  little  girls,  her  daughters,  FAITH, 
HOPE,  and  CHARITY.  R.N.,  Sept.  30. 
Cahier,  Saints  Enfants. 

St.  Sophia  (2),  Sept.  3,  V.  M.  Her 
Acts  in  the  breviary  at  Minden  in  West 
phalia  are  so  like  those  of  ST.  SERAPIA 
that  Pinius  thinks  the  relics  translated 
there  from  Rome  in  the  time  of  Charle 
magne  are  those  of  Serapia  and  that  she 
has  been  erroneously  called  Sophia. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Sophia  (3),  June  4,  mother  of 
SS.  DIBAMONA  and  BlOTAMONA  ;  all  mar 
tyred  in  Egypt  with  ST.  WARSENOPHA 
and  her  mother.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sophia  (4),  Oct.  31,  3rd  century. 
Abbess  of  a  convent  near  Rome.  (See 
ST.  ANASTASIA  (2).) 

B.  Sophia  (5)  of  Ancyra  in  Galatia, 
Nov.  5.  3rd  century.  When  St.  Clement 
(afterwards  bishop)  was  deprived  of  his 
holy  mother,  the  pious  Sophia  adopted 
him.  She  also  loved  and  buried  his 
friend  St.  Agathangelue.  Gynecseum. 
Stadler  calls  her  Saint. 

St.  Sophia  (6),  matron.  Her  young 
daughters  having  suffered  great  torments 
and  been  put  to  death  for  the  Christian 
faith,  she  died  praying  at  their  tomb. 
Their  relics  were  translated  from  Italy 
to  Strasburg  in  Alsace.  Cratepoleus, 
De  Germanise  Bpiscopis,  etc.,  and  his  De 
Sanctis  Germanise.  Perhaps  same  as 
SOPHIA  (1)  or  (3). 


St.  Sophia  (7),  April  30,  V.  M.  at 
Firmo  in  Italy,  under  Decius,  or  Dio 
cletian.  EM.  AA.SS.  Butler. 

St.  Sophia  (8),  July  20,  M.  at 
Damascus.  Stadler. 

St.  Sophia  (9),  July  27,  queen,  wor 
shipped  by  the  Ethiopians.  AA.SS. 
Perhaps  Sophia,  queen  of  Cachetia,  con 
verted  by  St.  Nino. 

St.  Sophia  (10)  Medica,  May  22, 
M.  probably  not  later  than  the  time  of 
Diocletian.  She  was  skilled  in  medicine 
and  put  to  death  with  a  sword. 

"  Sophia  pridom  corpora  medica,  facta  est 
Medica  animarum,  csesa  cum  capite  fuit." 

AA.88. 

St.  Sophia  (11),  May  15,  V.  M.  at 
Rome.  Represented  with  a  bundle  of 
rods,  a  trough,  and  an  axe.  AA.SS. 
Stadler. 

SS.  Sophia  (12)  and  Irene  (2),  Sept. 
18,  MM.  honoured  in  the  Greek  Church. 
They  were  beheaded,perhaps  in  the  island 
of  Cyprus.  R.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sophia  (13),  ^Sept.  23,  V.  M. 
Patron  of  Sortino  in  Sicily.  Local  tra 
dition  says  that  she  was  the  only  daughter 
of  an  emperor  of  Constantinople,  a  great 
persecutor  of  Christians  ;  the  inhabitants 
of  Sortino  have  been  preserved  from 
every  pestilence  and  infectious  disease 
through  her  aid,  and  that  a  well  near  her 
church  daily  restores  health  to  numbers 
of  sufferers  :  she  was  beaten  with  sinews 
of  bulls,  and  cast  into  prison;  when 
liberated,  she  fled  to  Sicily  ;  from  there, 
was  sent  back  to  her  father,  and  by  his 
order,  placed  on  the  rack ;  she  was  set 
free  by  a  miracle,  and  finally  beheaded ; 
seeing  milk  flow  from  her  wounds,  her 
father  was  converted.  Cajetani  says  she 
could  not  have  been  daughter  of  an  em 
peror  of  Constantinople,  but  possibly  of 
some  member  of  the  imperial  family. 
Stilting  considers  the  whole  story 
fabulous.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sophia  (14)  of  Enos  in  Thrace, 
June  4.  Supposed  10th  or  llth  century. 
Wife  of  a  senator  of  Constantinople, 
and  mother  of  six  children.  Being  be 
reaved  of  them  all,  she  returned  to  her 
birthplace,  where  she  constituted  herself 
a  mother  of  orphans  and  friend  of  widows. 
Her  own  food  was  bread  and  water,  but 


280 


B.   SOPHIA 


she  gave  wine  to  the  poor  and  needy. 
One  day,  when  many  of  them  wanted 
wine  from  her  and  she  had  but  one  bottle, 
the  more  she  gave  the  more  the  wine 
increased,  the  bottle  remaining  always 
full.  She  died  a  nun  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
four.  AA.SS. 

B.  Sophia  (15),  April  30,  died  in  the 
odour  of  sanctity  after  the  middle  of  the 
12th  century.  She  was  a  nun  under  ST. 
MATILDA  (5),  in  the  monastery  of  Span- 
heim.  AA.SS.,  Prdeter. 

B.  Sophia  (16),  Sept.  19,  abbess. 
13th  century.  According  to  Bucelinus, 
she  took  the  veil  at  Ditkirgen,  and  after 
wards  embraced  the  Cistercian  reform. 
She  was  prioress  of  St.  Walburg's  Mount, 
and  when  a  colony  of  nuns  from  there 
removed  to  the  new  abbey  of  Hoven  in 
the  diocese  of  Cologne,  about  1208,  she 
was  their  first  superior.  Migne,  Die.  des 
Abbayes.  Bucelinus.  Henriquez,  Lilia 
Cistercii. 

St.  Sophia  (17)  and  her  sister  ST. 
ELIZABETH,  13th  century,  were  daughters 
of  the  Count  of  Mansfeld,  and  nuns  under 
ST.  GERTRUDE,  in  the  famous  community 
of  learned,  accomplished,  imaginative 
and  saintly  women  in  the  Cistercian 
monastery  of  Helfta  in  Thuringia.  They 
enriched  the  convent  with  their  works, 
Sophia  by  transcribing,  Elizabeth  by 
painting.  Fortnightly  Review,  November, 
1886,  «  The  Convent  of  Helfta,"  A.  Mary 
F.  Robinson,  The  End  of  the  Middle 
Ages. 

B.  Sophia  (18)  Lubomirska,  16th 
century.  A  Polish  lady  of  high  rank, 
who  became  a  nun  and  attained  such 
sanctity,  that  on  her  death-bed  people 
touched  her  garments  to  be  healed  of 
every  sort  of  sickness  and  disease.  She 
was  honoured  as  a  saint,  and  a  fresco  of 
her,  with  a  halo  round  her  head,  was  to 
be  seen  in  the  castle  of  her  family  at 
Janow,  not  far  from  Warsaw,  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Journal 
of  Countess  Frances  Krasinska. 

Sophronia  (1),  a  Christian  woman, 
wife  of  the  prefect  of  Rome.  When  she 
heard  that  the  slaves  of  the  pleasures  of 
the  tyrant  Maxentius  were  coming  to 
fetch  her  and  that  her  husband  had 
abandoned  her  to  them,  she  begged  to 
have  a  few  minutes  to  dress,  and  retiring 


to  her  room,  said  a  short  prayer  and 
plunged  a  dagger  into  her  heart.  The 
Church  has  not  seated  her  among  the 
martyrs.  Lebeau. 

St.  Sophronia  (2)  of  Tarentum,  V. 
Eecluse.  Towards  the  end  of  the  4th 
century.  Represented  (1)  engraving  her 
name  on  a  tree  ;  (2)  after  her  death, 
surrounded  by  a  cloud  of  little  birds 
bringing  twigs  and  flowers  to  cover  her 
body.  St.  Jerome  cites  her  as  an  ex 
ample  of  a  life  passed  in  solitude  and 
prayer.  Lenormant,  La  Grande-Grece. 
Cahier. 

St.   Sosipatra    or    SOPATRA.      (See 

EUSTOLIA.) 

St.  Soteris  (1)  or  SOTER,  May  12, 
V.  M.  probably  at  Rome,  with  more  than 
five  hundred  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Soteris  (2)  or  SURA,  Feb.  10,  V. 
M.  probably  at  Rome,  304.  (Canisius 
and  others  place  her  martyrdom  in  the 
East  some  years  earlier.)  She  was  a 
Roman  maiden  of  noble  birth,  related  to 
St.  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan.  She  took 
no  care  of  her  beauty  and  despised  orna 
ments.  When  brought  before  the  rulers 
and  accused  as  a  Christian,  she  was 
ordered  to  be  struck  in  the  face,  that 
insult  being  supposed  to  affect  a  lady  of 
her  rank  more  than  the  fear  of  pain.  As 
she  bore  this  treatment  bravely,  she  was 
otherwise  tortured  and  finally  beheaded. 

SOTERIS,  PAULINA,  MEMMIA  (4),  JULIANA 
(6),  QUIRLLLA,  THEOPISTIS,  SOPHIA,  W. 
MM.  and  B.  QUIRIACA,  widow,  with  many 
others  whose  names  are  known  only  to 
God,  were  placed  under  the  altar  of  the 
church  of  SS.  Sylvester  and  Martin,  in 
the  second  region  of  Monti,  near  the  baths 
of  Trajan  on  the  Esquiline.  Soteris  is 
supposed  to  have  been  previously  buried 
in  the  cemetery  on  the  Via  Appia,  after 
wards  called  by  her  name.  R.M.  A  A.SS. 
Baillet.  Butler. 

St.  Soteris  (3),  SURA,  ZURE  or 
ZUWARDA,  queen,  honoured  at  Dordrecht 
in  Holland,  until  the  Reformation,  when 
her  relics  were  removed  to  Soissons.  It 
is  uncertain  whether  this  was  an  er 
roneous  commemoration  of  the  Roman 
martyr  SOTERIS  (2),  or  a  queen  of  the  same 
name.  French  Mart.  Compare  ZUWARDA. 

St.  Speciosa  (1),  Oct.  24,  March  13, 
V.  M.  (See  HEREMITA.) 


ST.    SPOXSA 


231 


B.  Speciosa  (2),  April  30,  mother 
of  B.  TRANQUILLA.  Bucolinus.  Menardus. 

St.  Speciosa  (3),  July  ll.  (See 
PRODOCIA.) 

St.  Speciosa  (4),  Juno  18,  V.  Sister 
of  St.  Epiphanius,  bishop  of  Pavia,  and 
of  SS.  LUMINOSA,  LIBERATA  (3)  and 
HOXOBATA  (5).  From  her  childhood  she 
dedicated  herself  to  Christ  and  resolved 
on  a  celibate  and  ascetic  life.  Her 
parents  arranged  a  marriage  for  her. 
She  tried  to  persuade  her  betrothed  that 
her  plan  of  life  was  the  best ;  but  as  he 
was  not  converted  by  her  arguments,  he 
died  a  short  time  before  the  day  fixed 
for  the  marriage.  Epiphanius  wondered 
to  see  his  sister  so  cheerful  and  not 
mourning  at  all  and  soon  he  observed 
that  her  beauty  did  not  diminish,  not 
withstanding  her  excessive  fasts  and 
other  austerities.  She  used  to  minister 
to  the  sick  and  poor  and  serve  them  with 
her  own  hands.  Epiphanius  often  con 
sulted  her,  and  once  when  he  had  to  go 
to  Constantinople,  he  commended  himself 
and  his  church  to  her  prayers  during  his 
absence.  She  lived  to  be  eighty,  and 
was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Vincent 
the  Martyr,  and  was  afterwards  laid  be 
side  her  sisters  LUMINOSA  and  LIBEHATA, 
in  the  church  of  St.  Epiphanius. 

St.  Sperandea  or  SPBBANDIA,  Sept. 
11,  V.  Abbess,  O.S.B.  121(3-1270.  Pa 
tron  of  Cingoli,  in  the  March  of  Ancona. 
Born  of  respectable  parents  at  Gubbio, 
she  was  related  to  B.  Sperandio.  About 
12(35,  she  built  in  Cingoli,  the  monastery 
of  St.  Michael,  of  the  Institution  of  BB. 
Sperandio  and  SANTUCCIA,  and  there  she 
presided  with  wonderful  piety  until  her 
death.  She  was  illustrious  for  her 
mortifications  and  visions,  and  for  her 
admonitions  to  persons  whose  faults 
could  only  be  known  to  her  through 
miraculous  revelation.  She  shares  with 
B.  Sperandio  and  his  wife  B.  GENNAIA 
the  patronage  of  the  town  of  Cingoli. 
AA.SS.  Jacobilli,  Santi  dell'  Umbria. 
Cahier. 

St.   Speranza,  HOPE.     (See  FAITH 
(1),  HOPE,  and  CHARITY.) 
St.  Spere,  SPERIA. 
St.  Speria,  SPIKE  or  EXUPERIA  ;  in 
French,  SPKRK,  Oct.  12,  +  c.  700.    Patron 
of  Turenne  and  of  the  town  of  St,  Sere. 


Daughter  of  St.  Sere  or  Serenus,  a  power 
ful  lord  in  Upper  Aquitaine.  She  early 
devoted  herself  to  a  strictly  religious 
life,  but  after  the  death  of  her  parents 
her  brother  Clair  had  a  feud  with  a 
neighbouring  proprietor,  and  to  put  a 
stop  to  the  evils  which  this  war  entailed 
on  the  territory,  Speria  agreed  to  marry 
his  adversary ;  but  when  the  appointed 
time  drew  near,  her  courage  failed  her 
and  she  fled  to  the  forest  and  hid  in  a 
large  hollow  tree,  where  a  confidential 
maid  secretly  brought  her  food.  At  last 
her  brother  and  Elidius,  her  fiance,  dis 
covered  her  retreat  and  tried  by  every 
means  to  induce  her  to  leave  it  and  fulfil 
her  engagement ;  and  finally  being  en 
raged  by  her  answers,  Elidius  cut  off 
her  head.  She  carried  it  in  her  hands 
to  the  bank  of  the  river  Bave,  and  there 
a  church  was  built,  and  a  town  grew  up 
around  it,  called  St.  Sere  from  the  name 
of  her  father,  and  under  the  joint  pa 
tronage  of  the  father  and  daughter. 
Elidius  and  Clair  both  went  mad.  Cor 
nelius  Bye,  in  the  AA.SS.,  gives  her 
life,  with  many  curious  details,  and  says 
that  although  this  story  is  not  true,  it 
is  probable  that  Speria  was  a  martyr  of 
virginity,  killed  by  the  lord  of  Cahors 
or  Quercy  (Cadurcis)  in  Guienne. 

St.  Spes.  (See  FAITH,  HOPE,  and 
CHARITY.) 

St.  Spes  or  SPENS,  Oct.  1,  M.  at 
Tomis.  AA.SS. 

St.  Spesina,  SPINA,  or  SPISIXNA, 
June  8,  M.  in  Africa.  Spesina  is  a 
Carthagenian  name.  Smith  and  Wace. 
AA.88. 

St.  Spina,  SPESINA. 

B.  Spinela,  Nov.  1,  V.  of  a  noble 
family,  a  Cistercian  nun  at  Arouca  in 
Portugal,  celebrated  for  her  piety.  Those 
who  stood  round  her  death-bed  heard 
the  angels  singing  to  receive  her  soul. 
Bucelinus.  Henriquez.  Gynecseum. 

St.  Spinella,  June  27,  M.  at  Eome, 
with  Felix  and  seven  brothers.  AA.SS. 

St.  Spinica,  April  30,  M.  at  Alex 
andria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Spire  or  EXUPERIA,  SPERIA. 

St.  Spisina,  June  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Spisinna,  SPESINA. 

St.  Sponsa,  SPOHCHB,  or  SPOXTIA,  July 


232 


SS.  SPONSARIA 


12, 13,  companion  of  ST.  URSULA.   Martin. 
Baillet. 

SS.  Sponsaria.    (See  ELBNARA  (1).) 

St.  Spontia,  SPONSA. 

St.  Stadiola,  EUSTADIOLA. 

St.  Stephana  (1),  STEPHANIA,  STE- 
PHANIDE,  Nov.  11.  Late  in  3rd  century. 
Represented  suspended  by  her  wrists 
from  the  branches  of  two  palm  trees, 
which,  when  they  flew  up  again,  tore  the 
body  of  the  saint  in  two.  (Guenebault, 
Iconograpkie.)  She  was  put  to  death  in 
this  manner  because  on  witnessing  the 
death  of  St.  Victor,  she  exclaimed,  "  How 
happy  are  the  Martyrs !  "  The  place  of 
her  martyrdom  is  sometimes  said  to  be 
Egypt ;  sometimes,  Damascus  ;  some 
times,  Italy.  A  church  is  dedicated  in 
her  name  at  Scala,  near  Amalfi,  where 
she  is  honoured  with  St.  Victor,  May 
14.  Perhaps  same  as  ST.  CORONA  (1). 
Menology  of  Basil.  AA.SS.  May  14, 
Sept.  18. 

B.  Stephana  (2)  Quinzani,  Jan.  16, 
O.S.D.  1457-1530.  The  daughter  of 
Lorenzo  Quinzani,  a  good  religious  man, 
and  a  member  of  the  Third  Order  of 
St.  Dominic,  she  was  born  at  Soncino  in 
the  diocese  of  Cremona.  She  took  re 
ligious  vows  at  the  age  of  seven.  At 
fifteen  ST.  CATHERINE  dressed  her  by 
night  in  the  habit  of  the  Third  Order, 
and  the  next  day  she  was  publicly  en 
rolled  by  the  monks.  She  wore  a  cili- 
cium  for  six  years  and  when  she  took  it 
off,  her  skin  came  with  it ;  she  wore  also 
a  cord  with  thirty-three  knots,  in  honour 
of  the  years  of  our  Saviour's  life ;  each 
knot  made  a  wound  in  her  flesh.  Not 
withstanding  incredible  fasting  and  hard 
work,  which  included  threshing  corn, 
she  was  fat  and  jolly.  She  was  ugly, 
but  had  magnificent  hair,  and  grudging 
herself  this  one  beauty,  she  pulled  it  out 
by  the  roots.  She  was  married  to  Christ 
with  a  ring.  She  prayed  that  it  might 
not  be  visible  to  every  one,  but  only  to 
those  whom  He  accounted  worthy  to 
see  it.  She  was  vexed  with  doubts 
about  the  Holy  Eucharist,  but  they 
were  set  at  rest  when  she  saw  the  Child 
Jesus  in  the  host.  She  gave  all  her 
good  clothes  and  money  to  the  poor, 
and  they  were  miraculously  restored 
and  increased.  She  had  the  stigmata. 


She  was  for  some  years  superior  of  a 
voluntary  community  of  the  Third 
Order ;  they  were  not  locked  up  but  lived 
devoutly  together,  visiting  the  sick  and 
frequenting  the  churches.  Their  prayers 
were  much  valued  by  the  people.  She 
brought  up  a  girl  named  PRISCILLA  or 
PRISCA,  whom  she  appointed  to  succeed 
her  as  head  of  the  house.  The  ring 
which  the  Lord  had  given  her  was  pre 
served  in  her  convent;  it  contained  a 
gem  of  wonderful  colour,  having  several 
facets.  Some  people  saw  in  it  a  crown 
of  thorns  ;  some,  three  keys  ;  some,  the 
scourging  of  the  Saviour.  Stephana  was 
beatified  by  Pope  Benedict  X.  A.EM., 
O.S.D.  Pio,  Uomini,  etc.  Piazzi,  Pre- 
dicatori.  Bagatta,  Admiranda.  Stadler. 

St.  Stercia,  STERCITA. 

St.  Stercita  or  STERCIA,  May  8,  M. 
at  Constantinople,  with  St.  Acacius.  (See 
AGATHA  (2).) 

St.  Stercola,  Feb.  28,  M.  with  many 
others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Stergia,  STERTIA,  or  STURIA, 
June  21  ,M.  AA.S8. 

St.  Stertia,  STERGIA. 

St.  Stiala,  AIALA. 

St.  (or  B.)  Stilla,  July  19.  12th 
century.  Much  worshipped  in  olden 
times  at  Marienburg,  in  the  diocese  of 
Eystadt.  Said  to  be  descended  from 
Babo,  count  of  Abensberg  in  Bavaria. 
Her  father's  name  was  Zelch.  Her 
brothers,  Conrad  and  Ratbod,  in  con 
junction  with  St.  Otto  of  Bamberg,  in 
1132,  built  the  great  Cistercian  monas 
tery  of  Heilsbronn.  She  intended  to 
build  a  church  and  convent  near  her 
father's  castle :  she  built  the  church, 
but  died  before  she  had  accomplished 
the  rest  of  her  design.  Great  numbers 
of  persons  used  to  resort  to  her  tomb 
and  the  efficacy  of  her  intercession  was 
attested  by  votive  tablets  and  similar 
offerings.  AA.SS. 

St.  Stisberga,  IDABERG  (3). 

St.  Stria,  May  24,  M.  in  Syria. 
AA.SS. 

Strzezislawa  if  a  Saint,  is  the  same 
as  PRZBISLAWA  or  PRZIPISLAWA. 

St.  Sturia,  STERGIA. 

St.  Suabseg,  SUIBHSECH. 

Sainte  Suaire,  the  holy  handker 
chief,  (See  VERONICA.) 


ST.  SUSANNA 


233 


St.  Suanchild,  GUNTILD  (1 ). 

St.  Successa,  March  27,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sueva,  SERAPHINA  (2). 

St.  Suibhsech  or  SUABSEG,  Jan.  0, 
V.  Patron  of  Tirlmgh  Barony,  or  Tir- 
Aedlia,  in  Donegal.  Mart,  of  Tallaylit. 
O'Hanlon.  Apparently  not  the  same  as 
Suaibsech  (mother  of  St.  Maolrubha), 
who  does  not  seem  to  be  worshipped. 

St.  Suline,  SOLINE. 

St.  Sumberga,  in  French,  SOMBEB- 
GUE,  Aug.  31.  Honoured  at  Bobbio, 
where  a  translation  of  her  relics  was 
solemnly  made  in  1483.  Migne. 

St.  Summata,  June  2,  one  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty  seven  Eoman 
martyrs  commemorated  together  in  the 
Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Summina,  SUNNIVA. 

St.  Summista  or  LUNA  MISTA, 
April  6.  Mentioned  in  an  old  martyr- 
ology,  but  unknown  to  Henscheuius. 
AA.SS.,  Prsetcr. 

St.  Summiva  or  SUMNIVA,  SUNNIVA. 

St.  Sunca.     (See  Ayape  (2).) 

St.  Sunifa,  SUNNIVA. 

St.  Sunifra,  SUNNIVA. 

St.  Sunniva,  July  8  (SUMMINA, 
SUMMIVA,  SUMNIVA,  SUNIFA,  SUNIFRA, 

SUNIVA,         SlNEVO,         SlNNEY,         SoMMINE 

SONNEVA,  etc.),  V.  M.  end  of  10th  cen 
tury.  Patron  of  Bergen.  A  princess, 
probably  Irish,  who  to  avoid  marry 
ing  a  heathen,  fled  from  her  native 
land  with  a  considerable  following. 
They  were  driven  by  a  storm  to  the 
coast  of  Norway ;  the  natives  attacked 
them  and  they  again  put  to  sea  and 
landed  on  the  island  of  Sello  where  they 
converted  some  of  the  inhabitants.  Earl 
Hakon  persecuted  them  and  Sunniva 
prayed  that  the  rocks  might  fall  upon 
them :  her  prayer  was  answered.  In 
995  their  remains  were  discovered  and 
two  churches  were  built  on  the  island. 
In  1170  Sunniva  was  translated  to 
Bergen.  She  has  dedications  in  Orkney 
and  Shetland.  Report  of  the  Cambridge 
Antiquarian  Society,  May,  1878.  The 
Bollandists  say  that  she  was  taken  with 
seven  companions  by  pirates  to  Norway, 
where  the  innocence  of  their  lives  con 
verted  some  of  the  natives  to  Christianity. 
The  lic-v.  S.  Baring  Gould  regards  the 


legend  as  a  variant  of  that  of  ST.  URSULA. 
AAJ9S.  Greveu,  Auctaria.  Metcalfe, 
Passto  B.  Olari. 

St.  Supporina,  Aug.  24.  Her  body 
is  preserved  in  the  church  of  St.  Arte- 
mius  at  Clermont,  in  Auvergne,  where 
she  is  honoured,  Aug.  24,  and  with  ST. 
VERA,  Jan.  24.  AA.SS. 

St.  Sura(i),  SoTEias(2). 

St.  Sura  (2;,  ZUWARDA. 

St.   Surdida,  June   1,  M.  with   ST. 

AUCEGA. 

St.  Susanna  (1)  of  Babylon,  Jan.  20, 
Feb.  12,  Dec.  ID,  Aug.  18,  Aug.  28. 
Patron  of  the  falsely  accused.  Daughter 
of  Chelcias.  Wife  of  Joacim,one  of  the 
chief  men  among  the  Jews  carried  cap 
tive  to  Babylon  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
Being  condemned  to  death  on  a  false 
accusation  of  infidelity  to  her  husband, 
her  innocence  was  proved  by  the  pro 
phet  Daniel.  The  Greek  Church  counts 
her  among  the  martyrs.  The  story  of 
Susanna  in  the  apocrypha  was  considered 
authentic  by  most  of  the  early  fathers  of 
the  Christian  Church  ;  St.  Jerome,  how 
ever,  rejected  it.  The  truth  of  the 
story  was  settled  by  Susanna  herself  in 
the  following  manner. 

A  priest  of  Bordeaux  was  unjustly 
accused  of  theft.  Seeing  no  means  of 
clearing  himself  from  the  charge,  he  in 
voked  St.  Susanna.  She  appeared  to 
him  in  a  dream,  accompanied  by  the 
prophet  Daniel ;  she  promised  to  assist 
the  priest  in  his  trouble,  and  told  him 
that  her  body  was  lying  unhonoured  in 
a  certain  church  at  Toulouse.  It  was 
found  in  a  rough  marble  tomb,  with 
those  of  SS.  Simon  and  Jude.  The 
bones  of  the  two  apostles  were  hope 
lessly  mixed,  but  the  body  of  St. 
Susanna  was  in  a  separate  box  of  cy 
press  wood,  her  identity  being  established 
by  a  document  preserved  in  a  glass  tube. 
The  three  bodies  were  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  the  East,  those  of  the 
apostles  from  Persia,  by  Charlemagne. 
They  were  translated  with  much  cere 
mony  into  churches  of  greater  impor 
tance,  and  although  the  Latin  Church 
generally  gives  Susanna  no  worship,  she 
was  thenceforth  specially  honoured  at 
Toulouse  on  Jan.  26,  the  anniversary 
of  the  finding  of  her  relics.  Bail  let 


234 


ST.   SUSANNA 


considers  the  story  insufficiently  estab 
lished  and  the  relics  spurious. 

St.  Susanna  (2),  ZENAI'S. 

St.  Susanna  (3),  Feb.  12,  M.  in 

Italy,  with  others.     AA.S8. 

SS.  Susanna  (4,  5),  April  12,  MM. 
in  different  parts  of  Spain.  AA.SS. 
St.  Susanna  (G).  (See  AKCHELAA.) 
St.  Susanna  (7),  Feb.  9,  V.  M.  3rd 
century.  Sister  of  St.  Victor.  They 
were  of  humble  station,  and  lived  at 
Mosomagum,  now  called  Ully  or  Evilly. 
Susanna's  beauty  made  her  the  object  of 
the  persecutions  of  the  prince  of  the 
country,  who  finding  his  suit  vain,  and 
Victor  as  insensible  to  his  promises  and 
entreaties  as  the  maiden  herself,  ceased  to 
love  Susanna  and  sought  only  to  revenge 
the  insult  of  which  he  considered  her 
guilty  in  refusing  him.  lie  ordered 
some  of  his  servants  to  lie  in  wait  for  her 
and  to  seize  her  and  put  out  her  eyes  : 
which  they  did.  Victor  boldly  re 
proached  the  prince  for  his  wickedness, 
and  was  in  consequence  murdered  as  he 
entered  the  church,  by  the  same  ruffians 
who  had  blinded  his  sister.  He  was 
buried  near  the  wall  of  St.  Peter's  church, 
and  lay  hidden  for  many  years,  until  the 
time  of  Hincmar,  abbot  of  Rheims,  about 
890,  when  part  of  the  wall  fell  down. 
In  order  to  repair  the  damage,  the  debris 
had  to  be  cleared  away,  and  while  this 
was  being  done,  a  body  was  found  buried 
near  the  foundation  of  the  wall,  and  the 
workmen  thought  the  building  could  not 
be  made  secure  without  removing  it.  It 
was  taken  up  and  reverently  placed  in 
a  tomb  within  the  church.  At  that  time 
a  woman  in  the  town  had  been  blind  for 
three  months,  suffering  much  pain  in  her 
eyes.  The  parish  priest  was  told  in  a 
dream  that  she  could  be  cured  by  the 
prayers  of  the  saint  whose  body  had  just 
been  found.  He  brought  her  to  the 
church,  and  she  prayed  beside  the 
body  and  her  sight  was  restored.  After 
this,  Victor  appeared  in  dreams  to  sundry 
ecclesiastics  and  told  them  his  story. 
His  sister's  name  is  unknown  but  she 
was  called  Susanna  by  the  people  of 
Evilly,  when  the  bodies  were  found  and 
the  story  made  known.  A  A  .SS. 

St.  Susanna  (8),  Aug.  11.4.  c.  29;>. 
Patron  of  Rome.      Represented  with   a 


crown  at  her  feet  and  holding  a  palm. 
Niece  of  St.  Cains  (Pope,  283-290 ),  who 
was  related  to  the  Emperor  Diocletian. 

Diocletian  sent  for  Susanna  and  offered 
to  make  her  the  wife  of  his  adopted  son 
and  heir,  Galerius  Maximian.  He  was 
much  astonished  at  her  refusal  and  re 
quested  his  mythical  wife,  ST.  i  SERENA 
(3),  to  reason  with  her.  Serena  being 
secretly  a  Christian,  encouraged  Susanna, 
and  represented  to  Diocletian  that  there 
were  plenty  of  girls  as  good  in  every 
respect  as  Susanna,  from  amongst  whom 
to  choose  a  bride  for  the  Augustus.  Dio 
cletian  said,  "  No  violence  shall  be  done 
to  any  damsel  under  my  roof.  Let  the 
fool  go  back  to  her  father."  Susanna  and 
her  father,  St.  Gabinius,  made  several 
converts,  amongst  whom  were  their  kins 
man  St.  Claudius,  his  wife  ST.  PRAEPE- 
DIGNA,  and  their  sons.  About  two 
months  from  the  time  she  had  left  the 
emperor's  palace,  Susanna  was  arrested, 
and  after  being  insulted  and  tortured  in 
various  ways,  she  was  beheaded.  She 
was  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  Alex 
ander  ;  and  the  same  day,  the  Pope  said 
mass  there  in  honour  of  St.  Susanna, 
virgin  and  martyr. 

Her  Acts  are  ancient,  but  were  not 
written  until  after  her  worship  was  es 
tablished.  A  very  old  church,  called  by 
her  name,  stands  on  the  Quirinal. 

EM.  AA.SS.  Villegas.  Martyrum 
Acta.  Baillet. 

St.  Susanna  (9),  M.  with  ST. 
MANXEA. 

SS.  Susanna  (10),  MAKCIANA  (4), 
and  PALLADIA,  May  24,  MM.  in  the  time 
of  Diocletian.  They  were  wives  of  three 
of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers  who 
were  put  to  death  for  the  faith  with  their 
captain,  St.  Meletius.  The  three  women 
and  their  little  children  were  broken  in 
pieces.  They  are  represented  each  with 
a  child  holding  a  palm,  Palladia  some 
times  holds  a  buckler,  a  pun  on  her 
name.  KM.  Cahier. 

St.  Susanna  (11)  or  SUSIA,  Oct.  5, 
M.  with  her  husband  Abahor,  and  their 
children.  Honoured  in  the  Coptic 
Church.  AA.88. 

St.  Susanna  (12),  July  10,  M. 
about  3()7,  at  Nicopolis  in  Armenia,  with 
St.  Milion  and  others.  Stadler.  Guerin. 


ST.   SUSANNA 


235 


St.  Susanna  (13),  Sept.  20,  V.  M. 
c.  362.  Patron  of  Cadiz  with  ST. 
MAUTHA  (9).  Susanna  was  daughter  of 
Artemius,  a  heathen  priest  of  Eleuthe- 
ropolis  in  Palestine ;  her  mother  was 
Martha,  a  Jewess,  who  was  bringing  her 
np  in  her  own  religion,  but  died  while 
Susanna  was  quite  a  child.  Artemius 
died  soon  afterwards,  leaving  two  guar 
dians  with  orders  to  make  her,  when  she 
grew  up  and  was  married,  absolute  mis 
tress  of  his  property.  Her  parents  some 
times  used  to  associate  with  a  Christian 
priest  named  Silvanus.  Susanna  became 
a  Christian,  and  at  fifteen  she  demanded 
her  property  of  her  guardians.  She 
liberated  her  slaves  and  gave  all  her 
money  to  the  poor.  Then  she  took 
men's  clothes,  shaved  her  head  and  went 
to  the  monastery  of  St.  Philip,  where 
she  told  the  abbot  that  her  name  was 
John  and  that  she  was  born  at  Crcsarca 
in  Palestine.  He  taught  her  the  Bible 
and  gave  her  much  religious  instruction, 
and  she  lived  there  unsuspected  for 
about  twenty  years.  A  certain  woman 
of  Eleutheropolis,  who  was  an  ascetria — 
that  is  a  woman  living  a  solitary  ascetic 
life — used  to  come  to  the  monastery  for 
religious  purposes,  and  once  she  talked 
with  Susanna  and  received  her  blessing 
as  if  she  was  a  man.  She  fell  in  love 
with  Susanna,  and  behaved  to  her  as 
Potiphar's  wife  did  to  Joseph,  and  told 
every  one  that  Brother  John,  on  pretence 
of  accompanying  her  from  the  monastery, 
had  insulted  her.  One  day  she  met  St. 
Cleopas,  bishop  of  Eleutheropolis,  who 
said,  "  Why  are  you  weeping  and  howl 
ing?''  She  told  him  her  wicked  story 
and  he  bade  her  come  back  with  him  to 
the  monastery.  He  informed  the  abbot 
of  the  accusation.  They  brought  in  the 
woman,  who  repeated  her  story.  Philip, 
the  abbot,  did  not  believe  it,  for  he  said 
he  had  known  Brother  John  for  twenty 
years  as  a  holy  man.  The  bishop,  how 
ever,  insisted  on  an  investigation  of  the 
case,  so  Susanna  was  called,  and  the 
woman  repeated  the  charge  she  had 
made.  Susanna,  when  asked  if  she  was 
guilty,  threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  the 
bishop  and  said,  "  I  do  not  think  I  ever 
did  any  harm  to  this  woman ;  but  if  I 
did,  I  ask  for  pardon."  The  indignant 


bishop  said,  "  What  are  you  rolling  at 
my  feet  for?  Don't  you  know  that 
your  crime  is  very  common  and  vulgar, 
and  a  disgrace  not  only  to  yourself  but 
to  the  whole  monastery  ? "  Philip, 
much  disgusted,  demanded  that  the 
monk's  habit  should  be  stripped  off  the 
sinner.  But  she  said,  "  Wait  a  little, 
father,  and  you  shall  see  the  glory  of 
God."  Then  she  begged  the  bishop  to 
bring  two  deaconesses  and  two  virgins, 
for  she  had  something  to  say  to  them 
that  was  important  to  all  the  brethren  : 
she  told  the  women  who  she  was,  and 
satisfied  them  that  she  spoke  the  truth. 
All  the  monks,  fearing  that  a  great  scan 
dal  had  fallen  upon  their  community, 
were  impatient  for  the  explanation. 
When  they  heard  it,  they  wanted  to 
stone  the  pretended  ascetic,  but  Susanna 
persuaded  them  to  spare  her.  Cleopas, 
however,  took  care  to  make  known  her 
real  character,  and  as  Susanna  could  no 
longer  stay  in  the  monastery,  he  took 
her  and  set  her  over  some  nuns  in  Eleu 
theropolis.  Here  she  set  an  example  of 
wonderful  sanctity  and  cured  diseases 
by  her  prayers.  After  a  long  time,  a 
wicked  and  cruel  prefect,  named  Alex 
ander,  came  to  Eleutheropolis  ;  he  or 
ganized  a  great  sacrifice  and  ordered  all 
to  attend.  When  the  blessed  Susanna 
knew  of  it,  she  was  troubled  and  prayed 
that  all  the  idols  might  fall  down  that 
the  people  might  see  that  they  were  the 
helpless  work  of  men's  hands.  Her 
prayer  was  answered  by  a  great  storm  of 
thunder  and  lightning,  in  which  all  the 
idols  were  shattered.  The  prefect  sent 
for  her,  and  begged  to  know  what  she 
meant  by  it.  When  he  knew  she  was  a 
Christian,  he  ordered  her  breasts  to  be 
cut  off  and  thrown  for  the  birds  of  prey 
to  eat.  His  servants  took  her  outside 
the  house,  and  did  as  they  had  been 
ordered,  but  an  angel  restored  them. 
They  went  and  told  Alexander  and  he 
ordered  the  executioners  to  be  beheaded. 
On  the  way  to  execution,  they  prayed, 
"  God  of  Susanna,  receive  us  also  into 
the  number  of  those  who  believe  in 
Thee."  Then  Alexander  had  melted 
lead  poured  down  her  throat,  but  it  was 
just  like  cold  water  to  her.  He  then 
ordered  her  to  give  an  account  of  her 


236 


ST.   SUSANNA 


God,  and  having  beaten  her,  he  sent  her 
to  prison  until  he  should  make  up  his 
mind  what  to  do  with  her.  There  she 
prayed  that  God  would  take  her  soul, 
and  from  the  prison  she  migrated  to  the 
Lord.  The  monks  heard  that  she  was 
dead  and  they  all  came  to  the  prison, 
bearing  palm  branches  and  candles,  and 
took  her  to  the  church  and  buried  her. 
EM.  AA.SS.  Menology  of  Basil 
Grseco-Slavonian  Calendar,  Dec.  15. 

St.  Susanna  (14),  Aug.  27.  4th 
century.  Sister  of  SS.  Eliphius  and 
Bishop  Eucherius.  All  martyred  at 
Toul,  under  Julian  the  apostate.  Their 
bodies  were  translated  to  Cologne.  Their 
sister  MANNA  went  with  them,  but  was 
not  put  to  death.  (See  MANNA  (2).) 
Stadler.  Lanigan. 

St.  Susanna  (15),  Nov.  25,  V.  + 
c.  400.  She  had  a  little  dwelling  in  one 
of  the  porticoes  of  the  church  of  the 
Holy  Apostles  at  Constantinople.  There 
ST.  MATRONA  took  shelter  and  counsel 
with  her,  when  the  door-keepers  obliged 
her  to  leave  the  church.  When  ST. 
EUGENIA  told  Matrona  she  must  pro 
vide  a  place  of  safety  for  her  daughter 
Theodota  before  she  could  withdraw  from 
the  world  to  become  a  nun  or  recluse, 
Matrona  said  she  would  leave  Theodota 
to  God  and  Susanna.  Gynecseum.  Stadler 
also  calls  her  Saint  and -refers  to  EUGENIA 
for  her  story. 

St.  Susanna  (16),  called  in  Iberia, 
CHUCHANIC,  Oct.  17,  M.  6th  century. 
Queen  of  Iberia,  now  Georgia.  Daughter 
of  a  king  of  Armenia  or  Iberia.  She 
married  Vaiken  or  Curabach,  lord  of 
Ran,  a  man  of  dissolute  morals.  He 
abjured  Christianity,  that  he  might  get 
into  favour  with  the  king  of  Persia, 
whose  daughter  he  married.  Susanna 
attempted  to  leave  him  and  take  her 
children  with  her,  but  in  vain.  He 
treated  her  with  great  cruelty  and  in 
dignity,  and  kept  her  six  years  in  fetters, 
in  prison,  where  she  died.  She  was 
buried  with  all  honour  in  the  church 
of  Metekh  at  Tiflis.  Grseco- Slavonian 
Calendar. 

St.  Susanna  (17),  M.  c.  750,  with 
countless  other  martyrs.  She  was  wife 
of  the  governor  of  Ran,  in  Georgia. 
Neale,  Followers  of  the  Lord. 


B.  Susanna  (18),  July  12,  M.  in 
the  17th  century  at  Nagasaki.  Peter 
Arachi  Cobioio  was  her  husband.  (See 
MONICA  (2).)  Susanna  was  exposed  to 
the  jeers  of  the  populace,  hung  from  a 
tree  by  her  hair,  and  afterwards  placed 
on  a  cross,  where  she  remained  for  eight 
hours.  Her  three -year- old  daughter  was 
with  her.  A  woman  servant,  to  save  the 
child,  claimed  it  as  her  own,  but  Susanna 
boldly  said,  "  No,  she  is  mine."  Where 
upon  the  child  was  hung  across  the 
mother's  feet.  Susanna,  after  further 
tortures,  was  beheaded.  Authorities 
same  as  for  LUCY  FREITAS. 

St.  Susia,  SUSANNA  (11). 

St.  Svogslarea,  WOYSLAWA. 

St.  Syagria,  SICHAEIA. 

B.  Sybilla,  SIBYLLA. 

St.  Sybillina,  SIBILLINA. 

St.  Symphorosa  (1),  July  18,  +  c. 
130.  Represented  with  seven  children, 
carrying  palms. 

Wife  of  St.  Getulius,  an  officer  in  the 
Roman  army,  under  Trajan  and  Adrian  ; 
his  brother  Amantius  was  converted  with 
him.  Getulius  left  the  army  and  settled 
in  the  Sabine  hills,  but  Amantius  re 
mained  in  the  army.  The  emperor  sent 
Cerealis  to  take  Getulius  and  have  him 
tried  as  a  Christian,  but  Getulius  and 
Amantius  converted  Cerealis.  Another 
messenger  was  sent  to  apprehend  all 
three  and  insist  on  their  renouncing 
Christianity.  They  were  kept  in  prison 
at  Tivoli  nearly  a  month,  with  another 
Christian  named  Primitivus ;  and  all 
arts  and  threats  being  vain  to  shake  their 
determination,  they  were  beheaded,  ac 
cording  to  Butler  ;  but  according  to  the 
legend,  they  were  burned,  and  Getulius 
remaining  longer  alive  than  the  others, 
was  despatched  by  blows  on  the  head. 
These  four  martyrs  are  commemorated, 
June  10.  Symphorosa  buried  them  in 
an  Arenarium  on  her  estate.  Soon  after 
wards,  while  Adrian  was  building  his 
villa  at  Tivoli,  she  and  her  seven  sons, 
Crescens,  Julian,  Nemesius,  Primitivus, 
Justin,  Stacteus,  and  Eugenius  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemies  of  the  Church. 
Symphorosa  was  beaten  and  hung  up  by 
her  hair,  all  the  time  encouraging  her 
sons  to  be  steadfast  in  the  faith  and  not 
to  fear  what  men  could  do  unto  them. 


ST.  SYRA 


237 


At  last  she  was  thrown  into  the  river 
with  a  stone  tied  to  her  neck.  After  her 
death,  her  sons  were  tied  to  seven  posts 
and  killed  with  varieties  of  brutality,  in 
front  of  the  temple  of  Hercules.  The 
Acts  of  St.  Symphorosa,  says  Baillet, 
are  the  only  authentic  part  remaining  of 
the  work  of  Julius  Africanus,  who  wrote 
one  hundred  years  before  Eusebius. 
R.M.  AA.SS.  Villegas.  Butler,  "  Getu- 
lius."  Baillet.  OaMer. 

St.  Symphorosa  (2).  (See  MABCIA 
(3)0 

St.  Syncitica,  May  8,  M.  at  Byzan 
tium  with  St.  Acacius.  (See  AGATHA  (2).) 

St.  Syncletica  (1),  a  rich,  noble 
widow  of  Spoleto,  who,  like  PRAXEDES 
and  PUDENTIANA,  ministered  to  the  per 
secuted  Christians  in  their  life,  and 
buried  them  when  put  to  death  for  the 
faith.  Jacobilli,  SS.  dell*  Umbria. 

St.  Syncletica  (2),  May  8,  M.  pro 
bably  at  Byzantium.  Stadler. 

St.  Syncletica  (3),  Jan.  5,  V.  Sup 
posed  4th  century.  She  was  born  at 
Alexandria,  of  Macedonian  descent,  and 
was  possessed  of  great  wealth,  which  she 
distributed  to  the  poor.  She  lived  in  a 
tomb  and  presided  over  several  religious 
young  women.  After  continued  ill- 
health,  which  she  endured  with  great 
patience,  she  was  afflicted  with  a  cancer 
in  her  mouth,  and  although  she  would 
take  no  means  to  lessen  her  own  suffer 
ings,  she  consented,  for  the  sake  of 
others,  to  submit  to  some  necessary 
medical  treatment.  E.M.  AA.SS.  Butler. 
Baillet.  Grceco-Slav.  Calendar. 

St.  Syncletica  (4),  SYNDETICA, 
SYNELETICA,  ENCLETIA,  or  ENCLETICA, 
Dec.  11,  called  "  the  Younger  "  and  "  the 
Deaconess,"  5th  century.  She  and  her 
younger  married  sister,  ST.  PERrETUA 
(6),  are  praised  by  their  contemporary, 
Sedulius  the  priest.  Gynccaeum.  Smith 
and  Wace. 

St.  Syncletica  (5),  APOLLINARIS  (2). 

St.  Synclitica,  SINCLITA. 

St.  Syndetica,  SYNCLETICA. 

St.  Syneca,  SING  HA.     (Jnhier. 

St.  Syneletica,  SYNCLETICA. 

St.  Synticen,  SVNTYCHE. 

St.Syntyche  or  SYNTICEN,  July  22. 
Mentioned  with  St.  Euodias  by  St.  Paul, 

"Pllll      ITT      O  Sioi/1      ir»    i\if\    TTlrkviavian    TVTsi 


IV.   'I. 


Said  in  the  Floriarian  MS. 


to  have  received  the  disciples  of  Christ 
in  her  house,  to  have  converted  in  any 
persons  to  Christianity  and  had  them 
baptized  by  St.  Paul  and  to  have  died 
full  of  days  at  Philippi,  in  the  year  78. 
She  is  also  mentioned  in  a  sermon  of 
St.  Chrysostom,  who  calls  her  and  St. 
Euodias  two  of  the  chief  persons  and 
chief  workers  in  the  church  of  Philippi, 
and  says  St.  Paul  commended  them  to 
the  care  of  his  friend  and  fellow-labourer, 
not  on  account  of  his  personal  friendship 
for  them,  but  because  of  their  good 
works.  The  Mdrtyrclogy  of  Salisbury 
calls  her  "  St.  Synticeu,  V.  whomc  S. 
Paulo  remembreth  in  his  epystles  and 
she  lyeth  buryed  at  phylypes."  AA.SS. 

St.  Syra  (1)  SIRIA,  or  SYRIA,  June 
S.  4th  or  5th  century,  or  according 
to  Butler,  3rd  century.  A  woman  at 
Troyes  in  France,  who  had  been  blind 
for  forty  years,  hearing  of  the  holiness 
and  martyrdom  of  St.  Savinian,  begged 
to  be  taken  to  the  place  where  he  was 
buried.  Her  parents  would  not  take  her, 
but  a  little  boy  led  her  by  the  hand. 
They  did  not  know  where  the  saint  was 
buried,  but  when  they  came  to  the  place 
their  feet  became  immovably  fixed  in 
the  ground.  There  Syra  kneeled  down 
and  prayed,  "  0  God  of  the  Christians 
and  St.  Savinian  who  didst  obtain  a 
crown  for  thyself,  show  thy  power  on 
me  also."  In  the  same  hour,  her  eyes 
were  opened.  She  built  a  church  in 
honour  of  the  holy  martyr,  and  exhorted 
all  her  friends  to  become  Christians. 
She  is  confounded  by  Bucelinus  and 
others  with  SYRA  of  Meaux.  AA.SS. 

St.  Syra  (2)  or  SYRIA,  June  8,  Oct. 
23,  V.  of  Meaux.  7th  century.  Patron 
against  stone  and  gravel  and  hernia. 
Sister  of  St.  Fiaker.  Some  Scotch  histo 
rians  say  that  these  saints  were  the  son 
and  daughter  of  Eugenius  IV.  king  of 
Scotland ;  but  they  arc  more  generally 
supposed  to  have  been  of  noble  but  not 
royal  Irish  family.  When  Fiaker  was 
living  as  a  hermit  under  the  guidance  of 
St.  Faro,  bishop  of  Meaux,  his  sister 
joined  him,  and  was  by  these  two  holy 
men  committed  to  the  care  of  ST.  FARA, 
sister  of  St.  Faro,  and  abbess  of  Brie. 
The  said  Scotch  writers  say  that  Syra 
.  took  many  holy  women  with  her  to 


238 


ST.   SYRE 


France,  where  she  built  a  convent  near 
Troyes  in  Champagne.  Here  she  died 
and  was  buried  at  a  village  called  from 
her  Ste.  Syre.,  where  her  intercession  is 
sought  by  persons  afflicted  with  stone 
and  hernia.  Perhaps  confused  with  St. 
Syra  (1).  AA.SS.  Adam  King.  Came- 
rarius.  Butler. 


St.  Syre,  SAETHRITH.     Miss  Ecken- 
stein. 

St.  Syrena  or  SERENA,  IRENE  (8). 

St.  Syrenia,  CYRENA. 

St.  Syria,  SYRA. 

B.  Syriana,  Dec.  31.    (Sec  HIGHS- 

LIN  A.) 

St.  Sytilla,  SIRILLA. 


T 


St.  Tabbs,  EBBA.     Butler. 

Tabitha  (1)  or  DORCAS,  Sept.  13, 
Oct.  25  ;  both  words  mean  Gazelle.  She 
lived  at  Joppa  and  was  full  of  good 
works  and  alms-deeds,  and  made  clothing 
for  the  poor.  Her  death  was  so  much 
regretted  by  the  community  that  St. 
Peter  came  from  Lydda  and  raised  her 
to  life.  No  special  worship  in  the  Latin 
Church.  Acts  ix.  36,  etc.  AA.SS. 
Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 

St.  Tabitha  (2),  Nov.  21,  V.  at  Ta- 
benna  in  Egypt,  mentioned  by  Arthur 
du  Monstier  and  by  Stadler.  Perhaps 
the  same  as  ST.  ISIDORA  (2).  AA.SS. 

St.  Tacienne,  TATIANA.     Cahier. 

St.  Taie,  honoured  by  the  Ursuliues 
in  Paris.  Stadler.  Corruption  of  STE. 
ATE.  (See  AY  A). 

St.  Taimthanna,  Oct.  29,  Martyr- 
ology  of  Donegal.  Probably  same  as 
DARTINNA.  AA.SS. 

St.  Takla  or  THECKLA,  converted 
her  father  and  mother,  and  won  the 
crown  of  them  that  confess  and  preach. 
Butler,  Coptic  Churches. 

St.  Talia,  Nov.  11,  M.  in  Ethiopia. 
Stadler.  Perhaps  same  as  TATIA  (2). 

St.  Talida,  TALISDIS,  AMA,  AMATA, 
or  AMMA  TALIDA  (Mother  Talida),  Jan.  5, 
March  13,  5th  century.  Abbess  of 
Antinoi's  in  the  Thebaid.  There  were 
twelve  convents  of  holy  women  in  the 
city  of  Antinoe ;  Talida  was  so  beloved 
by  her^sixty  nuns  that  the  door  never 
had  to  be  locked  as  in  other  monasteries, 
and  they  called  her  the  well-beloved 
mother.  Palladius,  Lamiaca.  AA.SS. 
Whitford,  English  Mart. 

St.  Talulla  or  FALULLA,  Jan.  0,  V. 
Abbess  of  Kildare  about  590.  Sister  of 
SS.  Molaisse,  OSNATA,  and  MUADHNATA. 
Colgan  calls  her  daughter  of  Nadfraich, 


who  is  perhaps  St.  Naithfraich,  Dec.  1 1 
+    520,    coachman   and   reader   to    ST. 
BRIGID  (2).     Colgan.     Lanigan. 

St.  Tamthinna  or  TAIMTHANNA. 
Supposed  same  as  DARTINNA. 

St.  Tanche,  Oct.  10.  Century  un 
certain.  M.  of  virginity.  Invoked 
against  hemorrhage  and  dysentery.  Her 
parents  were  natives  of  Antioch  but 
were  compelled  to  quit  that  city  for 
Bamerudes  on  the  river  Aube,  in  Cham 
pagne.  Tanche  was  early  distinguished 
for  many  virtues.  Her  godfather  gave 
a  feast  at  Arcis-sur-aube,  to  her  relations, 
and  sent  a  servant  to  bring  her  on  horse 
back.  Passing  through  a  lonely  district, 
he  murdered  her.  She  carried  her  head 
in  her  hands  to  the  place  of  her  burial 
some  distance  off.  AA.SS.  Cahier. 

St.  Tanea  or  TANEN,  THENNEW. 

St.  Tar,  mentioned  by  Guerin.  Per 
haps  TARBULA. 

St.  Taracta,  ATTRACTA. 

St.  Tarahatta,  ATTRAOTA. 

St.  Taraja,  THERESA  (6). 

St.  Tarasia,  THERESA  (1). 

St.  Tarbu,  TARBULA. 

St.  Tarbula,  TARBU,  THERBUTA  or 
PHERBUTHA,  April  22,  5,  May  8,  V.  M. 
344  or  349.  Sister  of  St.  Symeon,  bishop 
of  Seleucia  and  Ctesiphon.  The  queen  of 
Sapor,  king  of  Persia,  was  seized  with 
a  severe  illness.  Tarbula,  her  sister 
ST.  THERMA  (1),  and  her  servant  who 
had  devoted  themselves  to  a  religious 
life,  were  accused  by  the  Jews  of  having 
caused  the  queen's  malady,  by  enchant 
ments  in  revenge  for  the  death  of  Symeon. 
The  queen,  who  was  a  Jewish  proselyte 
and  had  great  confidence  in  the  attach 
ment  of  her  co-religionists,  believed  the 
calumny.  The  Magi  seized  the  three 
Christians  and  condemned  them  to  death; 


.  TEMARTA 


but  one  of  them,  impressed  by  the  beauty 
of  Tarbula,  offered  to  release  her  and 
her  companions,  provided  she  would  give 
herself  to  him.  At  the  same  time  he  sent 
a  large  sum  of  money.  She  indignantly 
rejected  his  offers.  The  three  martyrs 
were  sawn  asunder  and  the  invalid  queen 
was  advised  to  pass  between  the  halves 
of  their  bodies,  that  the  charm  might  be 
dissolved  and  the  disease  removed.  So- 
zomen.  Neale,  Church  History. 

St.  Tarcice,  TAHSITIA. 

St.  Tarnutha,  ATTRACTA. 

St.  Tarsilla,  THARSILLA. 

St.  Tarsitia  or  TARCICE,  Jan  1 5,  V. 
Daughter  of  Ambert  and  Blithildis  or 
Gerberga,  who  was  daughter  of  Clothaire 
I.  or  II.  of  France.  Tarsita  was  sister  of 
SS.  Fereolus  and  Modericus.  She  lived 
in  Brittany  and  was  worshipped  there 
for  centuries.  By  another  account  she 
was  born  in  Germany,  of  the  royal  family 
of  King  Pepin ;  and  she  lived  in  a  cave 
at  Rodez  in  Aquitaine.  Her  sanctity  be 
came  apparent  at  her  death  and  the  bishop 
buried  her  in  the  church.  AA.SS. 

St.  Tartinna,  DARTINNA. 

B.  Tascita,  Nov.  27,  M.  in  Japan, 
with  B.  Michael.  Stadler. 

St.  Tata  or  TATE,  ETHELBURGA  (1). 

St.  Tatia  (1),  Jan.  8,  M.  at  Sirmium 
in  Pannonia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Tatia  (2)  or  TATYA,  Nov.  11,  M. 
in  Ethiopia.  Stadler.  Guerin. 

St.  Tatiana(l)or  DATiANA,in  French 
TACIENXE,  Jan.  12,  M.  A  lady  of  high 
rank  and  a  deaconess  of  the  church  at 
Rome.  Under  'the  Emperor  Alexander, 
she  was  torn  with  hooks  and  combs, 
thrown  to  the  beasts,  cast  into  the  fire, 
and  receiving  no  harm,  was  at  last  be 
headed.  EM.  AA.SS.  Men.  Basil. 
(See  ST.  MARTINA.) 

St.  Tatiana  (2),  Aug.  18,  M.  at 
Pontus.  AA.SS. 

St.  Tatiana  (3),  Jan.  5,  was  given  to 
fasting  and  died  in  peace.  Greek  Church. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Tatona.     (See  BAHUTA.) 

St.  Tatta,  Sept.  25,  M.  She  was 
scourged  and  pnt  to  death  at  Damascus, 
with  her  husband  and  four  sons,  SS. 
Paul,  Sabinian,  Maximus,  Rufus,  and 
Eugenius.  H.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Taureta,  TAURITIA,  or  TORETTE, 


May  1 ,  V.  near  Issoudun  in  Berri.  Patron 
of  a  church  there.  Chastelain.  Cahier. 
Guerin. 

St.  Teath  or  TETHA,  perhaps  ETHA. 
Mr.  Baring  Gould,  Book  of  the  We#t. 
says  Teath  is  probably  a  synonym  of 
the  Irish  ST.  ITHA.  (SeelT.\  (1).)  Miss 
Arnold  Forster  says  Teath  is  perhaps 
TEDDE,  a  daughter  of  Brychan.  Stanton 
says  she  is  sometimes  called  ELLA. 

St.  Tebredia,  Dec.  11,  21,  May  1, 
abbess.  Guerin.  Bucelinus.  Stadler. 

Teca  or  MOTKCA,  Oct.  18,  V.  of  Rus- 
cagh  in  Ireland.  AA.SS.,  Prscter. 

St.  Techild,  THEODECHILD. 

St.  Tecla  0),  THECLA. 

St.  Tecla  (2).    (See  Lv  (3).) 

St.  Teclacia,  TEDETIA  or  TIIECLAIA, 
May  1 0,  M.  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Teclechild,  THEODECHILD. 

St.  Tecmeda  or  THKOMKDA,  June  2, 
M.  with  her  children.  Guerin. 

St.  Tecta  or  TETTA,  GEBETRUDE. 

St.  Tecussa,  Jan.  27,  M.  in  Africa, 
AAJ38. 

St.  Tedde,  daughter  of  Brychan. 
Perhaps  same  as  TEATH. 

St.  Tedetia,  TECLACIA. 

St.  Tegiwg.  First  half  of  Gfch 
century.  Daughter  of  Ynyr  Gwent,  a 
Welsh  chieftain,  and  MADRUN  his  wife. 
Tegiwg  was  sister  of  St.  Cedio,  a  monk 
at  Llancarfan,  and  of  St.  Cynheiddion. 
Rees,  Essay  on  Welsh  Saints.  Stanton. 

St.  Teguliana  or  TEGULIANUS,  April 
0,  M.  AA.8S. 

St.  Tegwedd,  M.  r>th  century. 
Daughter  of  Tegid  Foel.  A  Welsh 
woman  who  married  twice  and  was 
mother  of  Tielo,  bishop  of  Llandaff. 
She  was  murdered  by  the  Saxons  at 
Llandegfyth,  in  Monmouthshire.  Rees. 

St.  Teixelina,  TEXELINA. 

St.  Telechild,  THEODECHILD. 

St.  Telia,  March  i:-J,  M.  with  THEU- 
SETA  and  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Tellerpte,  Jan.  27,  M.     Guerin. 

St.  Tellipta,  Jan  20,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJ38. 

B.  Temaria  or  THEMARIA,  Jan.  20, 
Gth  century.  Descended  from  the  kings 
of  Leinster.  Wife  of  Diermit  II.,  king 
of  Ireland.  She  was  a  disciple  of  St. 
Fechin,  who  taught  her  humility.  One 
day  as  he  sat  at  the  gate  of  his  monastery 


240 


ST.   TENDIS 


a  poor  leper  came  to  him,  begging  bread 
and  saying  that  he  wanted  a  beautiful 
woman  of  high  rank  to  wait  upon  him. 
The  holy  abbot,  knowing  that  Christ 
was  to  be  served  in  the  person  of  His 
poor,  took  the  beggar  on  his  shoulders 
and  carried  him  to  the  infirmary  in  the 
monastery.  He  then  went  to  the  palace 
and  said  to  the  king's  wife,  "  Come  and 
fulfil  the  request  of  my  leper  ;  wash  him 
and  dress  his  wounds."  The  queen  re 
plied  that  she  would  never  do  such  a 
thing  unless  St.  Fechin  would  positively 
promise  that  she  should  be  rewarded 
with  eternal  felicity.  She  nursed  the 
leper,  notwithstanding  the  disgust  and 
dislike  she  felt  to  the  office,  and  did 
everything  he  bade  her.  Fechin,  from 
his  cell,  saw  a  great  globe  of  fire  ascend 
from  the  roof  of  the  lazaret,  to  heaven ; 
he  went  to  the  place  and  found  that  the 
leper  had  gone  to  heaven  and  left  the 
queen  alone.  She  has  no  particular  day, 
so  is  remembered  on  the  day  of  her 
spiritual  father  St.  Fechin,  abbot  of 
Fobar.  Colgan. 

St.  Tendis  or  TENTIDA.  Nov.  20, 
called  by  Migne,  a  nun  and  martyr  in 
Persia.  Guerin.  Stadler. 
St.  Tenella.  (See  ELVIRA.) 
St.  Tenestina  or  THEONEFANA,  Aug. 
24,  V.  c.  middle  of  6th  century.  Daughter 
of  Haregar  and  Trudana  or  Truda,  of 
Souligne  sous  Vallon,  in  the  province 
of  Maine  in  France.  She  was  led  to 
penitence  and  a  holy  life  by  St.  Rigomar, 
a  priest  of  that  place;  her  regard  for 
him  was  made  the  ground  of  a  false 
accusation  against  her.  Severus,  to 
whom  she  was  betrothed,  accused  Rigo- 
mar  of  evil  designs  and  had  them  both 
summoned  to  the  presence  of  King 
Childebert.  They  went  carrying  with 
them  candles  as  a  religious  gift  to  the 
king.  Some  of  the  bystanders  began  to 
abuse  Rigomar  as  soon  as  he  appeared, 
saying:  "Behold,  the  sort  of  priests 
who  seduce  other  people's  wives !  "  The 
king,  however,  said  to  Bigomar :  "  If 
you  have  done  or  intended  no  evil,  light 
without  fire  these  candles  that  you 
have  brought."  Rigomar  prayed  that 
his  innocence  might  be  proved  in  this 
manner,  and  immediately  the  candles 
began  to  smoke.  He  stretched  out  his 


hand,  and  they  blazed  up.  Then  the 
king  and  all  his  people  knew  that  Tenes 
tina  and  the  priest  were  innocent,  and 
they  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  saints  and 
craved  their  pardon  for  the  disrespect 
with  which  they  had  been  treated.  The 
king  gave  them  two  towns,  and  ordered 
that  no  one  should  molest  them.  With 
the  advice  and  assistance  of  St.  Innocent, 
bishop  of  the  diocese,  he  caused  suitable 
retreats  to  be  built  for  them.  Tenestina 
took  the  religious  veil,  and  her  parents 
gave  her  a  piece  of  land  for  a  convent ; 
the  gift  was  confirmed  by  Childebert 
and  she  presided  over  many  holy  women 
until  her  death.  AA.SS.  Chambard, 
Saints  d'Anjou.  Stadler  adds  that  the 
village  of  Gourdaine  on  the  Sarthc,  in 
Poitou,  stands  on  the  site  of  Tenestina's 
retreat ;  that  Bigomar  spent  his  life  in 
rooting  out  the  remains  of  paganism  in 
France,  and  that  their  bodies  were  for 
a  long  time  preserved  in  the  abbey  of 
Maillezais  in  Poitou. 

St.  Tentida,  TENDIS. 

St.  Teonia  or  TIONIA,  Feb.  17,  V.  M. 
273.  (See  ST.  AGAPE  (2).) 

St.  Terentia,  honoured  in  Berri. 
Migne.  Stadler. 

St.  Terentiana  (l),  July  10,  V.  M. 
Migne. 

St.  Terentiana  (2),  March  5.  Men 
tioned  by  Herman  and  Greven,  in  their 
additions  to  Usuard,  as  converted  with 
her  five  sons  this  day.  Possibly  same 
as  TERENTIANA  (1).  AA.SS. 

St.  Teresa,  THERESA. 

St.  Tertia  (1),  Oct.  <>.  1st  century. 
The  queen  of  India  mentioned  in  the 
story  of  ST.  MIGDONIA.  Assemani  finds 
her  as  a  Saint  and  Martyr  in  a  Slavonian 
Ephemeris  discovered  by  Marchio  Cap- 
poni.  Assemani  calls  the  king  Smidaeus 
and  says  that  Tertia  and  her  son  Azanis 
were  converts  and  martyrs. 

St.  Tertia  (2).     (See  CHARIESSA.) 

St.  Tertia  (S),  April  12,  M. 

St.  Tertiosa,  Dec.  6,  M.  in  Africa, 
with  DIONYSIA  (5).  Stadler. 

St.  Tertula  (1)  or  TBSTULA,  June  2, 
M.  with  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
Romans.  AA.SS. 

St.  Tertula  (2),  June  o,  a  Roman 
martyr.  AA.SS. 

St.  Tertulla  (1),  April  29,  V.  M.  in 


ST.  TEXELINA 


241 


Valerian's  persecution,  with  Antonia, 
another  consecrated  virgin;  two  bishops  ; 
a  certain  woman  with  twin  babes;  and 
others,  at  Certha  in  Numidia.  B.M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Tertulla  (2).     (Sec  AUTORICIA.) 

SS.  Tertulla  (3,  4),  May  31,  MM. 
it  St.  Tertulla  (5),  June  1,  M.  with 
ST.  AUCEGA. 

St.  Tescelina,  TEXELINA. 

St.  Tesia,  queen  of  the  Lombards. 
Wife  of  Ratchis.  Mother  of  ST.  En- 
PHANIA  (2).  Wion  calls  Tesia  "  Saint." 

St.  Testula,  TERTULA  (1). 

St.  Tetha,  TEATH. 

St.  Tetta  (1),  GEBETRUDE. 

St.  Tetta  (2),  DETTA  or  THECLA, 
Dec.  17,  Feb.  22.  8th  century.  Abbess 
of  Wimborne.  She  was  born  of  the 
royal  family  of  Wessex.  She  governed 
with  admirable  prudence,  two  commu 
nities — one  of  five  hundred  nuns  whom 
she  trained  up  in  all  learning  as  well  as 
virtue ;  the  other  of  clerics  who  had  no 
access  at  all  to  the  nuns  but  received 
their  superior  from  the  abbess,  and 
depended  on  her  for  their  exterior 
government.  ST.  LIOBA  was  one  of  her 
disciples  and  related  several  miracles 
wrought  by  her.  One  of  her  nuns,  who 
had  held  sundry  important  posts  in  the 
community  but  whose  harsh  temper  made 
her  hated  by  the  other  nuns  and  par 
ticularly  by  the  younger  ones,  died  and 
a  mound  of  earth  was  raised  over  her 
grave ;  the  young  nuns  jumped  on  the 
mound,  rejoicing  to  be  freed  from  the 
severity  of  the  departed  sister,  cursing 
her  cruelty  and  insulting  her  memory 
until  the  earth  sank  down  six  inches 
under  them,  leaving  a  hollow  instead  of 
a  tumulus.  When  Tetta  discovered  it 
she  was  horrified  at  the  barbarity  of  her 
disciples  and  at  the  sufferings  of  the 
departed  soul  indicated  by  the  sinking 
of  the  grave.  She  rebuked  her  daughters 
and  ordered  three  days  of  fasting  and 
prayer  for  the  soul  of  their  sister  in 
purgatory.  At  the  end  of  the  three 
days,  Tetta  herself  lay  before  the  altar, 
weeping  and  praying  while  litanies  were 
sung,  until  the  grave  was  seen  to  rise 
and  the  hollow  to  fill  up  gradually:  a 
proof  of  the  release  of  the  soul  and  of 
the  sanctity  of  the  intercessor.  She  is 

VOL.  II. 


mentioned  in  the  Life  of  St.  Ina,  king 
of  Wessex,  and  is  numbered  among  the 
saints  by  some  authors.  Brit.  Sancta. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter,  Feb.  22.  Mrs.  Hope, 
Boniface. 

B.  Teudelaine,  THEODOLIND. 

St.  Teusea  or  TEUSSA,  Jan.  1 7,  M. 
in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Teussa,  TEUSEA. 

St.  Teutechild,  THEODECHILD. 

St.  Teutela,  TUTELA,  V.  M. 

SS-  Teuteria  or  THEODERIA  and 
Tusca,  May  5,  VV.  +  c.  650.  Tusca  is 
worshipped  June  10,  but  their  history  is 
always  told  in  one.  Teuteria  was  of 
royal  descent.  She  was  born  in  England 
when  that  country  was  for  the  most  part 
in  heathen  darkness.  Oswald,  a  king  of 
the  English,  loved  her  on  account  of  her 
beauty,  but  she,  having  been  secretly 
instructed  in  the  Christian  faith,  would 
not  listen  to  him.  As  he  persecuted 
her  she  fled  from  her  country.  After 
long  wandering  she  came  to  Verona. 
There  she  often  visited  Tusca,  who  was 
leading  a  saintly  life  in  a  cell  outside 
the  walls  of  the  city  ;  she  was  sister  of 
St.  Proculus,  bishop  of  Verona.  The 
messengers  of  King  Oswald  traced  Teu 
teria  to  Verona,  and  were  on  the  point 
of  finding  and  capturing  her,  near  the 
cell  of  her  friend,  when  Teuteria  en 
treated  Tusca  to  conceal  her,  and  managed 
to  squeeze  herself  into  the  little  cell, 
through  the  narrow  window.  The  spiders 
spun  their  webs  across  it  immediately 
and  destroyed  all  trace  of  her  passage,  so 
that  the  king's  servants  gave  up  the  pur 
suit  in  despair.  Teuteria  lived  as  a  holy 
recluse,  under  the  direction  of  Tusca, 
and  by  her  prayers  obtained  of  God  the 
conversion  of  Oswald.  After  living  to 
gether  in  peace  and  sanctity,  with  fasts 
and  vigils,  for  a  long  time,  Teuteria  died 
in  May  and  Tusca  in  June,  about  650  ; 
some  writers  have  erroneously  placed 
the  story  in  230.  A  church  was  built 
in  their  honour  on  the  spot  where  their 
cell  had  stood.  AA.SS.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Texelina,  TEIXELINA,  or  TESCE 
LINA,  May  5.  In  the  time  of  the  Goths. 
She  was  so  distinguished  for  sanctity 
that  a  church  was  built  over  her  grave 
at  Coimbra.  It  was  destroyed  by  the 
Moors.  She  is  cited  as  a  Saint  by 

R 


242 


ST.   THACLEAIMANOTH 


Cardoso,  but  the  Bollanclists  think  her 
worship  uncertain. 

St.  Thacleaimanoth,  CLARA  (7). 

St.  Thai's,  Oct.  8.  4th  century. 
Represented  with  a  scroll  bearing  the 
words,  "  Qui  plasmasti  me,  miserere  met  " 
(Cahier).  In  a  city  of  Egypt  lived  a 
beautiful  courtesan,,  who  caused  much 
jealousy  and  trouble  amongst  her  ad 
mirers.  She  was  converted  by  Pavuncius, 
a  holy  anchorite  of  the  Theban  desert. 
He  took  her  to  a  nunnery  and  placed 
her  in  a  little  cell.  He  fastened  up  the 
door  with  lead,  leaving  only  a  very  small 
window,  through  which  the  nuns  were  to 
give  her  bread  and  water.  She  asked 
him  how  she  should  pray,  and  he 
answered,  "  Thou  art  not  worthy  to  call 
upon  God  with  thy  denied  lips,  nor  to 
lift  up  thy  unclean  hands  to  heaven ; 
but  turn  towards  the  east,  and  say, 
4  Lord,  Who  hast  made  me,  have  pity 
upon  me.' "  When  she  had  been  there 
three  years,  Pavuncius  remembered  her 
and  went  to  St.  Anthony  to  ask  if  God 
would  yet  forgive  Thais.  St.  Anthony 
assembled  his  disciples  and  bade  them 
watch  and  pray  all  that  night,  to  see  if 
God  would  reveal  to  either  of  them  the 
answer  to  the  inquiry  of  Pavuncius. 
One  of  them,  named  Paul,  suddenly  saw 
in  the  heavens,  a  bed  on  which  precious 
garments  were  being  arranged  by  three 
virgins  with  shining  faces  :  their  names 
were  Fear  of  God,  Shame  for  sin,  and 
Love  of  wisdom.  Paul  thought  this 
vision  came  through  the  merits  of  St. 
Anthony  only,  but  a  divine  voice  said, 
"  It  is  not  for  thy  master  Anthony,  but 
for  Thais  the  sinner."  Pavuncius  de 
parted  with  great  joy  and  went  and 
opened  the  cell.  Thai's  wished  to  re 
main  there,  but  he  said,  "  Come  out,  my 
daughter,  for  God  hath  forgiven  thee." 
She  told  him  she  had  put  all  her  sins  in 
a  heap  before  her  eyes  from  the  day  she 
entered  there,  and  had  watched  them 
gradually  melt  away.  He  said,  "  God 
hath  pardoned  thee,  not  for  thy  penance 
but  because  thou  hast  had  thy  sins  always 
before  thine  eyes."  She  only  lived 
fifteen  days  after  her  release.  She  is 
much  honoured  in  the  Greek  Church. 
AA.SS.  Golden  Legend.  Mrs.  Jameson. 
St.  Thameda,  THEEMEDA. 


St.  Thametis,  THENNEW. 

St.  Thaney,  THENNEW. 

St.  Thannat,  THENNEW. 

St.  Tharatta,  ATTHACTA. 

St.  Tharsilla,  TAKSILLA  or  THRA- 
SILLA,  Dec.  24,  V.  6th  century.  St. 
Gregory  the  Great  (Pope  590-606)  had 
three  aunts,  sisters  of  his  father,  the 
senator  Gordian.  They  were  ST.  THAR 
SILLA,  ST.  EMILIANA  (2),  and  Gordiana 
who  was  much  younger.  They  all  took 
a  vow  of  celibacy  and  lived  a  secluded 
religious  life  in  their  father's  house  in 
Rome.  Tharsilla  was  so  constant  at  her 
prayers  that  her  knees  became  hard  like 
those  of  a  camel.  A  short  time  before 
her  death,  her  grandfather  St.  Felix 
(Pope  526-530)  appeared  to  her  in  a 
vision  and  showed  her  a  throne  prepared 
for  her  in  heaven.  She  was  seized  with 
fever  and  soon  died.  A  few  days  after 
wards  she  appeared  to  Emiliana  and 
invited  her  to  come  and  spend  Epiphany 
with  her.  Emiliana  said,  "  In  whose 
care  then  shall  I  leave  Gordiana?" 
Tharsilla  answered,  "  Come,  for  your 
sister  has  returned  to  the  world."  And 
indeed,  Gordiana,  who  had  long  been 
dissatisfied  with  the  self*denying  life 
she  led  with  her  sisters,  gave  up  their 
devout  practices,  and  married  her  steward. 
H.M.  St.  Gregory,  Dialogue  iv.  16. 
Butler. 

St.  Thea  (1).     (See  MEURIS.) 

St.  Thea  (2),  Feb.  23,  slain  with  the 
sword  for  deriding  heathen  gods.  Bol- 
landus,  from  the  Menea. 

St.  Thea  (3),  Feb.  23,  July  18,  25, 
29,  M.  perhaps  308,  with  her  brother 
and  sister,  Paul  and  VALENTINA.  AA.SS. 

St.  Theba,  PHEBE,  the  deaconess. 
Grseco-Slavonian  Calendar. 

St.  Thechild,  THEODECHILD. 

St.  Theckla,  TAKLA. 

St.  Thecla  (1),  Sept.  24,  1st  century. 
V.  called  by  the  Greeks,  "  the  first 
martyr,"  and  "  equal  of  the  Apostles," 
because  of  the  numbers  whom  she  con 
verted.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Theo- 
cleia,  a  ladyK)f  one  of  the  most  important 
families  in  Iconium,  and  was  betrothed 
to  a  young  man,  named  Thamyris. 
Theocleia's  house  adjoined  that  of  Onesi- 
phorus,  where  St.  Paul  lodged  and  where 
he  spoke,  and  prayed,  and  taught  his 


ST.  THECLA 


243 


entertainers.  He  spoke  in  praise  of 
purity  and  the  love  of  God  ;  and  among 
other  things,  he  said,  "  Blessed  are  they 
who  control  themselves,  for  God  shall 
speak  with  them.  .  .  .  Blessed  are  the 
bodies  and  souls  of  virgins  for  they  shall 
be  pleasing  unto  God  and  the  reward  of 
their  holiness  shall  not  be  lost  .  .  . 
there  shall  be  found  for  them  works 
unto  life.  ..."  Theclasatat  a  window, 
adjoining  the  roof  of  that  house,  and  she 
was  much  fascinated  with  the  teaching 
of  the  apostle,  listening  to  his  prayers 
and  to  all  that  he  said,  but  not  seeing 
him.  She  saw  many  women  going  into 
the  house  to  learn  of  him.  Theocleia, 
vexed  that  her  daughter  should  be  thus 
absorbed,  sent  for  Thamyris,  her  son-in- 
law  elect.  He  ran  joyfully  to  the  house, 
thinking  the  mother  was  going  to  say 
that  they  should  soon  be  married.  To 
his  surprise,  she  said,  "  I  have  some 
thing  new  to  tell  yon :  Thecla  has  not 
stirred  from  that  window  for  three  days 
and  nights,  either  to  eat  or  drink ;  she 
is  perverted  like  a  great  many  women 
and  men  too  of  this  city,  by  the  foolish 
words  of  a  strange  man  ;  but  perhaps  she 
will  speak  to  you."  Thamyris  gently 
reproached  Thecla  for  her  extraordinary 
conduct,  but  when  he  could  not  win  her 
attention  at  all,  he  wept  and  so  did  her 
mother  and  all  the  servants,  Thecla  all 
the  while  listening  with  her  whole  mind 
to  the  words  of  St.  Paul.  Thamyris 
left  the  house,  and  soon  entered  into 
conversation  with  some  of  the  people. 
He  took  Denias  and  Hermogenes,  the 
false  friends  who  had  come  with  St. 
Paul,  and  feasted  them  at  his  house,  and 
after  telling  them  that  his  betrothed  had 
given  him  up  because  of  the  influence  of 
this  man,  he  heard  from  them  that  St. 
Paul  was  a  Christian,  a  teacher  of  the 
new  doctrine,  and  that  his  best  plan 
was  to  denounce  him  to  Castelius,  the 
"  hegemon  "  (governor),  who  would  put 
him  to  death,  and  Thamyris  might  then 
marry  Thecla.  Next  morning,  Thamyris, 
Demas,  and  Hermogenes,  with  a  number 
of  the  people,  dragged  St.  Paul  to  the 
governor,  who  asked  him  who  he  was 
and  what  he  was  teaching.  The  apostle 
said  he  was  sent  by  God  to  rescue 
people  from  destruction  and  unclean- 


ness,  that  they  might  sin  no  more. 
Castelius  sent  him  to  prison,  intending 
to  hear  more  of  his  doctrine  another 
time.  When  Thecla  heard  what  had 
happened,  she  gave  her  bracelets  to 
the  door-keeper  of  her  house,  to  bribe 
him  to  open  the  door  for  her.  Then 
she  went  to  the  jailor  and  gave  him  her 
golden  mirror,  that  he  might  bring  her 
to  the  prisoner,  and  she  went  and  listened 
to  the  great  things  of  God,  which  he 
was  teaching  to  all  the  prisoners,  and 
she  kissed  the  chains  that  bound  his 
hands  and  feet.  Next  morning,  Thecla's 
family  sought  for  her  in  extreme  anxiety. 
At  last  they  found  her  amongst  the 
others,  listening  to  the  great  teacher. 
They  ran  and  complained  to  the  governor. 
He  sent  for  St.  Paul.  When  the  men 
took  him  away,  Thecla  threw  herself 
weeping  on  the  ground  where  he  had 
been  sitting  and  teaching.  Castelius 
summoned  Thecla.  All  the  people  cried 
out,  "  Destroy  this  magician  ! "  The 
governor  called  Thecla  and  asked  her 
why  she  was  giving  up  her  betrothal,  but 
Thecla  stood  looking  at  St.  Paul  with 
out  answering  the  governor.  Then  her 
mother  was  provoked  and  cried  out, 
"  Burn  the  fool  in  the  midst  of  the 
theatre  that  all  the  women  may  see  her 
and  be  afraid  ! "  Although  the  governor 
was  sorry  for  her,  he  condemned  her  to 
be  burned  ;  at  the  same  time  he  ordered 
St.  Paul  to  be  scourged  and  cast  out  of  the 
city.  The  governor  and  all  the  people 
went  to  the  theatre  that  they  might 
see  Thecla  burned.  Thecla  meanwhile 
looked  everywhere  for  St.  Paul.  Among 
the  crowd  she  saw  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the 
likeness  of  Paul,  sitting  beside  her. 
She  wondered  that  St.  Paul  had  come,  as 
if  she  were  not  able  to  bear  whatever 
should  come  upon  her ;  but  as  she  looked 
intently  at  him,  the  Lord  ascended  into 
heaven.  Then  the  youths  and  maidens 
brought  faggots  to  burn  her.  At  this 
the  governor  wept  and  wondered  at  the 
strength  of  her  determination.  She 
ascended  the  pile  and  spread  out  her 
hands  in  the  form  of  the  Cross.  Rain 
and  hail  fell  and  extinguished  the  fire, 
and  not  so  much  as  a  hair  of  hers  was 
even  singed,  but  some  of  the  spectators 
perished.  She  went  in  search  of  St. 


244 


ST.  THECLA 


Paul,  aiid  found  him  and  his  friends  : 
they  had  been  fasting  for  six  days  and 
praying  for  her  in  a  tomb  by  the  road 
side.     Thecla  cut  off  her  hair  and  went 
with    St.  Paul   to    Antioch   in  Pisidia. 
There,  Alexander,  one  of  the  chief  men 
of  Antioch,  saw  Thecla  and  seized  and 
kissed  her.     She  cried  out  that  she  was 
the   handmaid   of    God    and    was    the 
daughter  of  nobles  in  Iconium,  and  she 
tore  his  robes  and  pulled  off  his  golden 
crown,  formed  of  figures  of  gods  and  of 
the  emperor.     He  was  very  angry,  and 
accused  her  to  the  governor,  as  guilty  of 
sacrilege  ;  and  as  Alexander  was  giving 
games  to  the  people  of  Antioch,  Thecla 
was   ordered  to  be  cast  to  the  beasts. 
But  the  people,  instead  of  being  pleased, 
murmured  at  the  sentence.    Thecla  stood 
before  the  governor,  and  made  him  swear 
that  she  should  be  kept  in  purity  until 
they  threw  her  to  the   beasts;    and   as 
he  granted  her  this,  ST.  TRYPHENA  (2), 
a  rich  queen  who  lived  there  and  whose 
daughter  had  lately  died,  took  Thecla  to 
dwell  safely  in  her  house.     The  queen's 
daughter  appeared  to  her  in  a  dream 
and    bade   her   adopt    this    persecuted 
stranger,  "  that  she  may  pray  for  me, 
that  I  may  pass  into  the  place  of  the 
righteous."      When     the     beasts     were 
brought  into  the  theatre,  the  men  fetched 
Thecla,  and  when  they  had  set  her  in 
the  theatre  they  let  loose  a  huge  lioness 
against  her,  but  the  lioness,  instead  of 
injuring  her,  caressed  and  fondled  her. 
The    people    again   complained   of  the 
cruel  sentence  which  cast  Thecla  to  the 
beasts,  and  they  all  invoked  the  help 
of  God.     Other   beasts   were    let  loose 
against  her,  but  none  of  them  touched 
her.     All  this  time  Tryphena  had  been 
standing   at   the    door   of   the   theatre, 
weeping  for  Thecla,  and  she  was  now 
allowed   to  lead   her  away.     She   took 
her  home  and  begged  her  to  pray  that 
God  would    save    her    again   the   next 
day  from  the  beasts  and  also  that  He 
would  grant  that  the  queen's  daughter 
might  live  for  ever.     The  queen  wept 
and  mourned  that  Thecla  also  would  be 
taken  from  her.     At  dawn,  Alexander 
fetched  Thecla,  to  be  devoured  by  the 
beasts;    but   Tryphena   frightened   him 
away  by   her   bitter  cries.     When   the 


governor   sent   men   to   fetch  the    girl, 
Tryphena  said,   "Go  Thecla,  thy  God 
will  help  thee,"  but  she  kept  hold  of  her 
hand,  and  said,  "  Alas,  I  accompanied 
my  own  daughter  to  her  tomb  and  now 
I  am  accompanying  thee   and   leading 
thee   to   be  devoured   by  the  beasts !  " 
Thecla  praised  God,  Who  had  delivered 
her  from  fire  and  from  beasts,  and  prayed 
that  He  would   recompense   Tryphena, 
who  had  compassion   on   her  and   had 
kept  her  in  purity.     Thecla  was  taken 
from  the  queen  and  led  into  the  theatre 
amid  a  great  uproar,  while  some  cried 
impatiently  to  have  her  thrown  to  the 
beasts   as  a   violator  of  the  temple  of 
the  gods,  and  others  deplored  her  cruel 
and  unjust  doom  and  said  that  the  city 
would    be   destroyed,    and   they   would 
all  be  ruined  in  consequence ;  the  women 
especially  bewailed  her  fate.     Meantime, 
Thecla    stood    praying.      Many    savage 
beasts  were  let  loose  against  her,  but 
some  defended  her  against  others,  and 
none  of  them  did  her  any  harm.     Seeing 
a  great  reservoir  of  water,  she  said  that 
she  would  cast  herself  into  it  and  be 
baptized.     The    women   and   many    of 
the   people   cried   out   to    her    not    to 
plunge   into   that   water,  because  there 
were  horrible  monsters  in  it ;  even  the 
governor  wept ;    but  Thecla  leapt  into 
the   water   and    at    the   same    moment 
the  monsters  were  all  killed  by  a  flash 
of  lightning.     When  more  wonders  oc 
curred  and  the  tumult  was  great,  Try 
phena  at  the  door  thought  Thecla  was 
dead    and   she    fell    down   in   a   faint. 
Her    slaves    broke    out    into    cries  of 
distress  and  said   that   the   queen   was 
dead.     Then  the  governor  stopped  the 
games.     Alexander  was  terrified,  for  he 
thought  that  the  emperor  would  be  very 
angry  when  he  heard  of  the  death  of 
his  kinswoman,  Tryphena ;  so  he  begged 
the    governor    to    send    Thecla    away. 
The  governor  sent  for  Thecla,  and  when 
he  had  talked  with  her,  he  ordered  her 
clothes  to  be  brought  to  her  and  bade 
her    put    them    on.     She    said,    "  May 
God   clothe   your   soul   in   the   day   of 
judgment ! "    and    he    proclaimed    that 
Thecla,  the  servant  of  God,  was  released. 
The   queen   hearing   this,   revived   and 
went  to  meet  Thecla  and  took  her  to 


ST.  THECLA 


245 


her  house  and  promised  to  make  her 
her  heiress.  Thecla  rested  with  her 
for  eight  days,  and  taught  her  all  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  Tryphena 
and  many  of  her  servants  believed  in 
God.  Thecla  meantime  sent  and  in 
quired  where  St.  Paul  had  gone,  and 
hearing  that  he  was  at  Myra,  she  deter 
mined  to  go  thither.  She  dressed  her 
self  as  a  man,  and  taking  with  her 
some  of  Tryphena's  maids  and  several 
other  persons,  went  to  him  and  told 
him  and  his  friends  all  that  had  hap 
pened,  and  they  all  prayed  for  Queen 
Tryphena. 

Then  Thecla  returned  to  Iconium. 
There  she  found  that  Thamyris,  to  whom 
she  had  been  betrothed,  was  dead;  but 
she  went  to  her  mother  and  told  her  all 
the  wonderful  dangers  and  deliverances 
that  had  befallen  her ;  she  entreated  her 
to  believe  in  the  one  God,  and  said  to  her, 
"  If  thou  lovest  wealth  and  gold  and 
silver  that  perish,  lo,  they  are  given  unto 
thee  from  this  hour,"  for  the  queen 
had  given  Thecla  a  great  supply  of  gold 
and  precious  raiment ;  "  but  if  thou  wilt 
believe  in  the  one  true  God,  thou  shalt 
be  able  to  live  and  to  learn  all  that  I  tell 
thee."  The  Syriac  version  ends  by  say 
ing  that  when  she  had  testified  these 
things,  she  went  from  Iconium  to 
Seleucia  and  there  she  enlightened  many 
persons  and  lay  down  to  sleep  in  a  quiet 
resting-place. 

The  Greek  Acts,  however,  go  on  to  say 
that,  being  afraid  of  the  people  of  Se 
leucia,  because  they  were  idolaters,  she 
went  out  of  the  city  to  a  mountain  called 
Calamon  or  Rodeon,  and  there  many 
noble  women  joined  her  and  led  a  holy 
celibate  life  and  persons  afflicted  with 
any  sort  of  disease  resorted  to  her  to  be 
cured,  so  that  all  the  physicians  were 
filled  with  envy  and  the  devil  tempted 
them  to  conspire  against  her.  They 
thought  her  power  was  derived  from  the 
goddess  Diana,  who  would  cease  to  cure 
the  sick  or  work  other  wonders  for  her  if 
her  purity  were  destroyed  ;  so  they  hired 
some  wicked  men,  made  them  half-drunk 
and  promised  them  a  great  sum  of  money; 
but  when  they  arrived  at  her  dwelling- 
place  and  told  her  what  they  had  come 
for,  Thecla,  who  was  now  ninety  years 


old,  said  to  them,  "  Although  I  am  but  a 
mean  old  woman,  I  am  the  servant  of 
Christ  and  you  have  no  power  against 
me."  And  she  looked  up  to  heaven  and 
prayed  that  God  Who  delivered  her  from 
the  fire  and  the  water  and  the  beasts  and 
from  Thamyris  and  Alexander,  would 
deliver  her  now  from  these  wicked  men. 
To  this  a  voice  from  heaven  answered, 
"  Fear  not,  Thecla,  for  I  am  with  thee." 
Then  the  rock  opened  just  enough  for 
her  to  enter,  and  when  she  had  fled  into 
it,  it  closed  upon  her  so  completely  that 
there  was  no  crack  to  be  seen  where  it  had 
opened.  The  men  were  speechless  with 
wonder,  but  they  were  holding  a  piece  of 
her  veil  and  tore  it  off.  The  manuscript 
says  that  Sept.  24  is  the  day  sacred  to 
her  memory. 

This  story  has  been  said  to  be  written 
during  the  life  of  St.  John  the  evangelist, 
and  by  him  condemned  as  a  fiction.  Pro 
fessor  Ramsay  considers  it  to  be  a 
historical  story,  true  to  the  time  and 
founded  on  fact.  It  must  have  been 
written  by  a  contemporary.  Thecla  was 
a  real  person  and  so  was  Tryphena :  she 
was  the  widow  of  Cotys,  king  of  Thrace, 
and  queen  of  Ponttis  in  her  own  right ; 
mother  of  three  kings,  and  cousin  of  the 
Emperor  Claudius.  All  the  incidents 
which  appear  to  belong  to  the  original 
narrative  exactly  fit  in  with  the  circum 
stances  of  the  time  and  place.  Professor 
Ramsay  says  it  has  been  altered  and 
added  to  at  various  times,  e.g.  the  inci 
dent  of  the  holy  woman  baptizing  her 
self  was  introduced  by  members  of  a 
party  in  the  Church,  who  wished  to 
produce  authority  for  the  right  of  women 
to  baptize.  Another  of  the  additions  is 
that  she  lived  as  a  sort  of  abbess,  to  the 
age  of  ninety,  and  then  disappeared 
into  a  rock.  R.M.,  Sept.  23.  AA.SS. 
Wright,  Apocryphal  Ads  of  the  Apostles 
from  Syriac  MSS.  Hone,  Apocrypha  I 
New  Testament.  Professor  William 
Ramsay,  The  Cliurch  in  the  Roman 
Empire.  Dictionary  of  Christian  Bio 
graphy  (Smith  and  Wace),  Dr.  Gwynn's 
critical  article  on  the  legend,  its  date 
and  history,  and  the  use  that  has  been 
made  of  it. 

St.  Thecla  (2),  Sept.  3  or  19,  V.  M. 
at  Aquileia.  E.M.  (See  EUPHEMIA  (1).) 


246 


ST.   THECLA 


St.  Thecla  (3)  or  THEOCLA,  Sept.  6, 
V.  M.,  sister  of  ST.  ANDROPELAGIA. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Thecla  (4).    (See  ARCHELAA.) 

SS.  Thecla  (5-10),  MM.,  different 
days  and  places. 

SS.  Thecla  (11),  V.  and  Justina 
(1),  Jan.  10,  3rd  century.  Thecla  was 
a  lady  of  rank  and  large  property  at 
Lentini  in  Sicily,  daughter  of  ST.  ISIDORA. 
She  protected  and  assisted  many  of  the 
persecuted  Christians  and  ransomed  and 
buried  the  bodies  of  martyrs.  She  was 
paralysed  and  bedridden  for  several 
years  and  was  cured  by  SS.  Alphius, 
Philadelphus  and  Cyrinus.  Alphius 
also  cured  her  sister-in-law  Justina,  who 
had  lost  the  sight  of  one  eye.  From  the 
time  of  Thecla's  recovery  she  ceased  not 
to  minister  to  the  three  holy  men  and 
when  they  were  put  to  death  she  had 
their  bodies  taken  up  from  the  well  in 
which  they  had  been  cast,  and  reverently 
buried.  When  Tertullus,  the  governor, 
heard  this  he  sent  for  her.  Five  hun 
dred  of  her  servants  assembled  to  defend 
her  but  she  sent  them  away,  trusting 
only  in  God.  Tertullus  opportunely 
died.  Thecla  thenceforth  gave  her  pro 
perty  and  labour  unreservedly  to  the 
work  of  converting  the  Leontines,  in 
which  she  was  assisted  by  some  of  the 
clergy  whom  she  had  sheltered  and  by 
her  friend  Justina.  She  turned  a 
heathen  temple  into  a  church  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  built  several  other 
churches.  AA.SS. 

St.  Thecla  (12)  or  THEODOLA,  March 
26,  M.  with  several  others.  She  is  sup 
posed  to  have  been  among  the  many 
Christians  who  used  to  meet  at  the  palace 
of  St.  Castulus,  M.,  who  is  honoured  the 
same  day  and  who  was  a  friend  of  Pope 
(St.)  Caius.  Castulus  was  put  to  death 
in  the  persecution  under  Diocletian  and 
Maximian.  E.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Thecla  (13),  Aug.  19,  M.  304  or 
305.  She  was  condemned  with  St.  Aga- 
pius,  at  Gaza  in  Palestine,  to  be  torn  by 
beasts ;  the  sentence  was  not  put  in 
execution  ;  St.  Agapius  was  removed  to 
Caasarea,  where  after  two  years'  imprison 
ment  and  many  tortures,  he  was  put  to 
death.  The  manner  of  Thecla's  death 
is  not  known,  but  she  is  accounted  a 


martyr  and  honoured  as  such  with  SS. 
Agapius  and  Timothy.  The  R.M.  says 
she  was  torn  by  the  teeth  of  the  beast 
.and  so  passed  to  her  Lord.  St.  Timothy 
was  burned  immediately  before  Agapius 
and  Thecla  were  condemned.  R.M. 
AA.SS.  Butler.  Baillet. 

St.  Thecla  (14),  Aug.  3,  M.  with 
her  husband  St.  Boniface,  beginning  of 
4th  century,  at  Adrumetum  in  Africa. 
They  had  twelve  sons  whom  they  daily 
instructed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
who  were  afterwards  martyred  together 
at  Beneventum  in  Italy,  Sept.  1.  R.M., 
Aug.  30.  AA.SS.,  Aug.  3. 

St.  Thecla  (15),  Nov.  20,  M.  c.  343, 
with  several  other  women.  She  was  a 
nun  in  Persia  under  Sapor.  When  she 
was  beheaded  three  virgins  were  stabbed, 
and  from  their  blood  sprang  a  fig-tree 
which  cured  all  diseases  until  the  Mani- 
chreans,  jealous  on  account  of  the 
miracles,  cut  it  down.  Menology  of  Basil. 
(See  BAHUTA.) 

SS.  Thecla  (16),  Mariamna  or  ABIA, 
Martha,  Mary,  and  Enneim,  June  9, 
W.  MM.  in  Persia,  4th  century.  They 
are  called  canonical  virgins,  that  is  to 
say  they  were  devoted  to  the  service  of 
the  Church  and  to  a  life  of  prayer  and 
self-denial.  They  lived  in  the  house  of 
a  rich  Christian  priest,  named  Paul, 
near  the  town  of  Asa  in  Persia,  in  the 
reign  of  Sapor.  Paul  performed  the 
sacred  rites  and  sang  with  these  holy 
women  but  he  enriched  himself  out  of 
the  offerings  that  were  made  to  the 
Church.  Narses,  the  chief  magician 
said  to  the  king :  {;  There  is  a  certain 
Christian  priest  who  has  immense 
wealth.  Now,  if  you  want  to  get  it  for 
yourself,  order  him  and  the  virgins 
whom  he  has  with  him  to  be  arrested ; 
they  will  refuse  to  abjure  their  faith,  and 
you  can  seize  upon  their  possessions." 
The  king  did  as  Narses  advised.  Paul 
said  to  the  messengers,  "  Why  do  you 
confiscate  our  goods,  we  have  done  no 
harm  ?  "  They  answered,  "  Because  you 
are  a  Christian  and  do  not  obey  the 
king."  The  priest  answered,  "  Well, 
what  am  I  to  do  ?  "  The  king's  officers 
said,  "  If  you  will  worship  the  sun  and 
eat  blood,  you  may  take  your  goods  and 
go  home."  The  wretch  looked  round 


ST.   THECUSA 


247 


upon  his  treasures  which  were  spread 
on  the  ground,  and  answered, "  T  will  do 
whatever  you  command."  He  imme 
diately  adored  the  sun  and  ate  and  drank 
•of  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice ;  then  he 
took  up  his  money ;  but  the  chief 
magician  seeing  that  he  was  about  to  be 
disappointed  of  his  gains,  said,  "First 
persuade  the  virgins  who  are  with  you 
to  do  as  you  have  done  and  to  take 
husbands,  and  then  you  shall  all  have 
your  possessions  restored  to  you  and 
go  wherever  you  choose."  Paul  then 
advised  the  five  holy  women  to  follow 
his  example,  but  they  all  with  one  accord 
spat  in  his  face,  calling  him  a  second 
Judas  and  reviling  him  for  daring  to 
apostatize  and  for  advising  them  to  do 
likewise,  and  they  prophesied  that  he 
should  lose  both  his  soul  and  his  money. 
The  archpriest  ordered  the  holy  women 
to  be  scourged,  and  as  they  continued  to 
praise  God  and  refused  to  worship  the 
sun,  he  commanded  that  Paul  should 
behead  them  with  his  own  hands,  as  the 
only  condition  on  which  his  goods  should 
be  restored  to  him.  When  he  looked 
again  upon  his  money,  he  consented  even 
to  this.  The  saints  gazed  at  him  in 
terror.  They  said  that  instead  of  a 
shepherd  he  was  a  wolf  devouring  his 
own  flock ;  they  again  foretold  that  ho 
should  not  enjoy  his  wealth  but  should 
shortly  be  hanged  like  his  companion 
Judas,  while  his  sword  should  bring 
them  eternal  life.  He  then  beheaded 
them.  JNarses  said  to  him,  "I  have 
never  met  with  such  generosity  and 
strength  of  mind  in  any  human  being, 
therefore  I  cannot  take  upon  myself  to 
send  you  away  without  the  express  orders 
of  the  king :  very  likely  when  he  hears 
of  your  noble  conduct,  he  will  promote 
you  to  great  honour ;  therefore  do  me 
the  favour  to  remain  in  the  adjoining 
room,  and  to-morrow,  I  will  speak  about 
you  to  the  king."  Paul  obeyed,  but  in 
the  night  Narses  ordered  his  servants  to 
go  and  strangle  him.  In  the  morning 
he  went  into  the  room  and  found  him 
hanging ;  and  pretending  to  think  that 
he  had  hung  himself,  he  ordered  him  to 
be  thrown  to  the  dogs  to  be  devoured. 
Thus  he  came  to  a  violent  and  speedy 
end  as  the  holy  women  had  foretold,  and 


Narses    seized    upon    all     his     goods. 
AA.SS.  from  Greek  Calendars. 

St.  Thecla  (1 7),  TYGRIA. 

St.  Thecla  (18),  TETTA  (2). 

St.  Thecla  (19)  or  TECLA,  Oct.  15, 
V.  8th  century.  Supposed  to  be  a  kins 
woman  and  disciple  of  ST.  LTOBA.  She 
was  brought  up  at  Wimborno,  and  was 
one  of  the  nuns  sent  thence,  at  the  re 
quest  of  St.  Boniface,  to  help  in  evange 
lizing  Germany.  He  set  her  over  a 
community  at  Ochsenfurt ;  and  after 
wards,  on  the  death  of  ST.  HADELOGA, 
first  abbess  of  Kitzingen,  he  appointed 
Thecla  her  successor.  JB.M.  Brit. 
Sancla.  Tritheim  and  Chastelain  sup 
pose  her  to  be  the  same  person  as 
Hadeloga. 

B.  Thecla  (20),  Sept.  10,  M.  17th 
century,  at  Nangasaki.  Her  husband 
B.  Peter  or  Paul,  and  her  son  B.  Peter, 
aged  seven,  were  also  martyred.  They 
lived  at  Bungo.  (See  LUCY  DE  FIIEITAS.) 

St.  Thecla,  ETHA. 

St.  Theclaia,  TECLACIA. 

St.  Thecmeda,  TECMEDA. 

SS.Thecusa,  Alexandra,  Claudia, 
Phania,  Euphrasia,  Matrona,  and 
Julitta,  May  18,  VV.  MM.  304. 

Seven  Christian  virgins,  venerable  for 
their  great  age,  blameless  life  and  de 
voted  piety,  were  living  peaceably  at 
Ancyra,  the  capital  of  Galatia,  at  the 
time  that  Diocletian  published  his  per 
secuting  edict  against  the  Christians. 
They  appear  to  have  been  of  humble 
station,  as  St.  Thecusa's  nephew  and 
adopted  son  kept  a  tavern  and  is  com 
memorated  as  St.  Theodotus,  the  vintner. 
When  the  persecution  broke  out,  Theo- 
tecnus,  governor  of  Galatia,  promised 
the  Emperor  Diocletian  that  he  would 
soon  exterminate  Christianity  through 
out  the  province.  The  churches  were 
shut  up.  All  the  bread  and  wine  in  the 
market  was  offered  to  idols,  so  that  none 
could  be  procured  for  the  Christian  sac 
rifice,  except  through  the  careful  manage 
ment  of  St.  Theodotus.  Many  of  the 
Christians  fled  and  concealed  themselves 
in  the  mountains  and  deserts,  and  the 
heathen  populace  broke  into  the  houses 
of  Christians,  seizing  their  goods  and 
insulting  them  without  regard  to  age, 
rank,  or  sex.  The  seven  old  women, 


248 


ST.   THECUSA 


after  suffering  many  other  indignities 
were  offered,  apparently  in  derision,  the 
office  of  priestesses  of  Diana  and 
Minerva.  It  was  the  custom  to  carry 
the  statues  of  these  goddesses,  once  a 
year,  with  music  and  dancing,  to  a 
neighbouring  pond  and  wash  them. 
Thecusa  and  her  companions  were  re 
quired  to  take  part  in  this  ceremony, 
and,  as  they  declined,  they  were  con 
demned  to  be  carried  to  the  pond  in  a 
cart,  and  then  drowned  in  honour  of  the 
goddesses  whose  statues  they  had  refused 
to  wash.  A  great  number  of  spectators 
pitied  the  good  old  women  and  admired 
their  courage.  Theodotus  prayed  for 
them  all  day,  and  when  at  night  he 
heard  that  they  had  been  drowned,  each 
with  a  great  stone  fastened  to  her  neck, 
he  went  to  pray  for  their  souls  at  the 
church  of  the  Patriarchs,  and  finding  the 
door  built  up,  he  went  to  the  other  church, 
which  was  also  built  up ;  and  while  he 
was  praying  at  the  door,  he  heard  a  great 
noise  behind  him,  and  supposing  himself 
to  be  pursued,  he  returned  to  the  house 
where  he  had  been  hiding  during  the 
day.  There  he  fell  asleep  and  saw  in  a 
dream  the  venerable  Thecusa,  who  re 
proached  him  for  not  paying  to  her  and 
her  companions,  after  their  death,  the 
same  respect  he  had  always  shown  them 
in  their  life,  and  conjured  him  not  to 
leave  their  bodies  to  be  eaten  by  the 
fishes.  He  told  his  dream  to  his  com 
panions,  Polychrone,  and  a  younger 
Theodotus,  his  cousin ;  and  they  went 
to  see  what  could  be  done;  but  as  the 
pond  was  surrounded  by  a  strong  guard, 
they  did  not  dare  to  approach  it  till 
after  dark.  They  fasted  until  night,  and 
then  went  out  armed  with  sharp  sickles, 
to  cut  the  ropes  which  fastened  the  stones 
to  the  bodies  of  the  martyrs.  The  night 
was  extremely  dark  ;  there  was  no  moon, 
and  the  sky  was  covered  with  thick  clouds. 
When  they  came  to  the  place  where  crimi 
nals  used  to  be  executed  and  where  no 
one  ever  ventured  to  go  after  sunset, 
they  were  seized  with  horror  at  finding 
numbers  of  heads  stuck  upon  stakes,  and 
the  remains  of  burnt  bodies  ;  but  en 
couraged  by  a  voice  from  heaven,  they 
walked  on  notwithstanding  a  pelting 
rain  which  increased  at  every  step  the 


difficulty  they  found  in  making  their  way 
through  the  mud.  Two  men  in  shining 
white  appeared  to  them  and  told  Theo 
dotus  that  his  prayer  to  find  the  bodies 
of  the  saints  had  been  heard  and  that 
the  holy  Sosander  would  frighten  the 
guards,  but  that  one  of  the  companions 
of  this  expedition  was  a  traitor.  The 
guards  who  were  stationed  round  the 
pond  were  bewildered  by  the  darkness 
and  the  storm  and  terrified  by  the  ap 
pearance  of  St.  Sosander  as  a  tall  man 
completely  armed  and  scattering  fire  all 
round  him.  They  fled  into  the  nearest 
huts,  and  the  Christians  took  advantage 
of  their  absence  and  the  darkness  of  the 
night  to  take  up  the  bodies  of  the  drowned 
women  and  carry  them  home  on  mules, 
to  the  church  of  the  Patriarchs,  where 
they  buried  them. 

Next  day  a  great  commotion  arose  when 
it  transpired  that  the  bodies  of  the  mar 
tyrs  had  been  stolen  and  buried.  Poly 
chrone,  disguised  as  a  peasant,  went  about 
the  town  to  hear  what  was  being  said  on 
the  subject ;  but  as  some  one  recognized 
him  as  a  relation  of  St.  Thecusa,  he  was 
taken  by  the  authorities,  and  under  tor 
ture,  revealed  that  Theodotus  had  buried 
them  at  the  church.  The  Christians  now 
perceived  that  Polychrone  was  the  traitor 
against  whom  they  had  been  warned. 
Theodotus  thinking  his  death  was  near, 
took  a  tender  leave  of  his  brethren,  and 
told  them  to  give  his  body,  if  they  could 
get  it,  to  the  priest  Fronto,  who  had  his 
ring.  He  was  presently  warned  of  his 
danger  by  some  citizens  whom  he  knew 
and  who  advised  him  to  save  himself  by 
flight  while  there  was  time ;  but  Theo 
dotus  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  himself 
or  his  religion.  The  governor  knowing 
the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held,  promised 
to  make  him  chief  priest  of  Apollo  and 
syndic  of  the  town  of  Ancyra,  if  he  would 
come  over  to  the  heathen  religion  and  bring 
the  other  Christians  to  the  same  opinion 
and  arrange  that  the  man  whom  Pilate 
had  crucified  in  Judea  should  no  more 
be  spoken  about.  Theodotus  argued  with 
Theotecnus  about  the  superiority  of  his 
own  faith  until  the  governor  and  his 
people  got  angry.  He  was  then  horribly 
tortured,  and  a  few  days  afterwards  was 
beheaded.  His  body  was  commanded  to 


ST.   THENNEW 


249 


be  burnt,  lest  the  Christians  should  take 
it.     But  though  the  executioners  laid  it 
on  the  faggots  directly  the  head  was  cut 
off,  they  found  themselves  unable  to  light 
the  pile.    The  governor  therefore  ordered 
the  soldiers  to  keep  guard  over  the  body 
and  not  allow  it  to  be  moved  from  the 
place.     The  same  day,  the  priest  Fronto 
came  to  Ancyra,  bringing  Theodotus'  ring 
which  he  had  given  him  as  a  pledge  that 
he  would  keep  his  promise  to  provide 
relics  for  a  chapel  he  had  encouraged 
Fronto  to  build  at  Malus,  a  few  miles 
from  Ancyra.     Fronto  brought  with  him 
a  she  ass  laden  with  old  wine  from  his 
own  vineyard  which  he  cultivated  for  his 
livelihood.     The  ass,  fatigued  with  the 
journey  from  Malus,  fell  down  at  the 
place  where  the  body  of  Theodotus  was 
guarded  by  the  soldiers.      The  guards 
invited  the  poor  priest  to  stay  and  rest 
with  them,  saying  he  would  be  more  com 
fortable  there  than  at  an  inn.     They  had 
made  a  booth  of  willow  branches  and 
brambles,  and  the  body  which  they  were 
watching  lay  near  them,  covered  with  hay 
and  leaves.      The  fire  was  lighted  and 
the   supper   ready.     The  priest  having 
unloaded  his  ass,  gave  the  soldiers  some 
of  his  wine,  which  they  found  very  good. 
One  of  the  youngest  of  the  band  soon 
got  excited  and  said  this  wine  would  do 
more  for  him  than  the  waters  of  Lethe, 
for  it  would  make  him  forget  the  blows 
he  had  received  for  love  of  the  seven 
women  who  had  been  taken  out  of  the 
pond,  though  he  did  not  suppose  all  the 
Christians  together  had  been  so  much 
persecuted  for  their  religion  as  he  had 
been   for  having  guarded  the  pond  so 
badly.     "  Take  care,  Metrodorus,"  said 
one  of  his  companions,  "that  this  good 
wine  does  not  make  you  forget  your  past 
misfortunes  too  well  and  get  you  into 
new  trouble  by  making  you  forget  to 
guard  this  man  of  bronze  who  was  so 
clever  as  to  steal  the  bodies  of  the  seven 
old  women  in  spite  of  us."     Fronto  asked 
what  they  meant  and  they  told  him  the 
whole  story,  adding  that  Theodotus  must 
have  been  more  than  a  man,  as  bronze 
and  all  other  metals  can  be  burnt  in  the 
fire,  and  every  human  being  feels  pain 
when  beaten  and  cut,  but  not  only  did 
Theodotus  utter  no  word  of  complaint 


or  impatience  under  the  torture,  but  even 
when  he  was  dead  his  body  would  not 
burn,  and  it  now  lay  hidden  under  the 
hay  until  the  governor  should  decide 
what  was  to  be  done  with  it  to  prevent 
the  Christians  getting  possession  of  it. 
Fronto  waited  impatiently  till  the  guards 
were  sound  asleep,  and  then  he  took  up 
the  body  of  his  friend  ;  replaced  his  ring 
on  his  finger,  put  the  body  and  the  head 
on  his  ass,  laid  the  hay  and  leaves  as  he 
found  them ;  led  the  ass  into  the  road, 
and  let  her  go.  She  went  straight  home 
and  never  stopped  until  she  came  to  the 
spot  where  a  church  was  afterwards  built 
in  honour  of  St.  Theodotus,  over  his 
relics.  His  worship  began  then  and 
there,  and  quickly  spread  over  the  whole 
of  the  Eastern  Church.  He  is  com 
memorated  in  the  Greek  Church,  June 
8  ;  but  in  Palestine  and  throughout  the 
Western  Church  his  worship  is  combined 
with  that  of  the  Seven  Virgins,  his  com 
panions,  May  18.  R.M. 

Baillet  and  Butler  pronounce  this 
story  to  be  authentic.  It  is  given  with 
fuller  particulars  in  Greek  and  Latin  by 
Papebroch  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum,  from 
their  Acts  written  by  Nilus,  an  eye 
witness. 

St.  Theemeda  or  THAMEDA,  June  2, 
M.  1286,  in  Egypt,  with  her  sons,  and 
St.  Armenius  and  his  mother.  AA.SS. 
from  Coptic  and  Abyssinian  Calendars. 

St.  Theitelt,  THIADILD. 

St.  Thelchidis,  THEODECHILD. 

St.  Themaria,  TEMARIA. 

St.  Themin,  THENNEW. 

St.  Thenaw,  THENNEW. 

St.  Theneukes,  THENNEW. 

St.  Thenna,  THENNEW. 

St.  Thennet,  THENNEW. 

St.  Thennew,  July  18  (ENOCH, 
TANEA,  TANEN,  THAMETIS,  THANEY, 
THANNAT,  THEMIN,  THENAW,  THENEW, 
THENEUKES,  THENNA,  THENNET,  THENNOW, 
THEWNEW,  in  Welsh,  DWYNWENJ,  5th 
century,  patron,  with  her  son  St.  Kenti- 
gern,  of  Glasgow. 

The  Martyrology  of  Salisbury,  Jan.  13, 
says,  "  In  Wales  the  feest  of  sayt  Kenti- 
gerne,  that  was  goten  his  moder  wyst  not 
how  whan  nor  by  whome,  yet  was  she  a 
holy  woman  and  moche  loued  our  lady 
whan  the  people  perceyuod  she  was  with 


250 


ST.   THENNOW 


childe,  she  was  (after  the  lawe  than  vsed) 
cast  downe  hedlonge  from  the  heyght  of 
a  rock  and  yet  scaped  vnhurte,  than  was 
she  put  in  to  ye  see  alone  in  a  leder  bote 
and  without  sayle  or  ore  and  came  in  to 
Yreland  and  there  forthw1  trauayled, 
whiche  an  holy  heremyte  saw  in  spiryte 
and  was  comaunded  to  brynge  vp  the 
chylde,  and  with  hym  in  youth  he  reysed 
two  deed  persones,  and  dyd  many 
myracles  in  scotlonde,  englonde  and 
wales,  where  he  was  accompanyed 
wl  saynt  David  and  was  there  abbot  of 
.  IX  .  c  .  LXV  .  monkes,  and  yet  he 
was  before  a  bysshop  in  englonde  of 
meruaylous  hygh  perfeccion." 

She  is  called  Queen  of  the  Scots  by 
Camerarius,  who  says  that  as  a  widow 
she  renounced  her  authority  and  with 
drew  from  worldly  affairs  to  lead  a 
religious  life. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  birth  of 
Kentigern  written  within  five  hundred 
years  of  his  death,  but  tradition  says  he 
was  the  son  of  a  noble  Briton  named 
Ewen.  St.  Thennew  was  the  daughter  of 
Loth,  half  pagan  king  of  the  Picts.  She 
had  a  suitor,  Ewen  or  Eugenius,  a 
king  or  son  of  the  king  of  Cumbria. 
Thennew  would  not  marry  him  because 
he  was  not  a  Christian.  Her  father  was 
angry  and  said  she  should  marry  Ewen  or 
be  given  as  a  slave  to  a  swine-herd.  She 
chose  the  latter  destiny  because  the 
swine-herd  was  a  Christian  and  a  disciple 
of  St.  Serf.  When  it  became  known  that 
she  was  with  child,  she  was  condemned  to 
be  stoned,  but  as  no  one  presumed  to  cast 
a  stone  at  a  member  of  the  royal  family, 
she  was  taken  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill  of 
Dunpelder  or  Dumpender  (now  Traprain 
Law  in  Haddington),  and  precipitated  in 
a  chariot  from  thence,  but  was  miracu 
lously  preserved  from  injury.  King  Loth 
then  ordered  her  to  be  committed  to  the 
sea,  saying,  "If  she  be  worthy  to  live, 
her  God  will  save  her."  So  she  was 
placed  in  a  little  boat  of  hide,  and  set 
adrift  at  Aberlady,  on  the  south  shore  of 
the  Firth  of  Forth,  whence  she  floated 
across  to  Culross  in  Fife.  There  she 

fave  birth  to  her  famous  son,  and  there 
t.  Serf  was  kind  to  her  and  adopted  her 
child  who,  under  his  guidance,  became 
one  of  the  greatest  of  Scottish  saints.    He 


was  christened  Kyentyern  or  Kentigern  ; 
the  name  of  Mungo  was  afterwards  given 
him  as  an  expression  of  affection.  He 
became  bishop  of  Glasgow  and  lived  to 
a  great  age.  His  mother  is  supposed  to 
have  ended  her  days  there.  Although 
the  legend  makes  Kentigern  a  pupil  of 
St.  Serf,  it  is  believed  that  Serf  was  not 
born  until  about  a  hundred  years  after 
the  death  of  Kentigern.  AA.SS.  Skene, 
Celtic  Scotland.  Forbes. 

St.  Thennow,  THENNEW. 

St.  Theocla,  THECLA  (3). 

St.  Theocleta,  Aug.  21.  9th  cen 
tury.  A  holy  woman  commemorated  in 
the  Greek  Church.  Daughter  of  Con- 
stantine  and  Anastasia.  Wife  of  Zacharia, 
who  was  as  pious  as  herself.  She  was 
learned  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  spent 
all  her  time  in  doing  good.  She  wrought 
innumerable  miracles  after  her  death. 
Her  body  was  taken  up  once  a  year,  her 
white  hair  was  dressed  and  her  nails  cut, 
and  she  was  carefully  dressed  and  put 
back  in  her  coffin.  AA.SS. 

St.  Theocosia,  Jan.  14,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Theocteriste,  THEOCTISTE  (2). 

St.  Theoctiste  (1),  Jan.  31  or  May 
1,  M.  One  of  three  daughters  of  ST. 
ATHANASIA  (1).  Represented  standing 
by  her  mother  with  joined  hands. 
Guenebault. 

St.  Theoctiste  (2),  THEOCTERISTE, 
or  HIEE,  Nov.  10,  V.  9th  or  early  10th 
century.  Represented  kneeling  in  a  hut, 
where  she  is  discovered  by  a  hunter  who 
brings  her  clothes  and  food.  A  native 
of  Methymna,  she  was  left  an  orphan  in 
her  infancy  and  was  educated  in  a  con 
vent.  When  she  was  eighteen,  on  the 
night  of  Easter  Day,  the  place  was  in 
vaded  by  Arabs  of  Crete,  under  Nysiris, 
and  Theoctiste  was  carried  captive  with 
many  others.  They  touched  at  Paros, 
in  the  ^Egean  sea,  and  there,  Theoctiste 
fled  and  hid  in  the  woods  and  thickets 
until  they  were  gone.  She  was  without 
help  or  companionship  but  remembered 
what  she  had  been  taught  in  the  convent, 
and  lived  as  a  hermit  for  more  than 
thirty-five  years,  on  wild  herbs  and 
fruits.  Her  clothes  wore  out,  and  she 
had  nothing  but  leaves  to  wear.  She 
was  at  last  found  by  a  hunter,  and 


B.   THEODOLIND 


251 


she  begged  him  to  bring  her  a  particle 
of  the  holy  wafer,  as  she  had  been  many 
years  without  receiving  the  communion. 
When  she  had  received  it,  she  sang 
"  Nunc  dimittis  "  and  gave  up  her  soul 
in  peace.  Her  name  appears  in  many 
calendars  of  the  Greek  and  Eoman 
Churches.  R.M.  Gynecseum.  Guenebault. 

St.  Theodara,  Sept.  17.  After  be 
ginning  of  -ith  century.  Not  mentioned 
in  old  calendars.  Only  known  from 
Acts  of  SS.  Abundius  and  Abundantius. 
She  was  a  pious  matron  at  Rome,  who 
showed  kindness  to  the  poor  and  perse 
cuted  Christians  and  embalmed  and 
buried  the  above-named  martyrs  among 
others,  in  her  estate  on  mount  Soracte, 
eighteen  miles  from  Rome.  While  per 
severing  in  these  pious  and  charitable 
works,  she  died  in  peace.  AA.SS. 

St.  Theodechild  (l),  June  28,  Oct. 
10  (CHENDECHILDIS,  SICHILD,  TECHILD, 
TELECHILD,  TECLECHILD,  THECHILD, 
THELCHIDIS,  THEODOLECHIDIS,  TEUTE- 
CHILD,  etc.),  6th  century.  Founder  of 
the  monastery  of  St.  Pierre  le  vif,  at 
Sens.  Generally  called  daughter  of 
Clovis  and  sometimes  said  to  be  daughter 
of  ST.  CLOTILDA,  but  it  seems  more 
likely  that  she  was  the  daughter  of 
Clovis  by  his  first  wife,  or  daughter  of 
Theodoric,  his  eldest  son.  Chastelain 
calls  her  Queen  of  the  Varni.  She  ob 
tained  from  Clovis  considerable  estates 
and  privileges  for  the  monks  of  St. 
Pierre  le  vif.  AA.SS.  Saussaye.  Monta- 
lembcrt,  Moines.  Wion,  Lignum  Vitse. 

St.  Theodechild  (2),  Oct.  10  (TELE- 
CHILDE,  TEUTECHILD,  THELCHIDE,  THEO- 
DOHILD,  etc.),  7th  century.  First  abbess 
of  the  double  monastery  of  Jouarre, 
founded  by  St.  Ado,  brother  of  St.  Ouen. 
She  is  said  by  some  accounts  to  be  sister 
of  St.  Ailbert,  bishop  of  Paris.  One  of 
her  nuns  was  ST.  BERTILLA  (3).  Her 
name  is  spelt  in  various  ways ;  but  her 
tomb,  in  the  middle  of  the  ancient  crypt 
of  St.  Paul-Ermite  at  Jouarre,  bears 
very  distinctly  the  name  THEODLECHILDIS. 
AA.SS.  Mesenguy. 

St.  Theoderia,  TEUTERTA. 

St.  Theodestia,  April  24,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Theodlechildis,  THEODECHILD 
(2). 


St.  Theodohild,  THKODECHILD  (2). 

St.  Theodola,  THECLA  (12). 

B.  Theodolind,  Jan.  22,  568  c.  628. 
Theodolind  was  of  1  Bavarian  and  Catholic 
birth  and  education,  but  also  of  Lango- 
bardic  descent.  Her  father  was  Garibald, 
duke  of  Bavaria.  Her  mother  Walderada, 
daughter  of  Waccho,  a  Lombard,  had 
previously  been  one  of  the  many  wives 
of  Clothaire  II.,  husband  of  ST.  BADE- 
GUND.  In  589  Authari,  king  of  the 
Lombards,  sent  an  embassy  to  Garibald 
to  negotiate  for  the  hand  of  Theodolind. 
The  chief  ambassador  and  spokesman  of 
the  embassy  was  an  old  man  famous  for 
his  wisdom  and  tact,  his  colleague  was  a 
fair-haired  young  warrior  of  command 
ing  height  and  prepossessing  appearance. 
They  were  attended  by  a  goodly  retinue. 
The  Bavarians  received  the  offer  with 
pleasure,  and  the  seniors  had  nearly 
concluded  the  affair,  when  the  younger 
ambassador  said  that  he  also  had  a 
mission,  and  declared  that  he  was  de 
puted  by  Authari  to  see  the  princess 
and  to  describe  her  to  his  master. 
Theodolind  was  sent  for  and  the  young 
Lombard  said  to  the  duke  and  the 
Bavarian  chiefs,  "  The  Lombards  will 
be  fortunate  in  having  such  a  queen 
and  Authari  will  be  still  more  happy 
in  having  such  a  wife."  According  to 
the  custom  of  the  two  nations,  the  prin 
cess  filled  a  cup  with  wine  and  handed 
it  first  to  the  old  man,  and  after  him  to 
his  companion.  The  young  warrior 
kissed  the  cup  as  he  returned  it  to  the 
princess  and  in  so  doing  touched  her 
hand  with  his  forehead.  When  they 
were  gone,  she  complained  to  her  nurse 
of  the  young  man's  boldness.  The  nurse 
comforted  her  saying,  "None  but  the 
king  himself  would  have  dared  to  do  it, 
so  be  sure  that  grand-looking  young 
chief  is  no  other  than  Authari,  your 
future  husband."  Meanwhile  the  am 
bassadors  were  accompanied  to  the 
frontier  of  the  two  kingdoms  by  some 
of  the  chief  courtiers  of  Garibald.  When 
they  had  taken  a  ceremonious  leave  of 
each  other,  the  younger  ambassador, 
without  waiting  until  the  Bavarians 
were  out  of  hearing,  put  his  horse  to  a 
mad  gallop,  shouting  and  whooping  for 
joy.  The  Bavarians  looked  back  in 


252 


B.   THEODOLIND 


surprise  and  saw  him  stand  up  in  his 
stirrups  and  hurl  his  short  axe  crashing 
into  a  distant  tree,  as  he  shouted  his 
battle  cry,  "  So  strikes  Authari."  Soon 
after  this,  war  arose  between  France 
and  Bavaria.  Garibald  was  killed  and 
Theodolind  fled  into  Italy  and  sent 
messengers  to  Authari  to  tell  him  what 
had  happened.  He  came  to  meet  her 
and  the  marriage  was  solemnized  with 
great  splendour,  at  Sardi  above  Verona, 
May  15,  589. 

During  the  wedding  festivities  a  tree 
in  the  palace  garden  was  struck  by  a 
thunderbolt.  A  soothsayer  in  the  train 
of  Agilulf,  duke  of  Turin,  divined  the 
portent  to  mean  that  Theodolind  would 
in  a  short  time  become  his  master's 
wife.  Agilulf  threatened,  if  he  repeated 
the  prophecy,  to  cut  off  his  head. 

Scarcely  more  than  a  year  later  Au 
thari  died.  Theodolind  had  so  won  the 
trust  and  love  of  the  Lombards,  that 
they  wished  to  keep  her  as  their  queen, 
and  offered  to  accept  as  king,  any  man 
she  chose  to  marry.  By  the  advice  of 
her  counsellors,  she  selected  Agilulf,  a 
brave  and  able  ruler.  She  sent  for  him 
to  Court  and  went  to  meet  him  as  far  as 
Somellino,  a  few  miles  from  Pavia. 
There  she  ordered  a  cup  of  wine  to  be 
brought  to  her,  and  when  she  had  half 
emptied  the  cup,  she  handed  it  to  him. 
He  drained  it,  and  as  he  gave  it  back,  he 
stooped  and  kissed  her  hand.  "You 
may  have  rights  and  privileges,"  she 
said,  "that  will  render  such  homage 
unnecessary."  The  marriage  was  cele 
brated  at  Pavia  in  November  590.  Al 
though  the  dukes  had  agreed  to  abide 
by  Theodolind's  choice,  each  had  hoped 
for  some  particular  personal  advantage 
from  the  election,  and  several  were 
dissatisfied. 

It  was  the  policy  of  Constantinople  to 
aid  and  abet  such  discontent,  to  incite 
powerful  vassals  to  rebel  against  their 
lord  and  secretly  to  encourage  rival 
pretenders.  Agilulf  had  been  successful 
in  obtaining  a  treaty  with  Burgundy, 
and  peace  made  the  Lombards  again  a 
source  of  danger  to  the  empire.  The 
exarch  of  Ravenna,  the  Emperor's  repre 
sentative,  had  orders  to  foster  rebellion 
among  the  Lombard  chiefs.  He  induced 


Maurice,  duke  of  Perugia,  to  quarrel  with 
Agilulf.  This  conduct  of  the  Imperial 
ists,  freed  the  Lombards  from  their 
promise  to  respect  the  territory  of  the 
empire.  Agilulf  declared  war,  took 
Perugia,  beheaded  Maurice  and  marched 
to  attack  Rome. 

At  that  time  Gregory  the  Great  was 
Pope.  He  was  sorely  distressed  by  the 
evils  that  were  falling  on  his  people,  for 
the  Lombards,  whom  he  describes  as 
"  more  like  bears  than  men,"  waged  a 
savage  and  merciless  warfare,  against  an 
enervated  and  demoralized  population. 
The  cornfields  and  vineyards  were 
trampled  to  the  earth,  the  cattle  de 
voured  by  the  invaders,  the  churches 
and  houses  burned  and  people  killed  or 
carried  off  for  slaves.  In  a  happy  hour 
St.  Gregory  bethought  him  of  Theodo 
lind.  Her  beauty,  her  wisdom,  and  her 
blameless  conduct,  gave  her  a  great 
influence  with  her  husband  and  his 
people.  The  Pope  wrote  to  her  to  be 
speak  the  clemency  of  Agilulf  for  the 
Italians  and  his  toleration  of  the  Catholics 
in  his  dominions. 

Agilulf  and  Theodolind  listened  re 
spectfully  to  the  advice  and  petition  of 
the  holy  Father,  but  the  exarch  of 
Ravenna  was  determined  to  make  the 
most  of  the  opportunities  for  pillage 
which  the  war  afforded.  It  was  not 
until  598  when  a  new  exarch  was  ap 
pointed,  that  peace  was  made  with  the 
Lombards.  St.  Gregory  wrote  to  Theo 
dolind  a  letter  of  thanks  for  her  media 
tion  :  "  We  knew  that  we  might  reckon 
on  your  Christianity  for  this,  that  you 
would  by  all  means  apply  your  labour 
and  your  goodness  to  the  cause  of  peace." 
(Hodgkin,  Italy  and  her  Invaders.) 

It  is  clear  that  St.  Gregory  attached 
great  importance  to  her  influence  and 
estimated  rightly  that  she  would  be  an 
important  factor  in  converting  Lombardy 
from  Arianism  to  Catholicism.  Though 
Agilulf  never  became  in  name  a  Catholic, 
she  seems  to  have  induced  him  to  treat 
Catholics  with  toleration,  and  Catholic 
clergy  held  the  chief  churches  in  his 
dominion.  The  historian  Paulus  writes 
of  her,  "By  means  of  this  queen,  the 
Church  of  God  obtained  much  advantage, 
for  the  Lombards,  when  they  were  still 


ST.   THEODORA 


253 


involved  in  the  error  of  heathenism, 
plundered  all  the  property  of  the 
churches.  But  the  king,  being  influenced 
by  the  queen's  healthful  intercession, 
both  held  the  Catholic  faith,  and  be 
stowed  many  possessions  on  the  Church 
of  Christ,  and  restored  the  bishops,  who 
were  in  a  depressed  and  abject  condition, 
to  the  honour  of  their  wonted  dignity." 
(Hodgkin,  Italy  and  her  Invaders.) 

In  602  Theodolind  gave  birth  to  a 
son  and  heir  to  the  throne  of  Lombardy, 
Adaloald.  He  was  baptized  in  the  fol 
lowing  year  by  a  Catholic  priest.  St. 
Gregory's  last  letter  to  Theodolind, 
written  in  the  year  of  his  death,  was  to 
congratulate  her  on  this  auspicious  event 
for  Lombardy.  He  sent  with  the  letter 
presents  for  the  young  prince — a  cross 
containing  a  fragment  of  the  veritable 
cross  of  Christ,  and  a  piece  of  the 
gospel  to  wear  round  his  neck  in  an 
embroidered  case,  and  to  the  princesses, 
his  sisters,  rings  of  jacinth  and  onyx. 
To  the  queen  herself,  either  then  or 
earlier,  he  sent  a  copy  of  his  own 
Dialogues. 

Still  more  instrumental  in  the  con 
version  of  the  Lombards,  even  than 
Theodolind's  personal  influence,  was  the 
help  she  extended  to  the  Celtic  missionary 
St.  Columban.  By  her  advice  Agilulf 
gave  him  four  miles  of  ground  at  Bobbio, 
which  became  the  nucleus  of  the  great 
and  famous  monastery  of  Bobbio  and  a 
prevailing  centre  of  Catholic  influence. 
In  GIG  Agilulf  died.  He  had  secured 
the  succession  to  his  son  Adaloald  by 
causing  him  to  be  crowned  in  his  own 
lifetime.  Theodolind  acted  as  regent 
for  her  son;  but  in  624  or  625  the 
unfortunate  young  prince  became  in 
sane  and  the  Lombards  set  him  aside 
and  chose  Arioald,  the  husband  of 
Theodolind's  daughter  GUNDEBURGA. 

Theodolind  was  buried  at  Monza, 
which  had  been  her  favourite  residence. 
Her  palace  there  was  adorned  with 
paintings  illustrating  the  history  of  the 
Lombards,  and  it  is  from  historians  who 
saw  these  that  we  know  something  of 
their  dress,  arms  and  appearance.  St. 
Gregory  sent  to  her  relics  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist  for  the  church  which  she 
built  there  ;  the  catalogue  which  accom 


panied  them,  written  on  papyrus,  is 
still  preserved  at  Milan. 

Besides  her  many  pious  works  in  her 
husband's  country,  Theodolind  built 
churches  in  her  native  land  and  is  com 
memorated  there  as  a  saint.  Ferrarius 
and  Arturus  call  her  "  Blessed,"  but 
her  worship  seems  never  to  have  been 
sanctioned  by  the  universal  practice  of 
the  Church  or  the  authority  of  the  Popes. 

Muratori,  Annali  d'  Italia.  Warne- 
fred  (otherwise  Paulus  Diaconus),  De 
Gestis  Langobardum.  St.  Gregory's 
Epistles,  IV.  2,4  IX.  38,  43,  XIV.  2. 
Raderus,  Bavaria  Sancta  and  Bavaria, 
Pia.  Hare,  Cities  of  Italy.  Gibbon, 
Decline  and  Fall. 

St.  Theodora  (1),  April  1,  M.  2nd 
century.  Patron  of  Caen.  When  the 
Emperor  Hadrian  succeeded  Trajan,  he 
sent  for  Hermes — prefect  of  Kome  and 
brother  of  Theodora — and  thinking  the 
Christian  religion  disloyalty  to  the 
empire,  he  ordered  the  Tribune  Quiri- 
nus  to  imprison  him.  Theodora  was 
present  at  the  trial  and  martyrdom  of 
her  brother,  and  she  and  ST.  BALBINA 
buried  him.  (See  BALBINA  (1).)  Theo 
dora  was  seized  and  asked  what  had 
become  of  her  own  and  her  brother's 
wealth.  She  said  it  had  all  been  given 
to  the  poor.  The  officers  who  hoped  to 
have  received  money  from  her  were 
very  angry  and  threatened  her  with 
death,  unless  she  gave  them  a  good 
bribe.  She  said  she  had  nothing  left  to 
give  to  her  Master  but  herself.  So  they 
beheaded  her.  She  was  buried  beside 
her  brother  on  the  Via  Salaria.  EM. 
Acts  of  St.  Quirinus  March  29,  St. 
Hermes  Aug.  28,  St.  Balbina  March  31. 
AA.SS.  Mart,  of  Salisbury. 

St.  Theodora  (2),  May  7,  V.  M.  at 
Terracina,  with  DOMITILLA  (2).  R.M. 

St.  Theodora  (3),  March  13,  M. 
UM.  AA.SS.  (See  THEUSETA.) 

St.  Theodora  (4),  April  16,  M.  3rd 
century,  with  St.  CHAUIESSA. 

St.  Theodora  (5,  6,  7,  8),  MM. 
different  days  and  places. 

St.  Theodora  (9),  Sept.  17,  matron, 
M.  under  Diocletian.  She  diligently 
served  the  holy  martyrs  at  Borne.  _R. M. 

St.  Theodora  (10),  THEODOSIA,  or 
THEODOTE,  May  29,  Sept.  27,  Nov.  1, 


254 


ST.   THEODORA 


Jan.  2,  M.  c.  302.  According  to  the 
Arabic  version  of  the  legend,  Theodora 
was  the  mother  of  Kosman,  Dimian,  An- 
tinous,  Landius,  and  Ibrabius.  They 
belonged  to  the  city  of  Daperna  in  the 
Arab  country.  She  taught  her  five  sons 
medicine,  and  they  visited  sick  persons 
without  reward.  In  Diocletian's  perse 
cution  they  underwent  divers  tortures. 
They  were  kept  for  three  days  in  the 
furnaces  used  for  heating  the  baths. 
The  fire  did  them  no  harm,  and  their 
mother  encouraged  them  all  the  time 
and  bade  them  be  true  to  their  religion. 
As  she  also  kept  abusing  the  Emperor 
and  his  gods,  she  was  beheaded.  No  one 
dared  to  bury  her  until  her  eldest  son 
Kosman  cried  out,  "  0,  people  of  the 
city,  have  ye  no  pity  in  your  hearts,  that 
ye  do  not  carry  the  body  of  this  aged 
widow  to  burial  ?  "  Then  a  man  named 
Buktor  took  the  body,  wrapped  it  in  a 
shroud  and  buried  it.  The  king  ordered 
him  to  be  banished  to  Egypt,  where  he 
died.  Kosman  and  his  brothers  were 
beheaded.  When  the  persecution  was 
over,  people  built  churches  in  their 
memory,  and  many  miracles  rewarded 
their  devotion.  Butler,  Coptic  Churches. 
In  the  Western  Church  the  two  eldest 
of  the  brothers*  are  called  Cosmo  or 
Cosmas  and  Damian;  and  their  mother 
is  called  THEODOTE  or  THEODOSIA.  In 
their  Acts,  AA.SS.  Sept.  27,  it  is  said 
that  they  were  born  in  Arabia  and  lived 
at  ^Egea  in  Cilicia,  where,  in  the  perse 
cution  under  Diocletian,  they  were  tor 
tured  and  beheaded.  Butler,  Lives. 
Mentioned  as  THEODOSIA  by  Bzovius,  in 
a  tract  on  the  saints  of  the  medical  pro 
fession  whose  anniversaries  are  celebrated 
by  the  whole  Church.  (Cologne,  1623). 
St.  Theodora  (11),  April  28,  V.M. 
at  Alexandria  in  the  reign  of  Diocletian 
and  Maximian.  Sometimes  represented 
with  a  veil  over  her  face.  Eustratius 
Proculus  Imperius,  prefect  of  Alexandria, 
asked  who  she  was  and  whether  she  was 
free  or  a  slave.  She  answered,  "I  am  a 
Christian  and  made  free  by  Christ.  I 
am  also  born  of  what  the  world  calls  free 
parents."  Said  he,  "What  then  is  the 
reason  that  you  are  not  married?  Do 
you  not  know  that  the  Emperors  have 
ordered  that  you  virgins  shall  either 


sacrifice  to  the  gods  or  be  made  the 
disgrace  of  your  families  and  the  aversion 
of  all  virtuous  and  respectable  persons  ?  " 
Theodora  chose  rather  to  be  sent  to  a 
place  of  infamy  than  to  abjure  her  re 
ligion.  She  was  saved  by  a  young  man, 
named  Didymus,  who  disguised  himself 
as  a  Roman  soldier  and  changed  clothes 
with  her  to  let  her  escape.  •  Some  wicked 
people  coming  directly  after  to  visit 
Theodora  and  finding  Didymus  instead, 
said,  "How  is  this?  A  girl  came  in 
here,  but  this  seems  to  be  a  man.  We 
had  indeed  heard,  but  we  never  believed, 
that  Christ  turned  water  into  wine,  and 
now  it  seems  he  has  changed  a  woman 
into  a  man.  Let  us  go  away  from  this 
place,  lest  we  should  be  transformed  into 
women  or  something  worse."  The  suc 
cessful  plot  was  soon  discovered  and 
Didymus  was  condemned  to  death. 
Theodora  wished  to  take  the  blame  and 
the  punishment  on  herself;  they  dis 
puted  and  quarrelled  for  the  honour  of 
martyrdom,  and  finally  both  were  be 
headed.  (See  ANTONINA(I).)  EM.  Leg- 
gendario  delle  Santissime  Veryini.  Butler. 
Cahier. 

St.  Theodora  (12),  says  The  Golden 
Legend,  "  was  a  noble  woman  and  a  fair, 
in  Alexandria,  in  the  time_ jqfJZeno,  the— 
emperor"  (474-491).  She  was  ricEand 
had  a  good  husband,  who  appreciated 
her  beauty  and  good  qualities ;  but  she 
was  an  unfaithful  wife.  However,  her 
conscience  gave  her  no  rest.  The  sense 
of  her  guilt  made  her  miserable,  and  she 
feared  the  anger  of  God.  The  comfort 
of  her  home  and  the  goodness  of  her  in 
jured  and  unsuspecting  husband  were 
only  aggravations  of  her  misery ;  so  one 
day,  in  her  husband's  absence,  she  dressed 
herself  in  his  clothes,  and  ~went  to  a 
monastery  some  miles  from  the  city,  and 
there  she  was  admitted  as  a  monk,  under 
the  name  of  Theodoric.  Her  husband  at 
first  feared  she  had  deserted  him  for 
some  other  man,  and  was  in  great  dis 
tress.  After  some  years  he  was  told  in 
a  vision  to  go  into  the  Street  of  SS. 
Peter  and  Paul,  and  there  he  should  see 
his  wife ;  and  he  went.  That  morning, 
it  happened  that  the  abbot  had  ordered 
Theodora  to  go  into  Alexandria  to  buy 
oil  for  the  use  of  the  brotherhood.  She 


ST.   THEODORA 


255 


went  with  her  camels  to  the  market 
place,  and  saw  her  husband  standing  in 
the  street,  and  she  said  within  herself, 
"  Alas !  good  husband,  how  hard  I  labour 
that  I  may  have  forgiveness  from  God 
for  the  sin  I  have  committed  against 
you ! "  And  to  him  she  said,  "  The  Lord 
give  thee  joy."  But  he  did  not  know 
her,  and  after  waiting  a  long  time,  he 
went  home  disappointed. 

One  day  a  young  woman  brought  a 
child  to  the  abbot  and  told  him  that 
Brother  Theodoric  was  its  father.  Theo 
dora  felt  that  she  deserved  to  be  thus 
branded,  although  the  accusation  was 
false ;  so  she  offered  no  defence,  and  was 
expelled  from  the  monastery,  taking  the 
child  wifh  her.  She  fed  it  with  the  milk 
of  beasts  and  took  care  of  it  for  seven 
years,  during  which  the  devil  tempted 
her  in  divers  manners.  At  the  end  of 
the  seven  years,  she  was  again  received 
into  the  monastery  with  the  child.  Once 
the  abbot,  to  try  her  obedience,  sent  her 
to  fetch  water  from  a  lake,  where  there 
was  a  crocodile  so  fierce  that  the  prefect 
of  Alexandria  had  placed  a  guard  near 
the  place,  to  warn  people  not  to  go 
within  reach  of  the  monster.  She  went, 
in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the 
guard,  who  stood  watching  afar  off  and 
saw  the  creature  seize  her  and  drag  her 
into  the  middle  of  the  lake,  and  then, 
instead  of  devouring  her,  as  soon  as  she 
had  filled  her  pitcher,  he  brought  her 
safely  to  land  again.  She  reproached 
him  for  having  killed  so  many  persons, 
and  he  fell  down  dead. 

Soon  after  this  the  abbot  had  a  vision 
which  revealed  to  him  her  sex,  her  sin, 
her  repentance  and  her  holiness.  He 
went  immediately  to  her  cell  and  found 
her  dead.  He  at  once  sent  for  the  father 
of  her  accuser  and  convinced  him  that 
she  had  been  slandered.  He  was  then 
directed  by  an  angel  to  go  into  the  city 
and  bring  the  first  man  lie  met.  He  met 
Theodora's  husband  arid  said  to  him, 
"  Whither  so  fast  ?  "  And  he  answered, 
"  My  wife  is  dead  and  I  am  going  to  see 
her."  So  they  returned  together,  and 
Theodora's  husband  took  her  place  among 
the  monks  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  and 
the  child  walked  in  the  steps  of  his  good 
nurse  and  eventually  became  abbot  of 


that  monastery.  R.M.  Villegas.  Pcr- 
fctt<5"Lecfcjrndario. 

The  incident  of  the  crocodile  is  not 
found  in  the  oldest  versions  of  the 
legend. 

Theodora  (13),  Dec.  30,  V.  Leo  III., 
the  Isaurian,  in  769  gave  to  his  son 
(grandson)  Christopher  Caesar,  a  wife 
Theodora,  daughter  of  Theophilus,  a 
patrician,  and  Theodora.  She  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  monastery  of  Eigidion, 
and  wished  to  take  the  veil  there.  On 
the  wedding  day  the  Scythians  invaded 
the  Greek  provinces,  and  the  bridegroom 
had  to  go  against  them.  He  was  killed, 
and  the  bride  returned  to  her  monastery, 
where  she  died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity 
and  is  honoured  in  the  Greek  Meneas. 
Du  l^resne,  Historia  Byzantinac  Familiae 
Augustae,  105. 

St.  Theodora  (14),  Feb.  11,  812- 
868.  Eepresented  crowned,  a  large  cross 
on  her  robe,  in  her  hand  the  picture  of 
a  saint.  In  the  year  830,  Theophilus, 
the  young  Emperor  of  the  East,  was  a 
widower.  The  most  beautiful  maidens 
of  the  empire  were  assembled  that  he 
might  select  a  wife,  and  Theodora, 
daughter  of  the  Tribune  Marinus  of 
Ebissa,  had  the  preference  over  all  her 
rivals.  Theophilus  died  in  843  and  left 
her  regent,  in  the  minority  of  her  son 
Michael  III.,  "the  Drunkard."  In  re 
turn  for  a  certificate  from  the  Church, 
that  her  husband's  sins  as  an  iconoclast 
were  pardoned,  she  made  use  of  her 
power  to  overthrow  iconoclasm.  The 
policy  of  the  iconoclastic  Emperors  for 
more  than  a  century  was  set  aside,  and 
picture-worship  was  reinstated  in  the 
Eastern  Church.  Theodora  further 
manifested  her  zeal  for  orthodoxy  by  the 
persecution  of  the  Paulicians,  ten  thou 
sand  of  whom  perished  during  her 
regency,  while  larger  numbers  took  re 
fuge  with  the  more  tolerant  Saracens. 
She  ruled  with  decision,  acuteness  and  ad 
ministrative  ability.  Without  oppress 
ing  the  people,  she  accumulated  an 
immense  sum  in  the  imperial  treasury. 
But  the  slur  rests  on  her  name,  as  on 
that  of  the  Empress  ST.  IRENE  (12),  that 
she  neglected  the  education  of  her  son, 
to  preserve  her  own  power.  She  forced 
him  into  a  marriage  that  was  distasteful 


256 


ST.   THEODORA 


to  him  and  from  that  time  her  influence 
waned.  The  Emperor  was  assassinated 
at  a  supper  party  given  at  her  rural 
palace  of  Anthimos.  She  lived  one  year 
into  the  reign  of  his  murderer  and  suc 
cessor,  Basil.  Like  Irene  she  owes  her 
canonization  to  the  part  she  played  in 
the  iconoclastic  controversy.  AA.SS. 
Mcnology  of  Basil.  G.  Finlay,  History 
of  Greece.  Lebeau. 

St.  Theodora  (15),  April  5,  +  c. 
880.  She  is  called  in  an  old  Greek 
menology,  THEODORA  MYROBLITIS,  Aug.  3. 
She  was  born  and  married  at  ^Egina. 
When  that  island  was  overrun  by  bar 
barians,  she  went  with  her  husband  to 
Macedonia.  There  she  had  a  daughter, 
whom  she  consecrated  to  God  by  making 
her  a  nun  at  Thessalonica.  On  her  hus 
band's  death  Theodora  took  the  veil  in 
the  same  convent  with  her  daughter,  and 
was  a  pattern  of  all  virtues  and  worked 
miracles.  AA.SS.  Mas  Latrie. 

B.  Theodora  (16),  Dec.  24,  1430- 
1469.  Theodora  degli  Annibali  was  born 
at  Rome  ;  she  was  daughter  of  the  Lord 
of  Molara  and  Francesca  Alberina :  both 
were  of  very  ancient  noble  families.  She 
resembled  six  great  saints  of  the  name 
of  Theodora.  She  was  much  impressed 
by  the  preaching  of  a  Franciscan  monk, 
Roberto  da  Lecce  of  Puglia,  afterwards 
bishop  of  Aquino.  She  determined  to 
become  a  nun,  and  being  attracted  by 
the  saintly  reputation  of  B.  MARGARET 
she  took  the  veil  under  her,  in  the  con 
vent  of  Santa  Lucia  at  Foligno.  The 
Pope  commanded  her  to  return  to  Rome. 
She  went  there,  accompanied  by  a  few 
nuns,  and  lived  in  the  convent  of  St. 
Cosmas  until  her  death.  Jacobilli,  Santi 
di  Foligno.  Gynecseum. 

St.  Theodosia  (1),  April  2  (THEO 
DORA,  in  French  THUISE  or  ETHUISE),  V. 
Perhaps  the  same  as  THEUDOSIA.  A 
beautiful  Christian  maiden  of  Ca3sarea  in 
Cappadocia,  where  Urban,  the  governor, 
persecuted  the  Christians.  She  grieved 
much  to  hear  of  their  sufferings,  but 
being  encouraged  by  God  in  a  vision,  she 
went  to  the  prison  and  requested  to  be 
admitted  to  see  and  comfort  the  Chris 
tian  prisoners.  The  jailer  seeing  that 
she  was  a  Christian,  shut  her  up  with 
the  others,  to  whom  she  said,  "  Receive 


me  amongst  you  that  I  may  gain,  with 
you,  the  crown  of  martyrdom."    They  all 
prayed  for  her  that  she  might  have  per 
severance,  and  immediately  a  great  light 
appeared  in  the  prison,  to  the  consolation 
and   encouragement   of  them   all.    Her 
father  and  mother  soon  came  to  look  for 
her,  and  reminding  her  that  she  was  the 
heiress  of  all  their  wealth,  reproached 
her  affectionately  for  causing  them  so 
much    grief  and   anxiety.     She   replied 
that  their  riches  were  nothing  to  her, 
who  hoped  to  inherit  Paradise,  and  per 
sisted  in  her  ambition  to  become  one  of 
the  martyrs.     She  was  condemned  to  be 
scalded  in  boiling  oil,  but  the  execution 
ers  were  unable  to  heat  the  oil.      She  was 
then  hung  up  a  day  and  a  night  by  her 
hair,  and  during  that  time,  great  numbers 
of  people  came  to  see  her  and  hear  her 
words  of  exhortation  and  comfort.  At  last 
some  one  ran  and  asked  Urban  why  he 
delayed  her  death,  for  she  would  soon  con 
vert  the  whole  city.     He  had  her  combed 
with  iron  hooks  and  rubbed  with  vinegar 
and  salt,  and  then  fettered  and  thrown 
into  prison,  where  he  said  she  should  be 
left  until  she  died.     Some  days  after 
wards  they  went,  expecting  to  find  her 
dead,  but  they  found  her  praying,  and  all 
the  chains  broken.     Urban  then  had  her 
thrown  into  the  sea  with  a  stone  round 
her  neck;  but  an  angel  saved  her  from 
drowning  and  brought  her  safe  to  land. 
She  was  next  shut  up  in  a  pen  with  a 
number  of  wild  beasts,  but  they  lay  down 
at  her  feet.    She  was  then  beheaded,  and 
was  buried  by  her  parents,  to  whom  she 
appeared  the  same  night,   in  gold  and 
crowned  with  light,  and   told  them  to 
give  all  their  riches  to  the  poor   and 
strive  to  gain  imperishable  treasures  in 
heaven.     She  is  worshipped  on  various 
days     in     the     Greek     Church.     B.M. 
AA.SS.    Leggendario. 

St.  Theodosia  (2),  THEODORA  (10). 
St.  Theodosia  (3),  July  8,  M.  early 
4th  century,  at  Caesarea,  with  twelve 
other  noble  matrons.  Mother  of  St. 
Procopius.  She  is  honoured  in  the 
Greek  Church,  and  her  name  is  in  the 
Ethiopian  hagiology,  June  30.  She 
is  mentioned  on  various  days  by  the 
Bollandists  among  the  Prsetermissi. 
AA.SS. 


ST.  THEODOTA    MERETRIX 


257 


St.  Theodosia  (4).    (Sec  ATHANASIA 

(00 

St.  Theodosia  (5).  (See  PELAGIA 
(8).) 

St.  Theodosia  (0),  THEODORA  (10). 

St.  Theodosia  (7).  (Sec  ALEXANDRA 
(3)0 

St.  Theodosia  (8),  May  2<),  M.  720. 
When  she  was  seven  years  old  her  father 
died  and  she  went  into  one  of  the  con 
vents  of  Constantinople  with  her  mother, 
who  died  there  leaving  all  her  substance 
to  Theodosia.  She  bought  three  images 
of  gold  and  silver,  namely  Christ,  the 
Virgin  Mary,  and  ST.  ANASTASIA  ;  all 
the  rest  of  her  money  she  gave  to  the 
poor.  When  the  Emperor  Leo  the 
Isaurian  succeeded,  he  decreed  the  de 
struction  of  holy  images;  he  deposed 
Germanus,  the  patriarch ;  and  ordered  the 
image  of  the  Lord  which  stood  over  the 
gate  called  j^Enea,  to  be  thrown  down 
and  burnt.  When  the  soldier  was  going 
up  the  ladder  with  his  axe  for  this 
impious  purpose,  Theodosia  and  several 
other  holy  women  threw  down  the  ladder, 
thereby  causing  his  death.  The  others 
were  beheaded,  but  Theodosia  being  the 
ringleader  was  more  cruelly  treated : 
after  being  scourged,  she  was  dragged  to 
the  meat  market,  and  there  the  execu 
tioner  seizing  a  ram's  horn  which  hap 
pened  to  be  lying  on  the  ground,  threw 
her  down  and  struck  it  with  all  his  force 
into  her  neck,  breaking  some  of  the  ver 
tebrae,  and  thus  causing  death.  AA.SS. 
Rev.  S.  Baring  Gould  describes  it  as  a 
riot :  the  women  were  pushed  and  driven 
by  the  soldiers  into  the  shambles  directly 
they  had  thrown  down  the  ladder  and 
killed  the  man,  and  there  Theodosia  was 
killed. 

St.  Theodota  (1),  July  3,  M.  early 
2nd  century,  with  Theodotus.  They 
reviled  the  Emperor  Trajan  and  his  gods, 
and  were  tortured  and  killed  with  a 
sword.  AA.SS.  Menology  of  Basil. 

St.  Theodota  (2).     (See  ANNA  (5).) 

St.  Theodota  f3\  Oct.  23,  M.  c.  230. 
A  matron,  of  a  noble  Roman  family  in 
Cappadocia.  The  Menology  of  Basil  says 
of  Pontus.  She  was  put  to  many  tortures 
for  the  faith,  and  miraculously  cured  of 
her  wounds,  in  prison,  by  an  angel ;  then 
cast  into  a  furnace  from  which  she 


VOL.  II. 


escaped  unhurt  while  the  flames  killed 
seventy  soldiers.  Simplicius,  the  pre 
fect,  took  her  with  him  in  fetters  to 
Byzantium,  and  thence  to  Ancyra.  On 
the  journey  her  bonds  were  miraculously 
loosed  every  day  at  the  ninth  hour,  that 
she  might  perform  her  devotions ;  when 
she  had  finished  praying  they  were 
replaced.  At  Ancyra,  Simplicius  be 
headed  St.  Socrates,  a  Christian  priest, 
who  had  overthrown  an  altar  of  Apollo. 
Theodota  was  again  put  in  a  furnace. 
She  requested  that  some  heathen  priests 
might  come  with  her  into  the  fire. 
Dorotheus,  a  priest  of  Apollo,  said  he 
would  follow  her  if  she  would  go  first. 
She  did,  and  he,  seeing  her  stand  unhurt 
in  the  flames,  followed  and  was  burnt  to 
death.  Simplicius  next  took  Theodota 
to  Nice  in  Bithynia,  where  the  people 
inclined  to  take  her  part  and  to  believe 
her  defended  by  the  gods,  when  they  saw 
how  all  attempts  to  hurt  her  were  in 
vain.  So  Simplicius  ordered  her  to  be 
beheaded ;  and  she  was  buried  by  So- 
phronius,  the  bishop.  She  is  commemo 
rated  with  St.  Socrates,  and  was  wor 
shipped  at  Constantinople  in  early  times. 
AAJSS. 

St.  Theodota  (4),  Dec.  22,  Aug.  2. 
Time  of  Diocletian.  Born  at  Nice  in 
Bithynia.  Hearing  of  the  fame  of  ST. 
ANASTASIA  (5),  Theodota  went  with  her 
sons  and  stayed  with  her  some  time. 
Leucadius,  the  prefect,  proposed  to  marry 
her.  She  asked  him  to  wait  a  little 
that  she  might  attend  to  the  saints. 
Meantime,  she  gave  all  her  property  to 
the  poor.  Diocletian  hearing  that  the 
prisons  and  racks  would  not  contain  all 
the  Christians,  ordered  that  the  whole 
sect  should  be  wiped  out  in  one  night : 
some  by  fire,  some  by  water,  the  rest  by 
the  sword.  Leucadius  gave  up  Theodota 
and  her  sons  to  Nicetius,  prefect  of 
Bithynia,  who  had  them  all  burnt.  R.M. 
AA.SS.  Baillct. 

St.  Theodota  (5),  THEODORA  (10). 

St.    Theodota   (6).    (See  ST.  AN- 

DRONA.) 

St.  Theodota  ( 7)  Meretrix,  Sept. 
29,  M.  318.  The  last  great  general 
persecution  of  the  Christians  was  over, 
but  local  persecutions  were  raised  at 
different  times  and  places,  and  on  various 

s 


258 


ST.   THEODOTA 


pretexts.  Oue  of  these  was  at  Philip- 
popolis,  the  ancient  Eumolpias  in  Thrace, 
during  the  war  between  Licinius  and 
Constantino.  Agrippa,the  prefect,  having 
ordered  a  general  sacrifice  to  Apollo, 
Theodota  refused  to  take  part  in  it.  On 
being  interrogated,  she  admitted  that  she 
had  led  a  sinful  and  disgraceful  life,  but 
said  that  she  had  now  become  a  Christian 
and  would  not  join  in  an  idolatrous 
sacrifice.  She  was  put  in  prison  for 
twenty  days,  which  she  spent  in  prayer. 
During  her  public  trial  and  torture,  she 
prayed  aloud  that  she  might  find  mercy 
for  her  sins,  and  thanked  God  that  one 
so  unworthy  was  permitted  to  suffer  in 
His  cause.  Finally  she  was  stoned. 
Butler. 

St.  Theodota  (8),  Sept.  2,  M.  at 
Nicomedia,  in  the  reign  of  Julian  the 
apostate.  Wife  of  St.  Paternus,  a  tri 
bune.  They  were  converted  to  Chris 
tianity  by  St.  Zeno ;  sixty-eight  soldiers 
were  converted  and  baptized  with  them. 
Next  day  they  were  all  handed  over  to 
Serapion,  who  caused  a  great  furnace  to 
be  heated,  and  ordered  that  all  who 
would  not  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  should 
be  cast  into  it.  The  new  converts  were 
firm,  and  a  woman  with  two  babies  came 
joyfully  to  join  the  band  of  martyrs. 
Serapion  seeing  their  constancy,  was 
converted  and  baptized  with  five  hundred 
and  twenty-two  soldiers  who  followed 
him  to  martyrdom ;  and  all  are  com 
memorated  together.  AA.SS. 

St.  Theodota  (9),  July  17,  M.  at 
Constantinople,  under  Leo  the  Iconoclast. 
Perhaps  the  same  as  THEODOSIA  (8), 
May  29.  EM. 

St.  Theodula,  in  French  THEOLE, 
Feb.  5,  V.  M.  c.  304.  Represented 
holding  a  nail  or  nails.  In  the  reign 
of  Diocletian  and  Maximian  a  certain 
Pelagius  was  sent  to  put  down 
Christianity  at  Anazarbus,  a  great  city 
of  Cilicia.  Theodula  was  soon  brought 
before  him,  and  as  she  openly  declared 
herself  a  Christian,  she  was  hung  by  her 
hair  on  a  cypress  tree  and  her  breast 
pierced  with  red-hot  bodkins.  Pelagius 
then  said  to  her,  "  Where  are  your  gods  ? 
Show  them  to  me  and  I  will  do  all  in 
my  power  to  honour  them."  Theodula 
was  taken  to  an  idol  temple,  where 


she  prayed  to  Christ,  and  the  statue  of 
Hadrian  fell  down  and  was  broken  in 
three  pieces.  She  returned  to  Pelagius 
and  said,  "  Go  and  help  your  god,  for 
a  great  misfortune  has  befallen  him." 
Pelagius  ran  to  the  temple,  and  seeing 
his  god  lying  on  the  ground  in  three 
pieces,  trembled  and  cried  out.  When 
the  Emperor  heard  of  it,  he  sent  some 
of  his  chief  courtiers  to  Anazarbus, 
with  orders  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of 
the  story ;  and  if  it  were  true  that  the 
idol  was  broken,  to  have  Pelagius  thrown 
to  the  beasts  of  the  circus.  When 
Pelagius  heard  that,  he  threw  himself 
at  the  feet  of  Theodula  and  entreated 
her  with  many  tears,  to  pray  to  her 
God  that  the  statue  might  be  restored, 
promising  on  that  condition  to  become 
a  Christian.  She  granted  his  request, 
and  when  the  Emperor's  messenger 
arrived,  he  found  the  image  of  Hadrian 
standing  uninjured  in  its  usual  place. 
He  returned  and  reported  this  to  his 
master,  who  wrote  to  Pelagius  to  torture 
the  saint  again  and  then  put  her  to  a 
horrible  and  lingering  death.  So  he 
had  her  again  pierced  with  red-hot 
bodkins.  Then  Helladius  said,  "  Give 
her  to  me  and  if  I  do  not  make  her 
sacrifice  to  the  idols,  cut  my  head  off." 
So  he  had  five  huge  nails  made,  and 
took  Theodula  away  to  his  own  house. 
Next  day  he  brought  her  back,  and 
confessed  himself  a  Christian ;  where 
upon  his  head  was  cut  off  and  his  body 
thrown  into  the  sea.  He  is  com 
memorated  in  the  Greek  Church,  Jan. 
24,  but  his  name  does  not  appear  in 
the  Roman  or  other  Western  calendars. 
Theodula  was  thrown  into  a  burning 
fiery  furnace,  where  she  stood  unhurt 
by  the  flames,  praising  God.  Pelagius 
exclaimed  in  a  rage,  "  What  can  I  do 
with  this  woman,  is  there  no  form  of 
death  for  her?"  Then  one  of  the 
bystanders,  named  Beothus,  cried  out, 
"  Give  her  to  me  :  I  am  not  so  silly 
as  Helladius,  to  be  converted  by  her 
foolish  superstitions."  So  he  took  her 
to  his  house.  Next  day  he  came  back 
with  her  and  said,  "  0  Governor,  I  also 
stand  before  you  to  confess  the  faith  of 
the  Christians.  It  is  better  for  me  to 
fail  in  my  promise  to  you,  and  to  be 


ST.   THEOPHILA 


259 


made  a  co-heir  with  Christ  than  to  keep 
my  promise  and  be  condemned  to  ever 
lasting  torture.  I  Jut  you  who  promised 
allegiance  to  our  God  on  condition  of 
his  helping  you  out  of  the  difficulty  of 
a  moment,  have  not  only  failed  to  keep 
that  promise  but  have  tortured  His 
servant  Theodula."  Beothus's  head  was 
immediately  struck  off  with  a  sword. 
Theodula  was  put  on  an  instrument  of 
torture  called  a  craticula,  with  pitch,  oil 
and  boiling  wax,  but  as  soon  as  her 
sacred  body  was  in  the  midst  of  the  fire, 
the  craticuJa  flew  in  pieces,  hurting  and 
burning  many  of  the  people.  She  was 
then  led  back  to  prison,  and  next  day  a 
new  funeral  pile  was  lighted  for  her, 
which  she  ascended  with  Evagrius, 
Macarius,  and  many  others,  and  died 
happily.  AA.SS.  Cahier. 

St.  Theognia,  Jan.  5,  V.  daughter 
of  ST.  EUPKEXIA,  honoured  at  Menis  in 
Sicily.  AA.SS. 

St.  Theola,  DULA  (1).  Mart,  of 
Salisbury. 

St.  Theole,  THEODULA.     Cahier. 

St.  Theonefana,  TENESTINA. 

St.  Theonia,  mother  of  St.  Elerius, 
and  superior  of  the  nuns  among  whom 
he  placed  ST.  WINIFRED.  AA.SS., 
Nov.  3. 

St.  Theonilla,  Aug.  23,  M.  c.  285. 
An  elderly  widow  ;  one  of  six  Christians 
brought  before  Lysias,  proconsul  of 
Cilicia,  at  ^Egea.  Immediately  after 
the  death  of  DOMNINA  (2)  on  the  rack, 
Theonilla  was  presented  to  the  pro 
consul,  who  said  to  her,  "You  have 
seen  the  fire  and  the  tortures  with 
which  the  other  Christians  have  been 
punished,  therefore  sacrifice  at  once  to 
the  gods."  She  answered,  "  I  fear  not 
your  punishments  but  the  eternal  tor 
ments  which  destroy  both  body  and 
soul."  Lysias  ordered  her  to  be  beaten 
and  bound.  He  ordered  her  to  be  hung 
up  by  her  hair  and  struck  on  the  face, 
and  had  her  stripped.  Theonilla  said, 
"  It  is  not  only  me  that  you  injure  and 
insult,  but  in  my  person  you  disgrace 
your  own  wife  and  mother."  In  answer 
to  questions,  she  said  she  had  been  a 
widow  three  and  twenty  years  and  had 
accustomed  herself  to  fasting,  watching, 
and  prayer,  ever  since  she  had  forsaken 


the  unclean  idols  of  the  heathen.  They 
shaved  her  head  to  increase  her  con 
fusion,  they  girded  her  with  thorns, 
they  stretched  her  out  between  four 
stakes,  and  finally  they  laid  live  coals 
on  her  stomach,  and  under  this  last 
torment  she  died.  Lysias  then  ordered 
her  to  be  sewn  up  in  a  sack  and  thrown 
into  the  water.  This  was  done  to 
prevent  the  surviving  Christians  from 
burying  the  bodies  of  their  friends  or 
preserving  their  relics.  Theonilla  is 
commemorated  with  DOMNINA  and  her 
child,  and  the  brothers  SS.  Claudius, 
Asterius,  and  Neon.  EM.  Their 
authentic  Acts  are  preserved.  AA.SS. 
Butler.  Baronius.  Surius.  Ruinart. 
Marty  rum  Acta.  The  Mcnolocjy  of  Basil 
gives  the  story  differently  and  makes 
her  day  Oct.  29.  According  to  this 
authority,  Theonilla  and  her  brothers 
went  to  Mopsuestia  and  appealed  to 
Lysias,  the  prefect  of  Cilicia,  to  recover 
their  inheritance  from  their  step-mother. 
Lest  the  property  should  be  given  to 
them,  she  denounced  them  as  Christians ; 
in  consequence  of  which,  the  brothers 
were  bound  with  chains  and  led  out  of 
the  city;  hung  on  posts  outside  the 
walls ;  stuck  with  nails,  and  so  died. 
Theonilla  was  hung  up  by  her  hair,  and 
beaten  until  she  rendered  up  her  soul 
to  God. 

St.  Theophano,  Dec.  16,  +  882  or 
892.  Daughter  of  Constantino  Marti- 
niake  and  Anna ;  she  was  married  to 
Leo  VI.  (886-911),  the  philosopher  or 
the  wise,  so-called  through  the  ignorance 
of  the  populace,  who  credited  him  with 
a  knowledge  of  astrology.  She  was 
crowned  by  her  father-in-law,  Basil  the 
Macedonian.  She  and  Leo  lived  in  the 
Magnaura  Palace.  She  was  extremely 
charitable  and  devout ;  was  unassailable 
by  the  vice  of  jealousy  and  never  re 
membered  an  injury.  A  few  days  after 
her  death  she  began  to  work  miracles. 
Leo  built  a  church  in  her  honour. 
Theophano  has  been  confounded  with 
an  earlier  and  with  a  later  empress  of 
the  same  name.  Ferrarius.  Baronius. 
Lebeau.  Finlay,  History  of  Greece. 
Du  Fresne. 

St.  Theophila  (1),  Feb.  0.  (See 
REVOCATA.) 


260 


ST.  THEOPHILA 


St.  Theophila  (2),  Dec.  28.  When 
the  guards  of  the  Emperor  Galerius 
searched  all  the  convents  in  and  near 
Nicomedia  for  ST.  DOMNA,  they  insulted 
the  consecrated  virgins  and  acted  as  if 
they  were  in  a  town  taken  by  assault. 
All  the  nuns  who  could  escape  fled  and 
hid  themselves  in  the  mountains.  They 
succeeded,  however,  in  taking  Theophila, 
who  was  very  beautiful  and  of  high  rank 
and  great  virtue.  She  prayed  :  "  Lord, 
take  care  of  me  for  I  have  not  even 
time  to  pray  to  Thee."  She  took  the 
book  of  the  gospels  out  of  her  bosom 
and  began  to  read  it  aloud.  A  bad  man, 
seized  with  terror,  trembled  and  fell 
dead  at  her  feet;  another  was  struck 
blind.  Several  conversions  ensued.  An 
angel  took  her  out  of  the  house  at  night, 
and  left  her  in  a  church.  R.M.  Daras, 
Les  Chretiens  a  la  cour  de  Diocletien. 
(See  DOMNA  (1).) 

St.  Theophila  (3),  GODELEVA. 

St.  Theopista  (1),  Sept.  20,  Nov.  2 
(PHILISTA,  TATIANA),  M.  at  Rome  under 
Hadrian,  A.D.  118,  with  St.  Eustace.  She 
was  wife  of  a  valiant  general,  Placidus 
by  name,  who  served  under  the  Emperor 
Trajan.  They  were  upright  and  charit 
able,  but  they  were  heathen.  One  day, 
however,  Placidus  who  loved  hunting, 
had  pursued  a  stag  into  a  remote  part  of 
the  mountains.  As  he  prepared  to  bring 
his  quarry  down,  he  saw  between  its 
horns  a  crucifix  of  dazzling  brilliancy,  and 
the  stag,  with  a  human  voice,  spoke  to  him 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Marvelling  much,  he  re 
turned  home  at  nightfall  and  related  the 
miracle  to  his  wife,  Tatiana.  He  found 
that  in  his  absence  Christ  had  been  re 
vealed  to  her  also.  That  night  they  sought 
the  high  priest  of  the  Christians  and 
were  baptized  with  all  their  household. 
Placidus  received  the  new  name  of  Eus 
tathius,  Tatiana  was  called  thenceforth 
Theopista,  and  their  two  sons,  Agapius 
and  Theopistus.  Not  many  days  slipped 
away  before  the  faith  of  the  new  converts 
was  put  to  the  test  by  bitter  adversity. 
They  lost  in  succession  their  servants, 
their  cattle  and  all  their  valuables.  "We 
have  become  an  object  of  scorn  to  all 
who  know  us,"  said  Theopista,  "let  us 
take  our  two  children,  for  they  alone 
remain  to  us,  and  leave  this  country." 


So  they  set  out,  on  foot,  for  the  sea-coast 
and  took  ship  for  Egypt.  During  the 
voyage  the  captain  of  the  vessel  was 
struck  by  Theopista's  beauty,  and  eagerly 
sought  an  opportunity  to  get  her  into  his 
power.  When  the  voyagers  came  to  dis 
embark,  they  had  no  money  to  pay  their 
passage.  The  captain,  secretly  delighted, 
said  he  would  retain  Theopista  as  a  pledge. 
Resistance  was  of  no  avail,  so  Eustathius, 
groaning,  went  on  his  way  with  his  two 
sons.  Very  soon  a  flooded  river  barred  his 
path.  He  bore  one  child  over  upon  his 
shoulder  and  was  making  his  way  again 
through  the  water  to  fetch  the  second, 
when  before  his  very  eyes,  a  lion  seized 
one  son  and  a  wolf  the  other  and  both 
beasts  made  off  into  the  forest.  In  a 
frenzy  of  despair  Eustathius  attempted 
to  end  his  life  in  the  river,  but  God 
brought  him  safely  from  the  water  with 
renewed  courage,  and  he  became  a  hired 
servant  in  a  village  named  Badyssus. 

Meanwhile,  Theopista,  with  eager 
prayers  to  heaven,  had  changed  the  heart 
of  the  ruffian  who  would  have  harmed 
her  and  he  became  her  protector  from  all 
evil.  When  at  length  he  died,  she  under 
took  the  charge  of  a  garden  in  a  strange 
land. 

Thus  fifteen  years  passed.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  enemies  invaded  Roman  ter 
ritory  and  the  emperor,  hard  pressed,  be 
thought  him  of  General  Placidus.  Search 
was  made  for  him  far  and  wide.  Eusta 
thius  desired  only  to  remain  in  obscurity, 
but  two  soldiers  identified  him  by  a  scar, 
and  he  was  reinstated  in  his  command. 
He  recognised  at  once  that  the  strength 
of  the  Roman  army  was  insufficient  and 
directed  that  new  levies  should  be  raised 
throughout  the  empire.  Among  the  re 
cruits  were  two  youths  remarkable  for  the 
height  of  their  stature  and  the  nobility 
of  their  character.  He  attached  them  to 
his  bodyguard  and  loved  then  with  pecu 
liar  affection. 

The  campaign  was  pushed  far  into  the 
enemy's  country  and  it  so  befell,  that  in 
a  certain  village  of  the  barbarians,  the 
general's  tent  was  pitched  near  the  garden 
of  which  Theopista  had  the  charge,  and 
the  two  soldiers  were  quartered  in  her 
cottage.  As  they  reclined  at  noonday, 
they  fell  to  talking  of  the  days  of  their 


ST.   THERESA 


201 


childhood.  "  I  was  rescued  by  my 
foster-parents  from  the  paw  of  a  lion," 
said  one.  "  And  I  from  the  jaws  of 
a  wolf,"  said  the  other;  and  with 
emotion  they  discovered  that  they  were 
brothers.  Theopista  pondered  all  their 
words. 

On  the  morrow  she  went  to  the  general 
to  beseech  him  to  take  her  back  to  Rome. 
But  while  she  pleaded,  she  recognised  her 
husband,  by  the  scar  upon  his  forehead, 
and  made  known  to  him  who  she  was. 
With  tears  of  joy  and  gratitude  they  em 
braced.  "  My  lord,  where  are  our  sons  ?  " 
said  Theopista.  "  They  have  been  de 
voured  by  wild  beasts,"  he  replied,  and 
recounted  how  he  had  lost  them.  "I 
believe  that  God  has  given  us  back  our 
sons  also,"  returned  she,  and  bade  him 
send  for  the  two  young  soldiers.  Once 
again  they  related  the  story  of  their  child 
hood  and  it  was  clear  to  the  father  and 
mother  that  these  young  men,  whom 
Eustathius  had  loved  while  he  thought 
them  strangers,  were  their  long-lost  sons, 
Agapius  and  Theopistus. 

A  little  time  after  this  happy  re 
union,  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  who  had 
succeeded  Trajan,  appointed  a  solemn 
thanksgiving  to  Apollo  for  the  success 
of  the  campaign.  Eustathius  boldly  re 
fused  to  sacrifice  and  proclaimed  his  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  Hadrian  in  wrath  con 
demned  the  whole  family  to  be  thrown 
to  the  beasts.  When  a  lion  would  not 
attack  them,  they  were  shut  in  a  brazen 
bull  and  a  fire  was  lighted  below.  Three 
days  later  the  Christians  recovered  their 
bodies.  The  fire  had  in  no  way  marred 
their  beauty  and  they  buried  them 
secretly. 

The  Bollandists  admit  the  authenticity 
of  the  martyrdom,  but  reject  the  legend. 
E.M.  AA.SS. 

Under  the  name  of  Eustace,  Eusta 
thius  is  numbered  among  the  AUXILIARY 
SAINTS. 

St.  Theopista  (2),  May  11.  Middle 
of  3rd  century.  Wife  of  St.  Anas- 
tasius,  a  corniculariits.  They  were  con 
verted  and  baptized  by  St.  Porphyry  at 
Rome,  with  their  two  daughters,  SS. 
EUPHEMIA  (7)  and  PRIMITIVA,  and  four 
sons.  They  all,  with  three  other  persons 
of  the  same  household,  were  beheaded  at 


Camerino  in  Umbria :  some  martyr- 
ologies  say  under  the  Emperor  Decius, 
and  the  governor  Antiochus  ;  others  say, 
under  a  king  Antiochus,  and  governor 
Decius.  AA.8S. 

St.  Theopistis.     (See  SOTERIS  (2).) 

St.  Theoprepedes,  daughter  of  ST. 
LYDIA  (2). 

St.  Theoritgitha,  TORCHGITH. 

St.  Theosba  or  THEOSEBEIA,  Jan.  1 0, 
wife  of  St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  son  of  ST. 
EMILY  (1).  St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzus, 
son  of  Nonna  (7),  wrote  to  condole  with 
St.  Gregory  on  the  death  of  his  wife 
whom  he  praises.  Grseco-Slav.  Mart. 
Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Theosie,  Dec.  22,  THEODOSIA. 
Mart,  of  Salisbury. 

St.  Theospita,  THEOPISTA. 

St.  Theotild,  THIADILD. 

St.  Therbuta,  TARBULA. 

St.  Theresa  (1),  THERASIA  or 
TARASIA,  etc.  4th  and  5th  century. 
Wife  of  St.  Paulinus  of  Nola.  He  was 
a  Roman,  born  at  Bordeaux ;  she,  a 
Spaniard.  Both  were  rich  and  of  noble 
birth.  He  was  consul  before  379.  They 
had  one  son  who  died  young.  They 
buried  him  at  Alcala,  and  from  that  time 
they  gradually  withdrew  from  worldly 
affairs  and  ambitions.  Theresa  influenced 
her  husband  to  embrace  a  religious  and 
celibate  life.  They  sold  their  estates 
and  gave  everything  to  the  poor.  They 
were  much  ridiculed  and  abused  for 
doing  so,  and  especially  for  renouncing 
the  hope  of  having  heirs.  St.  Jerome, 
on  the  contrary,  in  writing  to  Paulinus, 
about  the  year  395,  praises  their  mode 
of  life.  He  advises  Theresa  to  "hold 
aloof  from  married  ladies,"  and  if  the 
women  around  her  wear  gems  and  silk 
attire  while  she  is  poorly  dressed,  she 
is  neither  to  fret  nor  to  congratulate 
herself.  He  ends  the  letter—"  Kindly 
salute  your  reverend  sister  and  fellow 
servant  who  with  you  fights  the  good 
fight  in  the  Lord.  ..."  Paulinus 
became  bishop  of  Nola  in  Campania 
about  409,  and  died  in  431.  Theresa 
has  no  festival  but  is  remembered  on  her 
husband's  day,  June  22. 

Letters  are  extant  from  Paulinus  and 
Therasia  to  their  friend  St.  Evre 
(Apronius),  bishop  of  Toul,  and  Amanda 


262 


ST.   THERESA 


his  wife.  These  letters  show  that  they 
corresponded  regularly  once  a  year. 
There  is  reason  to  think  that  the  corre 
spondence  was  broken  off  by  the  inroads 
of  barbarians  about  40 7.  Butler.  Baillet. 
St.  Jerome,  letter  LVIII.  Jerome  spells 
her  name  Therasia.  ST.  THERESA  (7) 
of  Avila,  the  reformer  of  the  Carmelite 
order,  is  said  to  have  received  her  name 
in  honour  of  this  saint. 

St.  Theresa  (2)  or  THERASIA,  Dec. 
3,  M.  9th  century.  Wife  of  St.  Walfrid 
or  Valfridus  of  Redon,  both  martyred 
at  Groningen,  in  Holland.  Stadler. 
Cahier. 

St.  Theresa  (3)  or  TARASIA,  April 
25,  the  daughter  of  Veremund  II.,  king 
of  Castile.  Her  brother,  Alfonso  V. 
compelled  her  to  marry  Abdalla,  king  of 
the  Saracens  of  Toledo.  She  escaped 
from  him  and  ended  her  days  in  the 
convent  of  San  Pelayo  at  Oviedo.  She 
is  called  Saint  by  Bucelinus  and  by 
Wion,  and  she  is  mentioned  in  a  great 
many  calendars,  but  the  church  of 
Oviedo  has  always  refused  to  give  her 
any  regular  worship.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

B.  Theresa  (4),  July  15.  13th 
century.  Teresa  Gil  de  Vidaure  was  a 
wonderfully  beautiful  young  lady,  of 
noble  birth  at  Valencia.  She  was 
secretly  married,  as  his  second  wife,  to 
James  I.  the  conqueror,  king  of  Aragon. 
After  a  few  years  he  tired  of  her  and 
married,  in  1235,  Yoland  of  Hungary. 
The  bishop  of  Gerona  having  advised 
Theresa  to  appeal  to  the  Pope,  James 
sent  for  him  and  had  his  tongue  torn 
out.  The  Spanish  clergy,  upheld  by 
the  emissaries  of  the  holy  see,  summoned 
him  to  appear  before  them  as  a  penitent. 
To  satisfy  them,  he  had  to  build  several 
churches  and  monasteries  and  to  get  rid 
of  Theresa  and  all  her  claims.  He 
secured  to  his  two  sons  by  her,  the  rank 
of  royal  princes,  with  the  right  of  suc 
cession  to  the  crown,  in  the  event  of  his 
leaving  no  heirs  by  Queen  Yoland.  He 
gave  Theresa  a  palace,  which  had 
belonged  to  Zayda  or  Zaen,  a  Moorish 
king  of  Valencia.  Here  she  established 
a  convent  of  Cistercian  nuns.  She 
called  her  house  St.  Mary  of  Grace, 
but  among  the  people  it  retained  its 
name  of  La  Zaydia.  She  lived  in  great 


sanctity  and  her  body  remained  fresh 
and  sweet.  Henriquez,  Lilia  Cistercii. 
Bucelinus.  AA.SS.)  Prater.  Foster, 
Chronicle  of  James  of  Arragon,  Intro 
duction. 

St.  Theresa  (5)  or  TARASIA,  June  17, 
4-  1250.     Patron  of  Lorvan,  where  she 
founded  a  convent.     She  was  princess  of 
Portugal  and  queen  of  Leon.   Sister  of  ST. 
SANCHA  and  B.  MAFALDA.     Daughter  of 
Sancho  I.,  king  of  Portugal  (1185-1212). 
She  married  her  cousin  Alfonso,  king  of 
Leon    (1188-1214),    and    had    several 
children.     Alfonso  and  Theresa  were  a 
very  devoted  couple,  and  long  resisted 
the  decree  of  the  clergy  that  they  should 
separate  on  the  ground  of  consanguinity  ; 
but  the  country  was  desolated  by  famine, 
pestilence   and   war,   and   Theresa   was 
persuaded   that   these  evils  came  upon 
their  people  on  account  of  the  sin  of  the 
marriage  of  the  sovereigns.  The  marriage 
was  dissolved  and  she  became  a  nun  at 
Lorvan.    It  was  a  Benedictine  monastery 
of  great  antiquity,  respected  even  by  the 
Saracens  as  a  holy  place  ;  but  the  monks 
had  lapsed  from  their  first  fervour  and 
were  somewhat  lukewarm  in  their  piety, 
so    Theresa    had    them    removed    and 
replaced  by  nuns  of  the  stricter  Cister 
cian  order.     She  repaired   and   adorned 
the    house   and   church.     She    deferred 
taking    the   vows    until   within    a   few 
months  of  her  death,  as  she  wished  to 
retain  the  power  of  giving,  but  she  lived 
as  humbly  and  fasted  as  rigorously  as 
any  nun.     Her  brother,    Alfonso  II.  of 
Portugal,  succeeded  his  father  in  1212, 
quarrelled  with  her  and  St.  Sancha,  and 
tried  to  take  their  lands    for  himself. 
Theresa  fortified  her  towns  and  sent  for 
help  to  her  husband,  who  despatched  a 
force  to  her  assistance  under  her  son 
Ferdinand,  with  the  result  that  Alfonso 
had  to  withdraw  his  demands  and  leave 
his  sisters  in  peace.     When  Sancha  died 
in  her  own  convent  of  Alenquer,   her 
nuns   wished    to   bury   her   there,    but 
Theresa  stole  the  body  and  buried  it  at 
Lorvan.      She   died   in    1250   and   was 
buried    beside    her    sister.     They  were 
canonized  together  by  Clement  XL  in 
1705,  and  are  honoured  together,  June 
17,  the  day  of  Theresa's  death.     Three 
hundred  years  after  her  death,  the  body 


ST.   THERESA 


263 


of  Theresa  was  found  fresh  and  unin 
jured,  and  miraculously  strewn  with 
fresh  flowers,  which  was  interpreted  to 
prove  that  her  incestuous  marriage  was, 
because  of  her  ignorance,  not  imputed 
to  her  as  a  sin.  AA.SS.  Henriquez, 
Lilia.  Eisco,  Reyes  de  Leon.  Florez, 
Hfynas. 

B.  Theresa  (G),TARASIA  or  TARAJA, 
Sept.  3,  4-  1266.  Patron  against  ear 
ache.  She  was  a  servant  to  the  priest 
of  the  church  of  Ourem  or  Santarem, 
near  Lisbon.  One  day  she  saw  a  beggar 
naked  at  the  gate.  She  gave  him  an  old 
cloak,  which  her  master  had  left  off 
using.  When  ho  heard  of  it,  he  was 
"  very  angry  and  insisted  on  her  making 
good  the  loss  to  him.  She  represented 
to  him  that  he  had  plenty  of  clothes 
lying  in  a  chest  in  danger  of  being  eaten 
by  moths;  but  he  continued  to  revile 
her  for  what  she  had  done,  and  to  insist 
on  her  getting  back  his  cloak.  In  her 
perplexity  she  remembered  that  God  was 
more  liberal  than  her  master.  She 
prayed  to  Him.  An  angel  brought  her 
a  cloak  like  the  lost  one,  and  she  gave  it 
to  her  master,  but  next  morning,  as  he 
was  going  into  the  church  to  say  mass, 
he  saw  the  beggar  wearing  his  old  cloak  ; 
and  understanding  what  had  happened, 
he  treated  his  servant  with  greater 
respect  ever  after.  One  day,  in  church, 
she  was  so  absorbed  in  religious  con 
templation  that  she  did  not  hear  the 
doors  shut  or  the  keys  turned,  and  so 
she  had  to  stay  there  all  night.  She 
slept,  and  when  the  gates  were  opened 
in  the  morning,  she  lamented  that  she 
could  not  make  the  bread  ready  in  time ; 
but  when  she  went  into  the  house,  she 
found  that  the  angels  had  not  only 
baked  the  bread  but  had  taken  it  out  of 
the  oven  and  put  it  in  the  cupboard, 
where  it  was  still  warm  and  ready  for 
use.  AA.SS. 

St.  Theresa  (7)  or  Teresia  of  Jesus, 
Oct.  15,  Aug.  27, 1515-1582.  Patron  of 
Spain,  of  the  Carmelite  Order  and  of 
Avila. 

Represented  (1)  as  a  Carmelite  nun  ; 

(2)  as  a  Doctor  of  Theology,  holding  a 
book  and  a  pen,  a  dove  hovering  near 
her  ear,  to  symbolize  direct  inspiration  ; 

(3)  in  a   group   with    the   four    saints 


canonized  on  the  same  day ;  (4)  conver 
sing  with  St.  John  of  the  Cross,  her 
spiritual  son  and  the  first  monk  who  took 
the  habit  under  her  reform ;  (5)  holding 
a  flaming  heart,  emblem  of  piety  and 
love  ;  (6)  her  heart  pierced  by  an  angel 
with  a  dart ;  (7)  with  a  scroll  bearing 
the  words,  " Aut  pati  aut  mori"  or 
"  Miserecordias  Domini  in  Acternam  can- 
tabo;"  (8)  meeting  the  Child  Jesus  in 
the  cloister  of  her  convent. 

Teresa  Sanchez  Cepeda  Davila  y  Ahu- 
mada  was  born  of  an  ancient  family  at 
Avila,  "  the  grim  border  fortress  of 
Castille."  Alfonso  Sanchez  de  Cepeda, 
her  father,  was  twice  married ;  Teresa 
was  the  third  child  of  his  second  wife, 
Beatriz  Davila  y  Ahumada.  Her  parents 
were  devout  people.  "  It  helped  me," 
she  wrote,  "  that  I  never  saw  my  father 
and  mother  respect  anything  but  good 
ness."  Alfonso  loved  good  books  and 
had  them  in  the  Spanish  tongue  that  his 
children  might  read  them.  The  lives  of 
the  Saints  impressed  the  practical  mind 
of  his  little  daughter  in  a  way  which  he 
had  not  expected.  At  seven  years  old 
she  set  out  with  her  brother  Rodrigo  to 
seek  martyrdom  at  the  hands  of  the 
Moors,  because  martyrs  went  straight  to 
heaven.  From  her  mother,  whom  she 
lost  when  she  was  twelve  years  old, 
Teresa  inherited  delicate  health  and  a 
taste  for  the  romances  of  chivalry.  The 
brothers  and  sisters  used  to  sit  up  at 
night  reading  Rolando,  and  Don  Belianis 
and  Amadis  of  Gaul.  "  So  completely 
was  I  mastered  by  this  passion,"  Teresa 
says,  "  that  I  thought  I  could  not  be 
happy  without  a  new  book."  A  year 
and  a  half  spent  in  the  Augustinian  con 
vent  of  Sta.  Maria  da  Gracia,  where  girls 
like  herself  were  educated,  put  an  end  to 
the  romance  reading  and  the  small 
vanities  incidental  to  girlhood.  Between 
the  years  1532  and  1533  Teresa  was 
balancing  in  her  mind  the  married  life 
her  sister  had  chosen,  against  a  religious 
vocation.  A  visit  paid  to  a  saintly 
uncle,  who  was  about  to  enter  a  monas 
tery,  turned  the  scale  in  favour  of  the 
convent.  "  Though  I  could  not  bend 
my  will  to  become  a  nun,"  she  says,  "  I 
saw  that  the  religious  state  was  the  best 
and  the  safest,  and  thus,  little  by  little, 


ST.   THERESA 


I  resolved  to  force  myself  into  it."  The 
discipline  of  Santa  Maria  da  Gracia,  with 
which  she  was  familiar,  was  too  strict  for 
her  views  at  that  time,  and  she  decided 
to  go  to  the  convent  of  the  Incarnation, 
just  outside  the  south  wall  of  Avila, 
where  her  friend  Juana  Suarez  was  a 
nun.  Her  father,  however,  steadily  re 
fused  his  consent.  Teresa  was  his 
favourite  daughter,  and  the  utmost  she 
could  extract  from  him  was  his  permis 
sion  to  do  as  she  pleased  after  his  death. 
Early  in  the  morning,  and  secretly,  lest 
her  natural  affection  should  overcome 
her  purpose,  Teresa  fled  from  her  home. 
Her  brother  Antonio,  whom  she  had  per 
suaded  to  choose  the  same  vocation,  went 
with  her.  That  day  the  Sisters  of  the 
Incarnation  sent  word  to  Alfonso  de 
Cepeda,  that  his  daughter  was  with  them 
asking  to  become  a  nun.  He  went  to 
the  convent  at  once,  and  seeing  her  de 
termined,  unselfishly  gave  his  consent. 
She  made  her  profession  a  year  after 
wards,  Nov.  3, 1534.  The  convent  of  the 
Incarnation,  which  Teresa  had  chosen, 
observed  the  mitigated  Carmelite  Rule, 
made  necessary  by  the  loss  of  the  primi 
tive  fervour  of  the  Order  and  sanctioned 
by  Pope  Engenius  IV.  The  Sisters  were 
not  bound  by  any  rule  of  enclosure,  and 
the  convent,  when  she  entered  it,  was 
practically  "  a  part  of  the  general  society 
of  Avila."  For  nearly  thirty  years 
Teresa  was  a  member  of  this  community. 
She  entered  it  Dona  Teresa  Sanchez 
Cepeda  Davila  y  Ahumada,  she  went  out 
Teresa  of  Jesus.  A  long  battle  with 
self  intervened.  By  command  of  her 
confessors,  she  herself  wrote  the  history 
of  the  whole  period,  in  the  wonderful 
book  of  mystical  theology  known  as  her 
"Autobiography,"  which  in  her  lifetime 
was  twice  in  the  hands  of  the  Inquisi 
tion,  but  now  ranks  in  the  Roman  Church 
with  the  Confessions  of  St.  Augustine. 

The  first  delight  in  religion  which  she 
experienced  when  she  had  taken  her 
vows,  was  interrupted  by  a  severe  illness. 
The  change  in  habits  of  life  and  food 
seriously  affected  her  health.  She  left 
the  convent  to  be  nursed  by  her  sister. 
During  four  years  her  disease  defied 
medical  skill;  the  doctors  of  Castile 
were  able  to  make  her  worse  but  not 


better.  At  one  time  she  lay  for  several 
days  in  a  swoon  so  deathlike  that  every 
one  believed  she  was  dead  except  her 
father;  a  grave  stood  open  for  her  in 
the  burial  ground  of  her  convent,  part  of 
the  burial  service  was  said,  and  when 
she  revived,  she  found  that  wax  had 
already  been  dropped  upon  her  eyelids. 
The  trance  left  her  paralysed.  She 
attributed  her  recovery  to  the  interces 
sion  of  St.  Joseph,  to  whom  in  gratitude 
she  afterwards  dedicated  many  of  her 
foundations. 

She  still  suffered,  however,  from  at 
tacks  of  sickness,  fainting  fits  and 
paroxysms  of  pain ;  and  this  bad  health 
increased  the  difficulties  of  her  spiritual  • 
life.  For  a  period  "of  nearly  twenty 
years  she  passed  her  days,"  to  borrow  a 
phrase  from  the  Bollandists,  "  now  dry, 
now  bedewed  \uth  divine  consolation." 
Mental  prayer  was  an  effort.  "  I  was 
more  occupied  with  the  wish  to  see  the 
end  of  the  time  I  had  appointed  for  my 
self  to  spend  in  prayer,"  she  writes,  "  and 
in  watching  the  hour-glass,  than  with 
other  thoughts  that  were  good."  The 
way  of  life  in  the  convent  was  easy  and 
the  secular  people  of  Avila  were  not  dis 
couraged  when  they  came  to  gossip  with 
the  shrewd  and  witty  Dona  Teresa. 
Teresa  was  exercised  in  mind  about  these 
conversations.  They  seem  to  have  taken 
the  place  of  romance  reading  and  she 
liked  them  too  well  to  give  them  up ; 
yet  she  felt  they  were  wrong.  "  I  was 
once  with  a  person,"  she  writes,  "it 
was  at  the  very  beginning  of  my  ac 
quaintance  with  her — when  our  Lord 
was  pleased  to  show  me  that  these 
friendships  were  not  good  for  me.  .  .  . 
Christ  stood  before  me  stern  and  grave, 
giving  me  to  understand  what  in  my 
conduct  was  offensive  to  Him.  I  saw 
Him  with  the  eyes  of  the  soul  more  dis 
tinctly  than  I  could  have  seen  him  with 
the  eyes  of  the  body."  A  picture  was 
painted,  from  Teresa's  description  of  this 
vision,  depicting  Christ  bound  to  the 
pillar  and  scourged.  It  now  hangs  in  the 
locutorium  of  the  Incarnation.  Teresa 
was  greatly  disturbed  and  resolved  not 
to  see  that  person  again,  but  she  still 
continued  to  talk  with  other  visitors. 
"  She  halted  between  two  sides,"  say  the 


ST.   THERESA 


205 


Bollandists,  "  accommodating  herself  by 
turns  to  God  and  to  man  and  giving 
herself  wholly  to  neither."  "When  I 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  pleasures  of  the 
world,"  she  writes  herself,  "the  remem 
brance  of  what  I  owed  to  God  made  me 
sad,  and  when  I  was  praying  to  God  my 
worldly  affections  disturbed  me." 

The  year  1555  has  been  marked  by 
her  biographers  as  a  crisis  in  her  life. 
Her  attention  was  arrested  by  a  picture 
of  the  Passion  of  Christ,  which  had  been 
procured  for  an  approaching  festival  and 
placed  in  the  convent  oratory.  Teresa 
loved  such  pictures,  the  sufferings  of  the 
wounded  Christ  painted  with  realism 
and  devotion,  pierced  her  heart.  She 
threw  herself  on  the  ground  before  the 
picture  and  felt  every  worldly  ambition 
die  within  her.  From  that  time  prayer 
became  an  ever  increasing  delight.  While 
she  prayed  she  was  subject  to  a  species 
of  trance,  of  brief  duration,  during  which 
she  saw  visions.  Her  superiors  and  her 
confessor  attributed  them  to  delusions  of 
the  devil.  In  extreme  perplexity  her 
self,  she  sought  the  advice  of  the  Fathers 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  then  in  its  first 
glory.  They  prescribed  for  her  a  more 
rigorous  asceticism  and  under  their  direc 
tions  the  visions  grew  in  vividness.  The 
most  famous  of  them  all  is  that  of  the 
transverberation  of  her  heart,  which 
seems  to  have  frequently  occurred.  It 
is  commemorated  in  her  Order,  Aug.  27. 
She  saw  an  angel  standing  by  her  side 
with  a  golden  spear,  tipped  with  fire, 
which  he  thrust  again  and  again  into 
her  heart.  She  described  it  as  "  an 
imaginary  vision  seen  by  the  eyes  of  the 
soul,"  yet  it  caused  her  extreme  pain, 
bodily  as  well  as  spiritual,  which  lasted 
several  days.  Shortly  after  this,  to  give 
expression  to  the  great  love  which  burned 
in  her  soul  for  God,  she  took  the  vow — 
since  called  the  Seraphic  or  Teresian 
vow — never  in  action  to  do  what  was 
the  less  perfect.  For  five  years  she  kept 
it  blamelessly,  but,  because  she  and  her 
confessors  found  it  almost  impossible  to 
decide  what  was  the  less  perfect  course, 
she  was  absolved  from  it. 

Teresa's  visions  continued  for  many 
years  ;  and  all  Avila  long  remained  per 
plexed  as  to  their  source.  It  was  the 


talk  of  the  town  and  the  convent  that 
Donna  Teresa  was  bewitched.  But  the 
greatest  men  of  her  Church,  such  as  St. 
Francis  Borgia  and  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara, 
bade  her  praise  God  and  abide  in  the  full 
conviction  that  her  prayer  and  her  visions 
were  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Thirty-three  reasons  for  this  opinion 
were  found  among  Teresa's  papers  and 
are  attributed,  by  the  Bollandists,  to 
St.  Peter  of  Alcantara.  Her  love  to 
God  was  strengthened  by  these  trials  and 
the  life  of  her  convent  was  fast  becoming 
too  narrow  for  her  ardent  spirit.  She 
longed  to  serve  God.  "  Yet,"  she  writes, 
"  I  am  not  able  to  do  more  than  adorn 
images  with  boughs  and  flowers,  clean  or 
arrange  an  oratory,  or  some  such  trifling 
acts,  so  that  I  am  ashamed  of  myself." 
Meanwhile  beyond  the  walls  of  the  In 
carnation,  in  Spain  and  on  the  continent, 
the  spread  of  the  Keformation  was  caus 
ing  the  destruction  of  many  monasteries. 
Teresa  saw  the  reason  for  this  devasta 
tion  of  the  strongholds  of  her  beloved 
Church,  in  the  decay  of  monastic  disci 
pline.  In  her  Autobiography  she  spoke 
boldly  against  it.  "  The  way  of  religious 
observance  is  so  little  used,"  she  writes, 
"  that  the  friar  and  the  nun,  who  would 
really  begin  to  follow  their  vocation 
thoroughly,  have  reason  to  fear  the 
members  of  their  community  more  than 
all  the  devils  in  hell." 

One  festival  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount 
Carmel,  several  nuns  had  gathered  in 
Teresa's  cell  (which  often  re-echoed  with 
merry  peals  of  laughter,  somewhat  to  the 
scandal  of  her  confessors)  ;  among  them 
were  Teresa's  friend  Juana  Suarez  and 
a  young  and  light-hearted  novice,  Maria 
de  Ocampo,  afterwards  Teresa's  devoted 
disciple.  They  began  to  talk,  "  in  a 
kind  of  play  or  joke,"  of  the  difficulties 
and  vexations  belonging  to  the  kind  of 
life  they  were  living.  "  Let  us  all  here 
and  now,"  cried  Maria  impulsively,  "  go 
and  live  another  life  of  greater  solitude 
like  the  hermits."  And  she  declared 
herself  willing  to  set  aside  a  thousand 
ducats  from  her  fortune,  to  buy  a  house 
for  that  purpose.  A  vision,  which  pro 
mised  that  the  monastery  should  become 
a  star  shining  in  great  splendour,  en 
couraged  Tcrosa  to  proceed  with  the 


266 


ST.   THERESA 


idea.     She  began  to  take  steps  towards 
the  foundation  of  a  small  house,  without 
any  endowment,  in  which  thirteen  nuns 
might  obey  the  primitive  Carmelite  Rule 
without  any  mitigation,  sleep  on  straw, 
fast  eight  months  in  the  year,   abstain 
from  meat,  live  in  perfect  seclusion,  and 
work  for  the  poor.     They  went  at  first 
barefooted   and  hence   were    known   as 
Descalzas.     But  as  soon  as  the  founda 
tion  was  mooted   in  Avila   a   storm  of 
opposition  arose.    The  prioress  and  nuns 
of  the    Incarnation   were   indignant   at 
what  looked  like  a  reflection  on  them, 
and  the  laity  of  Avila  took  their  part ; 
the  Provincial  of  the  Carmelites    sided 
with  the  majority  and  refused  to  receive 
the  new  foundation  under  his  jurisdic 
tion,  but  the  Bishop  of  Avila  and  other 
ecclesiastics  of  wider   views,   saw  that 
Teresa's  idea  might  be  very  fruitful  to 
the  Church  and  encouraged  her  to  pro 
ceed.     On  August  2-1,  1562,  mass  was 
said  in  the  new  convent  of  St.  Joseph. 
Teresa  was  present  on  leave  of  absence 
from  her  convent,  and  four  nuns  were 
installed.     All  had  so  far  been  done  as 
secretly  as   possible,  but   this   last  act 
could  not  be  concealed.     The  very  next 
day  a  convention  of  civil  and  ecclesias 
tical  authorities  assembled  and  ordered 
the  instant  removal  of  the  sacrament  and 
the  dissolution  of  the  convent.     Teresa 
was  peremptorily  ordered   back   to  the 
Incarnation.     Her  friends,  however,  suc 
ceeded   in   procuring  an  appeal  to  the 
Royal  Council  of  Madrid,  and  meantime 
the  four  nuns  were  allowed  to  remain  in 
the  new  house.     The  Royal  Council  de 
cided  in  favour  of  toleration,  and  after 
six  months'  delay,  Teresa  was  allowed  to 
settle  at  St.  Joseph's,  taking  with  her, 
from  the  Incarnation,  her  little  sister 
hood  of  reformers. 

The  five  years  which  she  spent  in 
establishing  and  directing  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph  were  the  happiest  and  most 
tranquil  of  her  life.  In  her  leisure  time 
she  rewrote  her  Autobiography,  as  we 
now  have  it.  She  also,  at  the  request 
of  the  sisters,  wrote  the  "  Way  of  Per 
fection,"  to  give  an  account  of  her 
method  of  prayer,  for  she  did  not  wish 
them  to  read  her  Autobiography,  "  lest 
they  look  for  revelations  for  themselves 


in  fancying  that  they  are  imitating  me." 
She  had  no  toleration  for  imaginary 
raptures  and  revelations.  The  directions 
which  she  laid  down  for  the  guidance 
of  her  foundations  are  marked  by  much 
common  sense.  She  liked  to  find  that 
a  young  nun  had  three  temptations — to 
laugh,  to  eat,  and  to  sleep.  For,  she  said, 
"  if  she  is  tempted  to  laugh,  she  is  of  a 
cheerful  disposition ;  if  she  is  tempted 
to  eat,  she  is  healthy ;  and  if  she  is 
tempted  to  sleep,  she  has  no  great  sins 
on  her  mind."  Of  all  virtues  she  set 
obedience  highest,  and  exemplified  it  by 
her  own  life.  "  The  best  things  I  know," 
she  said,  "  came  to  me  by  obedience  and 
not  by  revelation."  She  laughed  her 
nuns  out  of  small  self-indulgences. 

During  the  fourth  year  of  her  resi 
dence  at  St.  Joseph's,  the  General  of 
the  Carmelite  Order,  Fra  Giovanni 
Battista  Rossi,  made  a  visitation  in  Spain. 
Luther  had  roused  the  Church  to  a 
Counter-Reformation  and  the  General 
was  chagrined  to  find  that  so  fruitful  a 
work  as  Teresa's  had  not  been  supported 
by  the  Provincial.  He  commissioned  her 
to  found  other  monasteries  of  the  same 
rule,  for  men  and  for  women  in  Castile. 
This  commission  enabled  her  to  expand 
her  reform.  During  her  lifetime  sixteen 
other  houses  of  sisters  and  fourteen  of 
friars  were  established.  All  the  founda 
tions  for  nuns  were  made  by  herself, 
except  two,  Caravaca  and  Granada,  and 
in  many  of  those  for  friars  she  took  an 
active  share. 

She  has  left  a  full  account  of  her 
labours  in  the  Book  of  the  Foundations, 
begun  in  1573  by  command  of  her  Con 
fessor,  Father  Jerome  Ripalda,  as  a  sequel 
to  the  account  of  the  foundation  of  St. 
Joseph's  at  Avila,  which  is  included  in 
the  Autobiography.  It  is  a  most  readable 
book  and  a  rival  to  Don  Quixote  in  its 
pictures  of  Spanish  people  and  Spanish 
roads. 

At  first  the  foundations  were  fiercely 
opposed,  and  each  one  was  attended  with 
labour  and  difficulty.  "God  has  never 
permitted  any  foundation  of  mine  to 
be  set  on  its  feet  without  a  world  of 
worry,"  she  wrote  in  her  book.  At  Toledo 
she  had  only  five  ducats,  and  her  object 
was  exceedingly  unpopular,  "  Teresa 


ST.   THERESA 


267 


and  this  money  aro  indeed  nothing  :  but 
God,  Teresa  and  these  ducats  suffice  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  undertaking," 
she  said,  and  the  foundation  was  made. 

At  Pastrana,  the  Princess  of  Eboli 
gave  the  house.  On  her  husband's  death, 
she  asserted  her  right,  as  founder,  to 
become  a  sister  there.  On  the  first  day 
she  showed  a  violent  fervour,  the  next 
she  relaxed  the  rule,  and  the  third  day 
she  conversed  with  secular  persons  within 
the  cloister,  made  the  nuns  speak  to 
her  on  their  knees,  and  insisted  on  re 
ceiving  as  nuns  whom  she  pleased. 
Teresa  remonstrated.  The  Princess  said 
the  house  was  hers.  "  Yes,  madam,"  said 
Teresa,  "  but  the  nuns  are  not,"  and  she 
removed  them  to  Segovia,  where  she 
made  a  foundation  to  supply  the  place 
of  Pastrana. 

In  1571  her  labours  were  increased  by 
her  appointment  to  the  priorate  of  her 
old  convent,  the  Incarnation,  by  the 
"apostolic  visitor,"  whom  Pius  V.  had 
appointed  to  inquire  into  the  relaxa 
tions  in  the  Carmelite  Order.  He 
found  great  fault  with  the  Incarnation, 
"  that  among  fourscore  nuns,  inclosure 
and  solitude  were  not  better  observed." 
The  sisters  of  the  convent,  whose  rights 
of  election  had  been  over-ridden  in  this 
appointment,  were  incensed  that  a 
member  of  a  barefooted  community 
should  have  been  sent  to  reform  them, 
but  Teresa  won  them  by  her  gentleness 
and  tact,  and  before  many  weeks  had 
passed  they  asked  her  to  make  the 
reforms  she  wished,  and  when  her  three 
years  of  office  expired,  the  nuns  would 
have  re-elected  her,  had  not  the  Pro 
vincial  interfered  and  set  her  free  to 
carry  on  her  own  peculiar  work. 

Between  the  years  1576  and  1580  the 
progress  of  the  reform  was  completely 
interrupted  by  a  quarrel  between  the 
Calzados  and  Descalzados  friars.  Teresa 
made  a  foundation  at  Veas,  which, 
although  she  did  not  know  it,  was  in 
Andalusia  and  thus  outside  the  limits 
appointed  her.  The  latent  hostility  of 
the  old  Order  was  aroused,  and  the 
Calzados  friars  obtained  fresh  briefs 
from  Rome,  forbidding  Teresa  to  make 
any  more  foundations.  She  was  under 
arrest  for  two  years  at  Toledo,  while  her 


writings  were  submitted  to  the  Inquisi 
tion.  Her  letters  helped  to  guide  her 
reform  through  this  terrible  crisis.  She 
was  supported  by  Philip  II.  and  the 
Spanish  authorities,  who  bitterly  re 
sented  the  part  played  by  Italy.  The 
quarrel  was  finally  settled  by  a  bull 
from  Pope  Gregory  XIII.,  dated  June  22, 
1580.  The  Calzados  and  Descalzados 
were  made  two  separate  provinces,  each 
free  to  elect  its  own  officers. 

Teresa  was  now  in  her  sixty-fourth 
year,  old  and  broken  and  in  wretched 
health,  but  she  had  "many  leagues  of 
Castillian  road  yet  to  travel,"  in  her 
rude  cart,  which  often  sank  so  deep  into 
the  mire  that  the  mules  had  to  be  un 
harnessed  from  one  carriage  to  drag  out 
the  other. 

In  the  two  years  of  her  life  which  yet 
remained  she  founded  five  houses  of 
women  (at  Villanueva,  Palencia,  Soria, 
Granada  and  Burgos)  ;  but  she  no  longer 
worked  in  the  teeth  of  opposition. 
Municipalities  came  out  to  receive  her, 
while  church  bells  rang  and  Te  Deums 
were  sung.  The  labour  of  visiting  the 
foundations  she  had  already  made  was 
also  added  to  that  of  founding.  Some 
of  the  convents  had  been  left  too  much 
to  themselves  and  their  defection  grieved 
her  sorely.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph's 
at  Avila,  the  first  fruits  of  her  toil, 
rebelled  for  a  meat  diet.  Many  founda 
tions  had  after  all  to  be  endowed. 
At  Valladolid,  the  prioress  took  part 
against  her,  and  bade  her,  "  Go  and 
return  hither  no  more."  Amid  apparent 
failures  the  end  came.  She  reached  her 
foundation  at  Alba,  Sept.  20,  1582, 
brought  to  the  point  of  death  by  over 
work  and  starvation.  She  died  in  the 
arms  of  the  VEN.  ANNA  (28),  in  the 
evening  of  Oct.  4, 1582. 

There  is  now  but  one  house  of 
Reformed  Carmelities  in  Spain,  and  its 
foundation  dates  only  from  the  time  of 
the  late  Queen  Isabel,  but  the  order 
is  reviving  in  Northern  Europe,  and 
wherever  there  are  houses  of  Descalzados 
the  constitutions  of  St.  Theresa  aro 
observed. 

The  day  of  Teresa's  death  is  memor 
able  as  occurring  at  the  time  of  the 
reform  of  the  calendar.  She  died 


268 


ST.   THERESA   DE   LIGUORI 


October  4,  but  owing  to  the  suppression 
of  ten  days,  the  day  which  followed  was 
October  15,  the  day  on  which  her 
festival  was  appointed  to  be  kept. 

Teresa  was  beatified  in  1614  by  Paul 
V.  and  on  March  12,  1622,  she  was 
solemnly  canonized  by  Gregory  XV., 
together  with  St.  Isidore,  St.  Ignatius 
Loyola,  St.  Francis  Xavier  and  St.  Philip 
Neri.  She  is  the  only  woman  on  whom 
the  title  of  Doctor  of  the  Church,  has 
been  conferred. 

AA.SS.  Autobiography  and  Book  of 
Foundations,  containing  also  the  Car 
melite  Eule,  the  Constitutions  and  the 
Maxims  of  Saint  Teresa,  tr.  from  Spanish 
by  D.  Lewis.  Way  of  Perfection,  tr.  by 
Rev.  J.  Dalton.  H.  J.  Coleridge,  Life 
and  Letters  of  St.  Teresa.  M.  Trench, 
Life  of  Saint  Teresa.  Article  in  Quarterly 
Revieiv,  vol.  156.  Cahier. 

St.  Theresa  (8)  de  Liguori,  Oct. 
30,  -j-  1724.  Daughter  of  Francesco 
Liguori,  prince  of  Persiccio,  one  of  the 
noblest  and  wealthiest  families  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples.  Theresa  was  a  great 
heiress  and  it  was  intended  to  marry  her 
to  her  cousin,  St.  Alphonso  de  Liguori. 
The  parents  on  both  sides  wished  the 
marriage  to  take  place,  but  as  yet  no 
formal  engagement  had  been  made,  and 
Alphonso  himself  took  no  part  in  the 
negotiation,  when  the  Princess  Persiccio, 
Theresa's  mother,  had  a  son.  Theresa 
was  no  longer  the  great  heiress  she  had 
been,  and  Alphonso's  father  ceased  his 
attentions  to  the  family  and  spoke  no 
more  of  his  son's  marriage.  In  a  few 
months,  however,  the  child  died  and 
Don  Joseph  renewed  his  suit,  but 
Theresa,  who  had  been  deeply  hurt  by 
his  conduct,  said  it  was  evident  he  only 
sought  her  fortune,  not  herself,  and  that 
she  was  now  sensible  of  the  vanity  of  all 
worldly  marriages  and  would  have  no 
husband  but  Christ.  Accordingly,  in 
1719  she  took  the  veil,  in  the  convent  of 
St.  Mary  Magdalene  de  Pazzi,  or  of  the 
Holy  Sacrament,  where  she  lived  a 
saintly  life  for  five  years,  and  soon  after 
her  death,  Alphonso,  at  the  request  of 
the  abbess,  wrote  her  life.  Faber,  Life 
of  St.  AlpJionso  Liguori. 

Ven.  Theresa  (9)  of  the  Heart  of 
Jesus,  1747-1770.  Anna  Margarita 


Redi  was  of  a  noble  family  in  Tuscany, 
and  a  native  of  Arezzo.  She  became  a 
Carmelite  nun  in  1765,  taking  the  name 
of  Theresa  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus,  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Theresa  at  Florence,  where 
she  died  March  7,  1770.  The  discus 
sions  about  her  canonization  are  men 
tioned  several  times  in  the  Diaro  di 
Boma  from  1826  to  1831.  She  is  also 
among  the  saints  in  Mas  Latrie's  list. 

St.  Thergite,  TOECHGITH. 

St.  Therma  (1),  April  5,  M.  with  her 
sister  St.  TARBULA.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Therma  (2),  March  26,  M.  in 
Roumania.  Guerin. 

St.  Thermantia,  Oct.  12,  +  c.  60, 
honoured  with  her  husband  St.  Priscus, 
her  daughter  ST.  CHRISTES,  their  servant 
ST.  VICTORIA  and  St.  Hedistus.  When 
the'Emperor  Nero  had  gone  to  Lauren- 
turn  to  sacrifice  to  Diana,  some  of  the 
Roman  populace  took  advantage  of  his 
absence  to  rise  in  rebellion  against  him, 
which  caused  him  to  remain  away  from 
the  capital  longer  than  he  had  intended. 
During  that  time  he  often  went  to  an 
altar  of  Diana,  where  there  were  three 
grottos  containing  fountains  of  fresh 
water ;  and  he  went  hunting  and  riding 
with  his  soldiers  and  attendants.  Among 
them  was  his  famous  armour-bearer, 
Hedistus,  who  was  secretly  a  Christian 
and  had  been  baptized  by  the  Apostle 
Peter.  At  Laurentum  Hedistus  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Priscus,  a  Christian 
priest,  and  his  wife  and  daughter,  Ther 
mantia  and  Christes.  Priscus  had 
erected  a  Christian  altar  in  a  sand-pit  or 
catacomb  by  the  altar  of  Diana,  and  there 
Hedistus  went  to  attend  the  Christian 
services.  At  the  entrance  he  used  to 
meet  the  two  girls  who  were  stationed 
there  to  tell  Priscus  when  he  approached. 
He  became  thin  and  pale  from  fasting  and 
vigils ;  the  Emperor  remarked  it  and  bade 
him  consult  a  physician  and  take  care  of 
his  health.  At  the  same  time  his  servant, 
Florus,  observed  that  he  spent  the  night 
in  singing  hymns  and  saying  prayers,  and 
he  wondered  what  it  meant,  and  said  to 
one  of  his  fellow-servants,  "  Our  master 
is  growing  thin;  he  neither  eats  nor 
sleeps  and  he  often  goes  out  on  horse 
back  in  the  dark."  One  night  when  he 
was  just  going  to  mount  his  horse, 


ST.   THEITDOSIA 


269 


Floras    said    to  him, "  Where   are   you 
going  without    your    servant    and   un 
armed  ?  "     He  replied  that  he  was  going 
whore  his  soul  would  be  saved.     Florus 
continued,  "  Why  should   not   mine   be 
saved  too  ?  "     Hedistus  said,  "  The  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  Who  deigned  to  take  upon 
Him  the  form  of  a  servant,  is  powerful 
and  can  save  you  too."     Florus  hearing 
the  name  of  Christ,  cursed  his   master 
and  said  to  him,  "  You  do  not  seem  to 
me  to  be  taking  care  to  be  saved,  you  are 
much   more    likely   to    be  hurrying   to 
where   you  will   be   crucified  with  the 
guilty  Christians."      Hedistus   went   to 
the  meeting  of  the  Christians  neverthe 
less,  and  returned  and  took  his  place  as 
usual  in  the  Emperor's  presence.     Soon 
afterwards  Nero  ordered  baths  to  be  built 
with  all  possible  haste  at  Laurentum,  and 
ordered    that   the    architects   and    wise 
men  employed  for  the  work  should  do 
nothing    without    consulting   Hedistus. 
In  the  course  of  their  excavations,  they 
came  to  the  catacomb  where  St.  Priscus 
was  in  the  habit  of  celebrating  masses, 
and  they    announced    to  Hedistus  that 
they  had  found  a  great  open  space.     He 
therefore    forbade  any  one  to   enter   it. 
They  were  all  afraid  but  Hedistus  con 
tinued  to  attend  the  nightly  services  as 
before.     One  night  Florus  followed  him 
at    a    distance,    saw    him    talking    to 
Christes,  and  came  home  unobserved  by 
his  master.     Afterwards,  when  Hedistus 
was   sitting   at   dinner,  Florus   said  to 
him,  "I  have  been  ten   years  in   your 
service,  and  you  know  that  I  have  never 
betrayed   your  confidence  nor  repeated 
what  you  said  or  did.     If  you  ever  found 
me  out   in    such    an    offence,    you   can 
punish  me  if  you  choose.     Why  then  did 
you  not   deign    to    tell    me  about   that 
beautiful    girl    that    you    are    in    love 
with  ?  "     Hedistus  answered  with  tears 
that  the  maiden  of  whom  he  spoke  was 
worthy  of  all  respect  and  that  Florus  had 
utterly  mistaken  the  nature  of  their  in 
tercourse.       Florus,     disregarding     his 
master's  denial,  went  on   to  urge    that 
Christes  should  be  brought  to  the  house 
where   Hedistus   was  living.     Hedistus 
cut  him  short  with  an  angry  exclamation, 
adding,  "  If  I  ever  again  hear  a   word 
to  this  purpose  from  your  mouth,  I  will 


order  you  to  be  beaten  to  death." 
Florus  from  that  time  became  a  traitor 
to  his  master.  Nero  was  very  angry  and 
said,  "  In  the  place  where  Hedistus  is 
found  worshipping  the  God  of  the 
Christians,  he  shall  be  buried  alive,  and 
his  wealth  shall  be  given  to  his  accuser ; 
but  if  the  accusation  prove  false,  the 
traitor  shall  be  put  to  death."  That 
same  night  Florus  sent  to  tell  Nero 
that  Hedistus  was  in  the  catacomb  with 
the  Christian  priest.  The  Emperor 
ordered  that  he  and  all  who  were  with 
him  should  be  buried  alive  in  the 
sand-pit.  Accordingly,  he  was  buried 
in  the  sand  with  Priscus,  Thermantia, 
and  Christes;  Victuria  fled,  but  the 
heathens  overtook  her  in  the  grove  of 
Diana,  and  ran  her  through  with  a 
sword.  AA.SS. 

St.  Thessalonica,  Nov.  7,  daughter 
of  Cleon,  a  heathen  priest  at  Amphipolis 
in  Macedonia.  She  was  disinherited  and 
subjected  to  sundry  forms  of  persecution, 
on  account  of  her  conversion  to  Christi 
anity  ;  but  she  persevered  in  the  faith, 
and  died  in  peace.  R.M.  Mcnoloyy  of 
Basil. 

St.  Theta,  Oct.  27,  abbess,  O.S.B. 
8th  century.  Represented  taking  four 
keys,  presented  to  her  by  a  devil  in  the 
form  of  a  fox.  Guenebault.  Chaste- 
lain,  Mart.  Universal. 

St.  Thetha,  ETHA. 

St.  Theudosia,  THEODOSIA,  or  AURE- 
LIA  THEUDOSIA.  Supposed  3rd  century. 
Perhaps  Theodosia  (1).  Patron  of 
Amiens.  Her  body  was  found  in  the 
catacomb  of  St.  Priscilla  at  Rome,  in 
1842,  in  the  pontificate  of  Gregory  XVI., 
and  it  was  sent  to  Amiens.  This  was 
the  inscription  on  her  tomb — • 

AURELIAE  .  THEUDOSIAE  . 
BENIGNISSIMAE  .  ET  . 

iNCOMrARABILI    .    FEMINAE  . 

AURELIUS  OPTATUS 

CONJUGI  .  INNOCENTISSI.MAE 

DEP  .  PRID  .  KAL  .  DEC  . 

NAT  .  AMBIANA. 

B  .  M  .  F  . 

It  was  not  usual  to  indicate  the  birth 
place  of  the  early  Christians  :  this  seems 
the  only  instance.  Her  husband  was 
perhaps  a  Christian.  The  authenticity 
of  her  relics  and  of  the  signs  of  her 


270 


ST.   THEUSETA 


martyrdom  were  vouched  and  her  wor 
ship  authorised  by  Pope  Pius  IX.  Gene 
rally  when  a  martyr  is  found,  he  or  she 
is  allowed  to  be  worshipped  in  the  church 
where  his  or  her  relics  are  placed,  but  the 
worship  of  this  one  is  authorised  in  the 
whole  diocese  of  Amiens.  The  time  of 
her  martyrdom  is  uncertain,  but  to  all 
appearance  it  occurred  in  the  great  perse 
cution  of  Diocletian.  The  tomb  had  two 
separate  divisions  ;  in  one,  was  the  body 
of  Theodosia  and  the  vase  of  blood  placed 
beside  a  martyr  ;  in  the  other,  a  child  of 
ten,  probably  her  son,  and  probably 
brought  up  a  Christian.  Her  transla 
tion  to  Amiens  was  effected  with  great 
pomp,  about  twelve  years  after  the  dis 
covery  of  the  remains.  Le  Livre  de  Ste. 
Theudosie,  receuil  complet  des  documents 
.  .  .  edited  by  Mgr.  Gerbet,  1854. 

St.  Theuseta,  March  13.  This 
name  is  the  first  in  a  list  of  martyrs  com 
memorated  on  this  day.  In  the  oldest 
manuscript  calendars  the  writing  and 
description  are  so  obscure  that  it  is  im 
possible  to  tell  whether  all  of  them  died 
for  the  faith  together  at  Nice  in  Bithy- 
nia,  or  whether  they  are  to  be  divided 
into  three  bands  who  received  the 
honour  of  martyrdom  at  different  times 
and  in  different  places.  The  second  on 
the  list  is  HORISFULA,  V.,  otherwise 
written  Horro  filio  or  Horis  filii  ejus,  i.e. 
the  son  of  Theuseta ;  amongst  other 
names  are  NYMPHADOBA,  Parta,  Telia. 
Theuseta,  Horris  or  Horisfula,  NYMPHO- 
DORA,  THEODORA  (3),  ARABIA  or  ARIABA, 
and  Mark  were  burnt.  Henschenius 
thinks  Theuseta  was  a  man.  E.M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Theutberg,  Sept.  10,  V. 
Daughter  of  St.  Bodo,  bishop  of  Toul  in 
Lorraine,  who  founded  a  nunnery  in  the 
Vosges  for  her.  Martin. 

St.  Thewnew,  THENNEW. 

St.  Thiadild,  Jan.  30  (THIADILDIS, 
THEITELT,  THEOTILD,  THIATHILT,  THIA- 
TILT,  THIETELT),  9th  century.  First 
abbess  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Boniface 
at  Frcckenhorst  in  Westphalia.  She  was 
niece  of  ST.  GEVA  (2),  the  wife  of  St. 
Everwald  or  Everwerd.  Having  no 
children  they  adopted  Thiadild.  One 
night,  when  the  servants  were  making 
beer,  they  took  a  boiling  pot  off  the 


fire,  and  set  it  on  the  floor.  Thiadild 
just  then  jumped  out  of  her  cradle  and 
into  the  boiling  liquid,  and  her  nurse 
thought  she  was  killed,  but  Geva  and 
her  husband  vowed  that  if  God  would 
restore  her  to  them,  they  would  devote 
her  to  His  service  as  a  nun.  She  re 
covered.  About  the  same  time  Freckyo, 
their  swineherd,  saw  a  bright  light,  night 
after  night,  in  a  certain  place,  and  on 
examining  the  ground,  many  relics  of 
saints  were  discovered  on  the  spot.  Ac 
cordingly,  Geva  and  her  husband  built 
a  nunnery  there,  of  which  Thiadild 
eventually  became  abbess.  The  place 
was  called  Freckenhorst  from  the  name 
of  the  swineherd.  Everwerd  became  a 
monk,  and  Geva  ended  her  days  under 
the  saintly  rule  of  her  niece.  AA.SS. 
Strunck,  Westphalia  Sancta. 

St.  Thiathilt  or  THIATILT,  THIADILD. 

St.  Thibba,  TIBBA. 

St.  Thibea,  BARBEA. 

St.  Thietelt,  THIADILD. 

St.  Thilba,  TIBBA. 

St.  Thionia,  CHIONIA.    (See  AGAPE 

(3)0 

St.  Thomais  (1),  June  25,  V.in  the 
time  of  Diocletian.  A  nun  in  Mesopo 
tamia  and  a  witness  of  the  martyrdom  of 
ST.  FEBRONIA  (1).  Eazzi,  Donne  illustre 
per  santita. 

St.  Thomais  (2)  or  THOMAI'DES, 
April  14,  M.  of  chastity.  5th  century. 
A  matron  of  Alexandria,  murdered  by 
her  father-in-law,  who  was  immediately 
struck  blind.  He  confessed  his  crime, 
gave  himself  up  to  justice,  and  was  be 
headed.  E.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Thonna,  QUINTA. 

St.  Thorette,  shepherdess.  A  place 
in  Berri  is  called  after  her.  Guerin. 

St.  Thrasilla,  THARSILLA. 

St.  Thridenthea,  May  20,  M.  at 
Csesarea  in  Cappadocia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Thuise,  THEODOSIA  (1). 

St.  Thyelle,  M.     Guerin. 

St.  Thymagrate,  July  21,  M.  at 
Caesarea.  Guerin. 

St.Tia,  lA(3). 

St.  Tibba,  THIBBA,  TILBA,  or  THILBA, 
Dec.  16,  March  6.  7th  century.  Patron 
of  hawking  and  of  fowlers.  Tibba 
had  a  religious  house  at  Kyhall,  near 
that  of  her  relations  SS.  KYNEBURGA(I) 


ST.   TOSA 


271 


uud  KYNESWIDE.  She  was  taken  up  from 
her  grave  at  her  own  place  at  the  same 
time  that  they  were  removed  from  theirs, 
and  all  three  were  "  offered  to  St.  Peter," 
at  Peterborough,  in  one  day.  Tibba  is 
called  by  Camden,  "  a  saint  of  inferior 
order."  Bede.  Ferrarius.  Eckenstein. 

St.  Ticiawa,  mentioned  in  a  litany 
used  in  England  in  the  7th  century. 
Mabillon,  Vetera  Analccta.  Migne,  Pa- 
trologie.  English  Mart.  1761. 

St.  Tigridia  (1),  TIGEIDA,  or  TIGRIS. 
(See  DARERCA  (1).) 

St.  Tigridia  (2),  Nov.  22,  first  abbess 
ofOna.  llth  century.  She  was  younger 
daughter  of  Don  Sancho,  count  of  Castile, 
a  valiant  Christian  knight,  and  Dona 
Urraca,  his  wife.  Tigridia  wished  to  be 
a  nun.  Her  brother  Garcia  was  killed  in 
trying  to  get  for  himself  the  kingdom  of 
Leon.  Her  sister  Nuna  married  the  king 
of  Navarre  and  Aragon  and  became  heir 
to  the  county  of  Castile  on  the  death  of 
her  brother.  In  1002  her  parents  bought 
an  estate  and  built  a  monastery  near  Frias 
for  Tigridia  and  for  the  good  of  their 
own  souls.  After  nine  years,  when  it 
was  finished,  they  sent  for  Don  Sancho's 
sister  Onega  or  Iniga — a  nun  of  great 
piety  and  wisdom  at  Cillaperlata — to  rule 
the  house  until  Tigridia  was  old  enough 
to  be  its  abbess.  They  offered  the 
monastery  and  its  dependencies  to  the 
Saviour,  the  VIRGIN  MARY,  St.  Michael 
and  other  saints ;  they  also  offered  their 
daughter  Tigridia  to  be  over  the  monks 
and  nuns,  and  their  own  bodies  to  be 
buried  in  the  precincts.  She  is  called 
Saint  by  Tamayo,  Yepez  and  Marieta ; 
Florez  says  she  was  evidently  accounted 
as  such,  for  she  was  buried  in  the  church, 
while  even  kings  who  desired  to  be  laid  in 
that  convent  were  placed  in  the  cloisters. 
Her  parents  were  buried  there,  and  her 
brother's  body  was  removed  there  by 
order  of  his  brother-in-law.  Florez, 
Espaua  Sagrada. 

St.  Tigris,  TIGRIDA  or  TIGRIDIA  (1). 
(See  DARERCA  (1).) 

St.  Tilba,  TIBBA. 

St.  Timia,  April  27,  M.  at  Antioch. 
AA.SS. 

B.  Timo,  deaconess.  1st  or  2nd  cen 
tury.  Wife  of  B.  Themistagoras.  He 
is  mentioned  in  the  Life  of  St.  Auxibius, 


Feb.    19,    bishop   of    Solos    in    Cyprus. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Tina,  TUJA,  or  TULA,  May  10, 
M.  at  Tarsus  in  Cilioia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Tinaik,  CHRISTINA  (5). 

St.  Tinnea,  DARTINNA. 

St.  Tinodora,  given  in  some  Eastern 
Calendars  for  METRODORA.  (See  MENO- 
DORA.) 

St.  Tionia,  TEONIA.   (See  AGAPE  (2).) 

St.  Titiana,  July  17,  M.    AA.SS. 

St.  Titonia,  June  3,  Eoman  martyr. 
AAJ38. 

St.  Tochumra  or  TOCUMRA,  June  11, 
V.  Two  Irish  saints  bore  this  name  ; 
one  is  patron  of  the  parish  of  Tochum- 
racht  in  Munster;  the  other  was  speci 
ally  honoured  in  the  diocese  of  Kilmore, 
and  invoked  by  women  in  labour.  The 
histories  of  both  are  unknown.  Butler. 

St.  Toga,  DOGA. 

St.  Togle,  TYGRIA. 

St.  Tomaides,  THOMIAS  (2). 

St.  Tonita,  QUINTA. 

St.  Torchgith,  Jan.  26  (TORCTGYD, 
THEORITGITHA,  in  French  THERGITE),  7th 
or  8th  century.  A  nun  at  Barking, 
under  ST.  ETHELBURGA  (2),  whom  she 
assisted  in  the  education  of  the  younger 
nuns.  For  the  last  nine  years  of  her 
life,  Torchgith  suffered  from  a  painful 
disease  which  gradually  took  away  the 
use  of  her  limbs.  One  evening  as  she 
was  going  out  of  her  room,  she  distinctly 
saw  a  person,  wrapped  in  a  winding 
sheet  and  shining  like  the  sun,  drawn 
up  towards  heaven  from  the  roof  of  the 
monastery.  The  vision  was  prophetic 
of  the  death  of  the  holy  abbess :  which 
occurred  a  few  days  afterwards.  Torch 
gith  lived  three  years  longer,  but  her 
malady  increased  so  much  as  to  deprive 
her  entirely  of  the  power  of  walking  and 
of  speech.  A  few  days  before  her  death, 
she  recovered  the  use  of  her  tongue  and 
was  heard  conversing  with  the  departed 
abbess  and  begging  her  to  pray  that 
she  might  be  released  from  her  suffering 
life.  Ethelburga  promised  that  she 
should  die  in  the  night  of  the  following 
day,  and  Torchgith  gave  thanks  to  God 
in  an  audible  voice.  Bede.  AA.SS. 
Britannia  Sancta. 

St.  Torette,  TAURETA. 
St.  Tosa,  DOGA. 


272 


ST.   TOSCAINE 


St.  Toscaine,  TUSCANA. 

St.  Touina,  TWINA. 

St.  Trabia,  March  13,  M.    AAJ3SL 

Guerin. 

St.  Tracia,  Sept.  20,  M.  in  Tin-ace. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Tradlins,  TRIDUANA. 

St.  Trallew,  TRIDUANA. 

B.  Tranquilla,  nun  at  Cordova,  with 
her  mother  B.  SPECIOSA  (2). 

St.  Transilla,  May  2.    AA.SS. 

St.  Treddles,  THIDUANA. 

St.  Tredwall,  TRIDUANA. 

St.  Trefe,  the  daughter  of  a  king  ot 
the  Scots.  She  made  the  pilgrimage  to 
Eome  with  her  three  sisters  and  two 
brothers.  After  their  return  they  were 
buried  in  different  churches  in  Tyne- 
dale.  No  proof  of  her  worship.  Stanton, 
Menology,  from  William  of  Worcester. 

St.  Trefonia,  TROFIMENA. 

Triads.  Miss  Eckenstein  says  that 
where  groups  of  three  women  are^  hon 
oured  with  pilgrimages  and  with  riotous 
festivals  among  the  peasantry,  although 
they  are  called  Saints,  the  worship  has 
originally  been  that  of  heathen  goddesses, 
for  whose  names  those  of  Christian  Saints 
have  been  substituted.  Such  are  ADELA 
(2),  IRMINA  and  CLOTILDIS,  of  whom 
Irmina  at  least  was  a  real  person ;  CUNE- 
GUND  (1),  MECHTUND  and  WIBHAND  ; 
PELLMERG,  SCHWELLMERG  and  KIRSCH- 
MERG;  EINBETTA,  VORBETTA  and  VILL- 

BETTA. 

St.  Triaise,  June  8,  June  9,  Aug.  10 
(IRIAISE,  TRIEZE,  TRIANE,  TROCERA,  TRO- 
GACIA,  TROJERIA,  TROJECIA),  V.  of  poor 
parents  in  Poitou,  4th  century.  Repre- 
sented  with  her  teacher  St.  Hilary,  who 
placed  ST.  FLORENCE  (3)  under  her  care. 
Despising  earthly  things,  Triaise  made 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  chief  churches  in 
Aquitaine  and  stopped  at  that  of  St. 
Stephen  at  Kode  or  Eouergue,  where 
she  led  an  angelic  life  with  great  devo 
tion  and  asceticism.  AA.SS.  Cahier. 
Saussaye,  Aug.  16.  French  Mart., 
June  8. 

St.  Triane,  TRIAISE. 

St.  Tridisane,  TRIDUANA. 

St.  Triduana,  Oct.  8  (KIDUANA, 
TUADLINS,  TPALLEW,  TREDDLES,  TKED- 
WALL,  TRIDISANE,  TRODLHEIMA,  TROLL- 
HAENA,  TRULLEN),  V.  4th,  6th,  or  8th 


century.  One  of  three  virgins  of  Co- 
losse,  who  accompanied  St.  Eegulus  when 
he  brought  the  relics  of  St.  Andrew  to 
Scotland.  She  lived  with  her  two  com 
panions,  POTENTIA  and  CINERIA,  at  Res- 
coby  in  Forfarshire,  until  a  prince  of 
the  neighbourhood  annoyed  her  by  his 
admiration,  when  she  fled  to  Dunfallandy 
in  Athol.  He  sent  her  word  that  he 
was  dying  for  her  eyes,  so  she  plucked 
them  out  and  gave  them  to  the  mes 
senger.  She  passed  the  rest  of  her  life 
at  Eestalrig  in  Lothian,  where  her 
worship  was  popular  until  the  Reforma 
tion.  She  was  buried  either  there  or  in 
Caithness.  By  another  account  she  was 
a  virgin  abbess  who  went  with  St. 
Boniface  and  ST.  CRESCENTIA  (5)  to 
Scotland. 

In  1201  John,  bishop  of  Caithness, 
was  cruelly  mutilated  by  Harold,  earl 
of  Caithness,  on  account  of  a  supposed 
preference  for  Ronald,  king  of  Man,  a 
rival  claimant  of  the  earldom.  During 
the  tortures  the  bishop  invoked  St.  Tro- 
dlheima,  and  at  her  tomb  he  eventually 
recovered  his  speech  and  sight. 

AA.SS.  Adam  King.  Forbes.  Keith, 
Scottish  Bishops.  E.  W.  Robertson, 
Scotland  under  her  Early  Kings. 

St.  Trieze,  TRIAISE. 

St.  Trifene,  TRYPHENA  (3). 

St.  Trifenna,  TRYPHENA  (1). 

St.  Triffiene,  TROFIMENA. 

St.  Trifima,  TRYPHENA  (4). 

St.  Trifina.  Mentioned  in  a  litany 
used  in  England  in  the  seventh  century. 
Compare  with  TRYPHENA  and  TROFIMENA. 
Mabillon.  English  Mart.  (London, 
1761). 

St,  Trifomena,  TROFIMENA,  or  TRY 
PHENA. 

St.  Triformia,  TROFIMENA. 

St.  Triphona  or  TROPHINA,  etc., 
July  5,  M.  in  Sicily  with  Agatho. 
E.M. 

St.  Triphonia  (1),  June  3,  V.  M. 
Stadler. 

St.  Triphonia  (2),  TROFIMENA. 

St.  Tripphema,  TROFIMENA. 

St.  Trocera,  TRIAISE. 

St.  Trodlheima,  TRIDUANA. 

St.  Trofimena,  June  5  (TREFONIA, 
TRIFENA,  TRIFFINE,  TRIFOMENA,  TRIFOK- 
MIA,  TRIPPHEMA,  TRIPHOMENA,  TRIPHONIA, 


ST.   TRYPHONIA 


273 


TUOFINA,  TROPIIIMA,  TEorHONA, 
M.\,  TRYPHENA,  FEBRONIA  (5),  etc.,  etc.), 
patron  of  Minori,  in  the  diccese  of 
Amain.  The  people  of  Minori,  headed 
by  their  bishop,  petitioned  the  Pope  that 
to  avoid  confusion  this  saint  might  be 
called  Trofimcna  only,  and  that  all  the 
other  forms  of  her  name  should  be  dis 
used  :  this  was  decreed  by  the  Congre 
gation  of  Eites,  Jan.  21,  1673.  It  is 
certain  that  the  saint  has  been  worshipped 
for  a  very  long  time,  although  no  one 
knows  who  she  was  or  when  she  lived. 
Her  grave  was  discovered  early  in  the 
ninth  century,  by  a  poor  woman  who 
was  washing  clothes  in  the  river.  She 
laid  the  clothes  on  a  little  mound  at  the 
edge  of  the  river  and  beat  them  very 
hard,  and  while  doing  so,  her  arms 
withered  and  let  fall  her  work.  She 
was  much  alarmed  and,  lest  her  tongue 
should  be  paralysed  also,  she  would  only 
tell  the  story  in  the  presence  of  many 
priests.  The  relics  of  St.  Trofimeua 
were  found  buried  in  the  monnd.  Their 
miraculous  powers  at  once  became  evi 
dent,  and  they  were  translated  by  the 
bishop  into  the  cathedral  of  Amalfi, 
about  839.  AA.SS.  Suardo,  prince  of 
Salerno,  attacked  Amalfi  in  the  hope  of 
obtaining  the  saint's  body ;  he  carried  off 
a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants,  but 
after  a  few  years  they  burnt  his  capital, 
returned  to  Amalfi,  and  threw  off  his 
yoke.  Hare,  Cities  of  Southern  Italy. 

St.  Trogacia,  TRIAISE. 

St.  Trojecia,  TRIAISE. 

St.  Trojeria,  TRIAISE. 

St.  Trollhaena,  TRIDUANA. 

St.  Trophima  (1),  TROFIMENA  or 
TRYPHENA  (4). 

St.  Trophima  (2),  July  13,  M.  at 
Alexandria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Trophina,  TRIPHONA,  also  TROFI 
MENA. 

SS.  Trophonia  (l)  and  Antonia 
(4),  June  4,  W.  MM.  commemorated 
by  Greven,  but  unknown  to  the  Bollan- 
dists. 

St.  Trophonia  (2),  TROFIMENA. 

St.  Truthgeba  or  TRUTHGITH,  LIOBA. 

St.  Trynnihid,  wife  of  St.  Iltutus, 
knight,  abbot  in  Brittany  when  King 
Arthur  was  reigning  in  Britain.  Sanc- 
torale  Cafholicum. 

VOL.  II. 


SS.  Tryphena  p)  and  Tryphosa, 
Nov.  10.  St.  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Romans  xvi.  12,  says,  "  Salute  Tryphena 
and  Tryphosa  who  labour  in  the  Lord." 
They  were  probably  deaconesses  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  Legend  says  they 
were  converted  at  Iconium  by  SS.  Paul 
and  THECLA  (1).  Tryphena  was  the 
name  of  the  Queen  in  the  Acts  of  Paul 
and  Tliecla,  from  which  circumstance 
the  two  saints  at  Rome  may  be  confused 
with  inhabitants  of  Iconium.  ~R.M. 
Compare  with  TRYPHENA  (2). 

St.  Tryphena  (2),  the  queen  in  the 
legend  of  ST.  THECLA  (1),  was  wife  of 
Cotys,  king  of  Thrace,  who  died  before 
A.D.  19.  She  was  born  B.C.  8  or 
earlier,  and  had  three  sons,  kings 
respectively  of  Thrace,  Pontus  and 
Armenia  Minor.  Ramsay,  Church  in 
the  Roman  Empire. 

St.  Tryphena  (3),  Jan.  31,  M.  of 
Cyzicus.  Invoked  to  procure  milk. 
Represented  with  a  bull.  Daughter 
of  Anastasius,  a  patrician  who  was  a 
heathen,  and  Socratia,  a  Christian.  At 
a  heathen  feast  Tryphena  courted 
martyrdom  by  rushing  in  among  the 
people,  spitting  on  the  articles  sacred 
to  the  idols  and  abusing  the  gods  and 
their  worshippers.  She  was  put  in  an 
oven,  then  on  the  cquuleus,  then  hung 
up  at  a  great  height  and  let  fall  on 
nails  which  were  fixed  in  the  ground 
with  their  points  upwards.  Finally  she 
was  thrown  to  a  bull  that  gored  her  to 
death.  Where  her  blood  fell  on  the 
ground  a  fountain  sprang  up,  the  water 
of  which  had  healing  properties.  H.M. 
AA.SS.  Menology  of  Basil.  Menzel. 

St.  Tryphena  (4),  TRIFIMA,  TROPHIMA 
(1),  etc.,  one  of  the  martyrs  of  Lyons 
who  died  in  prison.  (See  BLANDINA.) 

St.  Tryphonia  or  CEPHINIA,  Oct. 
18,  28,  wife  of  Decius,  legend  says  the 
Emperor  Decius,  but  this  is  uncertain. 
Decius  having  put  to  death  SS.  Sixtus 
and  Lawrence,  was  seized  with  horrible 
torments  and  kept  calling  on  the  martyrs 
to  cease  their  vengeance  for  a  few  minutes 
and  give  him  a  respite  from  his  suffer 
ings.  Tryphonia  set  at  liberty  as  many 
Christian  captives  as  she  could,  and 
hastened  with  her  daughter  ST.  CYRILLA 
(1),  to  the  priest  St.  Justin,  and  begged 


274 


ST.   TRYPHOSA 


him  to  baptize  them  both.  She  died 
next  day  and  was  buried  beside  St. 
Hippolytus.  The  story  may  be  founded 
on  fact  but  the  Acts  are  spurious.  R.M., 
Oct.  18  and  28.  AA.SS.,  Oct.  28. 
Lightfoot,  Hippolytus. 

St.  Tryphosa  with  THYPHENA  (1). 
St.  Tubia,  Jan.   2,  M.  at  Sirmium. 
AAJSOSL 

B.  Tudecha  or  TUDECA,  Aug.  24,  V. 
loth  century.  First  Cistercian  abbess 
at  Seefeldt.  Finding  herself  and  her 
nuns  too  much  disturbed  by  secular 
persons,  they  removed  to  Mount  Pussium. 
The  community  was  extremely  poor  and 
they  had  to  do  the  hardest  work.  B. 
ANNA  (17),  succeeded  her  as  abbess  of 
Seefeldt.  Henriquez,  Lilia.  AA.SS., 
Prceter. 

St.  Tudwen,  Oct.  27,  V.  in  North 
Wales.  Eice  Eees  could  find  out 
nothing  about  her  except  her  name. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Tuella,  perhaps  DERINELLA. 
St.  Tuillelaith,  TULELACIA. 
St.  Tuja,  TINA. 
St.  Tula,  TINA. 

St.     Tulelacia,      TUILLELAITH,     or 
TULETALIA,  Jan.  10,  abbess  of  Kildare, 
+    882.      She   was   very   pure   minded 
and   good,  daughter  of   Huargalach  or 
Uarghalach.     O'Hanlon.     Colgan. 
St.  Tuletalia,  TULELACIA. 
St.  Tulla,  June  2,  one  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  Koman  martyrs,  com 
memorated  together  in  the  Martyrology 
of  St.  Jerome.     AA.SS. 

St.    Tullia,    Nov.    16,    5th   century. 
Patron   of  Ste.    Tulle   (Basses   Alpes). 
Daughter  of  SS.  Eucherius  and  GALLA 
(7),  and  sister  of  ST.  CONSORTIA.    AA.SS. 
Migne,  Die.  d'Esthetique  Chretienne. 
St.  Tultella,  TUTBLLA. 
St.  Tuniana,  May  8,  M.  at  Byzan 
tium   with   St.  Acacius,     (See   AGATHA 
(2).)     AA.SS. 

St.  Tunilla,  JONILLA. 
St.  Tusca.     (See  TEUTEIUA.) 
St.    Tuscana   of   Verona,  July  14. 
Supposed    14th   century.      Widow   and 
nun.      Hospitalarian    of    St.    John    of 
Jerusalem.       Born     at    Jubeto,    seven 
miles  from  Verona,  of  a  noble  family. 
She   was    young   and   childless   at   the 
death  of  her  husband,  Albert  Canoculi. 


She  at  once  devoted  herself  to  works  of 
charity,  but  not  finding  enough  poor 
people  in  her  native  place,  she  went  to 
Verona.  There  she  lived  on  a  hill  with 
her  parents,  and  went  down  every  day 
to  the  church  of  the  Sepulchre,  where 
she  served  the  poor,  dressing  their 
sores,  etc.  Three  wicked  young  men 
went  to  her  house  when  they  knew  she 
was  alone,  and  got  in  at  the  window  one 
by  one.  Each  as  he  got  into  the  room 
and  saw  her  there  praying,  was  seized 
by  a  devil  and  strangled.  She  was  in  a 
great  fright.  She  could  not  hide  the 
corpses  and  expected  to  be  accused  of 
murdering  them.  Their  parents  scon 
traced  them  to  her  house,  and  went  to 
see  what  had  become  of  them.  After 
a  distressing  scene,  they  prevailed  on 
Tuscana  to  pray  for  the  resuscitation  of 
the  three  scamps.  So  they  came  to  life. 
Then  Tuscana  entered  the  Order  of  St. 
John  of  Jerusalem,  in  which  she  was 
distinguished  by  all  virtues.  A  few 
minutes  before  her  death  she  made  the 
priest  and  the  others  who  were  attending 
her,  promise  to  bury  her  in  the  road 
before  the  door  of  the  church  of  St. 
John,  where  men  and  beasts  and  carriages 
should  pass  over  her.  Her  request  was 
fulfilled,  but  supernatural  lights  and 
other  wonders  marked  the  spot,  and  the 
bishop  of  Verona  removed  her  into  the 
church  about  1343.  AA.SS.  Chastelain. 
Helyot.  Azevedo. 

St.  Tutela,  TEUTELA,  or  TEUTILLA, 
May  12.  4th  century.  Sister  of  St. 
Chryspolitus,  bishop  of  Vettona  or 
Bictoma,  not  far  from  Assisi  in  Umbria. 
He  converted  the  inhabitants  to  Chris 
tianity,  wrought  some  miracles  amongst 
them,  and  was  cut  in  two  with  a  sword. 
According  to  Plenschenius  this  occurred 
in  the  persecution  under  Diocletian  and 
Maximian,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century.  Jacobillus  and  Ughelli  place 
his  martyrdom  in  the  first  century. 
His  sister  Tutela  and  twelve  other 
women  came  to  see  his  death,  and  on 
their  refusal  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  they 
were  tortured  and  scourged  until  some  of 
them  expired  under  the  blows ;  the  others 
were  beheaded.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Tutella  or  TULTELLA,  March  3, 
M.  with  MARTiAand  others.  AA.SS. 


ST.  TYGIUA 


275 


St.  Twina  or  TOUINA.  Supposed  by 
Luzel  to  bo  a  daughter  or  some  relation 
of  Touiuianus.  A  little  chapel  at  Plouha 
(Cotes-du-Nord)  was  formerly  under  the 
patronage  of  St.  Touina  ;  it  is  now  con 
secrated  to  ST.  EUGENIA.  Sainte  Touine 
has  sometimes  been  supposed  to  be 
Sainte  Ouine,  but  Luzel  thinks  several 
veritable  ancient  Breton  saints  of  both 
sexes  have  been  lost  sight  of  through  ima 
ginary  identifications  with  better  known 
names  and  that  this  is  a  case  in  point. 

The  legend  is  more  like  a  fairy  story 
than  a  Christian  biography.  The 
standard  of  morality  is  not  very  high. 
Touina  suffers  under  the  unkindness  of 
a  wicked  step-mother  and  her  daughter. 
She  leaves  her  unhappy  home  and  goes 
to  live  with  a  robber  chief,  by  whom  she 
has  a  child.  As  she  is  not  allowed  to 
have  it  christened,  she  escapes  with  it, 
deposits  it  in  her  father's  house  and. 
hastens  to  Rome  to  obtain  absolution. 
The  Pope  refers  her  to  a  holy  hermit,  who 
takes  her  for  an  incarnation  of  evil  and 
refuses  to  listen  to  her.  Eventually  she 
is  placed  as  servant  in  a  family,  where 
the  hermit  occasionally  visits  her  and 
where  she  marries  the  son  of  the  house. 
The  hermit  having  instilled  into  her  the 
duty  of  kindness  to  the  poor,  she  vows 
never  to  refuse  the  request  of  a  beggar. 
Her  only  child  by  this  marriage  dies,  and 
true  to  her  promise,  she  gives  him  to  a 
beggar  to  eat.  The  child  comes  to  life, 
the  beggar  turns  out  to  be  the  hermit, 
and  dies  promising  to  receive  Twina  into 
everlasting  bliss  as  soon  as  she  shall  have 
completed  the  education  of  her  son.  The 
details  of  the  story  are  amusing.  It  is 
to  be  found  in  F.  M.  Luzel's  Loyendcs 
Cliretiennes  de  la  Basse  Bretagne,  which 
is  Vol.  III.  of  Litteratures  populaircs  de 
toutes  les  nations. 

St.  Tybie,  Jan.  IJO,  M.  Daughter  of 
Brychan.  Murdered  by  pagans  at 
Llandybie,  in  Carmarthenshire.  Bees. 
(Sec  ALMHEDA.) 

St.  Tydful,  Aug.  21,M.by  a  party  of 
Saxons  and  Picts,  at  Merthyr  Tydvil 
(Tydful),  with  her  aged  father  Brychan 
and  one  of  her  brothers,  whose  son 
incited  the  people  to  avenge  their  prince 
and  put  the  enemy  to  flight.  Rees. 
(See  ALMHEDA.) 


St.    Tydie,    daughter    of    Brychan. 
Rees.     (Sec  ALMHEDA.) 

St.    Tygria,     TYGIIIS,     TOGLE,     or 
TIIECLA  (17),  June  2o,  V.     Gth  century. 
She  lived  at  Mauriana,  now  St.  Jean  de 
Maurienne    in    Savoy,  in    the    time    of 
King  Gontram  or  Gunther.     She  had  a 
widowed  sister  Pigmenia,  and  they  led  a 
religious  life  together,  attending  to  the 
wants   of  the   poor  and    hospitably  re 
ceiving  pilgrims  and  priests.  It  happened 
that  some  pilgrims  returning  from  Jeru 
salem  to  Ireland  rested  on  their  journey 
at  the  house  of  the  sisters,  and  told  them 
how  the  relics  of  St.  John  the  Baptist 
had  been  carried  to  various  cities  of  the 
East,  working  miracles  everywhere,  and 
that     some     of     them     were     then    at 
Alexandria  in  a  church  dedicated  in  his 
honour.     Tygria  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Alexandria  and  bound  herself  by  a  vow 
not   to  leave  the  place   until    she  had 
obtained  some   portion    of    the    sacred 
relics.      The     priests    and    inhabitants 
would  not    give  her   what    she  wanted. 
She  remained  constantly  praying  before 
the    relics   for  two   years.     At  the  be 
ginning  of  the    third  year,  she  prayed 
that  God  would  not  disappoint  her  of 
what  she  had  so  long  prayed  for  and 
hoped  to    receive,  and  resolved   not  to 
rise  from  the  ground  until  her  petition 
was  granted,  choosing  to  die  there  rather 
than  to    depart    without   her    blessing. 
She  remained  there  fasting  and  weeping 
incessantly  for  three  days,  and  then  her 
prayer  was  granted,  for  she  saw,  outside 
the    sepulchre   of  the   Holy   Baptist,  a 
thumb  and  two  fingers  which  had  touched 
the  head  of  the  Saviour  when  He    was 
baptized    in  the  Jordan.     She  took  the 
heavenly  gift,  put  it  in  a  box  which  she 
had  long  had  ready,  and  feeling  her  lost 
strength    revive,    she    set   out    on   her 
return  to  her  own  country.     When  she 
had    gone    some    miles,   the  people    of 
Alexandria  began  to  think  it  was  absurd 
that  a  poor  pilgrim  should  be  allowed  to 
carry  off  the    treasure    which  was  the 
honour  of  the  kingdom  and  safeguard  of 
the  people,  and  they  pursued  her.     She 
was    dreadfully   afraid,   but    knew   not 
where  to  hide  herself  or  her  treasure,  so, 
commending  herself  to  Him  Who  had 
already    wrought    one    miracle    in  her 


270 


ST.  TYRIA 


favour,  she  took  the  fingers  out  of  the 
box  and  put  them  into  her  breast,  the 
flesh  of  which  instantly  closed  over  the 
relics ;  and  when  her  pursuers  arrived 
find  ordered  her  to  give  them  up,  she  said 
she  had  lost  them.  They  took  the  box 
and  finding  it  empty,  they  searched  her ; 
but  they  went  home  disappointed,  for  they 
found  nothing.  When  she  had  brought 
the  fingers  safely  home  to  Mauriana  and 
they  had  wrought  several  miracles,  three 
bishops  came  to  visit  them  and  to  obtain 
particles  of  the  relics  if  possible ;  after 
three  days  and  nights  of  prayers,  vigils 
and  fasting,  they  were  gratified  by  re 
ceiving  each,  one  drop  of  blood  from  the 
fingers.  Tygria  fearing  that  an  inroad 
of  pagans  or  any  other  accident  might 
deprive  her  of  her  treasure,  hid  herself 
and  it  at  a  place  called  Laconia,  where 
she  built  herself  a  little  hut.  One  day 
when  the  numerous  sparrows  annoyed 
her  more  than  usual  with  their  twitter 
ing,  she  commanded  them  in  the  name 
of  Christ  to  leave  the  place.  They 
immediately  flew  away.  Mauriana  at 
that  time  was  in  the  diocese  of  Turin, 
and  the  clergy  of  that  city  thought  they 
ought  to  have  the  relics  of  St.  John,  so 
they  represented  to  the  archbishop  that 
it  was  unseemly  to  leave  them  in  such 
an  insignificant  place,  and  begged  his 
leave  to  fetch  them.  He  said  to  Eufus, 
the  archdeacon,  "  I  dare  not  take  these 
holy  relics,  but  do  thou  what  seems  good 


to  thee."  Then  the  rash  Bufus  went  to 
the  church  where  the  relics  lay,  and 
irreverently  attempting  to  seize  the  box, 
he  became  mad  and  was  seized  with 
fever,  of  which  he  died  in  three  days. 
Everybody  saw  that  it  pleased  God  that 
one  man  should  die  as  a  warning,  lest 
many  should  perish  through  similar 
presumption.  King  Gontram  hearing  of 
these  miracles,  ordered  a  magnificent 
church  to  be  built  in  honour  of  God  and 
St.  Mary  and  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and 
endowed  it  with  lands  and  revenues. 
From  this  time  the  place  was  called  St. 
Jean  de  Maurienne;  St.  Felmasius  was 
its  first  bishop.  Tygria  knowing  that 
her  death  approached,  prayed  that  she 
might  live  to  see  the  festival  of  the 
Baptist  and  the  dedication  of  his  church. 
Her  prayer  was  granted.  After  attend 
ing  mass  on  St.  John's  day  she  gave 
what  she  had  to  widows  and  orphans 
and  settled  her  own  affairs.  Twelve 
widows  were  to  be  maintained  for  ever 
on  the  proceeds  of  her  estate  of  Valonia, 
which  she  made  over  to  the  church  of 
St.  John  Baptist  for  that  purpose. 
AA.S8.  from  an  ancient  manuscript  in 
the  church  of  St.  Jean  de  Maurienne. 

St.  Tyria,  April  6,  M.  at  Alexandria. 
AA.88. 

St.  Tzabala-Marja,  Oct.  21. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter.,  from  the  Ethiopian 
calendar. 


U 


St.  Uanfinnia  or  BRONFINNIA,  Oct. 
12.  Mother  of  St.  Mobius  or  Movean, 
the  Lame,  abbot  of  Glasnaidhen  in  Gal- 
way,  who  died  544.  AA.SS.,  Appendix. 
The  mother  appears  this  day  in  the 
Mart,  of  Tallaght. 

St.  Ubaldesca,  May  28,  1136-1206. 
Patron  of  Pisa,  where  she  died,  a  nun  in 
the  convent  of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem.  Represented  with  the  eight- 
pointed  cross  of  her  order  on  her  shoul 
der,  a  pot  or  scaldino  in  one  hand,  in  the 
other  a  bucket,  and  sometimes  a  palm 
branch. 

Ubaldesca  Calcinaria  was  born  of  poor 


industrious  peasants,  near  Pisa.  One 
day  when  she  was  fifteen  her  parents 
and  the  servants  were  in  the  fields,  and 
she  was  left  alone  in  charge  of  the  oven ; 
when  she  had  put  in  the  bread  to  bake, 
an  angel  appeared  and  told  her  to  go  to 
Pisa  and  live  a  life  of  penitence  in  the 
Hospital  of  St.  John,  among  the  nuns 
there.  She  answered,  "  Lord,  how  will 
they  receive  me  there  without  a  dowry  ?  " 
The  angel  answered,  "  Care  not  thou  for 
these  things.  The  holy  nuns  are  more 
concerned  about  virtue  than  money." 
"  But,"  said  Ubaldesca,  "  I  have  neither 
virtue  ncr  money."  The  angel  said, 


ST.  ULPHIA 


277 


"  That  which  is  wanting  to  thee  shall  bo 
supplied  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  thou 
shaft  make  such  progress  in  holiness 
that,  thou  shalt  deliver  thy  city  from 
the  greatest  perils."  Then  he  dis 
appeared.  She  left  her  bread  in  tho 
oven  and  ran  to  tell  her  parents.  They 
took  her  at  once  to  Pisa,  where  every 
body  they  met  welcomed  them,  and 
when  they  arrived  at  the  hospital,  they 
found  that  the  abbess  and  about  forty  of 
the  nuns  were  waiting  for  her  at  the 
gate,  as  they  had  been  warned  by  the 
angel  of  her  coming.  They  conducted 
Ubaldesca  to  the  chapel  with  great  joy 
and  solemnly  invested  her  with  the 
dress  of  their  order.  Her  parents  re 
turned  home,  divided  between  joy  at  the 
sanctity  of  their  child  and  the  honour 
conferred  on  her,  and  grief  that  they 
must  henceforth  live  without  her.  It 
was  not  until  the  next  day  that  they 
remembered  the  bread  in  the  oven,  and 
opened  the  door  expecting  to  see  nothing 
but  cinders.  To  their  surprise  they 
found  the  bread  perfectly  well  baked  as 
if  it  had  been  exactly  long  enough  in 
the  oven  and  no  more.  They  took  some 
of  it  to  the  nuns  in  confirmation  of  the 
heavenly  direction  of  the  plans  of  Ubal 
desca.  The  sanctity  of  her  cloistered 
life  was  equal  to  the  promise  of  its 
beginning. 

One  day  when  she  was  at  the  well, 
some  women  on  their  way  to  church 
asked  her  for  some  water.  She  drew  it 
up  for  them.  They  begged  her  to  bless 
it,  which  she  did,  and  it  at  once  became 
wine.  This  is  why  she  holds  a  bucket 
as  her  emblem.  Once  when  she  was 
begging  for  alms  a  stone  fell  on  her 
head  and  gave  her  a  serious  wound. 
She  would  not  suffer  the  nuns  to  dress 
it,  and  it  remained  a  distressing  sore  to 
the  end  of  her  life.  A  holy  priest  sat 
by  her  grave  for  seven  days  and  nights, 
confident  that  he  should  see  some  sign 
of  her  glory.  On  the  seventh  day  he 
saw  her  carried  to  heaven  between  two 
chariots  of  fire.  Her  body  was  imme 
diately  taken  up  and  wrought  miracles. 
Soon  afterwards  the  Prior  of  the  Order 
fell  into  disgrace  and  commended  him 
self  to  her  prayers,  vowing  that  if  she 
procured  him  the  favour  of  being  re 


instated  in  his  former  honours,  he  would 
take  care  that  her  festival  was  kept 
regularly  with  becoming  reverence  :  his 
wishesj  were  fulfilled  and  he  presented 
her  head  to  the  nuns  of  her  convent  and 
had  her  body  translated  elsewhere,  for 
greater  glory.  AA.SS.  from  Kazzi. 
Helyot. 

B.  or  Ven.  Uda,  Sept.  8,  a  Cister 
cian  recluse.  AA.SS.,  Pr&ter.  Bucc- 
linus. 

Ven.Udalgartha,  Aug.  18,  a  recluse. 
Bucelinus. 

St.  Udegeva,  June  28,  V.  +  H97, 
O.S.A.  Teacher  of  B.  ODILIA  (5). 
Honoured  near  Spanheim.  Migne,  Die. 
Hag. 

B.  Udevolta,  Aug.  12,  V.  Cister 
cian  nun  near  Cologne.  Date  and 
worship  uncertain.  AA.SS. 

St.  Udilina,  Oct.  19,  M.  382.  A 
fabulous  queen  of  Scotland.  Wife  of 
King  Eugenius  I.,  who  was  slain  by  the 
tyrant  invader,  Maximus.  Udilina  is 
commemorated  by  Camerarius.  Hunter, 
O.S.D.,  says  he  saw  a  very  old  monu 
ment  to  her  at  Cologne,  but  she  is 
not  found  in  the  martyrologies,  and  is 
placed  by  the  Bollandists  among  the 
Prsetcrmissi. 

St.  Ugolina,  Aug.  8,  Sept.  22,  V., 
O.S.F.  +  1300.  Eecluse  near  Vercelli. 
She  lived  in  a  grotto  and  wore  armour 
for  penance  and  for  a  disguise.  Cahier, 
"  Cotte  de  mailles." 

St.  Uliva,  OLIVE. 

B.  Ullia,  JULIA  (29). 

St.  Ulphia,  ULPHE,  OFFA  (1),  OLPHE, 

OUFE,  OULPHRE,    VlJLFIA,    01*    WlJLF,  Jan. 

31,  Oct.  23,  V.  8th  century.  Eecluso 
near  Amiens.  The  first  nun  in  that 
diocese.  She  disfigured  her  face  and 
neglected  her  dress,  and  still  fearing 
that  her  parents  would  insist  on  her 
marrying,  she  fled  to  a  solitary  place  on 
the  river  Noie  and  rested  near  a  fountain 
surrounded  by  brambles,  on  the  spot 
where  the  convent  of  the  Paraclete  was 
afterwards  built.  The  aged  St.  Domi- 
tius  was  living  in  a  hermitage  not  far 
off ;  he  instructed  her  and  she  waited  on 
him,  and  gradually  became  an  instructor 
of  others.  In  time  she  had  so  many 
disciples  that,  after  the  death  of  Domi- 
tius,  she  had  to  remove  into  Amiens 


278 


ST.    UMBINA 


where  her  spiritual  daughters  built  a 
row  of  little  separate  dwellings  for  them 
selves.  The  street  where  they  stood  is 
still  called  la  Eue  des  Vicrgaux.  She 
made  over  her  authority  to  Aurea,  her 
chief  disciple,  and  returned  to  her  soli 
tude,  where  she  died  at  a  great  age  amid 
miraculous  proofs  of  sanctity.  One  of 
the  legends  told  of  her  is  that  when  in 
her  youth  she  settled  in  that  marshy 
place,  the  frogs  kept  her  awake  all  night, 
and  towards  morning  she  slept  so  soundly 
that  she  did  not  hear  St.  Domitius  when 
he  rattled  on  her  door  with  his  stick,  to 
call  her  to  go  with  him  to  church.  She 
therefore  forbade  the  frogs  to  croak 
again,  and  any  one  may  verify  the  story 
by  going  to  the  place  and  observing  that 
the  frogs  are  silent  there  to  this  day. 
AA.SS.,  "  Life  of  St.  Domitius,"  Oct.  23. 
Martin,  French  Mart. 

St.  Umbina,  IMMA  (2). 

St.  Umbrasia,  M.  Her  body  was 
found  in  1330,  with  that  of  ST.  JUSTA 
(3).  AA.SS. 

St.  Umilta,  HUMILITY. 

St.  Uncumber,  WILGEFORTIS.  Ca- 
hier  says  that  English  wives  have  a 
special  devotion  to  St.  Uncumber. 

SS.  Unguentiferae,  i.e.  the  oint 
ment-bearers.  The  women  who  prepared 
spices  and  ointments  to  embalm  the  body 
of  Christ  are  commemorated  with  Nico- 
demus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  in  the 
Greek  Church  on  the  third  Sunday  after 
Easter,  which  is  with  us  the  second 
Sunday  after  Easter.  AA.SS.  (See 
JOANNA.) 

B.  Uranna,  ORANNA. 

SS.  Urbana  or  ORBANA,  eight  MM. 
in  divers  places.  AA.SS. 

St.  Urbanna,  ORANNA. 

St.  Uroria,  USORIA. 

St.  Ursa,  Oct.  26,  V.  M.  at  Nico- 
media,  perhaps  under  Decius,  with  SS. 
Lucian,  Marcian  and  others.  Their 
relics  were  venerated  at  Vich  in  Cata 
lonia,  which  gave  rise  to  the  supposition 
that  they  were  natives  of  that  place. 
Espcma  Sagrada,  XXVIII. 

St.  Ursana  or  URSARIA,  July  5, 
honoured  at  Blangy,  but  has  no  general 
worship.  She  was  mother  of  ST.  BERTHA 
(3)  and  is  said  to  have  been  a  niece  of 
ST.  BATHILDE,  queen  of  France.  AA.SS. 


St.  Ursula  (1)  and  her  Companions, 
Oct.  21.  Date  uncertain.  St.  Ursula  is 
patron  of  Cologne,  Delft,  the  Sorbonne, 
and  of  the  Universities  of  Coimbra  and 
Vienna ;  of  the  teaching  Order  of  the 
Ursulines  (founded  by  ST.  ANGELA  (7))  ; 
of  young  girls,  especially  school  girls; 
of  their  teachers,  and  of  the  dying. 

She  is  represented  in  a  great  variety 
of  ways.  Her  chief  attributes  are :  (1) 
the  crown,  denoting  her  rank ;  (2)  three 
arrows,  signifying  the  manner  of  her 
death ;  (3)  the  white  banner  with  the 
red  cross,  the  Christian  standard  of  vic 
tory  ;  (4)  the  dove,  because  a  dove 
revealed  to  St.  Cunibert,  the  place  where 
she  was  buried  ;  (5)  she  is  also  depicted 
covering  with  her  mantle  the  crowd  of 
her  followers. 

According  to  the  generally  accepted 
version  of  the  legend,  made  famous  by 
art  in  Italy  and  Germany,  Ursula  was 
a  princess ;  some  say  the  daughter  of 
Dionoc  or  Theonotus,  king  of  Cornwall, 
or  of  Brittany,  or  of  part  of  Ireland. 
Her  mother  was  ST.  DARIA  (4)  or  Doria, 
a  Sicilian.  In  any  case  Ursula  appears 
to  have  been  of  British  extraction.  She 
was  famous  for  her  beauty,  virtue  and 
learning,  and  many  princes  desired  her 
hand.  But  she  refused  them  all,  for 
she  was  a  Christian  and  had  dedicated 
herself  perpetually  to  Christ. 

At  length,  Conon,  son  of  the  king  of 
England,  sent  ambassadors  to  propose  an 
alliance  with  her,  and  Ursula's  father 
was  cast  into  great  perplexity,  for  he 
was  aware  of  his  daughter's  vow,  but  he 
feared  to  offend  so  powerful  a  king  by 
a  refusal.  Ursula  removed  the  difficulty, 
by  herself  undertaking  to  answer  the 
ambassadors.  She  promised  that  she 
would  marry  the  prince  on  three  con 
ditions :  first,  he  should  give  her  for 
companions,  ten  virgins  of  the  noblest 
blood  in  the  kingdom,  and  to  each  of 
these  a  thousand  attendants,  and  to  her 
self  also  a  thousand  maidens  to  wait  on 
her ;  secondly,  he  should  allow  her  three 
years  before  the  marriage,  to  visit  the 
holy  shrines  of  the  saints;  and  thirdly, 
the  prince  and  his  Court  should  at  once 
become  Christians.  She  thought  that  he 
must  refuse  such  conditions ;  but  if  he 
should  accept  them,  at  least  she  had  won 


ST.   URSULA 


•271) 


eleven  thousand  virgins  for  the  service 
of  God. 

But  Conon  and  his  father  held  nothing 
too  hard  to  do,  if  they  might  secure  so 
good  and  wise  and  fair  a  princess.  The 
king  sent  east  and  west  and  north  and 
south,  to  all  his  lords  and  vassals,  bid 
ding  them  send  their  daughters  to  attend 
on  his  son's  bride,  Princess  Ursula. 
And  from  the  furthest  ends  of  his  realm 
the  virgins  came  trooping,  all  the  purest 
and  noblest  and  most  lovely,  dressed  in 
rich  garments,  decked  with  jewels.  On 
a  sweet  May  morning,  Ursula  assembled 
them  in  a  meadow,  gay  with  spring  flowers, 
and  preached  to  them,  as  if  she  had  been 
an  apostle,  so  that  they  all  lifted  up  their 
hands  and  promised  to  go  with  her 
whithersoever  she  would.  And  such 
as  were  heathen  were  baptised  straight 
way  in  a  clear  stream  that  flowed  through 
the  meadow. 

Then  the  eleven  thousand  virgins 
took  ship  from  the  port  of  London,  for 
Rome,  and  with  them  went  many  holy 
and  wise  prelates,  but  no  sailors.  The 
maidens  guided  the  vessels.  Instead, 
however,  of  sailing  south,  they  were 
carried  northwards,  and  were  driven  up 
the  Rhine  as  far  as  Cologne.  There 
Ursula  had  a  vision  that  they  should  all 
in  due  time  suffer  martyrdom  at  that 
place.  The  virgins  thanked  God  for 
the  honour  prepared  for  them  and  sailed 
on  to  Basle,  where  they  disembarked  and 
set  out  on  foot  for  Rome.  They  were 
miraculously  conducted  across  the  Alps 
by  six  angels,  who  went  before  them  and 
removed  all  obstacles.  At  last  the  eleven 
thousand  maidens,  reverently  wrapt  in 
prayer  and  meditation,  crossed  the  Cam- 
pagna  and  approached  the  holy  city. 

Cyriacus,  the  nineteenth  Pope  from 
St.  Peter,  was  glad  of  their  coming,  for 
he  was  born  in  Britain  (or  Brittany)  and 
had  many  relatives  in  the  company.  He 
came  out  to  meet  them,  in  procession, 
with  his  cardinals  and  bishops,  and  caused 
tents  to  be  pitched  for  their  accommoda 
tion,  outside  Rome,  towards  Tivoli. 

Meanwhile  Couon  had  become  impa 
tient  for  news  of  his  promised  bride  and 
had  set  out  for  Rome  by  another  route 
and  reached  it  on  that  very  same  day. 
He  was  baptized  by  Cyriacus  and  changed 


his  name  to  Ethereus  (purity),  for  he  no 
longer  aspired  to  become  the  husband  of 
Ursula  on  earth,  but  was  eager  to  share 
her  martyrdom  and  be  reunited  to  her 
in  heaven. 

There  were  then  at  Rome  two  heathen 
commanders  who  were  over  all  the  im 
perial  army  in  Germania.  They  dreaded 
the  return  of  these  Christian  maidens  to 
Germany,  lest  they  should  convert  the 
nation  or  marry  and  thus  increase  the 
number  of  Christians.  So  they  sent 
word  to  the  king  of  the  Huns,  who  was 
then  besieging  Cologne,  and  instructed 
him  to  massacre  the  eleven  thousand 
immediately  on  their  arrival. 

Pope  Cyriacus  was  most  anxious  to  be 
a  companion  of  their  return  journey,  for 
he,  too,  had  been  granted  a  vision  of 
martyrdom,  so  he  called  a  consistory  to 
appoint  a  new  bishop  of  Rome.  His 
clergy  held  that  his  head  had  been  turned 
by  foolish  virgins,  and  they  were  incensed 
with  him  and  struck  his  name  from  the 
list  of  popes.  However,  various  cardi 
nals,  archbishops  and  other  prelates  were 
ready  to  accompany  him,  and  with  these 
and  Conon  and  his  retinue,  Ursula  and 
her  followers  re-embarked. 

"  Then  the  barbarians  looked  from  the 
walls  of  Cologne,  out  on  the  high  seae, 
and  they  saw  St.  Ursula's  ships  coming." 
At  first  they  were  dumfounded  at  the 
sight  of  so  many  beautiful  women.  But 
very  soon  they  gathered  themselves 
together  and  falling  upon  the  defenceless 
company,  "like  wolves  upon  lambs," 
they  massacred  them  all  without  mercy, 
and  with  them,  the  Pope,  the  cardinals, 
the  bishops,  and  Conon. 

While  her  companions  were  struck 
down  by  hundreds  and  by  thousands, 
Ursula  sped  from  one  to  another,  en 
couraging  them  to  die  bravely  for  their 
honour  and  their  faith.  The  barbarians 
were  so  awed  by  her  beauty  and  courage 
that  they  dared  not  kill  her,  but  carried 
her  a  prisoner  before  their  leader.  He 
looked  at  her  with  admiration  and  offered 
to  make  her  the  greatest  queen  in  Ger 
many.  "  Do  you  think  that  I  would  let 
all  my  companions  win  a  crown  of 
martyrdom  and  not  win  one  myself?" 
she  cried,  and  heaped  on  him  words  of 
contempt  and  derision.  The  pagan  was 


280 


ST.   URSULA 


infuriated.  He  drew  the  bow  which  he 
held  in  his  hand,  and  transfixed  her 
breast  with  three  arrows,  so  that  she  too 
fell  dead  and  her  soul  ascended  to  heaven 
with  the  souls  of  that  vast  army  she  had 
led  gloriously  to  death. 

When  the  barbarians  had  removed 
from  Cologne,  the  inhabitants  came  out 
of  the  city  and  gathered  up  the  holy 
bodies  and  reverently  buried  them  in  the 
plain  where  they  had  suffered.  Not 
long  after,  in  the  places  where  many 
bodies  lay  together,  they  built  churches. 
The  most  famous  is  called  the  Church  of 
the  Holy  Virgins,  and  it  is  held  in  such 
reverence  that  no  other  body  is  buried 
there.  "  For,"  says  Bishop  Lindan,  "  the 
ground  or  earth  of  that  church  will 
receive  no  other  body,  no  not  the  corps 
of  young  infants  newly  baptized,  but  as 
it  were  vomiting  them  up  again  in  the 
night,  they  will  be  cast  above  ground 
and  not  be  contained  within  it,  as  hath 
often  been  tried." 

A  manuscript  history  of  British  affairs 
by  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  (12th  century), 
preserved  in  the  Vatican,  gives  the  Eng 
lish  version  of  the  legend  quoted  by 
Butler,  Villegas,  etc.  It  is  as  follows  : — 

In  the  reign  of  Gratian  (about  382), 
one  of  his  captains  called  Maximus,  a 
native  of  Britain,  and  a  famous  soldier, 
rebelled  against  him  and  was  proclaimed 
emperor.  He  entered  France  and 
possessed  himself  of  Armorica  (Bre- 
tagne),  where  the  British  soldiers  put  to 
death  all  the  inhabitants  and  gave  their 
name  to  the  country.  Maximus  wished 
to  people  the  place,  so  he  sent  to  Britain 
for  a  great  number  of  virgins  to  marry 
his  soldiers.  Conanus,  his  general  and 
warden  of  the  ports,  loved  Ursula,  the 
daughter  of  Deonocius,  king  of  Cornwall, 
and  desired  that  she  should  be  sent  for 
his  wife.  Eleven  thousand  maidens 
were  collected  in  Britain  to  accompany 
her  to  Armorica.  They  were  carried  by 
contrary  winds  to  Zealand  and  up  the 
Rhine,  as  far  as  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows. 
Gratian  meanwhile  engaged  the  Picts 
and  Huns  to  make  war  upon  the  rebel 
Maximus.  They  were  pirating  the  seas 
preparatory  to  attacking  Lira,  when  they 
met  the  ships  containing  the  eleven 
thousand  virgins  and  put  them  all  to 


death.      The   martyrs   were   buried    at 
Cullen  (Cologne). 

The  date  of  Ursula's  martyrdom  is 
variously  fixed  ;  some  authorities  give 
the  middle  of  the  third  century;  some 
suggest  different  periods  in  the  fourth ; 
but  more  generally  it  is  taken  as  occur 
ring  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century, 
when  the  Huns  were  invading  Gaul  and 
Belgium.  Ursula  and  her  companions 
lay  neglected,  until  her  body  and  a  few 
others  buried  in  the  same  tomb  were 
discovered  at  Cologne,  by  the  reigning 
bishop.  Some  assert  that  the  finder  was 
St.  Cunibert,  bishop  of  Cologne  in  the 
middle  of  the  seventh  century,  who  had 
so  great  a  devotion  to  St.  Ursula  that  he 
has  been  accused  of  inventing  the  legend. 
(For  her  translation,  etc.,  see  ELISABETH 

WO 

Many  bodies  preserved  with  veneration 
in  different  churches  are  said  to  be  those 
of  the  companions  of  St.  Ursula ;  some 
have  been  arbitrarily  named  after  their 
arrival  from  Cologne  :  some  remain  un 
named  ;  some  are  called  Ursula,  though 
not  claiming  to  be  identified  with  the 
leader  of  the  eleven  thousand. 

Some  of  St.  Ursula's  companions  are 
— her  aunt  ST.  GERASINE  with  her  four 
daughters  SS.  BABYLLA,  JULIA  (18), 
VICTORIA  and  AUREA  (6),  SS.  BRIGID 
(1),  HELEN  (4),  SAPIENTIA,  CORDULA, 
ODILIA  (1),  CUNERA,  CUNEGUND  (1), 
MECHTUND,  CHRISCHONA,  WIBRAND,  AGNES 
(4) ;  FLORENCE  (4),  VERENA  (2). 

Criticism  has  been  busy  with  the 
legend  of  St.  Ursula.  The  Bollandists, 
among  others,  have  devoted  two  hundred 
and  thirty  folio  pages  to  its  elucidation. 
The  earliest  document  bearing  on  her 
history  is  a  sermon  for  her  festival  which 
they  date  between  the  years  750  and  850. 

It  appears  that  ancient  calendars 
(those  of  Odo,  Bede,  Florus,  Jerome, 
etc.,)  copied  by  Usuardus,  do  not  men 
tion  her  unless — as  the  authors  of  the 
New  Paris  Breviary  assert — she  is  repre 
sented  by  the  entry  for  Oct.  20,  "  The 
passion  of  the  Blessed  Virgins  Martha 
and  Saula  and  many  others  in  the  city 
of  Cologne."  The  editors  of  the  Roman 
Martyrology  make  a  distinct  entry  of  St. 
Ursula  and  her  companions,  Oct.  21,  and 
they  do  not  state  the  number.  The  first 


VEX.    URSULA 


281 


definite  computation  of  the  number  of 
her  companions  at  eleven  thousand  was 
made  by  Hermann,  bishop  of  Cologne  in 
922.  It  is  suggested  that  it  arose  as  a 
scribal  error.  The  copyist  found  the 
entry,  "  Ursula  et  xi  M.V.",  and  tran 
scribed  it  "  Ursula  and  eleven  thousand 
virgins,"  instead  of  "  Ursula  and  eleven 
martyrs  virgins."  The  theory  that  St. 
Ursula  suffered  with  one  companion 
named  Undecimilla  or  Undemilla, 
Butler  declares  to  be  destitute  of  founda 
tion. 

It  is  further  objected  against  the 
legend,  that  no  Pope  of  the  name  of 
Cyriacus  existed.  Attempts  have,  how 
ever,  been  made  to  find  some  basis  of 
fact  for  the  story.  Butler  suggests  that 
St.  Ursula  and  her  companions  may  have 
been  some  of  the  many  Britons,  who 
were  driven  out  of  their  country  in  the 
fifth  century,  by  the  pagan  Saxons,  and 
who  took  refuge  in  a  place  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Rhine  which  they  fortified  and 
called  Brittenburgh.  Others  have 
thought  that  St.  Ursula  presided  over 
eleven  religious  women  at  Cologne,  and 
that  they  were  all  massacred  by  bar 
barians.  The  early  convents  joften  con 
sisted  of  only  twelve  persons.  Collectors 
of  solar  myths  have  included  this  story 
as  a  specimen. 

KM.  AA.SS.  Butler.  Baillet. 
Smith  and  Wace.  Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred 
and  Legendary  Art.  Villegas,  Flos  Sanc 
torum.  Eibadeneira.  Golden  Legend. 
Leggcndario.  Horstmann,  The  Lives  of 
the  Women  Saints  of  our  Countrie  of  Eng 
land.  Onghena,  La  chdsse  de  Sainte 
Ursule. 

Ven.  Ursula  (2)  or  ORSOLA  Benin- 
casa,  Oct.  20,  1547-1618  or  1623.  She 
was  probably  of  the  same  family  which 
was  rendered  illustrious  by  its  famous 
daughter,  CATHEEINE  (3)  OF  SIENA. 
Ursula  was  the  youngest  of  many  chil 
dren  of  Geronimo  Benincasa,  an  engineer 
of  Naples.  She  believed  herself  divinely 
directed  to  go  and  urge  the  Pope  to 
hasten  the  reform  of  the  Church.  With 
this  view  she  went  to  Rome  and  obtained 
an  audience  of  Gregory  XIII.  (ir>72- 
1585).  He  received  her  kindly,  and  as 
he  was  already  anxiously  pursuing  this 
important  work,  he  listened  to  all  she 


had  to  say.  Although  he  hesitated  to 
believe  in  her  divine  mission,  he  was 
struck  by  the  fearlessness  and  the 
modesty  of  her  speech  and  by  the 
ecstasy  that  appeared  more  than  once 
during  the  interview.  He  appointed  a 
congregation  consisting  of  dignitaries  of 
the  Church  eminent  for  their  virtue  and 
wisdom,  to  examine  her  character  and 
mission.  The  chief  of  these  reverend 
persons  was  St.  Philip  Neri,  who  was 
credited  with  a  special  gift  of  discern 
ment  of  spirits,  and  we  learn  from  his 
life  that  he  had  a  great  dislike  to  any 
self-assertion  or  love  of  notoriety  in 
women  and  a  profound  distrust  of  their 
alleged  visions  and  missions,  which  he 
thought  were  frequently  prompted  by 
nervous  excitement  or  self-love.  He 
therefore  laid  aside  his  usual  kind  and 
cheerful  manner,  and  assuming  an  air  of 
contempt,  he  said,  "  You  proud,  ignorant, 
lying,  self-willed  hypocrite,  do  you  think 
that  God  has  no  one  more  worthy  to  be 
an  ambassador  to  the  Pope  than  a 
wretched  country  girl  like  you  ?  "  She 
admitted  that  she  had  all  the  faults  of 
which  he  accused  her,  and  entreated  his 
help  to  cure  them,  saying,  "  If  it  be  an 
evil  spirit  that  leads  me,  I  implore  you 
to  cast  him  out  of  me."  Another  day 
he  gave  her  a  dose  of  very  nauseous 
medicine  to  settle  her  nerves.  He 
separated  her  from  her  mother  and  all 
her  friends  and  gave  her  hard  and  dis 
agreeable  work  to  do,  and  when  these 
trials  had  gone  on  for  many  months  he 
reported  to  the  Pope  that  he  found 
Ursula  to  be  a  woman  of  singular 
humility  and  love  of  God,  and  that  in 
his  opinion  the  spirit  that  guided  her 
was  holy.  She  was  then  allowed  to  re 
turn  to  Naples  and  carry  out  her  plan  of 
founding  a  nunnery  of  the  Theatinc 
order.  Before  she  left  Rome  she  had 
another  interview  with  St.  Philip,  and 
received  his  blessing.  He  talked  to  her 
with  his  real  kindness  undisguised,  and 
warned  her  solemnly  against  any  self- 
love  or  self-complacency.  He  gave  her 
his  berretta,  which  was  preserved  with 
great  reverence  by  her  nuns  long  after 
her  death.  She  returned  to  her  native 
city,  and  founded  a  convent  of  nuns  of 
the  Holy  Conception,  commonly  called 


282 


ST.   URSULINA 


Theatines  because  the  order  was  founded 
for  men  by  the  bishop  of  Theate,  after 
wards  Paul  IV.  (1555-1559).  Ursula 
founded  two  branches  of  nuns  of  this 
order,  one  called  the  Congregation :  they 
lived  secluded,  but  without  any  great 
austerity ;  their  employment  was  to  pray 
for  the  city  where  they  lived  and  for  the 
rest  of  the  world :  the  other  branch  was 
called  the  Hermitage,  and  was  stricter. 
Her  sister  Christian  was  the  first  superior 
of  the  Congregation,  as  Ursula  refused  the 
dignity.  The  nuns  were  long  popularly 
called  in  Naples,  "Murate  di  Suor  Orsola" 
(the  immured  ones  of  Sister  Ursula.) 
A  very  large  convent  was  built  on  the 
site  of  Ursula's  oratory,  on  the  hill  of 
St.  Elmo.  Pius  VI.,  in  1793  declared 
her  possessed  of  heroic  virtue.  Helyot. 
Analecta.  Capecelatro,  Life  of  St.  Philip 
Neri.  Diario  di  Eoma,  Oct.  29,  1834. 

St.  Ursulina  or  ORSELINA  of  Parma, 
April  7,  1375-1410.  Her  sanctity  was 
foretold  before  her  birth,  to  her  pious 
parents  Peter  and  Bartolina.  She  was 
early  favoured  with  visits  of  saints  and 
angels.  She  was  small  and  delicate, 
and  never  walked  until  she  was  five 
years  old.  When  she  grew  up  she  had 
many  visions,  in  one  of  which  she  found 
herself  in  the  principal  church  of  Parma. 
There  she  saw  Christ  walking  about  and 
looking  round  everywhere  as  if  seeking 
for  something.  She  asked  Him  what 
He  wanted,  and  He  said  He  was  looking 
for  a  seat  to  rest  on  and  could  not  find 
one.  Ursulina  then  seated  herself  on 
the  floor  and  invited  the  Saviour  to  sit 
on  her  knee,  which  He  did.  In  a  short 
time  He  got  up  and  led  her  into  a  house, 
where  He  drank  some  wine  and  gave  her 
some,  which  enlightened  her  under 
standing.  From  that  time  forth,  she 
understood  many  mysteries  and  had  a 
knowledge  of  past  and  future  events. 
Soon  after  that  vision,  Christ  again  ap 
peared  to  her  and  commanded  her  to  go 
to  Avignon,  to  remonstrate  with  the  Anti- 
pope,  Clement  VII.,  and  bid  him  cease 
to  make  schisms  and  divisions  in  the 
Church  of  God.  She  made  the  journey 
with  her  mother,  guided  occasionally  by 
angels  and  part  of  the  way  by  St.  John 
the  Baptist.  The  Pope  listened  patiently 
to  her  denunciations  of  his  conduct,  and 


appointed  another  day  to  hear  every 
thing  else  she  had  to  say;  he  accom 
panied  her  to  the  door  of  the  ante-room, 
and  offered  to  do  anything  in  his  power 
to  serve  her.  She  answered  that  she 
would  rather  be  reduced  to  live  upon 
the  bark  of  trees  than  accept  anything 
from  him.  When  she  came  again  ac 
cording  to  her  appointment,  she  was  not 
admitted  but  put  off  until  another  day. 
The  same  thing  happened  several  times. 
Ursulina  concluded  that  she  had  done 
all  that  depended  on  her  for  the  salva 
tion  of  Clement  VII.  and  returned  to 
Parma.  She  was  soon  inspired  to  go  to 
Kome  to  visit  the  true  Pope,  Boniface 
IX.,  with  a  view  to  heal  the  division  in 
the  Church.  She  was  well  received. 
At  first  the  Pope  would  not  believe  her 
story,  but  eventually  she  was  sent  as  his 
messenger  to  the  Antipope,  who,  con 
vinced  by  her  arguments,  promised  to 
submit  to  the  authority  of  the  holy  see. 
His  cardinals  and  friends,  however,  ac 
cused  Ursulina  of  witchcraft  and  ordered 
her  to  be  tortured.  When  she  was  bound 
before  being  placed  on  the  rack,  the 
town  was  shaken  by  an  earthquake,  and 
some  of  the  people  and  houses  were 
thrown  down.  Her  tormentors  feared 
that  they  were  about  to  "share  the  fate  of 
the  executioners  of  ST.  CATHAIUNE,  and 
desisted  from  their  office.  Soon  after 
wards  Clement  died  suddenly,  and  his 
party  instead  of  ending  the  schism, 
elected  Peter  de  Luna  to  be  his  successor. 
Ursulina  returned  to  Kome  and  then  to 
her  own  country.  She  next  visited  John 
Galeazzo,  duke  of  Milan,  and  admonished 
him  of  his  sins  and  duties,  prophesying 
that,  if  he  did  not  take  her  advice,  he 
would  fall  into  great  tribulation.  This 
came  to  pass  when  his  dominions  were 
overrun  by  Fancino,  the  condottiere. 
Ursulina,  still  accompanied  by  her 
mother,  made  a  voyage  from  Venice  to 
Palestine,  in  a  very  old  ship  which  but 
for  her  saintly  presence,  would  have 
sunk  the  first  day.  They  visited  the 
holy  places  and  returned  to  Parma,  but 
as  they  found  it  disturbed  by  a  feud 
between  two  rival  governors,  they  went 
to  Bologna,  and  thence  to  Verona,  where 
Ursulina  was  taken  ill,  and  died  happily. 
Several  miracles  are  asciibed  to  her. 


ST.   VALERIA 


283 


AA.SS.,  from  her  Life  by  Simon  Zana- 
chis,  preserved  in  MS.  in  the  monastery 
of  St.  Quentin,  at  Parma. 

St.  Ururia,   June   1,  M.   with  ST. 
AUCEGA.    AA.S8. 


St.  Usoria  or  UHOIITA,  May  28,  M. 
at  Rome.  AA.SS.. 

St.  Uvel,  EVILLA.  Miss  Arnold- 
Forster. 

St.  Uvilgeforte,  WILGEFORTIS. 


St.  Valburge,  WALBURGA. 

St.  Valdetrudis,  WALTRUDE. 

St.  Valdrada,  WALDBADA. 

St.  Valentia  (1),  VALENTINA  (3). 

St.  Valentia  (2),  Sept.  25,  +  1728, 
a  Carmelite  nun  in  Bretagne.  Stadler. 

St.  Valentina  (1)  or  EGLANTINE, 
May  6,  M.  at  Milan  c.  280,  with  St. 
Victor  and  many  other  Christians. 
AA.S8. 

St.  Valentina  (2),  June  2,  one  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  Roman 
martyrs  commemorated  together  in  the 
Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Valentina  (3),  with  Marcus  and 
Soterichus,  Oct.  20.  MM.  in  Asia  Minor. 
When  they  had  lived  a  long  life  and 
converted  many,  they  were  tortured  by 
having  long  nails  stuck  into  them.  They 
were  then  dragged  about  the  ground  by 
men,  women  and  children  until  they  died. 
Men.  Basil.  AA.SS. 

St.  Valentina  (4),  April  26,  V.  M. 
Her  body  was  brought  from  Rome  to 
Ypres  and  preserved  in  the  church  of  the 
Carmelite  nuns.  Probably  the  same  as 
one  of  the  former  Valentiuas. 

St.  Valentina  (5),  July  25,  V.  M. 
308,  at  Gaza.  She  was  a  small,  shabby, 
mean  looking  woman,  a  native  either  of 
Egypt  or  of  Ccesarea  in  Palestine.  -She 
and  her  friend  ST.  THEA  were  among 
some  Christians  assembled  to  hear  the 
Holy  Scriptures  read.  Thea  was  seized 
and  tortured.  Valeutina  cried  out, 
"  How  long  will  you  torment  my  sister  ?  " 
and  she  was  at  once  seized  and  dragged 
to  a  heathen  altar  where  fire  and  a  sacri 
fice  stood  ready.  She  threw  it  over  with 
her  foot.  The  two  virgins  were  tied 
together  and  burnt  alive.  Eusebius  tells 
the  story  without  the  name  of  Thea ;  he 
merely  calls  her  a  Christian  virgin,  the 
companion  of  Valentina.  R.M.  AA.SS. 
Baillet.  Butler. 


St.  Valentiana  or  AVENTIANA,  Jan. 
12,  M.  Mart,  of  Doneyal.  Unknown  to 
Bollandus.  Supposed  to  mean  Aventine. 

St.  Valeria  (l),  Dec.  9,  12,  V.  M. 
1st  century.  One  of  the  patrons  of 
Paris  and  of  Limoges.  Daughter  of  ST. 
SUSANNA.  They  were  converted  and 
baptized  with  six  hundred  persons  of 
their  household,  by  St.  Martial,  at 
Limoges,  where  they  entertained  him 
when  he  came  to  preach  the  gospel  in 
France.  St.  Gregory  of  Tours  places 
the  mission  of  St.  Martial  in  the  3rd 
.century.  Valeria  was  betrothed  to  her 
cousin  Stephen,  duke  of  Guienne,  who 
had  immense  territories  in  France.  On 
her  conversion  she  made  a  vow  of 
virginity  and  gave  her  lands  and  slaves 
to  the  Church.  After  her  mother's 
death  she  distributed  all  her  money  and 
jewels  to  the  poor.  Stephen  entered  the 
town  of  Limoges  and  ordered  Valeria  to 
be  brought  to  him.  They  had  an  inter 
view  and  she  refused  to  marry  him.  He 
therefore  ordered  her  to  be  beheaded. 
When  her  head  was  cut  off  she  took  it 
up  in  her  hands,  carried  it  into  the 
church,  and  presented  it  to  St.  Martial, 
who  was  saying  mass.  Many  of  the  by 
standers  saw  her  soul,  like  a  globe  of 
fire,  ascending  to  the  skies,  and  they 
heard  the  angels  singing  and  welcoming 
her.  The  duke's  squire,  who  was  her 
executioner,  ran  and  told  his  master 
what  had  happened  and  was  immediately 
smitten  by  an  angel  and  fell  dead. 
Stephen  was  seized  with  terror,  put  on 
a  hair  shirt  and  sent  for  St.  Martial,  to 
whom  he  confessed  his  guilt,  begging 
him  to  restore  the  squire  to  life,  which 
Martial  did,  and  both  were  baptized  with 
fifteen  thousand  of  the  people.  Stephen 
gave  St.  Martial  the  means  of  building 
and  adorning  many  churches,  and  built 
a  hospital  at  Limoges,  in  the  name  of  the 


284 


ST.   VALERIA 


blessed  Valeria,  where  three  hundred 
poor  persons  were  to  be  entertained  every 
day,  and  another  where  food  was  to  be 
distributed  daily  to  six  hundred.  He 
also  built  a  church  over  the  tomb  of 
Valeria.  EM.  Ordericus  Vitalis. 

St.  Valeria  (2),  April  28,  M.  c.  62. 
Wife  of  St.  Vitalis,  patron  of  Eavenna. 
They  are  supposed  to  be  the  father  and 
mother  of  SS.  Gervasius  and  Protasius 
and  to  have  lived  in  the  time  of  Nero. 
It  is  said  that  Vitalis  was  a  native  of 
Milan  and  an  officer  of  the  imperial  army 
and  that  he  concealed  his  faith,  helping 
the  Christians  secretly  until  he  found  it 
necessary  to  declare  himself,  in  order  to 
encourage  a  timid  martyr  named  Ursici- 
nus.  Vitalis  was  tortured  and  buried 
alive  at  a  place  called  "  The  Palm-trees," 
at  Eavenna.  A  magnificent  church  was 
built  there  in  his  name,  by  the  Emperor 
Justinian  in  547.  After  her  husband's 
death,  Valeria  left  Eavenna  to  return  to 
Milan .  She  had  to  pass  through  a  village 
where  the  peasants  were  celebrating  an 
idolatrous  festival  and  as  she  refused  to 
join  them  they  beat  her  to  death.  R.M. 
Baillet.  Butler,  from  Fortunatus,  bishop 
of  Poitiers  who  studied  at  Eavenna  and 
gives  this  as  the  tradition  of  the  place. 
The  Acts  of  Vitalis  and  Valeria,  and  the 
apocryphal  letter  of  St.  Ambrose  in 
which  St.  Vitalis  is  mentioned,  were 
written  in  the  9th  century. 

St.  Valeria  (3).     (See  Zenai's  (2).) 
St.  Valeria  (4)  or  AURELIA,  Dec.  2, 
M.  3rd  century.     (See  ST.  MARTANA.) 

SS.  Valeria  (5-12),  honoured  on 
different  days  as  martyrs  in  Africa  and 
other  places.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Valeria  (13),  Aug.  7,  AFRA  (4). 
SS.  Valeria  (14)  and  Pollena,  Oct. 
8.  Perhaps  7th  century.  Honoured  at 
Honnecourt  (Hunonis  curia)  on  the 
Scheldt,  where  the  tradition  is  that  they 
were  sisters  of  St.  Lifard  or  Lietfard 
and  came  with  him  from  Canterbury  in 
England.  It  has  been  thought  that 
Pollena  lived  considerably  earlier  than 
Lietfard  and  Valeria,  but  nothing  certain 
is  known  about  them.  AA.SS.  Martin. 
Bucelinus. 

St.  Valeriana  (1),  June  17,  M.  at 
Aquileia  in  Italy.     AA.SS. 

St.  Valeriana  (2),  Nov.  15,  M.  at 


Hippo,  with  St.  Siddinus  and  twelve 
others.  She  is  praised  by  St.  Augustine. 
Stadler.  Guerin. 

St.  Valestrade,  VASTRADE. 

St.  Vallarina  Petrociani,  MARINA 
(16). 

St.  Valpurge,  WALBURGA. 

St.  Valtrude,  WALTRUDE. 

B.  Vanella  of  Narni,  lived  c.  1520. 
Eepresented  with  the  title  of  Beata,  in 
the  cloister  of  the  convent  of  San  Martino 
at  Gubbio.  Jacobilli,  SS.  dclT  Umbria. 

B.  Vanna,  JANE  (7). 

St.  Varburgis,  BATHILDE  (1). 

St.  Varda,  VERDA,  or  BOSK,  Feb.  21, 
-j-  344,  with  St.  Daniel,  a  Christian 
priest  subjected  to  horrible  tortures  and 
beheaded  under  Sapor,  king  of  Persia. 
Guerin.  Stadler. 

St.  Varelde,  PHARAILDIS. 

St.  Varula.     (See  EOMANA  (6).) 

St.  Varvara,  BARBARA. 

St.  Vastrade  or  VALESTRADE,  July 
21.  8th  century.  Mother  of  St.  Gregory, 
abbot  and  rector  of  the  church  of 
Utrecht.  Grandmother  of  St.  Alberic. 
Vastrade  was  worshipped  in  the  convent 
of  Susteren  in  the  diocese  of  Eoermond. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Vauboue  or  VAUBOURG,  WAL 
BURGA. 

St.  Vaudree,  WALDRADA. 

St.  Vaudru,  WALTRUDE. 

St.  Vausiee,  WALDRADA. 

St.  Vaya,  BEGA  (1). 

St.  Vee,  Sept.  6,  patron  of  Norway. 
Same  as  Bega  (1) 

St.  Veep.  Miss  Arnold-Forster  says 
Veep  is  perhaps  WENNAP  or  WENEU, 
daughter  of  Brychan. 

St.  Veerle,  PHARAILDIS. 

St.  Vega,  BEGA. 

St.  Vegue,  BEGA. 

St.  Venciana,  VINCIANA. 

St.  Vendreda,  V.  formerly  honoured 
at  Ely  in  England.  Possibly  same  as 
WINIFRED.  Guerin. 

St.  Veneca,  VENETIA  or  VENISA, 
Feb.  26,  27,  the  woman  cured  by  touch 
ing  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment. 
Honoured  at  Bois  Guilliaume,  near 
Eouen,  and  at  Valenciennes,  where,  in 
the  time  of  Henschenius,  her  image  used 
to  be  so  nearly  concealed  by  the  number 
of  votive  offerings,  chiefly  ribbons,  hung 


ST.  VERENA 


285 


round  it  by  grateful  pilgrims  and 
devotees,  that  the  chapel  had  to  be 
cleared  of  them  from  time  to  time.  Her 
worship  is  generally  combined  with  that 
of  St.  Fiaker,  an  Irish  saint  who  died  in 
670.  She  is  sometimes  said  to  be  the 
same  as  ST.  VEHONICA.  AA.SS.,  "  St. 
Veronica,"  Feb.  4. 

St.  Venecta  or  VoNocia,  March  10, 
M.  Stadler. 

St.  Venefride,  WINIFRED. 

St.  Venera,  VENERANDA. 

St.  Veneranda,  Nov.  14  (VENEBA, 
VENEKIA,  VENBBIS,  VENUS,  PABASCEVE), 
V.  M.,  one  of  the  AUXILIARY  SAINTS. 
Patron  of  Acci  Reale,  of  Avola  (the 
ancient  Hybla),  and  of  Lecce  in  Otranto. 
Many  are  the  stories  and  divers  the  days, 
dates,  and  places  assigned  to  this  saint. 
The  Marty  rology  of  Salisbury,  Nov.  14, 
says  that  by  her  preaching  and  martyr 
dom  she  converted  nearly  a  thousand 
persons.  Papebroch  says  that  Venera, 
claimed  by  Cajetano  as  a  Sicilian  saint 
killed  by  her  brothers,  was  called  Venera 
because  she  was  born  on  a  Friday,  the 
day  of  Venus ;  she  was  afterwards  called 
Parasceve.  One  of  the  fabulous  legends 
makes  Veneranda  the  daughter  of 
Agatho  and  Politia.  She  is  said  to  have 
lived  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  in  the 
reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  of  Antoninus, 
of  Diocletian ;  and  the  scene  of  her  life 
and  martyrdom  is  laid  in  France,  Sicily, 
Rome,  the  Abruzzi,  Calabria,  and  other 
places.  EM.,  Nov.  14.  AA.SS. 

St.  Veneria  or  VENEBIS,  VENERANDA. 

St.  Venetia,  VENECA. 

St.  Veneuse,  BONOSA. 

St.  Venice,  VERONICA. 

St.  Venisa,  VENECA. 

St.  Venise,  VERONICA. 

St.  Venouse,  BONOSA. 

St.  Ventura,  April  24,  honoured  at 
Villeneuve  de  St.  Andre,  near  Avignon. 
Guerin. 

St.  Venus,  VENERANDA. 

St.  Venusa,  BONOSA. 

St.  Venusta  (1),  May  10,  M.  at  Tar 
sus  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Venusta  (2),  June  2,  M.  One 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty -seven 
Roman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
this  day  in  the  Marfyrology  of  St.  Jerome. 
AA.SS.  Stadler. 


St.  Venustina,  Feb.  1 7,  M.  at  Home 
with  many  others.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Vera  or  WJERA.  (Sec  FAITH, 
HOPE  and  CHARITY.) 

St.  Vera,  Jan.  24.  Her  body  and 
that  of  ST.  SuproniNA  are  at  Clermont, 
in  the  church  of  St.  Artemius,  bishop  of 
Auvergne. 

St.  Veranderung,  WILGEFORTIS. 

St.  Verbetta  or  VORBETTA.  (Sec 
EINBETTA.) 

St.  Verbourg,  WEREBURGA. 

St.  Verca,  M.  with  ST.  BATHUSA. 

St.  Verda,  VARDA. 

St.  Verdiana  or  VERDINA,VIRIDIANA. 

St.  Verecunda,  April  12,  M.  303. 
AAJSOS. 

St.  Verelde,  PHARAILDIS. 

St.  Verena  (1)  or  VREKE,  Sept.  1. 
4th  century.  Patron  of  Switzerland  and 
of  several  churches  and  villages  there  and 
in  Germany.  Eepresented  on  her  tomb 
at  Zurzach,  with  a  round  water  jug, 
called  in  some  of  the  French  provinces 
Imire,  and  a  comb.  In  other  places  she 
appears  holding  a  bunch  of  corn  and  a 
comb.  Sometimes  she  has  a  cat  and 
sometimes  a  serpent,  in  memory  of  her 
having  commanded  a  number  of  venomous 
creatures  of  all  sorts  to  leave  the  neigh 
bourhood,  which  they  did  in  great  haste 
and  precipitated  themselves  into  the  Aar. 
She  is  said  to  have  been  a  native  of 
Thebes  in  Egypt,  whence  she  went  to 
Italy  in  search  of  martyrdom.  She  re 
mained  some  time  at  Milan,  visiting  the 
prisons  of  the  saints.  Hearing  of  the 
massacre  of  the  Theban  legion  at 
Agaunum  (now  St.  Maurice),  she  crossed 
the  Alps  and  went  to  the  scene  of  their 
martyrdom.  There  she  met  a  Christian 
from  her  own  country  and  lived  with 
him  at  Soleure,  in  great  sanctity  and 
asceticism,  converting  many  of  the 
heathen  Allemanni  and  supporting  her 
self  by  her  labour.  On  account  of 
her  virtues  and  miracles,  the  people 
began  to  worship  her.  She  therefore 
left  Soleure  and  lived  at  a  place  after 
wards  called  Clingow.  Thence  she 
removed  to  Zurzach  on  the  Rhine  and 
became  housekeeper  to  the  priest  and 
tended  the  lepers  and  other  poor  persons, 
washing  and  combing,  dressing  and  feed 
ing  them.  The  legend  told  of  so  many 


286 


ST.  VERENA 


saints  is  related  of  her  also  :  that  her 
master  grudged  her  giving  away  so  much, 
and  disbelieved  her  when  she  told  him 
what  she  had  in  her  bundles  and  in  her 
bottles,  and  on  finding  her  faithful, 
treated  her  with  more  honour  and  confi 
dence  than  before.  Her  tomb  was  for 
centuries  a  place  of  pilgrimage.  Her 
commemoration  occurs  during  the  harvest 
festival  and  is  celebrated  with  licentious 
observances. 

Miss  Eckenstein  cites  her  story  and 
worship  as  one  of  the  instances  in  which 
a  tribal  goddess  has  been  transformed 
into  a  Christian  saint,  the  heathen  rites 
surviving  amongst  the  peasantry.  She 
gives  a  great  many  curious  particulars 
of  the  superstitions  with  which  her  name 
is  connected  either  as  St.  Verena  or  St. 
Vreke.  When  the  girls  of  that  region 
marry,  they  sacrifice  their  little  maiden 
caps  to  St.  Verena,  and  couples  visit 
her  shrine  to  pray  for  children.  R.M. 
AA.SS.  Cahier.  Miss  Eckenstein, 
Woman  under  Monasticism.  For  the 
story  of  the  Theban  legion,  AA.SS., 
Sept.  22,  "St.  Maurice."  Butler  and 
Baillet,  Sept.  22,  and  Smith  and  Wace's 
Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography, 
"Legio  Thebrea,"  by  the  Rev.  G.  T. 
Stokes,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cazenove. 

St.  Verena  (2)  or  VERONA,  July  22, 
V.  M.  with  ST.  URSULA  (1).  AA.SS. 
Smith  and  Wace's  Diet,  of  Christian  Bio 
graphy.  Camerarius  claims  her  as  a 
native  of  Scotland.  Gynecseum. 

St.  Verenice,  VERONICA. 

St.  Verge,  VIRGANA. 

St.  Verinna,  BERINNA. 

St.  Verle,  PHABAILDIS. 

St.  Verona  (1),  VERONICA  (1). 

St.  Verona  (2),  July  10,  M.  at 
Antioch.  AA.SS. 

St.  Verona  (3),  VERENA  (2). 

St.  Verona  (4),  Aug.  29,  founder  of 
the  monastery  of  Veronhoven  near 
Louvain.  9th  or  10th  century.  She 
was  probably  a  lady  of  high  rank  and 
a  nun  at  Louvain.  Legend  says  she  was 
daughter  of  Louis,  king  of  Austrasia, 
and  after  his  death  reigned  in  'her  own 
right  for  fifteen  years.  She  had  a  twin 
brother  St.  Veronus,  who  during  his 
father's  life  exchanged  his  birthright  for 
the  calling  of  a  hermit.  When  he  took 


leave  of  his  sister  he  told  her  the  time 
of  his  death  would  be  announced  to  her 
by  the  fall  of  two  tall  trees,  then  growing 
at  the  door  of  the  king's  palace,  and  that, 
moreover,  they  would  point  in  the  direc 
tion  of  his  resting-place.  This  happened 
when  she  had  been  queen  about  five 
years.  She  set  off  in  a  car  drawn  by 
white  oxen  to  pray  at  her  brother's  grave, 
and  found  it  at  Lemberg  near  Louvain. 
After  many  miraculous  incidents  she 
returned  to  her  own  country  and  convent, 
and  after  ruling  well  for  ten  years  more, 
she  made  over  the  kingdom  to  her  heirs 
and  announced  to  her  nuns  that  she  was 
going  to  visit  her  brother  and  would 
not  return.  She  again  set  off  in  a  car 
with  white  oxen.  At  Mainz  she  fell  ill 
and  died.  The  chief  men  of  the  city 
wished  to  keep  the  body  of  the  saint, 
in  her  own  city,  but  earthquakes  and 
plagues  of  sorts  warned  them  to  comply 
with  her  dying  wish,  to  let  her  own 
white  oxen  take  her  whither  they  would  ; 
so  the  people  dressed  her  in  silken  robes, 
set  the  crown  on  her  head,  laid  her  on 
her  own  cart,  and  left  her  to  her  white 
oxen.  They  took  her  to  Coblentz  and 
there  all  the  bells  rang  and  sick  people 
went  to  meet  the  saint  and  be  cured  of 
their  infirmities.  Next  she  came  to  Holy 
Cross,  afterwards  called  St.  Verona's 
Mount.  There  the  oxen  stood  still. 
The  bells  rang  and  the  people  took  the 
sacred  body  out  of  the  carriage  and 
buried  it  in  the  middle  of  the  church. 
Her  grave  was  level  with  the  floor,  not 
raised  like  the  tombs  of  most  of  the 
Gallican  saints.  For  centuries  it  was 
regarded  as  a  sacred  spot.  A  fountain 
outside  the  church  was  long  resorted 
to  as  a  cure  for  fever.  On  the  day  of 
her  burial  a  famine  which  was  desolat 
ing  Brabant  gave  place  to  abundance. 
AAJSS.  Le  Mire,  Fasti.  Wion,  Lignum 
Vitse.  Martin. 

St.  Veronica  (1),  Shrove  Tuesday, 
Feb.  15,  March  25,  Nov.  27,  Dec.  25 
(BERENICE,  BERONICA,  GODELU,  THE 
HOLY  FACE,  IMAGE,  IMAGINE,  IMOGENS, 
SINDONE,  SAINT-SUAIRE,  VENICA,  VENICE, 
VENISE,  VERENICE,  VERONA,  VERONIKA, 
VOULT).  As  Veronica,  patron  of  Be- 
sangon.  As  Venise  she  is  patron  of 
lingeres  at  Paris  and  Liege,  at  Bois 


ST.   VERONICA 


287 


Guillaume  near  Rouen,  at  Valenciennes, 
and  at  Tournay.  Invoked  against  chlo 
rosis.  The  Holy  Face  is  patron  of 
Jaen,  Laon,  Montreuil,  and  the  Lateran 
Basilica.  St.  Veronica  and  St.  Fiacre 
are  patrons  against  heemorrhage,  and 
Veronica  is  sometimes  identified  with 

ST.  H^EMORRHOISSA. 

The  most  popular  legend  of  St. 
Veronica  is  that  she  was  a  charitable 
woman  living  in  Jerusalem  at  the  time 
of  our  Saviour's  Passion.  She  saw  Him 
pass  her  door,  carrying  His  Cross,  and 
observed  that  He  was  overcome  with 
distress  and  exhaustion,  and  that  drops 
of  agony  stood  on  His  forehead.  She 
wiped  His  face  with  her  veil,  which 
retained  ever  after  the  impress  of  His 
countenance. 

Another  legend  is  that  Tiberius,  who 
was  suffering  from  a  dreadful  cancer  or 
from  nine  sorts  of  leprosy,  heard  that 
wonderful  cures  had  been  performed  by 
a  Rabbi,  named  Jesus,  and  not  knowing 
that  He  had  been  put  to  death,  he  de 
spatched  a  messenger  to  Pilate,  to  send 
him  this  great  Doctor,  that  He  might  cure 
him  of  his  disease.  Pilate  said,  "  Ho 
was  a  malefactor  and  I  crucified  Him." 
As  Volusianus,  the  messenger,  went  out 
from  his  interview  with  Pilate,  he  met 
Veronica  and  asked  her  about  the  holy 
Man  Who  had  been  crucified.  She 
answered  with  tears,  "It  was  my  Lord 
and  my  God.  I  desired  to  have  His 
picture;  I  was  going  to  the  painter  to 
have  it  painted,  and  I  met  the  Lord. 
He  asked  me  where  I  was  going,  and 
when  I  had  told  Him,  He  took  the 
canvas  from  my  hands  and  gave  it  back 
to  me  with  His  portrait  printed  on  it." 
Volusianus  begged  to  have  the  picture, 
and  said  the  emperor  would  give  any 
price  for  it;  but  Veronica  would  not 
part  with  it.  She  told  him  further  that 
no  gold  or  silver  would  buy  a  cure,  but 
repentance  and  devotion  to  the  crucified 
Lord  might  obtain  it,  by  means  of  the 
picture.  Veronica  was  taken  to  Rome 
with  the  picture  and  as  soon  as  Tiberius 
had  looked  upon  it  he  was  healed.  He 
was  then  very  angry  with  Pilate  for 
having  put  the  holy  Rabbi  to  death,  but 
Pilate,  when  he  appeared  before  the 
emperor,  put  on  the  Lord's  seamless  coat, 


which  had  the  property  of  dispelling  all 
anger  in  those  who  looked  upon  it  or  its 
wearer.  At  last,  however,  he  was  caugh  t 
without  the  miraculous  coat  and  dragged 
to  the  presence  of  Tiberius,  who  at  once 
condemned  him  to  death  ;  but  before  any 
measures  were  taken  against  him,  he 
killed  himself  with  his  own  dagger.  In 
the  story  of  the  Revenging  of  the  Saviour 
(Cowper,  Apoc.  Gosp.  415),  it  is  Titus 
who  was  cured  of  a  cancer  in  the  face  by 
the  picture:  Veronica  is  taken,  among 
other  captives,  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome, 
but  Tiberius  dies  before  her  arrival. 

All  the  legends  make  her  go  to  Rome, 
and  some  say  she  remained  there  with 
SS.  Peter  and  Paul  and  was  a  martyr 
under  Nero ;  others  say  she  died  there 
and  left  the  holy  handkerchief  to  St. 
Clement,  the  Pope.  By  another  account 
she  went  to  Marseilles  with  SS.  Lazarus, 
MARTHA  and  MAKY,  and  suffered  martyr 
dom  in  Provence  or  Aquitaine,  or  died  a 
hermit  at  Solac  on  the  Garonne.  She 
has  been  called  the  wife  of  St.  Amatoror 
Amadour,  but  there  was  no  St.  Amator 
for  centuries  after  her  time,  a  difficulty 
which  is  got  over  by  identifying  him 
with  Zaccheeus,  the  publican,  or  by  call 
ing  him  an  apprentice  of  St.  Joseph  and 
servant  of  the  BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY. 
According  to  Butler,  Baillet,  and  other 
accredited  writers,  there  was  no  woman 
of  the  name  of  Veronica  among  the  early 
Christians.  Some  of  the  story-tellers, 
however,  to  give  an  air  of  probability  to 
their  fictions,  said  her  name  was  a  corrup 
tion  of  Berenice,  a  not  uncommon  name 
in  Palestine  in  the  time  of  our  Lord. 
They  then  proceeded  to  identify  her 
with  Berenice,  a  niece  or  daughter-in-law 
of  Herod,  and  to  say  that  she  went  to 
Rome  to  demand  vengeance  against 
Pilate.  The  original  devotion  was  to 
the  picture  not  to  the  woman  who  carried 
it.  It  was  the  face  of  the  Saviour  de 
picted  on  a  linen  cloth ;  neither  the 
throat  nor  any  part  of  the  dress  was 
included.  It  was  called  Veronica,  the 
true  image,  from  vcra,  true,  and  eikon,  an 
image.  It  was  also  called  in  various 
languages  and  dialects,  the  holy  face, 
the  holy  image,  the  holy  handkerchief. 
Many  copies  were  sold  in  front  of  the 
church  of  the  Vatican  ;  the  vendors  were 


288 


SS.  VERONICA 


called  veronica-sellers.  These  pictures, 
instead  of  being  framed  or  fastened 
on  wood,  were  always  kept  hanging. 
Painters  soon  represented  them  hanging, 
sometimes  held  up  by  an  angel,  some 
times  by  a  woman  ;  this  figure  was  at 
first  regarded  only  as  the  supporter  of 
the  veronica,  but  by  degrees  the  name  of 
St.  Veronica  came  to  be  applied  to  the 
woman,  and  a  story  grew  up,  as  many 
other  legends  have  originated,  to  explain 
the  picture  ;  but  this  story,  which  varies 
in  different  collections  and  localities,  is 
not  traceable  in  any  of  its  forms  further 
back  than  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
it  had  for  a  time  a  great  popularity. 
Until  then  the  word  "  veronica  "  meant 
only  the  portrait  itself.  Some  said  it 
was  part  of  the  linen  in  which  our  Lord 
was  buried  ;  some,  that  a  devout  woman 
wiped  His  face  with  it  when  He  was 
fainting  under  the  weight  of  His  cross. 

Although  the  worship  of  the  woman 
is  comparatively  modern,  that  of  the 
picture  is  of  great  antiquity.  Over  one 
of  the  altars  of  the  Pantheon  there  was, 
in  1864,  an  antique  coffer  behind  a  glass 
case,  it  was  for  a  hundred  years  the 
depository  of  the  Volto  Santo,  placed 
there,  it  is  said,  by  Boniface  VI.  when 
the  building  was  first  consecrated  to 
Christian  rites  in  608,  thence  removed  to 
St.  Spirito,  and  eventually  to  St.  Peter's  ; 
Mr.  Hemans  says  in  all  probability  it 
was  an  old  picture  of  the  ascetic  Byzan 
tine  school.  It  is  the  original  veronica 
from  which  the  others  are  copied ;  it  is 
mentioned  in  documents  of  the  twelfth 
century,  but  although  it  is  kept  with 
great  veneration  and  shown  on  certain 
days,  the  breviary  of  St.  Peter's  church 
has  neither  festival  nor  record  of  St. 
Veronica,  either  as  a  holy  woman  or  as 
the  face  of  the  Lord.  Sergius  IV.  in 
1011  dedicated  an  altar  in  St.  Peter's  to 
the  Holy  Face.  The  Cistercian  convent 
of  Ste.  Veronique  at  Montreuil  was  so 
called  from  a  handkerchief  sent  from 
Eome  by  Urban  IV.  (Pope  1261-1264) 
to  his  sister,  who  was  a  nun  there.  The 
Holy  Face  of  Lucca  is  not  the  same.  It 
is  a  miraculous  crucifix  attributed  to 
Nicodemus. 

After  the  Council  of  Trent,  when  the 
bishops  determined  to  purge  the  calendars 


and  abolish  fictitious  saints,  the  worship 
of  the  woman  Veronica  was  among  the 
cults  that  were  condemned  to  disappear. 
The  Gospel  of  Nicodcmus.  The  Death  of 
Pilate.  The  Revenging  of  the  Saviour. 
Baillet.  Butler,  "Life  of  St.  Veronica 
of  Milan,"  Jan.  13.  Mrs.  Jameson, 
Sacred  and  Legendary  Art.  Hemans, 
Monuments  in  Rome. 

SS.  Veronica  (2,  3),  April  15,  MM. 
one  in  Mesopotamia,  the  other  at  Antioch 
in  Syria.  AA.SS.  Compare  DIONINA. 

S.  Veronica  (4),  July  11,  M.  with 
PRODOCIA  and  SPECIOSA  (3). 

St.  Veronica  (5),  Jan.  28,  13,  +  in 
Parma,  1497,  O.S.A.  The  daughter  of 
poor  but  honest  and  pious  parents  in  the 
village  of  Binasco,  near  Milan.  She 
wished  to  take  the  veil  in  the  austere 
convent  of  St.  Martha,  of  the  Order  of 
St.  Augustine.  Hard  at  work  all  day, 
she  sat  up  at  night,  trying  to  learn  to 
read  and  write,  that  she  might  qualify 
to  become  a  nun.  As  she  had  no  teacher, 
she  found  it  extremely  difficult.  One 
day,  when  she  was  in  great  anxiety  and 
distress  about  her  ignorance  and  the 
difficulty  of  learning,  the  VIRGIN  MARY 
appeared  to  her  and  told  her  not  to  fret, 
for  it  was  enough  if  she  knew  three 
things :  (1)  Purity  of  heart,  which  was 
to  be  learned  by  giving  all  her  affections 
to  God ;  (2)  Patience  ;  (3)  Meditation 
on  the  Passion  of  Christ,  for  which  she 
was  to  set  apart  some  time  every  day. 
After  three  years'  preparation,  she  was 
received  into  St.  Martha's  convent  and 
was  remarkable  for  her  humility  and 
obedience.  By  divine  direction  she 
visited  Como,  Eome,  and  Florence.  At 
Rome  she  had  an  audience  of  the  Pope, 
who  said  she  was  a  holy  woman.  She 
had  many  visions.  Among  her  graces 
was  a  miraculous  gift  of  tears ;  the  spot 
where  she  knelt  was  so  wetted  with  them 
that  it  looked  as  if  a  jug  of  water  had 
been  upset ;  she  was  obliged  to  have  in 
her  cell,  an  earthen  vessel  ready  to  re 
ceive  the  supernatural  efflux,  and  she 
often  filled  it  to  the  weight  of  several 
Milanese  pounds.  Auyustinian  Mart. 
Butler.  Vaughan.  She  was  beatified 
by  Leo  X.  and  placed  in  the  A.EM. 
by  Benedict  XIV. 

B.  Veronica  (6)  of  Ferrara,  July 


ST.   VIBORADA 


289 


<),  +  1511.  She  was  a  nun,  O.S.D., 
under  B.  ANTONIA  (7),  in  the  convent  of 
ST.  CATHERINE  the  martyr  at  Ferrara. 
She  was  sent  thence  to  reform  the  con 
vent  of  the  Annunciation  in  the  same 
city,  and  she  succeeded  B.  LUCY  (21)  as 
abbess  of  that  of  ST.  CATHERINE  of  Siena, 
also  at  Ferrara  \  which  office  she  held 
for  seven  years.  AA.SS.,  "  B.  Antonia." 
Razzi.  Pio. 

St.  Veronica  (7)  Giuliani,  July  9, 
Sept.  13,  1660-1727.  O.S.F.  She  was 
born  at  Mercatello  in  the  States  of  the 
Church,  and  was  christened  URSULA. 
She  is  said  to  have  observed  the  fasts  of 
the  Church  from  her  infancy.  At  a  very 
early  age  she  habitually  reserved  part  of 
her  food  to  give  to  the  poor.  Once  while 
she  was  a  very  little  girl  she  had  a  pair 
of  new  shoes  with  which  she  was  much 
delighted.  As  she  was  sitting  at  the 
window,  a  pilgrim  passing  the  house 
looked  up  to  her  and  asked  for  alms. 
She  had  nothing  to  give  him  but  she 
thought  of  her  pretty  shoes,  and  taking 
one  off,  she  threw  it  down  to  him.  He 
said  one  shoe  was  of  no  use  unless  she 
gave  him  the  other.  That  also  she  took 
off  and  threw  down,  but  it  lodged  on  the 
arch  over  the  doorway,  where  no  one 
could  reach  it.  The  pilgrim  grew  taller 
and  taller  and  stretched  out  his  arm 
farther  and  farther  until  he  could  take 
the  shoe,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  done  so, 
he  disappeared.  Soon  afterwards  the 
VIRGIN  MARY  appeared  to  the  little 
Ursula,  with  the  shoes  in  her  hand 
shining  with  jewels.  She  told  her  she 
had  given  her  shoes  to  the  Saviour  and 
He  had  adorned  them  with  gems.  Ursula 
took  the  capuchin  habit  and  the  name  of 
Veronica  in  1677,  at  Citta  di  Castello. 
In  1697,  having  continually  meditated 
on  the  Passion  of  Christ,  she  received 
the  stigmata,  like  St.  Francis  and  St. 
Catherine  of  Siena,  and  besides  the  five 
wounds,  she  had  the  marks  of  the  crown 
of  thorns.  In  1716  she  became  superior 
of  her  convent  and  remained  so  until  her 
death.  She  was  canonized  by  Gregory 
XVI.  on  Trinity  Sunday,  1839,  with  St. 
Alfonso  Liguori,  St.  Francis  de  Girolamo, 
St.  Joseph  of  the  Cross,  and  St.  Pacificus 
of  San  Severino.  They  are  sometimes 
represented  .  in  a  group,  although  they 

VOL.  II. 


were  not  all  contemporary.  R.M.,  July 
9  .AM.M.  Mart.  Romano-Seraphicum, 
Sept.  13.  Lives  of  the  Saints  canonized 
on  Trinity  Sunday. 

St.  Veronica  (8)  Nucci,  Nov.  9, 
was  born  in  .1841,  at  Cerreto,  of  a  poor 
but  pious  couple.  She  took  the  vows  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  in  Ischia, 
in  1859,  and  died,  1862,  in  the  odour  of 
sanctity.  Her  grave  is  highly  venerated. 
Stadler. 

St.  Verylde,  PHARAILDIS. 

St.  Vesta  or  VESTINA.  (See  JANU- 
ARIA  (1).) 

St.  Vestigia.     (See  JANUARIA  (1).) 

St.  Vestita,  July  20,  M.  at  Rome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Vetula,  June  15,  M.     AA.SS. 

St.  Vetusa,  July  18,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Vey,  Nov.  1  or  3  (BAYA,  BEGA, 
BEY,  CHAIBAL-BHAY,  CHAIBAL-VEY),  -f 
896.  In  the  island  of  Little  Cumbray 
— which  is  in  the  shire  of  Bute,  but 
belongs  to  the  parish  of  Kilbude  in  Ayr 
shire — may  still  be  seen  the  ruins  of  a 
chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Beye,  a  Scottish 
virgin  and  saint.  It  is  called  St.  Vey's 
chapel,  the  name  of  the  saint  having 
been  thus  changed  by  the  Scoto-Irish 
construction  of  speech,  in  which  it  is 
called  Chaibal-Bhay  (pronounced  Chai- 
bal-Vey).  ST.  MAURA  (7),  a  friend  of 
Donald  VI.  (893-904),  visited  her  there 
and  received  instruction  from  her.  After 
Vey's  death  the  rector  of  the  church  of 
Dunbar  attempted  to  carry  off  her  relics. 
He  encountered  such  a  frightful  storm 
that  he  was  obliged  to  leave  them  in  the 
solitude  she  had  chosen  in  her  life.  Kil- 
bag  head,  in  the  island  of  Lewis,  pro 
bably  takes  its  name  either  from  Baya 
or  Bega.  Forbes,  Kalendars.  Chalmers, 
Caledonia.  St.  Vey  may  be  honoured 
under  the  name  of  BEE,  but  she  is  a 
distinct  person  from  ST.  BEE  OF  EGRE- 
MONT.  Compare  BEGA  (1). 

St.  Viatrix,  BEATRICE  (1). 

St.  Viborada,  May  2  (WIBORADA, 
VIVREDA,  in  German  WEIBRATH,  *in 
French  GUIBORAT,  GUIVREE  or  VIFREDE), 
V.  M.  925.  Patron  of  St.  Gall.  She 
was  a  member  of  an  ancient  and 
noble  family  in  Suabia.  In  her  youth 
she  lived  with  monastic  austerity  and 

u 


290 


ST.  VIBORADA 


seclusion  in  her  lather's  house,  not  neg 
lecting  anything  that  could  add  to  the 
happiness  and  comfort   of  her  parents, 
who  indulged  and  encouraged  her  devout 
inclinations.     When  her  brother  Hitto 
became   a    priest   she   took    delight   in 
making  his  clothes  and  everything  that 
he  wanted  for  his  sacred  ministry,  and 
while  he  was  studying  theology  in  the 
abbey  of  St.  Gall,  she  worked  not  only 
for   him   but   for   the    monks    and  the 
church  of  that  monastery,  and  was  par 
ticularly  useful   in   making   covers   for 
their  books.     As  soon  as  Hitto  was  or 
dained  priest  she  went  to  live  with  him, 
to  attend  to  his  temporal  needs,  and  to 
serve    God    and    her    neighbour    with 
greater  facility.  They  turned  their  house 
into  a  hospital,  and  Hitto  often  brought 
patients  on  his  mule  or  on  his  shoulders, 
to  his  sister,  who  tended  them  carefully. 
They  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  after 
which  Hitto,  by  Viborada's  advice,  be 
came  a  monk  in  the  abbey  of  St.  Gall. 
Viborada  resumed  her  ascetic  life.     She 
soon  had  to  appear  before  the  bishop  of 
Constance,  to  answer  a  disgraceful  ac 
cusation,  brought  against  her  by  one  of 
her  servants.      The   bishop  was  easily 
convinced  of  her  innocence,  and  took  her 
with  him   on   a   visit  to   her   brother's 
monastery.     Afterwards  she  would  not 
return  to  her  former  dwelling  but  had  a 
cell  built  for  her  near  a  church  of  St. 
George,    on   a    mountain  not   far  from 
St.    Gall.      The    people   understanding 
that   she   had   impoverished  herself  by 
charity     and     had     been    calumniated 
through    her    sanctity    and   asceticism, 
vied  with  each  other  in  giving  alms  for 
her   support.     She    only    reserved    for 
herself  the  barest  necessities  of  existence 
and  gave  all  the  rest  to  the  poor  who 
came  to  her  from  great  distances.     But 
as  the  concourse  of  those  who  gave  to 
her,   those  who  begged   from  her,  and 
those  who   came  to   consult   her  about 
their  salvation,  occupied  too  much  of  her 
time  and  disturbed   her  too  much,  she 
resolved  to  shut  herself  up  entirely  from 
contact  with  the  world.     Her  friend,  the 
bishop  of  Constance,  blessed  a  cell  for 
her,  beside  the  church  of  St.  Magnns,  a 
little  way  from  St.  Gall,  and  there,  with 
a  solemn  religious  ceremony,  he  walled 


her  up,  about  the  year  891,  and  there 
she  lived  for  thirty-four  years,  conver 
sing  with  God  and  undisturbed  by  man. 
During    that   time    RACHILD,    a   young 
woman  of  the  neighbourhood,  was  afflicted 
with  a  dreadful  incurable  disease.  When 
her  parents  had  vainly  tried  all  the  or 
dinary    means    for   her   recovery,   they 
resolved  to  take  her  to  Rome,  that  she 
might  be  cured  by  some  of  the  relics  of 
the  martyrs,  or  at  one  of  the  shrines  of 
the  Apostles.     Viborada  hearing  of  their 
intention,  sent   and   requested   them  to 
bring  the  girl  to  her,  promising  to  take 
care  of  her  body   and   soul  as  long  as 
they  both  should  live.     She  fulfilled  her 
promise   so    well    that   her   cares    and 
prayers    procured    perfect    health     for 
Rachild,  who,   under   her  training,    be 
came  a  saint.     When  a  war  broke  out 
in  920  between  Henry  the  Fowler,  em 
peror  of  Germany,  and  Burchard,  duke 
of  Suabia,  Rachild's  parents  thought  she 
would  not  be  safe  in  so   unguarded   a 
place  as  the  cell  of  the  saint,  but  Vi 
borada  made  her  a  recluse  like  herself, 
and  whenever  she  had  another  attack  of 
her  illness  she  cured  her  by  her  prayers 
and  her  treatment.     Many  other  women 
begged  to  be  taken  under  her  direction, 
but  her  humility  and  love  of  solitude 
prevented  her  increasing  the  number  of 
her  disciples  ;  the  only  one  she  was  per 
suaded  to  receive  was  Wendilgard,  grand 
daughter   of  Henry   the   Fowler.     Her 
husband,  Udalric,  had  been  taken  pri 
soner  by  the  Hungarians  very  soon  after 
his  marriage,  and  was  believed  to  have 
been  killed.  Wendilgard,  partly  to  avoid 
making  a  second  marriage,  undertook  a 
life  of  religious  seclusion,  and  obtained 
permission  to  build  herself  a  cell  near 
that  of  Viborada,  whom  she  chose  for 
her  spiritual  director.     She  made  liberal 
offerings  to  the  abbey  of  St.  Gall,  to  pro 
cure  prayers  for  the  repose  of  her  hus 
band's  soul,  gave  the  greater  part  of  her 
property  to  the  poor,  and  kept  only  what 
was  necessary  for  her  subsistence.     As 
she  had   been   brought   up   luxuriously 
and  found  it  very  hard  to  fast,  Viborada 
had  to   reprove  her  for  her  desire  for 
good  food  and  fresh  fruit.     Under  the 
influence   of  Viborada   she   attained  to 
such  sanctity  that  the  bishop  of  Constance 


ST.  VICTORIA 


291 


gave  her  the  religious  veil  and  she  begged 
Viborada  to  promise  that  she  should 
succeed  Kachild,  whose  death  was  daily 
expected.  Eachild,  however,  lived  some 
year.s  longer,  and  four  years  after  the 
retreat  of  Wendilgard,  news  came  of  the 
return  of  Udalric,  who  demanded  to  have 
his  wife  restored  to  him.  The  bishops 
decreed  that  notwithstanding  her  monas 
tic  profession,  she  must  return  to  her 
husband.  Wendilgard  promised  that  if 
she  survived  her  husband  she  would 
renew  her  vows,  and  meantime  resolved 
if  she  had  a  child,  to  dedicate  it  to  God 
in  a  religious  life.  She  died  in  giving 
birth  to  Burchardus  Ingenitus.  Udalric 
faithfully  fulfilled  his  wife's  pious  wish, 
by  placing  his  son  in  the  abbey  of  St. 
Gall,  of  which  he  eventually  became 
abbot.  Meanwhile  the  Hungarians  ra 
vaged  the  country  where  Viborada  dwelt, 
and  the  bishop  offered  her  a  retreat  in  a 
fortress,  but  she  would  neither  leave  her 
cell  nor  allow  her  friend  Eachild  to  be 
taken  from  her,  promising  the  friends  of 
the  latter  that  she  should  be  safe.  She 
advised  all  the  priests  of  St.  Magnus' 
church,  of  whom  her  brother  was  the 
chief,  to  take  refuge  in  the  fortress.  The 
Hungarians  arrived,  burnt  the  church, 
and  not  being  able  to  burn  the  cell,  took 
off  the  roof  and  found  the  saint  praying. 
They  expected  to  find  gold  and  silver 
concealed  in  her  cell,  and  being  enraged 
at  their  disappointment,  they  knocked 
her  down  with  three  blows  of  their  axes, 
and  left  her  for  dead.  She  lived  until 
the  next  day.  Hitto  was  going  to  bury 
her  immediately,  but  Kachild,  whom 
they  had  not  touched,  bade  him  wait  for 
the  abbot  of  St.  Gall,  who  came  with  his 
monks,  took  up  the  body  of  the  martyr 
with  great  solemnity,  and  placed  it  first, 
for  safety,  in  the  fortress  already  men 
tioned,  and  after  the  invasion  was  over, 
in  his  church,  where  it  remained  during 
the  twenty-one  years  that  Eachild  sur 
vived,  after  which  both  were  placed  in 
the  church  of  St.  Magnus.  St.  Viborada 
was  worshipped  as  a  saint  immediately 
after  her  death.  In  1047,  Clement  II. 
having  read  her  life  and  miracles,  sent 
and  ordered  Norbert,  bishop  of  St.  Gall, 
to  canonize  her,  complaining  that  he  or 
his  predecessors  bad  neglected  to  do  so, 


although  God  had  been  manifesting  her 
holiness  for  more  than  a  century.  She 
is  in  the  German  and  Benedictine  mar- 
tyrologies.  Her  Life  was  written  by 
Hartman,  a  monk  of  St.  Gall,  thirty- 
three  years  after  her  death,  from  the 
information  of  persons  who  had  known 
her  ;  and  a  hundred  years  afterwards,  by 
Hipidaunus,  another  monk  of  St.  Gall : 
both  are  published  byBollandus,  AA.SS., 
and  Mabillon,  AA.SS.O.S.B.  Baillet. 

St.  Vicenza,  VINCENTIA. 

St.  Vico  or  VIHCO.     (See  ANNA  (7).) 

St.  Victia  or  VICTIAS,  May  28,  one  of 
twenty-six  martyrs  at  Rome  with  St. 
Epegatus.  AA.SS. 

St.  Victoria  (1),  Dec.  23,  V.  M.  250 
or  253.  A  Eoman  lady  betrothed  to 
Eugenius,  a  heathen,  who  begged  her  to 
persuade  her  sister  or  friend  ST.  ANA 
TOLIA  (2)  to  marry  his  friend  Titus 
Aurelius.  Victoria  tried,  but  instead 
of  succeeding  she  was  persuaded  by 
Anatolia  to  make  a  vow  of  virginity. 
Eugenius  fearing  that  her  property 
would  be  confiscated  if  she  were  openly 
denounced  as  a  Christian,  obtained  an 
order  from  the  emperor  to  have  the  two 
girls  taken  to  villas  belonging  to  their 
betrothed  husbands.  These  villas  were 
near  the  Lacus  Velinus  and  near  the 
little  town  of  Thora  in  Umbria.  There 
they  were  starved  nearly  to  death,  and 
instead  of  apostatising  they  made  many 
converts.  After  three  years  of  persecu 
tion,  during  which  she  performed  many 
miracles,  Victoria  was  stabbed  by  Tali- 
archus,  the  executioner.  He  was  at 
once  smitten  with  ^leprosy  and  died  in 
six  days.  Anatolia  was  put  to  death 
within  the  year.  She  and  Victoria  are 
honoured  together,  Dec.  18.  R.M. 
Martyrum  Ada. 

St.  Victoria  (2)  of  Avitina,  Feb.  11, 
V.  M.  304.  The  Emperor  Diocletian 
having  ordered  all  Christian  churches  to 
be  destroyed  and  every  copy  of  the 
sacred  books  to  be  given  up  and  burned, 
the  Christians  concealed  their  books  as 
best  they  could,  and  met  together  secretly 
for  divine  service.  Fifty  of  them  were 
assembled  one  Sunday,  in  the  house  of 
Octavius  Felix,  at  Avitina  or  Alutina 
in  Proconsular  Africa;  St.  Saturniuus, 
a  priest  of  that  town,  was  officiating. 


292 


ST.  VICTORIA 


Four  of  his  children  were  present, 
namely,  Saturninus  and  Felix,  lectors, 
ST.  MARY  (10),  who  was  already  con 
secrated  to  a  religious  life,  and  Hilarion, 
still  a  child ;  Dativns,  a  senator,  was 
also  there.  Besides  Victoria  and  MAKY, 
the  women  present  were  SS.  EVE,  REGI- 
OLA,  EESTITUTA,  PRIM^EVA,  POMPONIA, 
HEREDINA,  SECUNDA,  JANUARIA,  SATUR- 
NINA,  MARGARITA,  HONORATA,  KEGULA  (1), 
MATRONA,  CECILIA,  BEREDINA.  They 
were  all  seized  and  brought  before  the 
local  magistrate,  in  the  very  place  where 
Fondanus,  a  former  bishop  of  the  town, 
had  had  the  cowardice  to  deliver  up  the 
holy  Scriptures  to  be  burnt.  The  fifty 
confessors  were  sent  in  chains  to  Carth 
age,  and  it  is  recorded  that  they  appeared 
rather  like  people  going  to  a  joyous 
festival  than  like  prisoners  about  to  be 
tried  for  their  lives.  At  Carthage  they 
were  tried  by  Anulinus,  the  proconsul, 
who  questioned  Dativus  first  as  the 
person  of  highest  rank.  He  began  with 
the  usual  form  of  asking  who  he  was. 
Dativus  did  not  say  he  was  a  senator 
but  merely  answered,  "  I  am  a  Christian." 
He  was  then  ordered  to  be  tortured.  As 
the  executioners  were  beginning  their 
work,  one  of  the  confessors,  named 
Thelica,  threw  himself  into  the  midst 
of  them,  saying, "  We  also  are  Christians. 
We  were  present  at  the  assembly." 
Anulinus  ordered  him  to  be  cruelly 
beaten  at  once,  and  he  was  afterwards 
put  on  the  rack  and  asked  to  name  the 
Christians  who  were  present  at  the 
assembly  and  to  say  who  was  their 
leader.  Thelica  knowing  that  he  acted 
in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  his 
brethren,  gave  the  first  honours  to 
Saturninus,  by  saying  that  he  was  their 
priest  and  that  without  him  the  meeting 
would  not  have  been  regular  and  complete. 
Thelica  was  remanded  to  prison,  and 
Dativus,  who  was  all  this  time  on  the 
equuleus,  was  again  questioned.  Vic 
toria's  brother,  a  senator  named  Fortu- 
nianus,  appeared  against  him,  accusing 
him  of  having  perverted  the  mind  of 
his  sister  Victoria,  and  taken  her  and 
two  other  young  girls — Kestituta  and 
Secunda — to  Avitina.  Victoria  who  was 
present,  defended  herself  and  Dativus, 
by  saying  that  she  had  not  gone  to 


Avitina  with  Dativus  or  by  the  per 
suasion  of  any  man ;  that  she  had  gone 
of  her  own  free  will,  in  order  to  be 
present  at  the  meetings  of  the  Christians. 
Dativus  was  remanded  to  prison  and.  the 
others  were  examined  and  tortured  :  they 
all  said  that  the  obligation  to  keep 
Sunday  was  indispensable  and  that  being 
Christians  they  must  meet  on  that  day 
to  worship  God.  They  were  then  sent 
to  prison,  where  Octavius  and  Felix,  the 
lector,  died  of  their  wounds  the  same 
night.  Victoria  and  the  little  Hilarion 
were  kept  until  the  last,  as  the  proconsul 
hoped  to  induce  them  to  renounce  their 
religion.  Victoria  belonged  to  a  heathen 
family  and  had  fled  from  her  home  on 
the  eve  of  a  marriage  which  her  parents 
had  arranged  for  her;  she  had  thrown 
herself  out  of  a  window  and  had  hidden 
first  in  a  church  and  then  with  some 
Christians.  Under  their  protection  she 
took  the  vow  of  virginity,  according  to 
the  form  then  practised  in  Africa,  Italy 
and  Gaul.  As  part  of  the  ceremony  she 
offered  her  head  on  the  altar  and  obliged 
herself  to  preserve  her  hair  uncut  all 
her  life.  She  was  soon  infected  with 
the  ardour  for  martyrdom  shown  by 
so  many  Christians  of  the  time.  Her 
brother  tried  to  excuse  her  and  procure 
her  liberation,  on  the  ground  that  she 
was  of  unsound  mind  and  had  been  de 
ceived  by  the  Christians ;  but  the  wisdom 
of  her  answers  proved  that  she  was  in 
her  right  senses  and  a  girl  of  superior 
intelligence.  Anulinus  asked  her  if  she 
would  go  home  with  her  brother,  but 
she  refused  and  chose  rather  to  rejoin 
her  companions  in  prison.  The  pro 
consul  did  not  doubt  that  he  could 
convert  the  boy  Hilarion  and  sought  to 
save  him  on  the  plea  that  he  had  been 
led  to  the  meeting  by  others.  The  child 
said,  "  I  am  a  Christian.  I  was  present 
at  the  meeting  of  my  own  free  will  and 
without  any  compulsion."  The  procon 
sul  tried  to  intimidate  him  with  threats 
of  childish  punishment,  but  Hilarion 
laughed  at  him.  Anulinus,  irritated, 
threatened  to  cut  off  his  nose  and  ears. 
The  boy  replied,  "  You  may  do  it,  but 
I  am  a  Christian."  He  was  then  ordered 
to  return  to  prison.  He  clasped  his 
little  hands,  and  his  baby  voice  said, 


B.   VILLANA 


293 


"  Lord,  I  give  Thee  thanks."  It  is  not 
known  when  or  how  these  martyrs  died, 
except  the  two  Felixes. 

Baillet,  from  the  Acts  of  Saturninus  of 
Africa  and  his  companions,  acknowledged 
as  genuine  by  St.  Augustine,  411,  and 
by  all  hagiographers  since  his  time: 
they  are  given  by  Bollandus.  Butler. 

St.  Victoria  (3),  Nov.  17,  V.  M.  304, 
at  Cordova.  Patron  of  Cordova,  Burgos, 
and  Toledo.  Eepresented  with  arrows. 
She  was  put  to  death  in  the  persecution 
under  Diocletian,  with  her  brother  St. 
Acisclus,  or  as  he  is  called  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Salisbury,  Acyldy,  "in 
comendacyon  of  whose  precyous  deth, 
euery  yere  in  the  daye  of  theyr  passyon, 
swete  and  freshe  roses  done  sprynge  by 
myracle."  Their  bodies  were  brought 
to  Toulouse  by  Charlemagne  and  vene 
rated  there  in  the  church  of  St. Saturninus. 
Perhaps  this  is  the  Victoria  called  by 
Cahier  St.  Victoria  of  Marseilles,  patron 
of  millers.  This  patronage  may  be  due 
to  the  great  stone  tied  round  her  neck 
when  she  was  thrown  into  the  river,  one 
of  many  futile  attempts  to  kill  or  hurt 
her.  She  was  finally  shot  with  arrows. 
EM.  Cahier. 

St.  Victoria  (4),  Dec.  14,  M.  with 
SS.  Fidentius,  Valerian  and  seventeen 
others.  They  are  known  from  two  ser 
mons  preached  by  St.  Augustine  at 
Hippo:  he  does  not  enter  into  detail 
respecting  their  martyrdom ;  probably 
his  hearers  were  alive  when  the  perse 
cution  occurred.  He  reminds  his  flock 
that  "the  Saints  have  no  need  of  the 
feasts  that  we  make  in  their  honour," 
and  that  to  commemorate  them  without 
following  their  example  would  be  to 
offer  them  hypocritical  flattery.  Massini, 
Raccolta. 

SS.  Victoria  (5-18), MM.  at  Rome,  in 
Africa,  and  other  places,  at  various  times. 

St.  Victoria  (19),  Dec.  6,  M.  484, 
at  Cucusa  in  Africa.  In  the  persecution 
of  the  Catholics  by  Huneric,  king  of 
the  Vandals,  her  husband  went  over  to 
the  Arian  heresy  and  urged  her  to  do  the 
same,  for  his  sake  and  that  of  their 
children.  She  remained  firm,  and  was 
put  to  the  torture.  While  she  was  sus 
pended  over  a  slow  fire,  he  brought  her 
little  children,  that  the  sight  of  them 


and  the  sound  of  their  voices  might 
prevail  with  her,  when  suffering  and  the 
fear  of  death  failed  to  do  so.  But  she 
stopped  her  ears  and  turned  away  her 
eyes.  She  was  taken  from  the  fire 
and  her  shoulders  were  dislocated.  She 
fainted  from  the  pain  and  was  thrown 
aside  as  dead,  but  she  recovered  and 
said  she  had  had  a  vision  in  which  she 
had  been  healed  by  the  BLESSED  VIRGIN. 
She  is  honoured  with  SS.  DIONYSIA  (5) 
and  DATIVA.  Baillet.  Butler.  Ruinarfc. 

St.  Victoria  (20),  Dec.  23,  abbess,  5th 
.century.  Patron  of  Placentia.  Sister  of 
St.  Savinus,  bishop  of  Placentia.  She  is 
honoured  there  and  at  Sestri  di  Levante, 
where  her  body  is  preserved.  Cahier. 

St.  Victoriana,  May,  6,  M.  at  Milan. 
AA.SS. 

SS.  Victorina  (1-8),  MM. 

St.  Victorina  (9),  Sept.  19,  sister  of 

St.  Victrix,  Oct.  18,  M.  in  Africa, 
3rd  or  beginning  of  4th  century.  AA.SS. 

St.  Victuaria,  Feb.  17,  M.  with 
AGAPE  (2)  and  many  others.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Victuria  (1-7),  MM.  in  the  early 
persecutions.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

SS.  Victurina  (1,  2),  May  10,  MM. 
at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Victurina  (3),  June  3,  M.  at 
Rome.  AA.S8. 

B.  Vierge  or  VIERGUE,  Virgana. 

St.  Vifetrude  (1),  WULFETBUDE. 

St.  Vifetrude  (2),  perhaps  Wulfrida. 

St.  Vifrede,  VIBORADA. 

St.    Vilbetta    or    VILBEBTA.      (See 

ElNBETTA.) 

St.     Vilefretuit    or    VILEFRETRUIT, 

WULFETRUDE,  also  WuLFRIDA. 

St.  Vilfetruy,  WULFETRUDE,  and 
perhaps  WULFRIDA. 

St.  Vilgeforte,  WILGEFORTIS. 

B.  Villana,  called  VILLANA  NAZA- 
RENA  by  Arturus,  Aug.  2(3,  Jan.  29,  Dec. 
5,  +  1360.  3rd  O.S.D.  Represented 
with  a  mirror.  Daughter  of  a  merchant 
of  the  noble  family  of  Botti.  She  prac 
tised  what  austerities  she  could  in  her 
father's  house,  until  finding  her  parents 
disapproved  of  her  habits,  she  fled  from 
home  one  evening,  intending  to  bury 
herself  in  a  convent.  It  was,  however, 
too  late  to  gain  admittance,  so  she  went 
back  and  hid  near  the  door  of  her  house 


294 


ST.  VILLBETTA 


until  dawn.  Her  father  objected  so 
strongly  to  her  becoming  a  nun,  that 
when  he  discovered  what  she  had  been 
doing,  he  found  a  suitable  husband  for 
her  that  very  day.  His  name  was 
Rosso  Benintendi.  As  her  parents  had 
foreseen,  she  soon  began  to  be  like  other 
young  wives,  amusing  herself  with 
worldly  affairs  and  enjoying  the  plea 
sures  and  luxuries  of  her  station.  Her 
body,  accustomed  to  mortification,  grew 
fat,  and  her  neglected  spiritual  life 
began  to  fade  away.  One  day  as  she 
was  adorning  herself  for  a  festival  she. 
looked  in  the  glass,  and  there,  instead 
of  herself  she  saw  the  devil.  Horrified, 
she  sent  for  other  mirrors,  but  still  she 
saw  the  same  apparition.  She  went  in 
great  distress  to  the  Dominican  church, 
confessed  her  vanity  and  sin,  and  took 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  Vil- 
lana  was  beatified  by  Leo  XII.  in  1824. 
A.EM.,  O.S.D.,  Feb.  28  or  29.  AA.SS. 
Diario  di  Roma.  Razzi,  Predicatori. 
Cahier.  Brocchi,  SS.  e  BB.  Fiorentini 
Massini,  Raccolta. 

St.  Villbetta,  EINBETTA. 

St.  Vincentia  (l),  Feb.  l,  Oct.  22,  + 
c.  390.  Wife  of  St.  Severus,  bishop  of 
Ravenna,  patron  of  weavers  and  drapers. 
He  was  a  weaver,  and  lived  at  Ravenna, 
in  holy  poverty  and  humility,  with  his 
wife  Vincentia  and  their  daughter  ST. 
INNOCENTIA  (3).  About  the  year  346,  the 
see  of  Ravenna  became  vacant  by  the 
death  of  St.  Marcellinus,  or  according 
to  other  authorities,  St.  Agapitus;  the 
prince  of  that  city  ordered  a  three  days' 
fast,  after  which  the  clergy  and  nobles 
of  the  diocese  and  neighbourhood  were 
to  pray  for  a  sign  from  heaven  by  which 
they  might  be  guided  in  their  choice  of 
a  bishop.  Severus,  the  weaver,  while 
he  was  sitting  diligently  at  his  work, 
said  to  his  wife,  "  I  should  like  to  run 
to  the  cathedral  and  see  whom  they  will 
electf"  Vincentia  answered,  "  Don't  be 
idle.  Stay  at  home  and  work,  that  you 
may  have  bread  for  your  wife  and 
daughter.  What's  the  use  of  your  going 
in  your  common  working  dress  amongst 
all  the  nobles  in  purple  ?  I  hope  some 
body  will  give  you  a  good  cuff  and  send 
you  back  again."  "  Never  mind,"  said 
the  weaver,  "  let  me  go."  "  Go  then," 


answered  his  wife ;  "  for  whether  you 
arrive  soon  or  late,  you  will  be  chosen 
bishop. "  In  spite  of  her  irony,  he  went, 
and  although  the  church  was  full  of 
people,  he  got  a  place  near  the  prince. 
When  the  service  was  over  and  they  had 
prayed  for  a  sign  from  heaven  to  direct 
their  choice  of  a  bishop,  a  dove  flew 
down  and  lighted  on  the  head  of  Severus. 
Everybody  laughed  at  the  poor  work 
man  in  his  dirty  dress,  and  some  of  them 
beat  him  and  drove  him  out  of  the 
church,  as  his  wife  had  wished.  Next 
day  he  went  again.  But  this  time  he 
hid  behind  a  door.  When  they  had 
again  prayed  for  a  sign,  the  dove  flew 
about  and  settled,  as  before,  on  the  head 
of  the  poor  weaver.  It  was  not  until 
the  same  thing  happened  again  the  third 
day,  that  all  the  clergy  and  people 
understood  that  Severus  was  to  be  the 
bishop.  Some  one  ran  and  told  Vin 
centia  of  his  election,  but  she  would  not 
believe  it  until  a  second  and  a  third  mes 
senger  arrived  and  confirmed  the  intelli 
gence.  Then  she  said,  "  He  who  hitherto 
used  to  walk  through  the  streets  spin 
ning  is  not  unworthy  to  sit  in  the  bishop's 
throne."  One  Sunday,  when  Severus 
had  finished  celebrating  mass,  he  stood 
entranced  before  the  altar,  with  his  arms 
extended.  After  a  considerable  time 
his  clergy  having  spoken  to  him  in  vain, 
shook  him  and  asked  what  he  was  think 
ing  of.  He  answered  that  he  had  been 
to  Modena  and  had  been  present  at  the 
death  of  Geminian,  bishop  of  Modena, 
that  he  had  commended  his  soul  to  God, 
and  laid  him  in  his  coffin.  The  people 
of  Ravenna  immediately  sent  messengers 
to  Modena,  and  they  brought  back  the 
news  that  St.  Geminian  had  just  died  in 
the  church,  attended  in  his  last  moments 
by  St.  Severus,  bishop  of  Ravenna,  who, 
as  soon  as  he  had  laid  his  brother  bishop 
in  the  coffin,  vanished  from  the  eyes  of 
the  bystanders.  Some  years  after  this, 
when  Vincentia  had  been  dead  and 
buried  some  time,  Innocentia  died,  and 
it  was  determined  that  she  should  be 
buried  beside  her  mother.  When  the 
tomb  was  opened  there  was  no  room  for 
Innocentia,  until  Severus  commanded 
his  wife  to  move  and  make  room  for  her 
daughter,  which  she  did.  Many  years 


ST.   VIRIDIANA 


295 


afterwards,  about  420,  when  Severus 
was  old  and  grey,  one  Sunday  when  he 
had  finished  mass,  he  ordered  the  tomb 
of  his  wife  and  daughter  to  be  opened, 
and  then  desiring  them  to  make  room 
for  him  between  them,  he  lay  down, 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  ordered 
the  marble  tomb  to  be  closed  over  him. 
AA.88.  from  a  manuscript  Life  of  St. 
Severus,  belonging  to  the  congregation 
of  the  oratory  at  Eome,  and  another  Life 
by  Liudolph,  a  priest. 

St.  Vincentia  (2)  or  VICENZA,  March 
15,  May  16,  V.  M.  424.  A  girl  whose 
martyrdom  by  the  Vandals,  in  Spain,  is 
recorded  by  Euinart,  is  called  Vincentia 
by  the  local  martyrologists,  but  her  name 
is  not  given  in  the  older  histories  of  the 
persecution.  She  was  beheaded.  Euinart, 
Hist.  Pers.  Vandalicse  (Paris,  1737). 

St.  Vinciana  or  VENCIANA,  March 
19,  Sept.  11,  V.  +  643.  Eepresented  in 
a  group  with  SS.  ADELTEUDE  (2),  LAND- 
RADA,  Landoald,  Amandus,  Julian,  and 
Adrian,  at  Winterhoven  in  the  Nether 
lands.  Vinciana  went  with  her  brothers, 
SS.  Landoald  and  Amandus  and  others, 
from  Rome,  about  633,  to  plant  Chris 
tianity  in  Belgium.  She  helped  them 
much.  She  died  at  Winterhoven,  and 
was  translated  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven  years  after,  with  Landoald  and 
the  others,  to  the  church  of  St.  Bavo,  at 
Ghent.  Sanderus. 

St.  Vinnosa,  PINNOSA. 

St.  Viola  (1),  Sept.  8,  M.  A  very 
old  woman,  taken  prisoner  by  Sapor, 
king  of  Persia,  with  nine  thousand 
Christians.  The  king  and  the  chief  of 
the  Magi  made  her  undergo  many 
tortures,  and  finally  cut  off  her  head. 
AA.88.  from  the  Coptic  Menology. 

St.  Viola  (2),  May  3,  V.  M.  honoured 
at  Verona.  AA.88. 

B.  Violante  (1),  or  VIOLENTIA  DE 
SOUSA,  Feb.  28,  Sept.  9  +  c.  1400.  She 
was  of  noble  birth,  and  when  very  young 
became  a  nun  at  Odivellas  near  Lisbon. 
On  account  of  her  great  merits,  she  was 
made  abbess  of  the  Benedictine  convent 
of  Castro  or  Burgo,  which  she  governed 
for  twenty-eight  years,  with  great  wisdom 
and  holiness.  B.  Violante,  abbess  of 
Arouca,  is  perhaps  the  same.  Bucelinus. 
Stadler. 


B.  Violante  (2),  Feb.  9,  May  18, 
3rd.  O.S.F.  at  Cordova,  +  1576.  She 
founded  a  convent  at  Murcia,  in  honour 
of  the  holy  handkerchief.  (See  VERO 
NICA.)  Stadler. 

B.  Violentia,  VIOLANTE. 

St.  Vippia,  May  28,  M.  at  Eome. 

St.  Virco.     (See  ANNA  (7).) 

B.  Virgana,  vulgarly  ST.  VERGE, 
VIERGE,  or  VIERGUE,  a  peasant,  buried  arid 
worshipped  at  a  place  formerly  called 
Hault  Bois,  now  Ste.  Vierge,  in  Poitou. 
St.  Virgin  does  not  mean  the  V. 
MARY.  It  is  a  corruption  of  Vigean,  an 
Irish  abbot  of  the  7th  century.  It  may 
possibly  sometimes  be  STE.  VIERGE  or 
VIRGANA  of  Poitou. 

St.  Viridiana,  Feb.  1,  13  ;  Stadler 
gives  her  also  June  19  (VERDIANA,  VER- 
DINA),  +  1242.  Joint  patron  with  ST. 
EEPARATA,  of  Florence.  Eepresented 
with  serpents.  She  was  a  recluse  of 
the  Order  of  Vallombrosa.  Her  first 
years  were  spent  in  poverty  at  Castel 
Fiorentino  in  Tuscany.  Almost  from 
her  infancy  she  showed  a  love  of  piety 
and  mortification.  Such  was  the  general 
respect  for  her  character  that  a  rich  and 
noble  relative  placed  her  at  the  head  of 
his  household.  While  she  was  in  his 
service  a  famine  devastated  the  country. 
The  same  story  is  told  of  her  as  of  St. 
ZITA,  namely,  that  there  was  a  great 
chest  of  beans  in  the  house  and  as  the 
price  of  provisions  rose  enormously,  the 
owner  sold  them  for  a  large  sum  ;  but 
when  the  buyer  came  to  take  them  away, 
behold,  the  chest  was  empty,  for  Viri 
diana  had  given  all  the  beans  to  the 
starving  poor.  Great  was  the  wrath  of 
both  parties  to  the  bargain ;  fierce  accusa 
tions  and  recriminations  were  exchanged. 
Viridiana  spent  the  night  in  prayer  and 
next  morning  she  found  the  chest  full. 
She  called  her  employer  and  said,  "  Leave 
off  complaining.  Jesus  Christ  has  re 
turned  the  beans  which  you  grudged 
Him !  "  Her  master  made  known  the 
miracle ;  and  the  humble  servant,  to  her 
dismay,  found  herself  an  object  of  popu 
lar  veneration.  She  fled  from  her  noto 
riety  and  joined  a  party  of  ladies  going 
on  pilgrimage  to  St.  James  of  Compo- 
stella.  Her  countrymen  would  only  let 
her  go,  on  condition  that  she  should 


296 


ST.   VIRTUNIA 


come  back  as  soon  as  she  could.  When 
she  returned  they  hailed  her  with  joyful 
acclamations  and  built  her  a  cell,  looking 
into  the  church  of  St.  Antony,  that,  ac 
cording  to  her  wish,  she  might  live  as 
a  recluse  with  the  privilege  of  hearing 
mass  and  sermons.  While  it  was  being 
built,  she  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Eome. 
She  was  walled  up  in  1188,  and  lived 
thirty-four  years  in  her  cell,  sleeping  in 
summer  on  the  bare  ground  and  in 
winter  on  a  plank  with  a  block  of  wood 
for  a  pillow.  She  had  been  there  about 
four  years  when,  on  the  feast  of  St. 
Antony,  she  heard  the  preacher  tell 
what  that  patriarch  of  hermits  and  re 
cluses  endured  from  the  presence  of  devils 
which  took  the  forms  of  wild  beasts. 
She  prayed  that  she  might  share  the 
sufferings  of  that  ancient  saint,  and  a 
few  days  afterwards,  two  huge  serpents 
came  in  at  her  little  window  and  re 
mained  with  her  for  the  rest  of  her  life, 
eating  out  of  her  bowl  and  lashing  her 
with  their  tails  when  she  had  nothing  to 
give  them.  The  Bishop  of  Florence 
paid  her  a  visit  and  wished  to  have  the 
serpents  killed  but  she  begged  him  to 
leave  them  as  an  exercise  of  her  patience. 
They  had  been  with  her  thirty  years 
when  the  people  of  Castel  Fiorentino 
destroyed  them,  to  her  great  regret.  In 
1222  she  received  a  visit  from  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi,  who  made  her  a  member  of 
his  newly  founded  third  order.  She  was 
honoured  with  miracles  both  before  and 
after  her  death.  Migne.  Stadler. 

St.  Virtunia,  May  6,  M.  at  Milan. 
AAJS8. 

St.  Vissia,  April  12,  V.  M.  under 
Decius.  Patron  of  Firmo  in  the  March 
of  Aucona,  three  miles  from  the  Adriatic 
sea,  where  she  was  martyred.  R.M. 
AA.SS.  Ughelli. 

St.  Vitalena,  VITALINA. 

St.  Vitalica  (1 ),  June  2,  M.  at  Eome. 
AAJ3S. 

SS.  Vitalica  (2,  3),  Aug.  31,  MM. 
at  Aucyra  in  Galatia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Vitalica  (-i),  Sept.  4,  M.  at 
Ancyra  in  Galatia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Vitalina  or  VITALENA,  Feb.  21, 
Aug.  13,  Dec.  13,  V.  +  c.  300.  A  holy 
recluse  at  Artona  in  Auvergne.  St. 
Martin  of  Tours,  on  his  way  to  Clermont, 


came  to  the  place  where  she  was  buried, 
and  asked  her  to  say  if  she  was  already 
admitted  to  the  bliss  of  heaven.  She 
answered,  "  One  little  thing  still  hinders 
me  :  once  on  the  sixth  feria  after  the 
death  of  Christ,  which  is  'Parasceve,' 
I  washed  my  head  with  water."  St. 
Martin  said  to  his  followers,  "  Alas,  if 
this  holy  virgin  is  not  yet  admitted  into 
paradise  because  she  washed  her  head 
on  '  Parasceve,'  what  will  become  of  us 
who  break  God's  commandments  every 
day?"  He  told  Vitalina  that  in  three 
days  she  should  be  in  heaven.  After 
this  she  wrought  many  miracles.  Bollan- 
dus,  from  St.  Gregory  of  Tours. 

St.  Vitburg,  WITHBURGA. 

St.  Vittoria.     (See  SILA.) 

St.  Viuvine,  WIVIN. 

St.  Viventia,  March  17,  V.  Wor 
shipped  with  ST.  GERTRUDE  OF  NIVELLE. 
There  are  three  martyrs  of  the  name 
recorded  in  sepulchral  monuments  and 
ecclesiastical  books  :  this  may  be  one  of 
them,  or  may  be  a  younger  sister  of 
Gertrude  who  is  said  to  have  helped  her 
to  build  the  monastery  of  Mvelle.  She 
lies  in  the  cathedral  of  Cologne,  in  a 
small  tomb  separate  from  the  companions 
of  ST.  URSULA.  AA.SS.  Baillet. 

St.  Viviana,  BIBIANA. 

St.  Vivina,  WIVIN. 

St.  Viyreda,  VIBORADA. 

St.  Vjera,  or  WJERA,  Kussian  for 
Faith.  (See  SS.  FAITH,  HOPE  and 
CHARITY.  ) 

B.  Volende,  YOLAND. 

St.  Vonocta,  or  VENECTA,  March  19, 
M.  Stadler. 

St.  Vorbetta.     (See  EINBETTA.) 

St.  Voult,  VERONICA  (1). 

B.  Voyslava,  WOYSLAWA. 

St.  Vreken,  "  Sint  Vreke  "  or  "  Vrouw 
Vreke  "  represents  sensual  love,  and  is 
the  same  as  "  Fru  Frene"  a  German  idea 
of  Venus.  Eckenstein.  (See  VEKENA.) 

St.  Vrelie,  EURIELLA.  Cahier.  Some 
times  called  sister  of  EURIELLA. 

St.  Vulfedrude,  WULFETRUDE. 

St.  Vulfetrudis,  sometimes  WUL- 
FRIDA,  and  sometimes  WULFETRUDE. 

St.  Vulfia,  ULPHIA.     Canisius. 

St.  Vulfide,  WULFILDA. 

St.  Vulfridis,  WULFRIDA. 


ST.  WALBURGA 


297 


w 


St.  Walburga  (1),  Feb.  25,  May  1 
(in  French  AUBOUE,  AVANGOUR,  AVON- 
GOURG,  FALBOURG,  GAUBOURG,  GUALBOURG, 
GUIBOR,  PERCHE,  VALBURG,  VALPURGE, 
VAUBOUER,  VAUBOURG,  WALBOURG  ;  in 
Greek  EUCHARIS  ;  in  German  WALPURD, 
WALPURGIS,  WARPURG),  abbess  of  Heiden- 
heim  in  Thuringia,  +  c.  780.  Patron 
against  hydrophobia  and  of  Eichstadt, 
Oudenarde,  Furnes,  Antwerp,  Groningen, 
Weilburg  and  Zutphen. 

Eepresented  (1)  in  a  nun's  dress,  with 
a  little  bottle,  as  a  myroblite ;  an  abbess's 
crook,  a  crown  at  her  feet,  as  a  king's 
daughter  ;  (2)  in  Switzerland,  in  a  group 
with  St.  Philip  and  St.  James  the  less, 
and  St.  Sigismund,  king  of  Burgundy, 
because  she  was  canonized  on  May  1, 
the  festival  of  those  three  saints;  (3) 
carrying  an  ear  of  corn. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  "  St.  Richard, 
king  of  the  English,"  whose  territory  is 
supposed  to  have  been  part  of  Devon 
shire.  Her  mother  was  Wunna,  Unno- 
heid  or  Bona,  supposed  to  be  a  sister  or 
niece  of  St.  Boniface.  Her  brothers 
were  St.  Wunibald,  abbot  of  Heidenheim, 
and  St.  Willibald,  bishop  of  Einstettin 
or  Eichstadt  in  Franconia.  Walburga 
was  born  between  700  and  712,  in  the 
reign  of  Ina,  king  of  Wessex,  whose 
sister  ST.  CUTHBURGA  founded  and  ruled 
the  double  monastery  of  Wimburn  (now 
Wimborne),  and  there  it  is  probable 
that  Walburga  was  brought  up.  She  is- 
said  in  some  of  the  legends  to  have  gone 
to  Rome  and  Palestine  with  her  brother, 
but  it  seems  more  likely  that  she  and 
her  mother  lived  at  Wimborne  when  St. 
Richard  and  his  two  sons  set  off  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  Rome.  Richard  died  at 
Lucca  on  the  way. 

About  748  Walburga  was  sent  from 
Wimborne  by  the  abbess  TETTA,  at  the 
request  of  St.  Boniface,  with  a  party  of 
nuns,  to  assist  him  in  establishing  nun 
neries  and  schools  among  his  new  con 
verts  in  Germany.  (Compare  LIOBA). 
They  went  first  to  Mayence,  where  they 
were  received  by  Boniface  and  Willi 
and  very  soon  Boniface  sent  them 


to  Wunibald,  who  was  building  his 
monastery  at  Heidenheim.  As  soon  as 
it  was  finished  he  and  his  monks  built  a 
nunnery  near  it  for  Walburga.  Both 
communities  were  governed  by  Wuni 
bald.  After  his  death  in  761,  by  some 
accounts  Walburga  ruled  over  both,  but 
this  is  not  specified  in  the  earliest  Lives. 
The  place  was  called  by  her  name  for 
centuries. 

One  evening  Walburga  had  stayed 
late  in  the  church  praying.  She  bade 
the  sexton  light  her  to  her  cell.  He 
refused,  and  she  meekly  went  without  a 
light  and  without  her  supper  as  the 
common  meal  was  finished.  In  the 
night  the  nuns  were  aroused  by  a  super 
natural  brightness  shining  from  Wal- 
burga's  cell,  it  lighted  all  the  dormitory 
They  watched  in  fear  and  wonder  until 
the  matin  bell,  and  when  Walburga 
appeared  they  told  her  what  they  had 
seen.  She  thanked  God  Who  had  ac 
cepted  her  humility  and  turned  it  to 
honour,  and  she  ascribed  the  miracle  to 
the  prayers  of  her  departed  brother 
Wunibald.  Another  time  she  was  di 
vinely  guided  to  the  house  of  a  neigh 
bouring  baron,  whose  daughter  lay 
dying.  She  did  not  venture  to  announce 
her  rank  and  enter  the  house,  but  stood 
in  her  poor  clothes  at  the  door  among 
the  fierce  wolf  hounds.  The  baron  see 
ing  her  there,  in  danger  of  being  torn  by 
his  dogs,  asked  rather  roughly  who  she 
was  and  what  she  wanted.  The  saint 
replied  that  he  need  not  fear,  for  He 
Who  had  brought  her  safely  there  would 
take  her  safely  home,  that  she  had  come 
as  a  physician  to  his  house  and  would 
heal  his  daughter  if  he  believed  in  the 
great  Physician.  She  added  that  the 
dogs  would  not  touch  Walburga.  The 
baron  started  on  hearing  her  well-known 
and  honoured  name,  and  asking  why  so 
noble  a  lady  and  so  great  a  servant  of 
God  stood  outside  his  door,  he  led  her 
into  the  house  with  the  greatest  respect. 
The  girl  was  at  the  point  of  death,  but 
Walburga  spent  the  night  beside  her,  in 
prayer,  and  in  the  morning  restored  her 


298 


ST.  WALBURGA 


in  perfect  health  to  her  parents.  They 
tried  to  heap  gifts  upon  her.  but  she 
would  accept  nothing,  and  returned  on 
foot  to  the  convent.  Many  translations 
have  occurred  and  given  rise  to  her 
commemoration  on  many  different  days, 
and  perhaps  to  the  belief  that  there  were 
other  saints  of  the  same  name  in  other 
places,  for  instance,  at  Bourges  and  at 
Paderborn.  As  the  writer  of  the  extant 
Life  of  her  brother  St.  Wunibald,  she 
has  been  called  the  earliest  authoress  of 
England  or  Germany,  but  although  that 
was  written  by  a  nun  at  Heidenheim, 
there  is  not  sufficient  evidence  to  prove 
that  it  was  the  work  of  Walburga.  A 
phenomenon  accepted  as  proof  of  her 
sanctity  is  the  healing  oil  which  still 
flows  from  her  tomb — from  her  breast 
bone,  it  is  said  —  and  has  wrought 
miraculous  cures  for  centuries.  It  runs 
from  a  square  opening  in  the  stone  on 
which  her  relics  rest,  through  silver 
tubes,  into  a  silver  reservoir,  from  whence 
it  is  sent  far  and  near. 

In  the  Roman  Martyrology,  May  1, 
she  is  coupled  with  St.  Asaph  as  English. 

Heathen  superstitions  are  mingled 
with  the  honour  paid  her,  and  the 
witches'  Sabbath  of  May  1  bears  her 
name.  Miss  Eckenstein  thinks  that 
Walpurgis  was  the  name  of  the  English 
saint,  that  Walburga  was  a  German 
heathen  goddess,  and  that  their  worship 
has  been  confused  by  the  ignorant.  Her 
Life  by  Wolfhard  von  Hasenried  was 
written  immediately  after  her  death,  if 
not  before  it.  AA.8S.  Butler.  Baillet. 
Stadler.  Kerslake,  Saint  Richard,  the 
King  of  Englishmen,  and  The  Celt  and 
the  Teuton  in  Exeter. 

St.  Walburga  (2),  Feb.  25,  V.  + 
840.  Sister  of  St.  Luthard  or  Suithard, 
bishop  of  Paderborn  in  Westphalia. 
Benedictine  nun  at  Herswerde  near 
Paderborn.  Stadler.  Bucelinus.  Same 
as  WALBUHGA  (1).  Henschenius. 

St.  Waldegund,  BALDEGUND. 

St.  Waldetrude,  WALTRUDE. 

St.  Waldrada,  VALDRADA,  VAUDREE, 
VAUSIEE,  or  GAUDREE,  May  5,  -f  c.  620, 
abbess  of  the  nunnery  of  St.  Peter, 
built  at  Metz  by  her  kinsman  Eleuthe- 
rius,  a  leader  of  the  Franks.  AA.SS. 
Bucelinus. 


St.  Walpurd,  or  WALPURGIS,  WAL 
BUHGA. 

St.  Waltrude,  April  9,  Feb.  4,  Nov. 
2  (WALDETRUDE,  WANTRUD,  WAUDRU, 
VALDETRUDIS,  VALTRUDE,  YAUDRU),  ab 
bess,  patron  and  founder  of  Mons  in 
Hainault,  -f-  between  658  and  686. 

Eepresented  (1)  in  a  nun's  dress,  with 
the  pastoral  staff  of  an  abbess,  holding 
a  church  in  her  hand  as  a  founder ;  (2) 
ransoming  prisoners,  for  whom  she  had 
a  great  compassion ;  (3)  as  one  of  a 
family  of  saints;  (4)  with  her  four 
children;  (5)  with  her  two  daughters 
as  nuns. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  SS.  Walbert 
and  BERTILLA  (1),  and  was  sister  of  ST. 
ALDEGUNDIS  (2)  and  cousin  of  ST.  AYA. 
Waltrude  was  wife  of  B.  Mauger,  who 
was  count  of  Hennegau  and  held  a  high 
place  in  the  Court  of  King  Dagobert  I. 
to  whom  she  was  related.  Mauger  and 
Waltrude  welcomed  all  pilgrims  and 
missionaries  from  Ireland,  and  it  has 
been  said  that  he  was  of  Irish  descent 
and  that  his  true  name  was  Macleeadar 
(Maguire)*  According  to  O'Hanlon, 
Waltrude  is  reckoned  among  the  Irish 
saints,  because  her  husband  was  Irish 
and  she  went  with  him  to  his  native 
land  to  bring  holy  and  learned  men  to 
preach  the  gospel  in  France.  Lanigan 
speaks  of  Mauger  as  a  distinguished 
Irish  soldier  in  the  service  of  Dagobert. 
Waltrude  was  the  mother  of  SS.  Landry, 
Dentelin,  ADELTRUDE  (1)  and  MADEL- 
BERT  ;  Landry  was  bishop  of  Metz,  or  of 
Meaux,  or  of  Meldaert,  he  died  abbot  of 
his  father's  monastery  of  Soignies  ;  Den 
telin  died  young. 

By  Waltrude's  advice,  Mauger  be 
came  a  monk  at  Haumont  sur  Sambre, 
near  Maubeuge,  where  his  daughters 
were  afterwards  abbesses.  He  built 
another  monastery  at  Soignies,  where 
he  died  in  677.  He  took  the  name 
of  Vincent  and  is  commonly  called 
St.  Vincent  of  Soignies.  Waltrude  de 
voted  herself  to  works  of  mercy,  es 
pecially  towards  prisoners  and  captives. 
Two  years  after  her  separation  from  her 
husband,  by  the  advice  of  her  director 
St.  Guilain,  she  begged  St.  Hidulph,  who 
had  married  her  kinswoman  ST.  AYA,  to 
buy  a  place  for  her  on  the  mountain  of 


ST.   WENDREDA 


299 


Castrilloc  (Castle-place),  and  to  build  her 
a  little  hut  there,  where  she  might  shut 
herself  up  and  serve  God.  Hidulph 
built  instead  a  magnificent  monastery. 
Waltrude  thinking  it  unsuited  to  the 
life  of  poverty  she  intended  to  follow, 
refused  to  live  in  it.  A  few  days  after 
wards  a  tremendous  storm  of  wind  blew 
it  down.  Hidulph  then  built  her  a  cell 
and  chapel,  where  she  settled,  after  re 
ceiving  the  veil  from  St.  Aubert,  bishop 
of  Cambrai.  Several  ladies  placed  them 
selves  under  her  direction.  Her  sister 
ALDEGUNDIS  thought  the  place  too  small 
and  advised  her  to  come  with  her  nuns 
to  the  double  monastery  she  had  just 
built  at  Maubeuge,  but  Waltrude,  who 
preferred  solitude  and  quiet,  remained 
where  she  was.  Her  monastery,  which 
was  also  double,  became  so  famous  for 
sanctity  that  in  time  the  town  of  Mons, 
the  capital  of  Hainault,  was  built  round 
it.  She  died  April  9,  in  the  presence  of 
her  monks  and  nuns ;  she  appointed 
Ulftrude,  her  niece  aged  twenty,  whom 
she  had  brought  up  from  the  cradle,  to 
succeed  her.  The  counts  of  Hainault 
were  lay-abbots  of  this  monastery,  and 
appointed  an  abbess  to  superintend  the 
nuns,  who  became  a  rich  chapter  of 
canonesses.  Each  emperor  on  his  ac 
cession  was  appointed  count  of  Hainault 
and  the  inauguration  was  held  at  Mons 
with  great  magnificence.  He  took  the 
oath  first  to  the  chapter  of  St.  Waltrude, 
then  to  the  States,  and  afterwards  to  the 
town  of  Mons. 

Waltrude's  ring  and  double  cross 
are  preserved  in  her  church  at  Mons; 
the  cross  is  about  five  inches  long, 
made  of  silver,  and  much  ornamented 
with  gold  and  enriched  with  precious 
stones.  E.M.  AA.SS.  Helyot.  Baillet. 
Butler.  Stadler.  Golden  Legend.  Paul 
Lacroix,  Vie  militaire,  etc.  O'Flaherty, 
Ogygia.  Memoirs  of  the  Princesse  de 
Ligne. 

St.  Wantrude,  WALTRUDE. 

St.    Warbeth  or   VORBETTA.     (See 

ElNBETTA.) 

St.  Warna,  WAURNA. 

St.  Warpurg,  WALBURGA. 

St.  Warsenopha,  June  4,  M.  A 
native  of  Denfa,  an  obscure  village  in 
Egypt.  Commemorated  with  her  mother 


and  SS.  SOPHIA,  DIBAMONA,  and  BISTA- 

MONA.       AA.SS. 

St.  Waudru,  WALTRTJDE. 

St.  Waurna  or  WARNA  was  invoked 
until  recently  by  the  wreckers  in  the 
Scilly  isles.  They  used  to  pray  to  her 
to  send  them  a  richly  laden  merchant- 
ship,  or  any  such  "God's  mercy,"  and 
if  their  wish  was  granted  they  divided 
the  spoil  and  murdered  such  of  the  crew 
as  the  sea  had  spared.  Legend  says 
that  she  crossed  over  from  Ireland  in  a 
corragh.  A  holy  well  in  St.  Agnes's 
still  bears  her  name.  C.  F.  Gordon 
Gumming,  From  the  Hebrides  to  the 
Himalayas.  Miss  Gumming  sees  in 
Waurna  an  adaptation  of  the  pagan 
Hindu  goddess  Varuna.  Stanton  (Meno- 
logy}  spells  the  name  WARNA. 

B.  Wedigund,  KADEGUND  (3).  Ca- 
hier. 

St.  Weeda,  WEEDE,  WEEDEA,  EVA 
(4),  or  GAFFE,  Dec.  30,  3,'  2,  V.  7th  or 
8th  century.  Some  accounts  make  her 
the  youngest  daughter  of  Penda,  king 
of  Mercia,  and  third  abbess  of  Dormund- 
caster,  following  her  sisters  KYNEBUKGA 
( 1 )  and  EDBURGA  (3) ;  others  place  her 
in  the  next  century  as  third  abbess  of 
St.  Peter's,  Gloucester,  following  her 
sisters,  KYNEBURGA  (2)  and  EDBURGA  (4). 
Wilson's  Mart.,  Dec.  2.  Memorial  of 
Ancient  British  Piety. 

St.  Weibrath,  VIBORADA. 

B.  Weirgonde,  KADEGUND  (3). 

St.  Welvela,  WELWELA,  WULVELLA, 
or  GULVAL,  an  ancient  British  saint  who 
shares  with  ST.  SIDWELL  the  dedication 
of  the  church  of  Laneast  in  Cornwall. 
Possibly  the  same  as  ST.  WILGITH. 
Baring  Gould  (Book  of  the  West)  says 
Welvela  was  abbess  of  Gulval  near 
Penzance.  Miss  Arnold-Forster  (Dedi 
cations)  says  the  name  is  the  same  as 
Galwell  or  Godwold,  a  man.  Stanton 
(Menology)  says  her  name  occurs  in 
the  Exeter  Litanies  of  the  eleventh 
century. 

St  Wendila,  April  10,  V.  com 
memorated  in  the  manuscript  additions 
to  Greven,  of  the  Carthusians  of  Brussels. 
Unknown  to  the  Bollandists.  AA.SS. 
Stadler. 

St.  Wendreda,  or  WENDRETH,  V. 
probably  not  later  than  llth  century. 


300 


ST.   WENEFREDA 


Patron  of  the  town  of  March  in  Cam 
bridgeshire.  She  was  perhaps  the 
founder  and  abbess  of  the  church  that 
bears  her  name  at  March,  and  of  a 
nunnery  that  is  believed  to  have  ad 
joined  it.  Miss  Arnold-Forster,  Dedi 
cations.  Stanton.  Mr.  Baring-Gould 
thinks  her  name  is  Gwendraeth ;  if  so, 
she  is  Celtic.  Her  relics  and  those  of 
ST.  PANDIONA  are  at  Eltisley,  Cambs. 

St,  Wenefreda,  or  WENEFRIDE,  WI 
NIFRED. 

St.  Weneu,  VEEP. 

St.  Wenn  or  GWEN,  called  a  queen. 
One  of  her  three  husbands  was  Selyf, 
son  of  Geraint,  one  of  King  Arthur's 
Knights  of  the  Bound  Table.  She  had 
a  son  St.  Cuby,  and  by  another  marriage 
she  was  mother  of  St.  Cadfan.  She  is 
called  a  sister  of  ST.  NONNA,  mother  of 
St.  David.  Baring-Gould,  Book  of  the 
West.  Compare  ST.  EURIELLA  of  Bre- 
tagne. 

St.  Wennap,  VEEP. 

St.    Wenodoc,    perhaps    same     as 

GWENDDYDD. 

St.  Wereburga  (1),  WERBURG,  or 
VERBOURG,  Feb.  3,  V.  -f  099  or  700, 
fourth  abbess  of  Ely.  Patron  of  Chester. 
Abbess  of  Weedon,  Hanbury,  Trentham 
and  Minster.  Daughter  of  Wulphere, 
king  of  Mercia ;  her  mother  was  ST. 
ERMENILDA.  She  was  thus  granddaughter 
of  the  great  heathen  King  Penda,  and  of 
ST.  SEXBURGA,  and  nearly  related  to  all 
the  most  famous  royally  born  abbesses  of 
her  time. 

Legend  says  that  Wulphere  wished  to 
promote  a  marriage  between  his  daughter 
Wereburga  and  Werebode,  a  powerful 
heathen  Thane  and  great  military  leader, 
to  whose  brilliant  services  he  was  much 
indebted.  Wereburga's  brothers  Wulfad 
and  Rufinus  objected  to  their  sister 
marrying  a  heathen.  Werebode,  unable 
to  defeat  their  opposition,  poisoned  the 
king's  mind  against  his  sons,  and  obtained 
his  authority  to  have  them  arrested  for 
treason.  Wulphere  too  hastily  accepted 
the  evidence,  and  the  guiltless  young 
men  were  condemned  to  death.  No 
sooner  were  they  executed  than  the  king 
saw  with  futile  clearness  the  conspiracy 
and  treachery  of  which  he  had  been  the 
dupe.  Wereburga  found  herself  set  free 


from  the  royal  command  to  marry  a 
heathen,  and  was  emboldened  to  beg 
that  her  father  would  never  again  speak 
of  giving  her  to  any  mortal  husband, 
but  would  suffer  her  to  mourn  in  a 
cloister  the  crime  to  which  he  had  con 
sented  and  of  which  she  was  the  cause. 

In  674  Wulphere,  yielding  to  the 
wishes  of  his  wife  and  daughter  and  pro 
bably  supported  by  the  counsels  of  St. 
Chad,  consented  with  tears  and  regrets 
to  part  with  his  daughter,  not  to  a 
warrior  husband  but  to  Christ.  It  is 
probable  that  she  was  destined  by  her 
mother  to  be  a  nun  and  was  educated  as 
such.  No  place  was  so  fit  for  her  no 
vitiate  as  Ely,  where  her  grandmother 
SEXBURGA  was  a  nun,  and  which  was 
then  ruled  by  her  great-aunt  ETHELREDA, 
already  accounted  a  saint.  At  Were 
burga's  reception  at  Ely,  several  kings 
with  their  attendant  lords  and  warriors 
were  present,  as  well  as  all  the  chief 
men  of  her  father's  kingdom,  as  if  attend 
ing  a  great  wedding  feast.  Dressed  in 
purple  and  silk  and  gold,  Wereburga 
went  with  this  royal  escort  on  horseback 
and  in  boats  to  Ely.  The  royal  abbess 
Ethelreda  with  her  sister  Sexburga  and 
a  great  procession  of  nuns  and  clerics 
came  out  to  meet  the  king  of  the  country 
and  receive  the  new  postulant. 

When  the  two  processions  met,  Were 
burga,  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  the  vener 
able  abbess,  begged  to  be  received  as  a 
penitent.  Ethelreda  gladly  adopted  into 
her  fold  .this  lamb  of  Christ  and  strove 
to  feed  her  faithfully. 

On  the  death  of  Sexburga,  Ermenilda 
became  third  abbess  of  Ely  and  appointed 
her  daughter  Wereburga  to  succeed  her 
as  abbess  of  Minster.  When  Ermenilda 
died,  Wereburga  succeeded  her  as  fourth 
abbess  of  Ely. 

Her  father's  brother  and  successor 
Ethelred  invited  her  to  preside  over  the 
monasteries  in  his  kingdom.  She  ruled 
over  those  of  Weedon,  Hanbury  and 
Trentham.  The  church  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  at  Chester  was  built  for  her,  but 
it  does  not  seem  certain  that  she  ever 
lived  there. 

She  died  at  her  own  monastery  of 
Trentham  but  the  monks  of  Hanbury 
carried  off  her  body  to  enrich  their  own 


ST.   OR  VEN.   WILBURGA 


301 


church.  In  the  ninth  century  during 
the  ravages  of  the  Danes,  the  venerable 
body  was  removed  for  greater  safety  to 
the  church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  at 
Chester. 

One  of  her  most  famous  miracles  oc 
curred  at  Weedon.  The  lands  around 
the  monastery  were  infested  by  wild 
geese  which  devoured  the  crops  and 
caused  great  damage.  One  day  when 
they  were  committing  their  usual  depre 
dations  Wereburga  drove  them  into  a 
stable  and  left  them  shut  up  there  all 
night.  In  the  morning  when  the  door 
was  opened  they  came  running  to  her  as 
if  asking  leave  to  go  away.  She  allowed 
them  to  depart  in  safety  but  charged 
them  never  again  to  come  marauding 
about  Weedon.  They  flew  off  but  when 
they  had  gone  a  short  way,  they  returned 
and  kept  clamouring  and  fluttering  about, 
until  they  made  her  understand  that  one 
of  their  number  was  nefariously  detained. 
She  found  that  one  of  her  vassals  had 
stolen  and  eaten  the  missing  goose.  She 
restored  it  alive  and  in  full  plumage  to 
its  companions,  and  the  whole  flock  took 
their  departure  and  no  wild  goose  has 
ever  dared  to  molest  the  agriculturists  of 
Weedon  since  that  day. 

Once  Wereburga  saw  one  of  the 
overseers  cruelly  beating  a  man.  She 
punished  him  by  making  his  head  turn 
right  round  on  his  shoulders.  On  his 
repentance  she  prayed  for  him,  and  his 
head  returned  to  its  proper  position. 

A A.SS.  Bishop  Stubbs,  in  Smith  and 
Wace.  Montalembert.  Miss  Arnold- 
Forster. 

St.  Wereburga  (2),  Feb.  3,  abbess, 
+  783.  Wife  of  Ceolred,  king  of  Mercia, 
son  of  Ethelred.  Ceolred  had  none  of 
the  Christian  piety  of  his  predecessors  : 
his  life  was  riotous  and  dissolute  and  he 
lost  the  respect  and  affection  of  his  sub 
jects.  One  act  of  devotion  is,  however, 
recorded  of  him,  namely,  that  he  pro 
vided  a  beautiful  shrine  for  the  bones  of 
his  cousin  ST.  WEREBURGA  (1).  In  716 
he  was  seized  with  madness  and  excru 
ciating  pains  as  he  sat  at  a  feast;  he 
died  shortly  afterwards,  blaspheming 
Christ  and  also  the  heathen  gods.  After 
his  death  Wereburga  (2)  became  a  nun 
and  departed  not  from  the  temple  of  the 


Lord  day  or  night  for  sixty-five  years. 
She  was  abbess,  probably  of  Bardney. 
She  died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity.  The 
day  of  her  death  is  not  known.  She 
is  commemorated  on  the  day  of  her 
more  famous  namesake  and  kinswoman 
Wereburga  ( 1 ).  Hoveden.  Strutt. 
Britannia  Sancta.  British  Mart.  Florence 
of  Worcester.  Stanton,  English  Menology. 
Montalembert.  Stubbs. 

St.  Wetberg,  a  recluse,  sister  of  St. 
Boniface,  the  apostle  of  Germany. 
Chambard,  Saints  d'Anjou. 

St.  White,  WHYTE,  or  WYTE,  V., 
and  her  companion  ST.  EEYNE  or  RAYNE, 
V.  "  St.  Wyte  must  have  a  chese  once 
in  a  yeare,  and  that  of  the  greatest  sorte," 
says  Tyndale,  in  1538.  Mr.  Kerslake 
(St.  Richard  the  King  of  Englishmen) 
says  this  St.  Wyte  means  Witta,  a 
follower  of  St.  Boniface  and  first  abbot 
of  Buraberg,  and  that  Rayn  or  Reginfred 
was  one  of  Boniface's  first  bishops.  Like 
Boniface,  they  came  from  the  south-west 
of  England,  where  their  names  survive 
in  some  place-names  and  dedications. 

St.  Wiborada,  VIBORADA. 

St.  Wibrand  or  WILLIBRAND,  June 
10,  servant  of  ST.  CUNEGUND  (1).  A  A.SS. 

B.  Wihtburg,  WITHBURGA. 

St.  Wilbeth.     (See  EINBETTA). 

St.  Wilburga  (1),  7th  or  8th  cen 
tury.  Daughter  of  Penda,  king  of 
Mercia.  Sister  of  ST.  KYNEBURGA  (1). 
Wilburga  married  Prince  Frithewald, 
and  was  mother  of  ST.  OSITH.  Lives  of 
Women  Saints,  etc.,  which,  however,  gives 
Osith  the  date  880. 

St.  Wilburga  (2),  MILBURGA. 

St.  or  Ven.  Wilburga  (3)  or  WIL- 
BIRGIS,  Dec.  11,  V.,  1230-1289.  Daugh 
ter  of  one  of  the  richest  and  most 
respected  vassals  of  the  monastery  of  St. 
Florian,  in  Austria ;  and  born  in  the 
adjoining  village.  She  was  twice  be 
trothed  but  each  time  the  bridegroom 
died  before  the  wedding.  She  then 
resolved  on  a  religious  life  and  cut  off 
her  hair.  About  this  time,  her  father 
died  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land 
and  her  mother  very  soon  died  also  ;  she 
had  nothing  to  leave  to  her  daughter, 
except  her  wedding  ring.  Wilburga 
worked  for  her  daily  bread  and  gave 
away  all  her  earnings.  She  went  with  a 


302 


ST.  WILFETRUDE 


like-minded  virgin  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
St.  James  of  Compostella.  In  1248  she 
became  a  recluse  at  St.  Florian's  and 
practised  extraordinary  asceticism.  Once 
during  the  season  of  Advent,  she  was 
grievously  tormented  by  the  devil  and 
asked  her  confessor  to  bring  the  Body 
of  the  Lord  into  her  cell  for  a  short 
time,  to  allay  those  troubles.  He,  seeing 
that  her  necessity  was  urgent,  brought 
the  holy  sacrament  in  a  pyx,  closely  shut 
and  carefully  secured  in  a  box,  and  left 
it  there.  She  kept  it  with  great  venera 
tion,  fasting  and  praying  until  the  vigil 
of  the  nativity.  On  that  sacred  night 
she  gave  herself  devoutly  to  prayer,  and 
lo,  on  the  first  stroke  of  morning,  a 
child's  hand  was  stretched  out  from  the 
box,  lighting  up  the  whole  cell  with  the 
brightness  of  the  sun  ;  then  the  Lord 
Himself  appeared,  and  as  she  rejoiced  in 
this  great  favour  and  prayed  devoutly 
for  herself  and  all  dear  to  her,  He  in 
clined  His  head  in  token  that  her  peti 
tions  were  granted,  and  she  cried  in 
rapture,  "  Thou  hast  come  to  me,  my 
Beloved  !  "  She  was  regarded  as  a  saint 
and  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  priests  to 
her  grave,  in  front  of  the  altar  of  ST. 
CUNEGUND.  Fez,  Scriptores  Rerum 
Austriacarum.  Stadler,  Lexicon. 

St.  Wilfetrude,  WULFETRUDE,  also 
WILTRUDE  (1). 

St.   Wilfreda  or   WILFRIDA,   WUL- 

FRIDA. 

St.  Wilfrith,  WTJLFRIDA. 

St.  Wilgefortis,  HELP,  UNCUMBEB, 
or  VILGEFORTE,  July  20,  V.  M.  Her 
name  differs  greatly  in  the  numerous 
places  where  she  is  worshipped;  most 
of  her  appellations  denote  either  that 
she  escaped  from  great  danger  or  that 
she  rescues  others  from  scrapes  and 
troubles ;  she  befriends  women  in  their 
household  work  and  difficulties.  The 
word  Wilgefortis  is  believed  to  be  a  cor 
ruption  of  VIRGOFORTIS,  which  soon 
became  Vilgofortis,  then  Wilgefortis 
and  Wilfordis.  She  is  also  called  BAR- 
BAT  A,  COMMERIA,  ClJMERANAjDlGNEFORTIS, 

EUTROPIA,  LlBERATRIX,  EEGENFLEDIS, 
REGENFLEGIS,  REGENFREDIS,REGUNFLEDIS. 
Her  names  in  France  are  ANCOMBRE, 
DEBARRAS,  LIVRADE,  KOMBRE.  In  Ger 
many  She  is  KUMMERNISZ,  KUMMERNUS, 


OHNKTJMMER,  OHNKUMMERNISS.  In  the 
cathedral  of  Maintz  she  was  called  by 
the  people  ST.  GEHULFF  and  in  some 
places  GEHULFE,  HILF,  HILPE.  At 
Aschaffenburg  she  is  called  VEBANDE- 
RUNG,  because  of  the  change  in  her 
appearance  which  occurred  in  answer  to 
her  prayer.  At  Brunswick  she  used  to 
be  called  EVA.  In  England  she  was 
formerly  called  UNCUMBER.  In  Belgium 
her  name  was  ONCOMMENA,  ONTCOMMENA, 
or  ONTCOMMERA,  i.e.  ENTKOMMENE,  the 
one  who  got  off  or  escaped. 

Represented  crucified  (1)  as  a  child  of 
ten  or  twelve;  (2)  as  a  child  with  a 
beard ;  (3)  dressed  like  the  pictures  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  of  England,  with  stiff 
bell-shaped  skirt  and  high  ruff,  and 
throwing  her  gold  boot  to  a  poor  musi 
cian. 

The  most  connected  form  of  the  legend 
is  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  heatben 
king  of  Provence  or  Sicily.  She  was 
converted  to  Christianity  and  made  a 
vow  of  virginity.  Her  father  intended 
to  marry  her  to  Amasius,  king  of  Por 
tugal.  As  she  refused  she  was  pinched 
with  red-hot  tongs  and  cast  into  ,a  dun 
geon.  She  prayed  that  she  might  be  so 
disfigured  that  no  man  would  ever  wish 
to  marry  her.  At  once  her  chin  was 
covered  by  a  thick  flowing  beard.  She 
told  her  father  she  was  betrothed  to  One 
Who  was  crucified  and  she  wished  to  be 
like  Him.  Accordingly,  she  was  fastened 
on  a  cross,  where  she  lived  for  three 
days,  praising  God  and  preaching  so 
well  that  thousands  of  persons  were  con 
verted,  amongst  them  her  father  who,  to 
expiate  his  crime,  built  a  church  in 
honour  of  ST.  SCHOLASTICA,  and  set  up 
in  it  a  golden  image  of  his  daughter  which 
soon  wrought  miracles,  and  people  re 
sorted  to  the  saint  to  deliver  them  from 
their  troubles.  Once  on  a  time  a  poor 
fiddler  in  debt  and  destitution  sought 
her  aid ;  she  stretched  out  her  foot  and 
threw  him  one  of  her  gold  boots  ;  it  was 
soon  missed  and  was  found  in  his  posses 
sion.  No  one  would  believe  his  story. 
He  was  condemned  to  be  hanged.  He 
begged  that  he  might  once  before  he 
died  be  permitted  to  play  his  fiddle  in 
the  church  before  the  holy  statue,  and 
lo,  in  presence  of  the  king  and  all  the 


ST.  WINIFRED 


303 


people,  the  Saint  kicked  off  her  other 
boot.  His  character  was  cleared :  his 
life  was  saved. 

Early  in  the  fifteenth  century  the  body 
of  Wilgefortis  was  believed  to  be  buried 
at  Steinwart  in  Holland,  and  a  solemn 
translation  was  made.  The  AA.SS. 
pronounces  her  legends  to  be  a  labyrinth 
from  which  there  is  no  exit.  She  is 
specially  venerated  at  Neufahrn  in 
Bavaria,  where  the  carved  wooden  altar- 
piece  in  the  church  is  her  image  wearing 
a  crown  and  a  beard :  it  is  said  to  have 
arrived  there  floating  on  the  Isar;  a 
woodcutter,  who  was  working  in  the 
forest  with  others  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  struck  it  with  his  axe ;  blood 
immediately  flowed  from  the  figure  of 
the  saint;  the  bishop  heard  of  it  and 
came  with  a  procession  to  take  up  the 
pictured  saint ;  he  placed  it  on  a  cart ; 
two  oxen  were  allowed  to  draw  it 
wherever  they  would ;  they  proceeded 
to  Neufahrn,  where  miraculous  cures  at 
once  proclaimed  its  sanctity,  and  where 
it  continues  to  be  a  highly  prized  relic : 
in  the  seventeenth  century  sixty  pro 
cessions  went  year  by  year  to  honour  it. 
The  history  of  the  image  is  set  forth  on 
six  large  panels  on  the  walls  of  the 
church :  they  are  very  interesting  speci 
mens  of  ancient  Bavarian  painting. 

AA.8S.     Stadler.     Eckenstein. 

St.    Wilgith    or   Willgith.      (See 

JUTHWARA.) 

St.  Wilhelmina,  pseudo-saint,  4- 
1282.  During  her  lifetime,  Wilhelmina 
was  accepted  by  Milan  as  a  saint  and 
worker  of  miracles.  Her  doctrines  were 
kept  secret  among  the  initiated,  but  it 
seems  that  she  held  herself  to  be  an 
incarnation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Her 
disciple  Mayfreda  was  appointed  to  be 
her  vicar  on  earth,  after  her  death, 
resurrection  and  ascension,  and  was  to 
celebrate  mass  at  her  tomb  and  to  preach 
and  baptize.  Her  body  was  interred  at 
Chiaravalle ;  miracles  were  obtained 
and  votive  offerings  adorned  her  altar. 
She  had  three  annual  festivals,  and 
indulgences  were  promised  to  those  who 
visited  her  tomb.  About  twenty  years 
after  her  death,  the  clergy  of  Milan 
suddenly  awoke  to  the  scandal  that  was 
in  the  midst  of  their  flock  ;  the  quondam 


saint  was  cast  out  of  her  grave;  May 
freda  and  her  assistant  were  burnt  as 
heretics  and  blasphemers,  and  the  bones 
of  their  mistress  shared  with  them  the 
fate  she  had  escaped  in  her  life.  Milman, 
Latin  Christianity.  Hare,  Cities  of  Italy. 

B.  Wilitrudis,  WILTRUDE  (2). 

St.  Willibrand,  WIBRAND. 

St.  Wiltrude  (1)  or  WILFETRUDE, 
Nov.  23,  7th  century.  Founder  of  the 
convent  of  the  Shepherds,  near  Neuborg 
in  Germany.  Eepresented  (1)  holding 
a  book,  at  her  feet  a  countess's  crown,  in 
the  sky  a  cross  on  which  rests  the  holy 
dove  ;  (2)  either  this  or  another  Wil 
trude  is  represented  in  Bavaria  Sancta, 
as  a  queen  kneeling  before  her  husband, 
begging  for  leave  to  become  a  nun. 
Guenebault. 

B.  Wiltrude  (2)  or  WILITRUDIS,  -f-  c. 
1081.  First  abbess  of  Hohenwart, 
O.S.B.,  founded  by  her  father  Count 
Eatbod  or  Kapatho  von  Taurn,  and  her 
mother  Hemma,  in  honour  of  St.  Mary 
and  St.  Peter.  When  their  son  Ortolph 
returned  from  the  crusade,  their  daugh 
ter  Wiltrude  gave  all  her  fortune  to  this 
nunnery  and  took  the  veil  there.  Stadler. 
The  Bollandists  pass  her  over.  ST. 
RICHILDA  was  a  nun  under  Wiltrude. 

St.  Winblirg,  MILBUHG.    Brit.  Piety. 

St.  Winfrida,  WINIFRED. 

St.  Winifred,  Nov.  3,  June  22,  V.  + 
c.  660  (WENEFREDA,  WENEFRIDE,  WIN 
FRIDA,  WINNIFRED,  VENEFREDE,  GUEN- 

FREWT,    GUENFRIDA,    GlJENWERA,     GlJINE- 

FROIE,  BREWO),  patron  of  Powisland  and 
of  St.  Beuno  in  Wales.  Represented 
carrying  her  head  in  her  hand.  She 
was  daughter  of  Thevith,  a  great  and 
rich  man  in  North  Wales.  She  was 
instructed  by  St.  Beuno  or  Benno,  who 
is  supposed  to  be  her  uncle ;  he  gave 
her  the  religious  veil,  with  the  approval 
of  her  father  and  mother.  One  day  her 
parents  and  the  servants  were  in  church, 
Beuno  was  officiating,  and  Winifred  was 
left  alone  in  the  house.  She  was  at 
tacked  by  Caradoc,  son  of  King  Alan. 
She  fled  towards  the  church.  He  over 
took  her  and  cut  off  her  head.  Where 
it  fell  there  sprang  up  a  well  of  clear 
water.  Beuno  informed  the  assembled 
Christians  that  Winifred  had  vowed  to 
lead  a  virtuous  and  celibate  life  and  had 


304 


ST.  WISDOM 


died  a  martyr  to  her  virginity  aiid 
Christianity.  Then  he  took  up  her 
head  from  the  ground  and  set  it  in  its 
place,  at  the  same  time  commanding  the 
congregation  to  pray  that  she  might  be 
restored  to  life  and  fulfil  her  vow.  When 
they  arose  from  praying,  Winifred  arose 
with  them ;  for  the  rest  of  her  life  she 
had  a  red  mark  round  her  throat  where 
it  had  been  cut.  Meantime,  Caradoc 
stood  with  his  sword  in  his  hand,  unable 
either  to  stir  from  the  spot  or  to  repent, 
and  when  Beuno  reproached  him  for  his 
crime,  he  fell  down  dead  and  was  whisked 
away  by  devils.  By  Beuno's  advice 
Winifred  remained  seven  years  at  that 
church,  gathering  around  her,  virgins  of 
honest  and  holy  conversation  and  in 
structing  them  in  the  Christian  religion. 
When  Beuno  went  to  Ireland,  she  and 
her  maidens  every  year  worked  him  a 
chasuble  or  some  pretty  piece  of  needle 
work  ;  they  put  it  into  the  well  and  the 
stream  carried  it  safely  to  him.  After 
seven  years  she  went  to  the  double 
monastery  of  Witheryachus,  in  the  vale 
of  Cluid.  St.  Elerius  presented  her 
to  his  mother  ST.  THEONIA,  to  whom 
Winifred  eventually  succeeded  as  abbess. 
It  has  been  said  that  her  name  was 
Brewo  and  that  the  name  of  Winifred 
was  given  her  after  her  death  and  resur 
rection.  St.  Winifred's  well  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  old  town  of  Holywell.  It  is 
fed  by  a  stream  of  singular  brightness. 
The  temperature  of  the  water  never 
changes,  summer  or  winter;  it  is  so 
clear  that  the  pebbles  at  the  bottom  are 
distinctly  seen  to  be  stained  as  though 
with  blood.  The  copious  supply  is 
never  affected  by  the  longest  drought  or 
the  heaviest  rains,  and  miraculous  cures 
continue  to  occur  there.  It  is  lined  with 
fragrant  moss,  the  Jungermannia  asple- 
noides.  The  beautiful  chapel  which 
stands  over  it  is  said  to  have  been  built 
by  the  Countess  of  Eichmond,  mother  of 
Henry  VIII.,  but  it  may  be  earlier. 
R.M.  AA.SS.  Britannia  Sancta.  Golden 
Legend.  Her  Life,  says  Butler,  was 
written  by  Kobert,  prior  of  Shrewsbury, 
two  years  after  the  translation  of  her 
relics  to  his  monastery  in  1138.  John 
of  Tinmouth's  Life  of  St.  Winifred  is  an 
abstract  from  that  by  Prior  Robert  of 


Shrewsbury.  King,  Shrines.  Rimmer, 
Our  Old  Country  Towns. 

St.  Wisdom,  SOPHIA  (1). 

St.  Withburga  (1),  WIHTBUBG,  or 
VITBUKG,  March  17,  V.  +  743.  She 
was  the  youngest  of  the  saintly  daughters 
of  Anna,  king  of  the  East  Angles.  Her 
sisters  were  SS.  ETHELBURGA  (3),  SEX- 
BURGA  and  ETHELREDA;  they  had  an 
elder  half-sister  ST.  SEDRIDO.  Withburga 
was  niece  of  ST.  HILDA,  and  aunt  of  ST. 
ERMENILDA.  She  was  sent  to  live  with 
her  nurse  at  Holkham  in  Norfolk,  where 
in  process  of  time  a  church  was  built  in 
her  honour  and  the  place  called  With- 
burgstowe.  After  her  father's  death  she 
built  a  convent  at  Dereham.  While  she 
was  building  it  she  had  at  one  time 
nothing  but  dry  bread  to  give  her  work 
men.  She  applied  for  assistance  to  the 
B.  VIRGIN  MARY,  .who  directed  her  to 
send  her  maids  to  a  certain  fountain 
every  morning.  There  they  found  two 
wild  does  which  yielded  plenty  of  milk. 
In  this  way  the  workmen  were  fed  and 
the  work  prospered  until  the  overseer 
of  those  lands,  in  contempt  or  dislike  of 
the  saint  and  her  miracles,  hunted  the 
does  with  dogs  and  made  them  leave 
off  coming  to  the  fountain  to  be  milked. 
He  was  punished  for  his  cruelty,  for  his 
horse  threw  him  and  he  broke  his  neck. 

Withburga  was  buried  in  the  cemetery 
of  the  abbey  of  Dereham,  and  her  body 
being  found  uncorrupted  fifty-five  years 
afterwards,  was  translated  into  the 
church  which  she  herself  had  built.  In 
974  Brithnoth,  abbot  of  Ely,  determined 
to  lay  the  body  beside  those  of  her 
sisters :  he  went  with  armed  followers  to 
Dereham,  where  he  invited  the  men  to 
a  feast  and  made  them  drunk.  He 
carried  off  the  body.  They  awoke  and 
went  in  pursuit,  and  the  men  of  Ely  and 
the  men  of  Dereham  fought  lustily  for 
their  treasure,  javelins  were  thrown  and 
hard  blows  were  exchanged.  At  last 
Brithnoth  triumphantly  carried  off  the 
saint  and  deposited  her  at  Ely.  AA.SS., 
March  17.  Butler,  July  8.  King, 
Shrine** 

B.  Withburga  (2),  Oct.  1(3,  middle 
of  8th  century.  A  noble  English  lady 
who  shut  herself  up  in  a  small  cell 
in  St.  Peter's  church  at  Rome  and 


ST.   WULFILDA 


805 


remained  the  rest  of  her  life  there,  in 
divine  contemplation.  St.  Boniface  at 
tests  her  piety.  She  is  not  worshipped. 
AA.88.  Gynecsenm.  Stadler. 

St.  Wivin,  VIUVINE,  or  VIVINA,  Dec. 
17,  V.  abbess,  O.S.B.  +  1170.  Re 
presented  holding  a  book,  perhaps  the 
psalter,  which  was  all  she  took  when 
she  left  her  father's  house  ;  also  a  candle 
which  an  angel  lights  while  the  devil 
makes  his  escape.  Patron  against  apo 
plexy,  pleurisy,  and  sudden  death.  She 
was  of  a  noble  family  in  Flanders. 
Bent  on  a  religious  and  celibate  life, 
she  left  her  home  with  her  friend  B. 
EMVURA,  taking  no  property  or  pro 
visions  except  her  psalter.  They  lived 
in  the  woods  for  several  years  but  even 
tually  Godfrey,  count  of  Babrant,  gave 
them  an  estate  near  Brussels,  on  which, 
in  1133,  they  built  the  Benedictine  nun 
nery  of  the  great  Bigaerde,  where  Wivin 
became  abbess.  As  lights  shone  out  of 
her  grave,  she  was  taken  up  and  exposed 
for  the  veneration  of  the  people,  by- 
order  of  Alard,  bishop  of  Cambrai. 
R.M.  Le  Mire,  Fasti.  Bucelinus. 
Cahier.  Stadler.  Migne,  Die.  des 
Abbaycs.  Lechner. 

St.  Wjera.  (See  FAITH,  HOPE,  and 
CHARITY.) 

St.  Wodolana.  A  fountain  in  Bo 
hemia,  on  a  wooded  hill,  called  Dreatobor 
(the  holy  pine-wood),  near  the  town  of 
Sussic,  cures  various  diseases.  The 
origin  of  the  fountain  is  this.  A  certain 
pious  virgin  was  dying  and  prayed  her 
friends  to  place  her  body  after  death  on 
a  car  and  harness  two  oxen  to  it.  When 
they  came  to  the  place  above-mentioned 
they  would  go  no  further.  She  was 
buried  there,  and  near  her  grave  a 
fountain  burst  forth.  In  the  days  of 
Chanowski,  the  fountain  had  been  in 
veneration  time  out  of  mind,  and  was 
called  Wodolanka  and  the  village  near  it 
Wodolanij  ;  it  is  therefore  supposed  that 
the  name  of  the  saint  was  Wodolana. 
The  peasants  in  time  of  drought,  draw 
water  from  this  well  and  put  some  into 
their  own  wells  and  fountains,  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  rain.  Chanowski, 
Vestigia. 

St.  Wolfrida,  WULFRIDA. 

B.  Woyslawa,  SLNOYSLAWA,  or  VOY- 

VOL.  II. 


SLAVA,  May  27,  Aug.  12,  Nov.  22,  a 
recluse,  of  the  noble  family  of  Gutten- 
stein,  and  sister  of  St.  Hrosnata,  monk 
and  martyr,  who  is  one  of  the  native 
patron  saints  of  Bohemia.  In  1126,  as 
the  widow  of  Prince  Otto  of  Cracow,  she 
became  a  recluse  in  the  newly  founded 
Premonstratensian  monastery  of  Tepl. 
Some  time  afterwards  she  removed  to 
Chotinschau,  where  her  sister  Judith 
was  a  nun.  Woyslawa  died  in  the  odour 
of  sanctity,  May  27.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Wulf,  ULPHIA. 

St.   Wulfetrude,   Nov.   23  (VIFE- 

TRUDE,  VlLEFRETRUIT,  VlLEFRETUID,  VlL- 
FETRUY,  VULFEDRUDE,  YuLFETRUDIS, 

WILFETRUDE),  V.  -f-  070,  second  abbess 
of  Nivelle.  Her  aunt,  the  first  abbess, 
ST.  GERTRUDE  (5)  resigned  the  office  to 
her  when  she  was  hardly  twenty.  She 
ruled  for  about  ten  years.  Petin,  Die. 
Hag.  Lechner. 

St.  Wulfhide  or  Wulfhild  (1) 
WULFILDA. 

B.  Wulfhild  (2),  May  28,  8.  13th 
century.  She  was  of  the  house  of  Guelph. 
Daughter  of  Henry  the  Black,  duke  of 
Bavaria.  When  young  she  had  a  voca 
tion  to  a  religious  life,  but  was  married 
to  Rodolph,  last  count  of  Bregenz  and 
Pfullendorf.  Left  a  widow,  she  took  the 
veil  at  Weissenbrun  or  Weissobrun. 
She  was  so  amiable  that  the  nuns  called 
her  "  the  angelic."  Although  she  had 
forsaken  the  outer  world,  secular  persons 
appealed  to  her  as  a  peacemaker.  More 
than  once  the  members  of  her  family 
being  at  loggerheads,  made  her  umpire, 
and  such  was  their  faith  in  her  virtue, 
that  she  succeeded  in  restoring  peace. 
Migne,  Die.  Hag.  Stadler. 

St.  Wulfilda,  WULFHILD,  or  WULF 
HIDE,  Dec.  10,  V.  +  c.  980  or  990. 
Abbess  of  Barking.  Founder  and  ab 
bess  of  Horton.  She  was  brought  up  in 
the  monastery  of  Winchester.  The  king 
fell  in  love  with  her.  It  is  generally 
said  this  king  was  Edgar ;  Butler  calls 
him  Edward.  Presents,  messages,  offers 
being  of  no  avail,  he  gained  over  an  aunt 
of  the  young  saint,  and  she  feigned  ill 
ness  and  sent  for  her  niece  to  attend  on 
her.  When  Wulfilda  arrived  at  the 
house,  she  found  she  had  been  entrapped 
there  only  to  meet  the  king,  and  his 

x 


306 


ST.  WULFRIDA 


fervour  so  alarmed  her  that  she  fled, 
leaving  her  sleeve  in  his  hand.  Im 
mediately  after  this  she  took  the  veil, 
and  the  king,  convinced  of  her  enthusias 
tic  goodness,  thenceforth  "  held  her  as  a 
thing  enskied  and  sainted"  and  made 
her  abbess  of  Barking,  giving  to  that 
monastery  considerable  estates.  Wul- 
filda  bestowed  upon  it  twenty  villages  of 
her  own  and  founded  another  monastery 
at  Horton.  Both  these  houses  she 
governed  with  great  ability  and  set  an 
excellent  example  to  the  inmates.  Queen 
Elfleda  or  Elthrida  became  envious,  and 
on  the  death  of  the  king  ejected  her  from 
her  monasteries,  as  she  had  herself  fore 
told.  She  was  restored  under  Ethelred 
II.  and  died  at  Barking,  in  his  reign. 
Her  virtues  in  life  and  the  cures  wrought 
at  her  tomb  at  Barking  raised  her  to  the 
level  of  her  two  great  predecessors  there, 
ETHELBURGA  (2)  and  HILDELID.  She  is 
confounded  with  ST.  WULFBIDA.  Tho 
Bollandists  think  they  are  the  same ; 
Biitler  and  Stanton  consider  them  two 
different  persons.  The  point  cannot  be 
settled  by  referring  to  William  of  Mal- 
mesbury  and  the  twelfth-century  writers, 
for  the  stories  are  inextricably  mixed; 
Parker  says  that  Horton  church  in  Dor 
setshire  still  retains  its  dedication  in  her 


name,  Wolfrida  or  Wulfhild;  she  may 
have  had  Wolfrida  for  an  alias. 

St.  Wulfrida,  July  22,  perhaps  Sept. 

0  (WlLFREDA,  WlLFllIDA,  WlLFRITH, 
WOLFIUDA,  VlLEFRETRUIT,  VlLEFllETUIT, 

perhaps  VILFETRUY,  VULFETRUDIS,  YUL- 
FRIDIS),  died  about  998  or  1000.  She 
was  a  member  of  a  noble  family  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  was  mother  of 
ST.  EDITH  (6)  by  King  Edgar.  Wul 
frida  was  a  nun  at  Winchester  and  was 
seduced  by  the  king.  Great  was  the 
scandal,  for  the  nun's  habit  was  the  one 
thing  that  must  be  respected.  St.  Dun- 
stan  condemned  the  king  to  abstain  from 
wearing  his  crown  for  seven  years.  After 
the  death  of  his  wife,  Edgar  tried  to 
persuade  Wulfrida  to  leave  her  convent 
and  be  married  to  him,  but  she  preferred 
to  remain  with  her  daughter  at  Wilton, 
and  became  abbess  there.  Butler,  "  St. 
Edith,"  Sept.  16.  Britannia  Sancta.  Hill, 
English  Monasteries.  Stanton,  Mcnology. 
In  Watson's  English  Mart,  she  is  called 
the  "wife  of  the  holy  King  Edgar." 
(Compare  ST.  WULFILDA). 

St.  Wulfruna,  Dec.  21),  a  religious 
matron,  founder  of  Wolverhamptou. 
Brit.  pia. 

St.  Wulvella,  WELVELA. 


St.  Xantippe  or  XANTHIPPE,  Sept. 
23.  1st  century.  Xantippe  and  her 
sister  ST.  POLYXENA  are  honoured  as 
disciples  of  St.  Paul.  They  were  natives 
of  Spain.  Xantippe  was  married  to  Pro- 
bus,  a  man  of  high  rank  in  that  country, 
and  her  beautiful  young  sister  Polyxena 
lived  with  them.  Xantippe  first  heard 
of  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  from  a  servant 
who  had  been  sent  to  Rome  with  letters. 
She  longed  exceedingly  to  know  more 
about  the  Christian  doctrine.  To  the 
grief  of  her  husband,  she  became  un 
happy  and  restless  and  thin.  While  she 
was  in  this  anxious  state,  St.  Paul  came 
to  Spain  and  to  the  town  where  they 
lived.  They  received  him  into  their 
house,  and  first  Xantippe  and  then 
Probus  was  converted  and  baptized. 


Soon  after  this,  Polyxena,  who  was  still 
unbaptized,  was  carried  off  during  the 
absence  of  her  sister,  by  a  powerful, 
wicked  man.  She  had  a  series  of  extra 
ordinary  adventures.  She  was  taken  to 
Greecr,  where  she  was  rescued  by  St. 
Philip  and  taken  care  of  by  one  of  his 
disciples.  Threatened  with  recapture, 
she  fled  to  the  woods  and  mountains  and 
shared  with  a  friendly  lioness  the  shelter 
of  a  hollow  tree.  Returning  to  the  road, 
she  met  St.  Andrew  and  they  were 
joined  by  a  young  Jewish  slave,  named 
Eebecca.  The  apostle  baptized  them 
both.  After  passing  through  many  other 
dangers  and  wonderful  adventures,  the 
two  young  women  were  taken  to  Spain 
by  Onesimus,  and  there  was  great  joy 
when  Probus  and  Xantippe  had  their 


ST.   YXTA 


307 


sister  restored  to  them.  Some  parts  of 
the  legend  are  so  silly  that  the  Bol- 
landists  consider  the  whole  story  un 
worthy  of  belief,  and  place  the  names  of 
these  two  saints  among  the  Prsetcrmissi. 
They  are,  however,  in  the  Roiittm  Mar- 
tyrologij  and  in  the  Greek  Menology.  The 


Acts  are  very  old.  Ante-Nicene  Christian 
Library,  additional  volume  edited  by 
Robertson. 

St.  Xene  (1),  Jan.  18,  M.  by  fire. 
Honoured  in  the  Greek  Church.  AA.SS. 

St.  Xene  (2),  EUSEBIA  (4). 


St.  Yberg  or  YBERGUE,  IDABERG  (3). 

St.  Ydubergue,  May  8,  IDA  (3). 

St.  Ye  (1),  Feb.  5,  AGATHA  (1). 

St.  Ye  (2),  Jan.  25,  patron  of  Pen- 
dcnnis.  Probably  I  A  (3). 

St.  Yeme,  patron  of  a  church  in 
the  diocese  of  Chartres.  Mas  Latrie. 
Perhaps  it  means  James. 

St.  Yena,  HIEREMIA  (2). 

St.  Yertrude,  GERTRUDE  (5). 

St.  Ygora  or  YGOARA.    (See  LICERIA.) 

St.  Ylde  or  ILD,  MATILDA.  Collin  de 
Plancy. 

St.  Ymma  (1),  AMA  (4). 

St.  Ymma  (2),  IMMA  (2). 

St.  Ynez,  Spanish  for  AGNES. 

St.  Yolaine  or  YOLANA,  YOLAND. 

St.  Yoland  (1 ),  IOLANDE,  or  IOLANTHE, 
Dec.  28,  V.  M.  169.  She  was  a  young 
girl  of  patrician  rank,  arrested  at  the 
age  of  twenty  for  the  crime  of  kindness 
to  the  Christian  victims  of  persecution. 
The  judge  was  charmed  with  her  beauty, 
and  disguising  his  wicked  intention 
under  a  veil  of  respectful  indulgence, 
he  contrived  to  have  a  quiet  interview 
with  her.  On  his  attempting  to  take 
hold  of  her,  he  was  struck  by  an  in 
visible  hand  and  found  his  arms  para 
lysed.  His  love  changed  to  rage  and 
hatred,  and  he  had  her  beaten  with 
bronze  gloves.  She  escaped  but  was 
again  taken,  and  after  many  horrible 
tortures,  was  at  last  beheaded.  Guerin. 

St.  Yoland  (2),  YOLAINE,  YOLANA, 
JOLANA,  or  GEoLANA,  Jan.  17,  27,  V.  M. 
at  Plaincerf  or  Pleine  Selve,  near  Guise. 
Stadler.  (See  BENEDICT  A  (7).) 

St.  Yoland  (3)  Van  Weenen, 
Dec.  17,  16,  V.  O.S.D.  1231-1283. 
Daughter  of  Count  Henry  of  Veanden 
in  the  grand-duchy  of  Luxemburg,  and 


of  Marguerite  de  Courtenay,  sister  of 
the  Emperor  Baldwin.  Her  mother  had 
to  travel  to  Luxemburg,  and  took  Yo 
land  who  was  then  sixteen,  to  the 
Dominican  nunnery  of  Marienthal :  she 
shut  herself  into  a  cell,  put  on  the  dress 
of  the  nuns,  went  to  the  altar,  and  con 
secrated  herself  to  God.  The  countess 
dismayed,  rushed  to  the  church,  threw 
herself  in  a  fury  on  Yoland,  dragged 
her  by  the  hair,  tore  off  the  religious 
dress,  and  when  she  tried  to  take  her 
away,  the  girl  escaped  to  the  cellar. 
As  the  countess  threatened  to  pull  down 
the  house,  Yoland  gave  in  and  went 
home  to  Veanden.  The  mother  was 
very  violent  at  first  but  at  last  yielded 
to  her  daughter's  determination  and 
took  her  back  to  Marienthal,  where  she 
took  the  veil  in  1248.  When  she  had 
been  ten  years  a  nun,  she  was  appointed 
prioress  and  held  that  office  for  twenty- 
five  years,  during  which  she  was  a  model 
of  every  virtue.  AA.SS.  Aprilis,  vol.  ii. 
Guerin.  Her  life  and  her  right  to  be 
called  Saint  are  to  be  discussed  in  the 
AA.SS.,  Dec.  17. 

B.  Yoland  (4),  JOLENTA  (2). 

St.  Yore,  EUSEBIA. 

St.  Yphenge,  EUPHEMIA.  Chastelain. 

St.  Yrnea,  IRENE.  (See  AGAPE, 
CHIONIA  and  IRENE.) 

St.  Ysoie.  A  church  is  dedicated  in 
this  name  in  Beauvais.  She  is  the  same 
as  EUSEBIA.  Baillet,  Discours. 

St.  Ystia,  ITA  (i). 

St.  Yxta  or  HIXTA,  July  25,  Feb.  6, 
V.  worshipped  at  Eistettin  near  Schaff- 
hausen,  in  the  diocese  of  Constance. 
She  was  daughter  of  ST.  NOTBURG  (3) 
and  worshipped  with  her. 


308 


ST.    ZABEL 


z 


St.  Zabel,  ISABEL.     Cahier. 
St.  Zaida.     (See  MARY  (42).) 
St.   Zaina,  Oct.  21,  M.     Ethiopian 
calendar.     AA.SS;  Prseter.     Guerin. 
St.  Zatiana,  TATIANA. 
St.  Zatte,   Dec.   28,  M.  in   Africa. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Zaziana,  TATIANA. 
B.  Zdislawa  or  ODISLAWA,  countess 
of  Lamberg,    Jan.    1,  1240-1267,    3rd 
O.S.D.     One  of  the  native  patron  saints 
of  Bohemia.      She  was  born  at  Gabel  in 
Bohemia,  of  the  family  of   Berkowna, 
now  extinct.     She  was  extremely  pious 
from  her  infancy  and  gave  all  her  pocket- 
money  in  charity.     At  seven  she  left  her 
home  and  repaired  to  the  forest  to  be  an 
anchorite,  and  only  returned  very  reluc 
tantly  when   her    father    earnestly    re 
quired  of  her  this  act  of  obedience.     She 
again  obeyed  him  with  great  reluctance 
and  under  the  strongest  protest,  when  he 
commanded    her    to    marry    the    noble 
Zdenko    or  Czienkon    of    Wartenberg, 
whose  castle  was  at  Lamberg  or  Lamrich. 
She   still    devoted   herself   to  the  poor 
and    had    to    endure    much    opposition 
from    her    husband,  a   man   of   violent 
temper,   who  thought  it  unseemly  that 
she  should    hold   so   much    intercourse 
with  low  and  common  people.     At  last, 
however,  he   allowed    her   to   take   the 
Third   Order  of   St.  Dominic,   to    give 
largely   to  the  Dominican  convent   for 
men  in  Gabel,  and  to  build  a  house  of 
the    same     Order     there     for    women. 
Shortly  after  this  she  died  and  was  im 
mediately  worshipped  and  chosen  Patron 
Saint  of  Gabel.     She  was  buried,  by  her 
own  wish,  at  Jablon  and  worked  miracles 
there.     She  soon  appeared  to  her  sorrow 
ing  husband,  dressed  in  a  red  robe  of 
which   she   left  him   a    little   piece   to 
comfort  him.     Her  room  was  still  shown 
in  the  ancient  castle  of  Lamrich  early  in 
the    nineteenth    century.      Chanowski, 
Vestigia.     Stadler.     Lima. 

St.  Zebberia,  May  10,  M.  at  Tarsus 
in  Cilicia. 

St.    Zebelle,    May  24,   M.  334,   in 
Istria.     Mas  Latrie. 


St.  Zebina  (1),  Nov.  13,  M.  308,  at 
Caesarea  in  Palestine,  with  ST.  ENNATHA 
and  others.  R.M. 

St.  Zebina  (2),  March  27,  Dec.  24, 
-f-  c.  327.  Stadler  calls  her  Jfartyrin, 
but  says  she  is  perhaps  the  same  as 
Zanitas,  who  seems  to  be  a  man. 

St.  Zeculla,  ZETULA  (2). 

St.  Zelie,  sometimes  ADELAIDE,  some 
times  SOLINE. 

St.  Zeline,  SOLINE. 

St.  Zemaine  or  ZEMANA,  ZENAIS  (1). 

St.  Zemedemarea,  ST.  CLARA  (7). 

St.  Zenaide  or  Zenaine,  ZENAIS. 

SS.  ZenaiS  (1)  (ZEMANA,  ZEMAINE) 
and  Philonilla,  Oct.  11.  1st  century. 
Natives  of  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia  ;  related  to 
St.  Paul  the  apostle,  who  converted  them 
to  the  truth  of  Christ.  Zenai's  was  skilled 
in  medicine,  and  went  to  live  alone  in  a 
cave  where  many  persons  resorted  to  her 
to  be  cured  of  divers  diseases.  Once 
three  holy  men,  named  Papas,  Pateras 
and  Philocyrus,  visited  her  to  be  in 
structed  in  religious  matters.  The 
heathen  made  a  plot  to  take  them,  but 
they  escaped  through  the  wisdom  and 
prayers  of  Zenai's.  Immediately  after 
wards,  she  went  out  of  her  cave,  to  gather 
healing  herbs  in  the  forest  ;  a  thorn  ran 
into  her  right  foot,  which  caused  her 
excessive  pain ;  she  sat  down  to  take  it 
out,  and  before  she  could  do  so,  she  died. 
Philonilla  remained  at  home  and  led  a 
life  not  less  holy,  and  in  course  of  time 
died  in  peace.  They  are  honoured 
together.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Zenais  (2),  ZENAIDE  or  ZENAINE, 
June  5,  V.  M.  at  Caesarea  in  Palestine, 
with  SS.  CYRIA  (1),  VALERIA  and  MARCIA. 
EM. 

St.  ZenaiS  (3),  June  6,  M.  at  Con 
stantinople.  Stadler.  Guerin. 

St.  Zenai's  (4)  of  Thessaly,  Oct.  11, 
M.  AA.88. 

St.  Zenais  (»">)  or  SUSANNA,  June  0, 
M.  commemorated  with  ST.  EUSEBIA  or 
St.  AESIA  ;  they  were  matrons,  disciples 
of  St.  Pancras  (April  3),  bishop  of  Tauro- 
menium  in  Sicily.  AA.SS. 

St.  ZenaiS  (6),  June  7,  honoured  as 


ST.   7JTA 


309 


a  worker  of  miracles.  Graeco  Slav. 
Calendar.  Perhaps  same  as  ZENAIS  (J). 

St.  Zenobia,  Oct.  30,  M.  c.  280  or 
304.  She  and  St.  Zenobius  were  the 
children  of  Zenodotus  and  Thecla,  good 
Christians  of  Aegea  in  Cilicia,  whose 
parents  had  been  persecuted  for  the  faith. 
Zenobius  was  a  medical  man  of  great 
skill  and  still  greater  benevolence ;  he 
acquired  such  a  reputation  for  the  heal 
ing  of  diseases  and  for  his  general  probity 
and  charity  that  his  fellow-citizens  chose 
him  for  their  bishop.  One  day  a  man 
from  a  great  distance  brought  his  wife 
with  a  cancer  in  the  throat.  Hearing 
that  Zenobius  was  in  church,  the  pair 
followed  him  thither,  and  the  holy  bishop 
effected  an  immediate  cure.  Other 
miraculous  cures  followed,  until  Lysias, 
the  prefect,  summoned  the  bishop  to  give 
an  account  of  his  faith  and  practice,  and 
put  him  to  the  torture.  Zenobia  went  to 
the  scene  of  his  sufferings  and  demanded 
with  vituperations  that  the  prefect  and 
his  servants  should  desist  from  ill- 
treating  her  blessed  brother.  Zenobius 
and  Zenobia  were  then  stretched  on  a 
red-hot  iron  bed,  but  as  they  remained 
there  unhurt  and  singing  praises,  both 
were  beheaded.  Their  bodies  were 
thrown  where  unclean  beasts  might  eat 
them,  lest  the  Christians  should  worship 
them ;  but  two  good  priests — Hermogenes 
and  Caius — came  by  night  and  buried 
them. 

They  are  worshipped  in  the  Greek 
and  Latin  Churches.  There  are  several 
versions  of  their  Acts,  one  of  which  says 
that  Zenobia  was  the  mother  of  Zenobius, 
but  the  E.M.  calls  her  his  sister.  AA.SS. 
Maiij  " Ephcmcrides  Graeco-moscae" 

St.  Zetula  (1),  May  8,  M.  at  Con 
stantinople,  with  St.  Acacius.  (See 
AGATHA  (2).)  AA.SS. 

St.  Zetula  (2)  or  ZECTJLLA,  May  10, 
M.  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  with  St.  Aphro- 
disius  and  109  others.  AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Zetula  (3),  June  3,  M.  at  Eome 
with  St.  Marcellus  and  18(5  others. 
AA.88.  Stadler. 

St.  Zigua,  CUNEGUND  (4\ 

St.  Zinga,  CUNEGUND  (4). 

St.  Zitaor  SITTA,  April  27,  V.,  1218- 
1272.  Patron  of  Lucca,  of  housekeepers, 
cooks,  and  women  servants  in  general, 


and  against  apoplexy.  Represented  as  a 
servant  girl  (1)  standing  by  a  fountain, 
holding  a  little  jug  or  a  bunch  of  keys  ; 
(2)  giving  a  fur  coat  to  a  beggar  at  the 
church  door ;  (3)  the  B.  V.  MARY  open- 
•  ing  the  gate  of  the  town  for  her ;  (4)  a 
star  near  her.  She  was  daughter  of 
poor  but  pious  peasant  proprietors,  John 
Lombardo  and  Bonissima  his  wife.  She 
was  born  at  Bozzanello,  a  village  on  the 
slope  of  Monte  Sagrati ;  the  neighbour 
ing  hill  of  San  Graziano  is  so  called  in 
memory  of  her  mother's  brother,  who  led 
an  eremitical  life  there.  As  a  child, 
Zita  was  so  well  disposed  that  it  was 
enough  for  her  mother  to  say,  "  This  is 
pleasing  to  God,"  or  "  That  is  displeas 
ing  to  God  ; "  the  little  maid  instantly 
followed  the  pious  indication.  At  the 
age  of  twelve  she  had  to  go  to  service. 
Her  parents,  carrying  with  them  a  small 
basket  of  the  fruits  of  their  fields  as  an 
offering,  took  her  to  the  house  of  Pagano 
di  Fatinelli,  a  respectable  tradesman  of 
Lucca,  who  dealt  in  silken  and  woollen 
stuffs,  and  here  she  spent  the  remaining 
years  of  her  life.  Determined  to  serve 
God  in  serving  her  master  and  mistress, 
she  was  scrupulously  honest  and  indus 
trious,  bearing  all  reproofs  and  even 
blows  with  humility.  She  went  to  the 
neighbouring  church  of  San  Fridiano 
every  morning,  but  took  the  hour  for 
this  act  of  piety  not  from  her  work  time 
but  from  her  sleep.  Her  daily  life  was, 
however,  by  no  means  agreeable.  Her 
master,  a  violent  tempered  man,  took  a 
dislike  to  her  ;  and  when  he  and  his  wife 
gradually  discovered  her  good  qualities 
and  began  to  value  her  for  them,  her 
fellow-servants  were  jealous  and  did  not 
approve  of  her  being  more  devoted 
either  to  God  or  to  the  Fatinelli  than 
they  were.  She  had  not  been  long  in 
the  service  of  the  Fatinelli  when  the 
city  of  Lucca  was  placed  under  an  inter 
dict  which  lasted  for  three  years,  and 
during  that  time  she  could  only  receive 
the  holy  communion  by  going  to  a  church, 
in  the  territory  of  Pisa.  After  some 
years  of  service,  she  was  promoted  to  be 
housekeeper,  and  in  that  capacity  she 
would  not  suffer  any  bad  language 
among  the  servants,  and  turned  off  one 
of  the  men  for  transgressing  in  this 


310 


ST.   ZLATA 


respect.  She  was  as  discreet  as  she  was 
charitable,  and  her  master  seeing  that 
she  brought  a  blessing  on  his  property, 
gave  her  a  free  hand  and  often  allowed 
her  to  mollify  his  anger  against  any 
one  who  offended  him.  While  she  had. 
the  care  of  everything  in  the  house, 
Lucca  was  visited  by  a  dreadful  famine, 
and  as  she  was  allowed  to  give  in  modera 
tion,  she  went  to  a  great  chest  full  of 
beans,  and  gave  some  handfuls  to  the 
poor  who  came  to  the  door ;  there  were 
so  many  and  their  need  was  so  urgent 
that  she  gave,  and  gave,  and  before  she 
realized  what  she  was  doing,  she  found 
she  had  emptied  the  chest.  She  was 
much  alarmed,  but  went  at  once  to  con 
fess  her  fault  to  her  master,  expecting 
him  to  be  in  a  towering  rage;  fortu 
nately,  however,  before  striking  or  even 
scolding  her,  he  looked  into  the  chest, 
and  lo !  it  was  full  to  the  brim  of  excel 
lent  beans.  Once,  when  she  had  stayed 
too  long  in  the  church  of  San  Fridiano, 
she  remembered  that  this  was  the  day  of 
the  weekly  baking  and  that  she  ought  to 
have  put  the  dough  ready  in  the  tub ; 
she  hurried  home  in  great  concern,  and 
found,  to  her  comfort,  that  her  work  had 
been  done  for  her"  by  an  unknown  hand. 
Once,  as  she  was  fetching  water  from  the 
fountain,  a  poor  man  begged  her  to  give 
him  some  ;  she  filled  her  jug  and  handed 
it  to  him,  but  what  he  drank  was  deli 
cious  wine. 

The  story  generally  told  of  ST.  ELIZA 
BETH  (11),  of  a  lapful  of  bread  and  meat 
being  changed  into  roses,  and  back  again 
to  food  for  the  poor,  is  also  a  part  of  the 
legend  of  St.  Zita. 

One  very  cold  Christmas  day,  when 
she  was  going  to  church,  her  master 
made  her  put  on  his  own  fur  cloak,  de 
siring  her  to  return  it  to  him  when  she 
came  home  again,  At  the  door  of  the 
church  she  saw  a  beggar  looking  so  very 
ill  and  so  cold,  that  she  put  the  cloak 
round  him,  intending  to  get  it  back  from 
him  after  service,  but  he  instantly  dis 
appeared.  The  service  ended,  she  again 
sought  him  in  vain,  and  went  home 
trembling,  to  encounter  a  storm  of  abuse. 
But  a  little  later,  when  her  master  was 
sitting  at  dinner  with  several  guests,  the 
door  of  the  room  suddenly  opened  and 


an  unknown  man  entered,  handed  the 
missing  cloak  to  Pagano,  and  disappeared. 
From  that  time  the  church  door  where 
Zita  had  given  the  cloak  to  the  beggar, 
was  called  by  the  people  of  Lucca,  the 
Angel's  door.  As  her  mistress'  children 
grew  up,  she  loved  and  advised  and 
helped  them  all,  and  was  beloved  and 
sought  in  afiliction  by  everybody. 

At  the  time  of  her  death  a  splendid 
star  arose  over  Lucca,  shining  brightly 
amid  the  sunlight.  The  cottage  where 
she  was  born  was  converted  into  a  chapel, 
and  many  wonderful  answers  were 
obtained  by  those  who  sought  her  inter 
cession.  Her  worship  soon  spread  to 
Portugal,  England,  and  other  countries. 
Her  grave  was  opened  in  the  loth,  16th, 
17th  and  19th  centuries,  and  on  each 
occasion  her  body  was  found  as  fresh  as 
in  life. 

She  was  canonized  by  Innocent  XII. 
in  1696.  In  the  H.M.  she  is  called 
Blessed  ;  she  is  called  Saint  by  Dante, 
It/ferno,  xxi.  38 ;  and  was  already 
accounted  a  patron  of  Lucca  in  his  time, 
although  the  office  in  her  honour  was 
only  granted  long  afterwards  by  Leo  X. 
in  the  16th  century. 

A  contemporary  life  is  given  by  Pape- 
broch  in  AA.SS.  Diario  di  Roma,  May 
1,  1819.  Butler.  Stadler.  Mont'alern- 
bert,  "  St.  Elizabeth." 

St.  Zlata  or  CHRYSA,  V.  M.  1795,  the 
beautiful  daughter  of  poor  parents  in 
the  village  of  Zlatina,  in  the  diocese  of 
Meglin,  in  Bulgaria.  A  Turk  carried 
her  off  by  force  and  kept  her  for  some 
time  in  his  house,  leaving  no  means 
untried  to  induce  her  to  give  up  her 
religion  and  her  innocence.  At  last  in 
censed  at  her  persistence,  in  October, 
1795,  he  put  her  to  death  by  means  too 
horrible  to  be  described,  as  recorded  by 
her  confessor,  Timothy,  abbot  of  Stau- 
ronicete  in  Mount  Athos.  Martinov, 
Annus  Ecclesiasticus. 

St.  Zoe  (1)  or  ZOA,  May  2,  slave,  M. 
in  the  reign  of  Hadrian  (117-138).  She 
was  the  wife  of  St.  Hesperus,  and  mother 
of  St.  Cyriacus  and  St.  Theodulus,  MM. ; 
they  were  slaves  of  Catalus  and  his  wife 
Tertia  or  Tetradia.  Hesperus  and  Zoe 
brought  their  sons  up  as  Christians,  in 
the  midst  of  a  heathen  household.  The 


ST.   ZOE 


311 


saints  and  their  master  were  natives  of 
Italy,  but  went  from  Home  to  Atalia  or 
Satalia,  in  Parnphylia.  The  four  Chris 
tians  refused  to  partake  of  a  feast  given 
by  their  master,  suspecting  the  meat  to 
be  offered  to  idols.  Zoe  took  a  basket  of 
the  meat  and  said  to  the  porter,  "  You 
have  so  much  to  do,  with  people  coming 
and  going  at  all  hours,  go  to  sleep  and 
leave  the  care  of  the  gate  to  me ;  I  will 
awake  you  if  you  are  wanted."  There 
were  dogs  tied  outside  the  gate  and 
when  beggars  or  thieves  came  near  the 
house,  they  attacked  them  and  drove  them 
away.  Zoe,  seeing  a  great  many  very 
poor  people,  quieted  the  dogs  by  giving 
them  some  of  the  food  out  of  her  basket, 
and  then  distributed  the  rest  to  the  poor, 
exhorting  them  at  the  same  time  to 
become  Christians.  Her  two  sons  told 
her  they  could  no  longer  stay  among 
their  heathen  fellow-servants,  and  added, 
"  Have  you  not  taught  us  that  St.  Paul 
says,  *  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  together 
with  unbelievers '  ?  "  The  mother  tried 
to  restrain  their  enthusiasm,  fearing  that 
when  persecution  met  them  they  would 
not  have  courage  to  persevere  ;  but  they 
went  to  Catalus  and  told  him  they  had  no 
master  but  Jesus  Christ.  Catalus  said 
they  were  out  of  their  senses,  and  sent 
for  their  father  and  mother.  Zoe  came, 
and  when  Catalus  asked  for  Hesperus, 
she  reminded  him  that  he  had  sent  him 
to  his  villa  outside  the  town.  He 
answered,  "  I  wish  you  and  your  sons 
were  there  too,  that  I  might  not  have 
had  so  much  trouble  with  you.  These 
silly  boys  come  and  tell  me  you  have 
a  God  of  your  own,  Whom  I  have  never 
heard  of,  and  that  you  will  not  worship 
the  gods  of  your  fathers,  although  you 
know  what  blessings  have  come  to  your 
mistress  Tertia  and  how  she  has  had  a 
son  since  we  began  to  pay  special  adora 
tion  to  the  great  goddess  Fortuna."  So 
he  ordered  them  all  to  go  away  to  his 
villa  Tritonia.  Soon  afterwards  Catalus 
made  a  great  feast  in  honour  of  the  birth 
of  his  son,  and  ordered  that  all  his  de 
pendents  should  rejoice.  A  good  portion 
of  meat  and  wine  was  sent  to  Zoe,  but 
she  knowing  it  was  offered  to  idols,  threw 
the  meat  to  the  dog  and  poured  the  wine 
on  the  ground.  When  this  was  told  to 


Catalus  he  was  very  angry  and  sent  for 
Zoe,  her  husband,  and  sons  ;  he  said  he 
would  have  no  more  of  their  new  God, 
and  he  ordered  the  boys  to  be  tortured, 
saying  to  Zoe,  "  Now  we  will  see  if  your 
God  is  able  to  help  them."  Zoe  stood  by 
and  saw  her  boys  torn  with  iron  hooks 
and  bade  them  be  of  good  courage  and 
be  true  to  their  Master  in  heaven.  The 
four  were  then  cast  into  a  furnace.  Cat 
alus  heard  them  singing  psalms  in  the 
fire.  He  wondered  and  considered  how 
he  could  torture  them  still  more.  When 
they  knew  this,  they  prayed  to  the  Lord 
to  receive  their  souls  in  peace,  and  at 
once  died.  Next  day,  Catalus  opened  the 
furnace,  and  found  them  all  lying  there 
dead  but  uninjured,  with  their  faces 
turned  to  the  east.  EM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Zoe  (2)  or  ZOA,  July  5,  Jan.  20, 
M.  286.  Eepresented  suspended  from 
the  bough  of  a  tree  over  flames.  She 
was  wife  of  Nicostratus,  primiscrinms, 
which  Butler  translates  "  master  of  the 
rolls."  The  martyrs  Marcus  and  Marcel- 
lianus  were  in  the  house  of  Nicostratus, 
under  sentence  of  death,  and  St.  Sebastian 
exhorted  them  not  to  be  shaken  by  the 
tears  of  their  friends  but  to  be  faithful 
unto  death.  While  he  was  speaking 
a  heavenly  light  shone  around. him,  and 
seven  angels  stood  beside  him.  Zoo 
had  been  dumb  for  six  years,  from  palsy, 
but  her  understanding  and  her  powers 
of  observation  were  rather  sharpened 
than  diminished  by  her  misfortune.  She 
was  so  struck  by  the  miracle  she 
witnessed,  and  so  impressed  by  the 
words  of  St.  Sebastian,  that  she  tried  to 
express  by  signs,  her  belief  in  his  teach 
ing  and  her  anxiety  for  the  conversion 
of  her  friends  who  were  present.  St. 
Sebastian  restored  the  power  of  speech 
to  her  by  making  the  sign  of  the  cross 
on  her  mouth.  Nicostratus,  St.  Tran- 
quillinus  and  his  wife  (the  parents  of 
Marcus  and  Marcellianus)  and  several 
other  persons  were  converted  at  the 
same  time.  Not  long  afterwards  Zoe 
was  arrested  while  praying  at  the  tomb 
of  St.  Peter ;  she  was  dragged  to  a  statue 
of  Mars  and  required  to  burn  incense 
before  it ;  on  her  refusal  she  was  put  iD 
a  dungeon  without  food  or  light  and  con 
demned  to  die  of  hunger,  but  after  six 


312 


ST.   ZOB   MERETRIX 


days  she  was  taken  out  and  hung  by  her 
neck  and  hair  from  a  high  tree,  over 
a  fire  of  most  offensive  refuse,  the  smoke 
from  which  speedily  suffocated  her.  Her 
body  was  then  thrown  into  the  Tiber, 
lest  the  Christians  should  take  her 
and  make  a  goddess  of  her.  It  was, 
however,  rescued  and  was  eventually  pre 
served  in  the  church  of  St.  Praxedis. 
When  the  story  of  her  death  was  related 
by  Sebastian  to  Tranquillinus,  he  ex 
claimed,  "  Women  obtain  the  crown  of 
martyrdom  before  us.  Why  do  we  live  ?  " 
EM.  AA.SS.  Butler,  "St.  Sebastian," 
Jan.  20.  Stadler.  Baillet. 

St.  Zoe  00  Meretrix,  Feb.  13,  -f 
c.  400,  a  holy  penitent.  Martinian  was 
a  youth  of  extraordinary  beauty,  who 
left  the  world  and  its  vanities  and  led 
an  angelic  life  in  a  hermitage,  which  he 
built  on  a  mountain  near  Cassarea  in 
Palestine.  He  easily  overcame  various 
temptations  of  the  devil,  but  at  last 
a  woman  overheard  two  men  talking  of 
the  holiness  of  this  young  anchorite. 
Urged  by  the  devil,  she  stopped  them 
and  said,  "  Who  is  this  that  you  admire 
so  much  ?  what  are  his  good  works  ?  or 
what  is  the  use  of  his  life  ?  If  I  chose  I 
could  take  his  sanctity  from  him  like 
leaves  off  a  tree !  Wherein  is  a  man 
worthy  of  praise,  who  shuts  himself  up 
like  a  beast  of  the  field  and  does  not  dare 
to  look  temptation  in  the  face?  Don't 
you  know  that  where  there  is  no  fire, 
the  grass  will  not  be  burnt  ?  If  the  fire 
were  brought  to  the  grass  and  still  the 
grass  did  not  burn, — you  might  wonder: 
the  same  may  be  said  of  Martinian." 
Having  made  an  agreement  with  these 
men  that  she  would  persuade  the  holy 
man  to  renounce  his  innocence  of  life, 
in  the  evening  she  dressed  herself  in 
rags  and  put  a  coarse,  tattered  veil 
over  her  head.  She  took  her  beautiful 
embroidered  clothes  and  her  jewels  in  a 
bag,  and  went  in  the  midst  of  a  storm  of 
wind  and  rain  to  Martinian's  cell.  She 
called  out  in  a  doleful  voice,  "  Have  pity 
on  me,  O  man  of  God,  for  I  have  lost  my 
way,  leave  me  not  to  be  devoured  by  the 
wild  beasts,  despise  not  a  poor  sinner,  for 
I  also  am  one  of  God's  creatures."  When 
the  saint  saw  her  so  ragged  and  so  wet 
he  had  compassion  on  her,  but  he  was 


sorely  perplexed  and  knew  not  whether 
it  would  be  a  greater  sin  to  depart  from 
his  rule  and  admit  a  woman  within  his 
door,  or  to  let  her  perish.  He  prayed 
that  God  would  defend  him  in  this  un 
expected  danger,  and  he  opened  the  door, 
and  let  her  in.  When  he  had  lighted 
the  fire,  he  said,  "  Woman,  warm  thyself 
and  wait  upon  thyself,  for  I  may  not 
remain  with  thee."  He  brought  her 
some  of  the  dates  which  were  his  usual 
food,  and  said,  "Eat,  and  take  care  of 
thyself,  and  to-morrow  go  in  peace." 
Then  he  went  into  his  inner  cell  and  shut 
the  door.  When  he  had  sung  his  psalms 
and  said  his  prayers  he  went  to  sleep  on 
the  ground  as  usual  about  the  third  hour 
of  the  night.  The  woman  got  up  in  the 
night,  took  her  clothes  out  of  the  bag 
and  adorned  herself  to  the  best  advant 
age.  The  anchorite  rose  up  early  and 
having  sung  the  psalms,  came  out  of  his 
cell  to  send  away  the  woman.  When  he 
saw  her  so  splendidly  dressed  he  did  not 
recognize  the  beggar  of  the  night  before. 
He  was  dumb  with  astonishment  for 
some  minutes,  and  at  last  he  said,  "  Who 
art  thou,  and  how  earnest  thou  in  hither, 
and  what  diabolical  garments  are  these?  " 
She  told  him  she  was  the  woman  who 
had  come  the  night  before  and  that  she 
had  done  it  because  of  the  fame  that  she 
heard  of  his  beauty.  She  then  began  to 
argue  with  him  that  his  conduct  was  not 
scriptural,  asking  him  if  eating  and 
drinking  and  marriage  were  forbidden  by 
God,  quoting  St.  Paul  in  favour  of  her 
own  opinions,  asking  him  which  of  the 
prophets  or  patriarchs  was  unmarried  or 
did  not  raise  up  heirs  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  reminding  him  that  Enoch, 
who  was  a  married  man,  was  counted 
worthy  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
without  tasting  of  death.  Martiuian  an 
swered,  "If  I  make  thee  my  wife,  whither 
can  I  take  thee  or  how  can  I  feed  thee, 
seeing  I  have  nothing?"  But  she  said, 
"  Care  thou  for  none  of  these  things,  for 
I  have  lands  and  servants  and  much 
silver  and  gold ;  only  come  with  me  and 
live  in  my  home."  Then  he  promised 
to  do  so.  But  God  had  pity  on  His 
servant,  who  had  prayed  to  Him  so  often, 
and  would  not  let  him  fall  away  from 
the  path  of  righteousness.  So  Martiuiau 


ST.  ZYNGUE 


313 


gathered  a  quantity  of  sticks  and  set 
them  on  fire  and  stood  in  the  fire  until 
he  was  very  much  burnt.  Then  he 
lamented  and  accused  himself  of  sin,  and 
said,  "  If  the  pain  of  this  fire  is  unbear 
able  for  a  short  time,  how  dreadful  will 
be  the  eternal  fire  which  the  devil  is 
preparing  for  me  by  means  of  this  woman. 
This  fire  can  be  extinguished  with 
water,  but  the  other  shall  never  be 
quenched  to  all  Eternity."  Then  he 
went  back  into  the  fire  and  stood  there 
until  his  feet  were  so  burnt  that  he  fell 
on  the  ground. 

Zoe  seeing  his  grief  and  calling  to 
mind  her  wicked  life,  was  moved  to  re 
pentance,  and  seeing  him  burn  his  body 
to  save  his  soul,  she  took  off  all  her  fine 
clothes  and  threw  them  in  the  fire,  and 
put  on  her  rags  again  and  fell  at  his 
feet,  begging  him  to  pray  for  her  and 
to  tell  her  how  she  could  be  saved.  He 
told  her  to  go  to  ST.  PAULA'S  convent  at 
Bethlehem  and  tell  her  all  her  story 
and  be  guided  by  her.  He  said  that 
God  would  forgive  her  if  she  persevered 
in  a  life  of  penitence.  He  gave  her 
some  food  for  the  journey  and  showed 
her  the  way  to  Jerusalem.  She  stayed 
in  the  mountains  that  night,  and  next 
day  she  went  to  Bethlehem.  She  arrived 
there  towards  evening  and  went  and 
confessed  all  to  the  abbess  Paula,  who 
took  her  in.  She  lived  there  a  life  of 
extreme  penance  for  ten  years,  taking 
no  food  but  a  little  bread  and  water 
every  evening,  sleeping  on  the  ground 
and  praying  earnestly  for  forgiveness. 
One  day  Paula,  to  test  her  earnestness, 
bade  her  pray  for  a  certain  woman  who 
had  come  to  be  cured  of  a  disease  in  her 
eyes.  Such  was  the  efficacy  of  Zoo's 
prayers  that  in  a  few  days  the  woman 
was  perfectly  well. 

Henschenius,  from  a  contemporary  life 
of  St.  Martinian  the  hermit,  compared 
with  Metaphrastes,  who  is  the  authority 
for  the  name  of  Zoe :  the  oldest  lives  of 


St.  Martinian  do  not  give  her  name. 
Tillemont,  in  his  account  of  Paula's 
convent,  gives  her  name  and  calls  her 
a  saint.  For  the  continuation  of  the 
story,  see  PHOTINA  (2). 

St.  Zoile.  There  was  a  church  at 
Cordova  dedicated  in  this  name,  in  the 
time  of  St.  Eulogius,  middle  ofrthe  9th 
century. 

St.  Zonisa,  April  2,  M.  at  Thessa- 
lonica.  Mas  Latrie.  Guerin. 

St.  Zoraida.     (See  MARY  (42).) 

St.  Zotica,  April  24,  M.  at  Alexan 
dria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Zozima  (1)  or  ZOSIMA,  July  15, 
Jan.  18,  M.  with  her  sister  BONOSA  (1). 

St.  Zozima  (2)  of  Ostia,  Jan.  18,  M. 
Perhaps  the  same  as  ZOZIMA  (1). 

St.  Zrifene  or  TRIFENE,  TRYPHENA 
(3). 

B.  Zuette,  IVETTA. 

St.  Zure,  ZUWARDA. 

St.  Zuwarda,  ZURE,  SURA,  or  SOTERIS 
(3),  Feb.  10.  Date  unknown.  Eepre- 
sented  with  her  throat  cut,  a  fisherman's 
knife  in  her  hand.  She  built  a  church 
in  honour  of  the  VIRGIN  MARY,  at  Dord 
recht  in  Holland.  Zuwarda  always  had 
in  her  purse  three  small  coins  called 
copJcens,  with  which  she  paid  her  work 
men.  When  she  had  spent  her  money 
and  wanted  more,  she  found  still  three 
copltens  in  her  purse ;  some  wicked  men 
knowing  that  she  always  had  money  to 
give  away,  murdered  her,  expecting  to 
gain  quantities  of  gold  and  silver,  but 
they  only  found  three  copkcns.  The 
murderers  were  condemned  to  death,  but 
the  saint  knowing  that  they  were  peni 
tent,  appeared  to  the  judge  and  begged 
for  their  pardon,  which  was  granted. 
On  the  spot  where  she  was  killed,  a  foun 
tain  sprang  up  which  cured  fevers  and 
other  diseases.  Some  think  the  saint 
worshipped  there  was  the  Roman  St. 
Soteris  (2).  Bollandus,  from  local  tradi 
tion. 

St.  Zyngue,  July  14,  CUNEGUND  (4). 


ADDENDA 


B.  Irmgard,  July  16,  Oct.  20,  9th 
century,  abbess,  O.S.B.,  of  Fravenvord, 
founded  in  the  8th  century  by  Tassilo, 
duke  of  Bavaria,  on  an  island  in  the 
Chiemsee.  She  was  descended  from  ST. 
HILDEGARD  (1).  Stadler.  Bucelinus. 
Migne,  Die.  des  Abbayes. 

B.  Irmgard  or  ERMENGARD,  Oct. 
3,  13th  century.  She  was  daughter 
of  Conrad  of  Winterstettin,  count  of 
Thann.  She  married  Conrad  of  Schmal- 
neckh,  who  went  with  the  Emperor 
Frederick  II.  on  his  expedition  to 
Apulia.  Conrad  was  killed  and  Irm- 
gard  took  the  veil  in  the  Cistercian 
nunnery  of  Paindt,  built  in  1241  by 
her  father,  near  the  great  abbey  of 
Weingarten  in  Bavaria.  There  in  1244 
she  succeeded  B.  ANNA  (17)  as  abbess. 
Gallia  Christiana.  AA.SS.,  Praeter. 
Bucelinus. 

St.  Isabel,  1451-1504,  Queen  of 
Spain,  is  represented  in  royal  robes, 
with  a  queen's  crown  and  the  halo  of 
a  saint.  She  was  the  daughter  of  John 
II.  of  Castile,  by  his  second  wife,  and 
was  descended  through  both  her  parents 
from  John  of  Gaunt.  From  her  father's 
death  in  1454  her  half-brother  Henry 
IV.  was  her  king  and  guardian.  He 
was  so  unpopular  that  a  large  and 
powerful  party  in  the  country  invited 
Isabel  to  supersede  him.  This  she 
firmly  declined  to  do.  Soon  afterwards 
she  was  declared  heir  to  the  kingdom. 
Henry  was  continually  threatening  to 
make  some  unsuitable  alliance  for  her, 
to  serve  his  own  interests.  Once  when 
she  was  in  great  distress  lest  he  should 
insist  on  marrying  her  to  the  Master  of 
Calatrava,  one  of  her  ladies  said  to  her, 
"  Fear  not,  Infanta,  I  will  not  see  you 
sacrificed ;  I  have  vowed  to  plunge  this 


dagger  in  the  heart  of  the  Master,  should 
he  ever  come  into  your  presence  as  your 
fiance."  The  old  roue  died  opportunely, 
but  Isabel  found  herself  almost  a  prisoner 
and  surrounded  by  increasing  dangers. 
In  this  strait  she  was  driven  to  make  a 
choice  for  herself,  and  accordingly  ac 
cepted  the  most  eligible  of  her  many 
suitors.  While  her  cousin  Ferdinand 
of  Aragon  was  still  in  his  cradle,  his 
father,  King  John  II.,  had  solicited  for 
him  the  hand  of  Isabel  although  she 
was  not  at  that  time  heir  to  the  kingdom 
of  Castile,  and  he  had  lately  renewed 
the  request  with  urgency.  As  King 
Henry  was  not  acting  fairly  by  her,  she 
sent,  without  consulting  him,  to  accept 
the  offer  of  the  Infante  Don  Fernando. 
There  was  neither  time  nor  money  to 
raise  an  invading  army.  Without  delay 
Ferdinand  set  off  with  half  a  dozen 
trusty  friends  in  the  guise  of  merchants. 
He  passed  for  their  servant,  and  at  every 
halting  place  he  attended  to  the  mules, 
and  then  waited  on  his  pretended  masters 
at  supper  until  they  arrived  in  Valladolid 
where  the  marriage  was  solemnized  before 
the  king  of  Castile  could  interfere.  This 
was  in  1469.  Isabel  was  eighteen,  her 
husband  seventeen.  Both  had  English 
blood  in  their  veins.  They  were  slight 
and  fair,  with  reddish  hair  and  blue 
eyes  ;  they  were  of  middle  height, 
extremely  active  and  very  temperate. 

Isabel  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
Castile  in  1474,  Ferdinand  to  that  of 
Aragon  in  1479.  The  queen  found  many 
abuses  to  reform  and  many  dangers  and 
difficulties  to  overcome.  Her  habits  of 
self-denial,  her  quick  clear  judgment, 
her  indefatigable  activity  and  her  absolute 
contempt  of  personal  danger  stood  her  in 
good  stead  on  many  a  critical  occasion. 


31H 


ADDENDA 


She  passed  great  part  of  her  life  in  the 
saddle,  and  travelled  with  such  extra 
ordinary  rapidity  as  enabled  her  to  be 
always  on  the  spot  when  her  presence 
was  necessary.  While  she  set  her 
soldiers  an  example  of  bravery  in  the 
field,  she  had  a  sympathetic  heart  for 
the  sufferings  of  the  wounded  and  was 
the  first  to  institute  a  camp  hospital. 
She  often  sat  up  all  night  attending  to 
the  business  of  the  State.  With  all  this 
fatigue  she  found  time  for  study  and 
needlework;  for  visiting  the  convents 
and  attending  to  the  education  of  her 
children.  She  was  the  kindest  of  friends 
and  the  best  of  wives.  She  tenderly 
nursed  her  mother  through  the  infirmities 
of  age.  The  charm  of  her  manner 
continually  won  friends  who  soon  were 
bound  to  her  by  ties  of  affection.  She 
was  clever  in  choosing  trustworthy 
agents,  and  loyal  in  upholding  their 
authority  and  defending  their  reputation. 
In  her  there  was  no  selfishness,  no  mean 
suspicion  or  spite ;  having  no  vanity  she 
had  no  small  resentments.  With  all 
her  respect  for  the  Church,  and  all  her 
devotion  to  her  husband,  she  scrupulously 
maintained  the  rights  of  Castile  against 
any  encroachment  either  of  ecclesiastics 
or  of  the  sovereign  of  Aragon.  Not 
withstanding  the  prejudices  of  Spaniards 
against  foreigners,  with  royal  liberality 
she  attracted  talent  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  She  was  quick  to  perceive  the 
advantages  of  the  art  of  printing,  which 
was  introduced  into  Spain  in  the  first 
year  of  her  reign.  She  granted  impor 
tant  privileges  to  all  printers,  native  or 
foreign,  and  encouraged  them  to  print 
the  works  of  Spanish  writers. 

In  1492  Ferdinand  and  Isabel  took 
Granada  and  overthrew  the  Moorish 
power  in  Spain.  In  the  same  year 
Isabel  furnished  Christopher  Columbus 
with  ships  and  men  and  all  the  necessary 
authority  to  make  his  great  voyage  and 
discover  the  New  World.  In  the  same 
year  she  banished  the  Jews  from  Spain. 
Although  this  step  has  been  condemned 
by  later  generations,  it  was,  at  the  time, 
regarded  by  all  Christendom  as  a  pious 
and  glorious  achievement,  and  the  ex 
treme  cruelty  with  which  the  sentence 
was  enforced  was  not  commanded  by 


the  queen  and  was  quite  foreign  to  her 
nature. 

Another  blot  on  her  reign  was  the  re- 
establishment  in  Spain — with  increased 
powers — of  the  Inquisition.  That  also 
was  in  accordance  with  the  religious  and 
moral  standard  of  the  age. 

In  1494  or  1495  Pope  Alexander  VI. 
in  consideration  of  their  services  to  the 
Church,  conferred  on  Isabel  and  Ferdi 
nand  the  title  of  "  Catholic,"  still  held 
by  the  kings  of  Spain. 

Suits  of  armour  worn  by  Isabel  and 
Ferdinand  are  shown  in  the  Armoury  at 
Madrid;  the  queen's  is  a  little  larger 
than  that  of  the  king.  Pieces  of  her 
embroidery  are  preserved  among  the 
treasures  of  some  of  the  Spanish 
churches. 

Her  constant  fatigue  and  her  domestic 
troubles  wore  her  out  and  she  died  aged 
little  over  fifty.  Her  husband  survived 
her  seven  or  eight  years.  She  had 
one  son  who  died  young.  Her  eldest 
daughter  was  queen  of  Portugal,  the 
second — "  the  mad  Joanna  " — was  the 
mother  of  Charles  V.,  emperor  of  Ger 
many  and  king  of  Spain.  Her  youngest 
child — Catherine — was  the  first  wife  of 
Henry  VIII.,  king  of  England. 

W.  H.  Prescott,  History  of  the  Reign 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  tlie  Catholic  of 
Spain.  In  this  book  Mr.  Prescott  gives 
his  authority,  generally  contemporary, 
for  every  statement. 

She  does  not  appear  in  the  Calendars, 
but  is  called,  on  devotional  pictures, 
"  St.  Isabella." 

St.  Lukardis,  March  22,  Cistercian 
nun,  +  1300.  She  took  the  veil  at  the 
age  of  twelve,  in  the  monastery  of  SS. 
Peter  and  Paul  in  Oberweimar.  She 
suffered  dreadfully  from  rheumatic  gout 
and  lay  helpless  for  eleven  years.  She 
received  miraculous  spiritual  consola 
tions.  The  Saviour  allowed  her  to  be 
marked  with  His  five  wounds  and  with 
the  scars  of  His  flagellation.  She 
wrought  many  miracles  both  during 
her  suffering  life  and  after  her  death. 
Smedt,  Analecta  Bollandiana. 

St.  Phillack,  who  has  a  dedication  in 
Cornwall,  is  supposed  to  be  the  same  as 
Pi  ALA. 


LIST   OF   AUTHORITIES 


AA.SS.,  Ada  Sanctorum,  quotquot  toto  orle  coluntur,  cd.  by  BOLLANDUS,  HENSCIIENIUS,  etc. 

Ada  SanctfG  Sedis  Rcdacta. 

ALBERT  LK  GRAND  DE  MORLAIX,  Saints  dc  la  Bretagne. 

A  Memorial  of  Ancient  British  Piety  ;  or,  A  British  Martyrology.     (London.     1761.) 

Analecta  Juris  Pontificii. 

ANCONA  (A.  D'),  La  Rapprescntazione  di  Santa  Uliva  riprodotta  sulle  antiche  stamps. 

Ante-Nicene  Christian  Library,  cd.  by  ROBERTSON. 

Apocryphal  Gospels — 

Ed.  by  COWPER. 

Ed.  by  WRIGHT. 

Apocryphal  Neiv  Testament,  cd.  by  HONE. 

ARNOLD-FORSTER  (Miss  F.),  Studies  in  Church  Dedications ;  or,  England's  Patron  Saints. 
ARTUBUS  A  MONASTERO,  Gynecsp,um. 
ASSEMANUS  (J.  A.),  Kalendaria  Slavicae  sive  Grxco-Moschae. 

BAILLET  (ADRIEN),  Les  Vies  des  Saints. 

BALME  ET  LELAIDIER,  Cartulaire  ou  Ilistoire  diplomatique  de  Saint  Dominique. 

BARING-GOULD  (S.)— 

Book  of  the  West. 

Lives  of  the  Saints. 
BARONIUS,  Annales. 
BEDE,  Ilistoria  Ecclesiastica. 

BENZELIUS  (E.),  Monumentorum  Veterum  Ecclesix  Svevogothicss. 
Biographic  Universelle. 
BLOMMAERT,  Sylva  Anachoretica. 
BLUNDELL,  History  of  the  Isle  of  Man. 

BOLLANDUS  (JOANNES),  Acta  Sanctorum,  quotquot  toto  orbe  coluntur. 
BOMBACI,  La  Scena  de1  sacri  e  de*  profani  amori,  etc. 
BOUQUET  (MARTIN),  Eecueil  des  Ilistoriens  dcs  Gaules  et  de  la  France. 
BROCCHI,  Santi  e  Beati  Fiorentini. 
BROUGHTON  (R.),  Monasticon  Britannicum. 
BROWER — 

Annales  Treverenses. 

Sidera  illustrium  .  .  .  Germanix. 

BRUZEN  DE  LA  MARTINIERE,  Dictionnaire  Gcographique  et  critique. 
BUCELINUS — 

Epitome  JRerum  Bohemicarum. 

Menologium  Benedictinum. 
BussY,  Courtisannes  devenues  Saintes. 
BUTLER  (ALBAN),  Lives  of  the  Fathers  and  Saints. 
BUTLER  (ALFRED  JOSHUA),  The  Ancient  Coptic  Churches  of  Egypt. 


318  LIST   OF   AUTHORITIES 

BUTLER  (JOSEPHINE  E.),  Catharine  of  Siena  :  a  biography. 
Bzovius,  Nomenclator  SS.  Medicorum. 


CAHIER,  Caracteristlques  des  Saints  dans  I'art  populaire. 
CALMET,  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 
CANISIUS  (PETRUS)— 

Lectiones  Antique. 

Martyrologium  Der  Kirclien  Kalcndar,  etc.  (1562). 
CAPECELATKO,  Life  of  St.  Philip  Neri. 
CAPGRAVE  (JOHN),  Nova  Legenda  Anglise. 
CARDOSO,  Agiologio  Lusitano. 
CASTILLO  (HERNANDO  DEL),  Ilistoria  General  de  Sancto  Domingo  y  desii  orden  de  Prcdicadores. 

(The  second  and  third  parts  are  by  Juan  Lopez). 

CEILLIER  (B,EMi),  Ilistoire  Generale  des  Auteurs  sacres  et  ecclesiastiques. 
CHALMERS  (GEORGE),  Caledonia. 
CIIAMBARD,  Saints  Personnages  d'Anjou. 

CHAMBERS  (DAVID),  D.  Camerii  Scoti  de  Scotorum  Fortitudinc,  etc. 
CHANOWSKI,  Vestigia  Bohemia?,  Pise. 
CHARLEVOIX,  La  Nouvelle  France. 
CIIATELAIN  (C.),  Vocabulaire  Hagiolog  ique. 

CHEVALIER  (C.  U.  J.),  Repertoire  des  Sources  historiyues  du  Mo  yen  Age. 
CHOQUETIUS  (F.  H.),  Sancti  Belgii  Ordinis  Predicatorum. 
CHRETIEN  DUPLESSIS,  Histoire  de  V&jlise  de  Meaux,  etc. 
COLGAN,  Acta  Sanctorum  Hiberniae. 
CORNEJO  (DAMIANO),  Chronica  Seraphica. 

COSTE  (HiLARiON  DE),  Lcs  filoges  et  les  Vies  des  Pieynes  .  .  .  et  des  Dames  illustres,  etc. 
COUSIN  (Louis),  Histoire  do  Constantinople  depuis  le  regne  de  Vancien  Justin  .  .  .  stir  le 

originaux  grecs. 
CRATEPOLIUS  — 

De  Germanise  Episcopis. 

De  Sanctis  Germanise. 


Ilistoria  de  Sa.  Juana  Varguez. 
DANTE  ALIGHIERI,  Divina  Comedia. 
DANTIER,  Les  Femmes  dans  la  Societe  Chretienne. 
DLUGOSCH,  Historia  Polonica. 

DRANE  (AUGUSTA  THEODOSIA),  The  History  of  St.  Catherine  of  Siena  and  her  Companions. 
DREUX  DU  KADIER  (J.  F.),  Memoires  historiques  des  llcines  et  Regcntes  de  France, 
Du  FKESNE,  Historia  Byzantina. 

EADMER,  THstoria  Novorum  in  Anglia. 

ECKEXSTEIN,  Woman  under  Monasticism. 

ECKHART  (J.  Gr.  VON),  Corpus  Historicum  Medii  Aevi. 

ERBEN,  Itegesta  Bohemias  et  Moravise. 

ERSCH  UND  GRUBER,  Allgemeine  Encyclopadie. 

EULOGIUS  (ST.)  — 

Epistolss. 

Liber  Apologeticus  Martyrum. 

Life  of,  by  ALVARO  OF  CORDOVA. 

Memoriale  Sanctorum. 
EUSEBIUS,  Ecclesiastical  History. 


LIST   OP   AUTHORITIES  319 

FABER  (FRED.  W.),  Saints  and  Servants  of  God.     Continued  by  the  Congregation  of  the 

Oratory  of  St.  Philip  Neri. 
FABRICIUS,  Origines  Saxonum. 
FANT  ET  ANNERSTEDT,  Script.  Eerum  Suecicarum. 
FERRARIUS  (PHILIPPUS),  Catalogus  gcneralis   Sanctorum,  qui  in   Marty  rologio   Rom.   non 

sunt,  etc. 
FLORENCE   OF   WORCESTER.     BRAVONIUS  (FLORENTIUS)   WIGORNIENSIS,   The   Chronicle    of 

Florence  of  Worcester  with  two  continuations. 
FLOREZ,  Espana  Sagrada. 

FORBES,  BISHOP  OF  BRECHIN,  Kalendars  of  Scottish  Saints. 
Franciscan  Calendar   in  the  Gfebetbuch  fur   alle  Katholischen,  besonders  Franciskaner   des 

dritten  Ordens. 
FREHER — 

Directorium  in  Chronologos,  etc. 
Scriptores. 

Gallia  Christiana. 

Golden  Legend  (Legenda  Aurca\  by  J.  VORAGINK. 
Grxco-Slavonian  Calendar.     See  MARTINOV. 
GUENEBAULT,  Dictionnaire  Iconographiyue. 
GUERIN,  editor  of  Petits  Bollandistes. 
GUETTE,  Histoire  de  I'tiglise  de  France. 

HAGEN,  Gesammtabenteuer. 

HAMMER,  Ottomanischen  Reich. 

HARE  (A.  J.  C.),  Cities  of  Italy. 

HASTINGS  (J.),  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 

HEARNE,  The  Itinerary  of  John  Leland,  the  Antiquary. 

HELTOT,  Histoire  des  Ordres  Monastiques. 

HEMANS  (CHARLES),  Monuments  in  Rome. 

HENRIQUEZ — 

Fasciculus  Sanctorum  Ordinis  Cisterciensis. 

Lilia  Cistercii,  etc. 
HENSCHENIUS.  See  AA.SS. 
HILL,  English  Monasteries. 

HOPE  (MRS.  ANNE),  S.  Boniface  and  the  Conversion  of  Germany. 
HORSTMANN  (CARL),  editor  of  The  Lives  of  Women  Saints  of  our  Contrie  of  England. 
HOVEDEN,  Annals. 

HUEBER  (F.),  Menologium  S.  P.  Francisci. 
HURTER,  Sanctorum  Martyrum  Acta  Selecta. 
HUSENBETII,  Emblems. 

IEILER  (IGNATIUS),  Leben  dcr  seligen  .  .  .  Maria  Crescentia  IIosz. 

JACOBILLI — 

Bibliotheca  Umbrias. 

Santi  della  Famiglia  di  Letto. 

Santi  di  Foligno. 

Santi  deW  Umbria. 
JAMESON  (MRS.)— 

Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders. 

Sacred  and  Legendary  Art. 


320  LIST   OF   AUTHORITIES 

JENTSCII,  Die  Selige  Agnes  von  Bohmen. 

JEROME  (ST.).    Many  editions.    Quotations  from  Epistles  are  generally  from  Frcemantle's 

translation. 
JIRECEK,  Geschichte  der  Bulgaren. 

KARAMSIN,  Histoire  de  Eussie. 

KELLY,  Calendar  of  Irish  Saints,  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh  with  notices  of  the  Patron 

Saints  of  Ireland. 
KERSLAKE — 

St.  Richard,  the  King  of  Englishmen. 

The  Celt  and  the  Teuton  in  Exeter. 
KING  (ADAM),  Ane  Catechism. 
KNOBLICII,  Ilerzogin  Anna  von  Schlesien. 

KRASINSKA  (FRANCISZKA),  COUNTESS,  The  Journal  of  Countess  Frangoisc  KrasinsJca. 
KUEN,  Collectio  Ilistorico. 

L'ABBE  .  .  .  (author  of  Le  Maudit~),  Lcs  Mystiques. 
LACROIX  (PAUL) — 

Louis  XII.  et  Anne  de  Bretagne. 

Scenes  et  Lettres  au  Moyen  Age. 

Vie  militaire  et  religieuse,  au  Moyen  Age. 

LAMBERTINI  (BENEDICT  XIV.),  De  Servorum  Dei  .  .  .  Canonisatione. 
LANGEBEK  (JACOBUS),  Scriptores  Eerum  Danicarum. 
LAPPENBERG,  History  of  England  under  the  Saxon  Kings. 
LAVIGNE,  La  swur  Marie  d'Agreda  et  Philippe  I V. 
LE  BEAU,  Histoire  du  Bas  Empire. 
LECHNER    (PETER),  Ausfilhrliches    Marty rologi urn    des    Benediktiner-Ordens    und    seiner 

Verzweigungen. 

LE  COINTE,  Annales  Eccleside.  Francorum. 
Leggendario  delle  Santissime  Vergini. 
LE  GLAY — 

Oaule  Belgique. 

Histoire  des  Comtes  de  Flandre. 
LEIBNITZ,  Scriptores  Brunswicensium. 
LELAND  (JOHN).     See  HEARNE. 
LELAND  (THOMAS),  History  of  Ireland. 
LELONG,  Bibliotheyue  Historique  de  France. 
LE  MIRE.     See  MIR.ZEUS. 

LE  NAIN  (PIERRE),  Essai  de  Vhistoire  de  I'ordre  de  Citeaux. 
LEON,  Aureole  de  St.  Francois. 

LE  PAIGE  (JOANNES),  Bibliotheca  prxmonstraiensis  ordinis. 
Life  of  Mademoiselle  le  Gras,  Foundress  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 
LIMA  (MANGEL  DE),  Agiologio  Dominico. 
LINGARD,  History  of  England. 

LIPPOMANUS  (L.),  Sanctorum  Priscorum  Patrum  vitx. 
Lives  of  the  Saints  canonized  on  Trinity  Sunday. 

LOPEZ,  Historia  General  de  Sancto  Domingo,  etc.     Second  and  Third  Parts. 
LUQUET  (J.  F.  0.),  Life  of  Anna  Maria  Taigi. 

MABILLON   and    D'ACHERY,   Acta   Sanctorum    ordinis    Sancti   Benedicti.      Continued    by 

RUIN  ART. 
MAILATH,  Geschichte  der  Magyaren. 


LIST  OP  AUTHORITIES  321 

MALMESBURY  (W.).     WILLELMI  MONACHI  MALMESBIRIENSIS,  Gesta  Regum  Anglorum. 
MARCHESE,  Vita  della  Beata  Margarita  di  Cortona. 
MARTENE  and  DUE  AND,  Veterum  Scriptorum. 

MARTIN  (SIMON),  Vie  des  Saints  d'apres  Lipoman,  Surius,  Ribadeneira  et  autres  auteurs. 
(With  French  Martyrology  appended  to  the  list  of  general  Saints  for 
each  day.) 

MARTINOV,  Annus  Ecclesiasticus  Grseco-Slavicus,  etc. 

Martiloge  (Tlie)  in  englysshe  after  the  use  of  the  churche  of  Salisbury  and  as  it  is 
redde  in  Syon  with  addicyons.  By  the  wretche  of  Syon  RYCHARD 
WHYTFORD. 

Marty rologies.  Besides  the  Martyrologium  Romanum  and  the  martyrologies  and  calendars 
of  different  countries  and  Orders,  founded  on  older  ones  and  brought  down  to 
modern  times,  a  great  number  of  smaller  martyrologies  and  meneas  and 
fragments  of  martyrologies  and  meneas  are  to  be  found  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum 
of  the  Bollandists,  in  d'Achery's  Spicilegium  and  in  Migne's  Patrologise  Cursus 
Completus.  Vol.  138  of  Migne  contains  several  of  these  martyrologia  antigua, 
including  that  of  Bede,  and  Florus'  Auctaria  to  Bede  and  Usuard.  The  Vetus 
Romanum  (the  oldest  martyrology)  is  in  vol.  123.  An  ancient  French 
Martyrology  and  an  ancient  English  Litany  are  in  vol.  82.  The  Martyrologies 
of  Jerome,  Wandelbert,  Eabanus  Maurus,  and  Notker  Balbulus  are  among  the 
treasures  preserved  by  Migne. 
The  Mart,  of  Reichenau  and  the  Ephemerides  Grxcorum  et  Moscorum  are  in  the 

Acta  Sanctorum. 

Martyrologium  Romanum  (7?.M.)  and  Appendix. 
Martyrology  of  Donegal.     See  KELLY. 
Martyrology  of  Tallagh.     See  KELLY. 
MAS  LATRIE  (THOMAS,  COMTE  DE),  Tresor  de  Chronologic. 
MASSINI  (CARLO),  Raccolta  di  Vite  de'  Santi. 
MATTHEW  PARIS,  Chronica  Majora. 
Memoirs  of  the  Princesse  de  Ligne. 
MENARDUS  (NICOLAUS  HUGO),  Martyrologium  Sanctorum   Ordinis  Divi   Benedicti  duobus 

observationum  libris  illustratum. 

Menology  of  the  Emperor  Basil  is  given  by  MIGNE  and  by  UGHELLI. 
MENZEL  (W.),  Christliche  Symbolik. 
METCALFE  (F.),  Passio  et  Miracula  Beati  Olavi.    From  a  12th-century  MS.     Introduction 

and  notes  by  F.  M. 
MEYER,  Conversations-Lexicon. 
MEZERAY,  Ilistoire  de  France. 
MIGNE — 

Dictionnaire  des  Abbayes,  one  of  the  many  dictionaries  contained  in  the  Encyclopedie 

Theologique. 

Patrologigs  Cursus  Completus. 
MIR^EUS  (LE  MIRE) — 

Annales  Belgici. 
De  Rebus  Bohemicis. 
Fasti  Belgici  ac  BurgundicA,  etc. 
Notitia  Ecdesiarum  Belgii. 
Ordinis  Premonstratensis  Chronicon. 
Origines  Benedictinse. 
Moi;ANUs.     See  VER  MEULEN. 
MOLMENTI,  Storia  di  Venezia  nella  Vita  privata. 
MONTALEMBERT,  Moines  d' Occident. 
MORONI  (G.)>  Dizionario  .  .  .  Storico-ecclesiastico. 

VOL.  IT.  y 


322  LIST   OF   AUTHORITIES 

MURATOEI  (LODOVICO  ANTONIO)— 

Annali  d>  Italia,  dal  principio  dell'  era  volgare  sino  aW  anno  loOO  (-174  J). 
Antichita  Estense. 
MURER,  Helvetia  Sancta. 

NATALIBUS  (PETRUS  DE),  Catalogus  Sanctorum  et  gestorum  eorum  ex  diversis  voluminous 

collectus. 
NEALE  (J.  M.)— 

The  Holy  Eastern  Church, 

Victories  of  Faith. 

NEWMAN  (CARDINAL),  Apologia.    It  contains  a  list  of  English  Saints. 
Nouvelle  Biographic  Universelle. 

ODILO,  Scripta. 

OETTINGER,  Bibliographic  Biographique. 

Ojficia  Propria  Sanctorum  trium  ordinum  Sancti  Francisci. 

Officia  Propria  Societatis  Jesu. 

O'FLAHERTY,  Ogy<jia. 

O'HANLON,  Irish  Saints. 

ONGHENA,  La  chdsse  de  Sainte  Ursule. 

ORDERICUS  VITALIS,  Historic  Ecclesiastics. 

PALACKY,  Oeschichle  von  Bohmen. 

PALGRAVE  (FRANCIS  TURNER),  The  History  of  Normandy  and  of  England. 

PALLADIUS,  Lausiaca. 

PARKER,  Calendar  of  the  Prayer  Book.    (1866). 

PAULUS  DIACONUS  (WARNEFRID),  De  Gestis  Langobardorum. 

PERTZ  (G.  H.),  Monumcnta  Germanise  Historic. 

PETIN,  Dictionnaire  Hagiologique,  in  Migne's  Encyclopedic  Theologique. 

Petits  Bollandistes,  edited  by  GIRY  and  GUERIN. 

PEZ,  Scriptores  Eerum  Austriacarum . 

Pio  (MICHELE),  Uomini  lUustri  .  .  .  delV  Ordine  di  S.  Domenico. 

PLANCY  (JEAN  COLLIN  DE),  Saintes  et  Bienheureuses  pour  chaque  jour  de  I'annee. 

POTTHAST  (A.),  Bibliotheca  historica  medii  Aevi,  etc. 

Prxtermissi.     After  the  saints  of  each  day  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum,  comes  a  list  of  those 
whose  claim  to  a  place  in  that  day's  calendar  is  considered  by  the  Bollandists 
to  be  doubtful.     These  are  either  relegated  to   another  day  or  passed  over 
altogether  as  not  entitled   to  any   worship.     Such   are  called   Prxtermissi. 
Some  of  them  were  afterwards  recognised  by  competent  authority  as  saints, 
or  were  found  to  be  enrolled  as  such  in  Certain  Orders  or  places. 
PREDARI,  Dinastia  di  Savoia. 
PROCOPIUS,  De  Bello  Vandalico. 

QUINTANADUENAS,  Santos  de  la  Imperial  Ciudad  de  Toledo. 

EADER— 

Bavaria  Pia. 

Bavaria  Sancta. 
RAM  (F.  X.  DE),  Hagiographie  Nationale  de  Belgique. 

llAZZI  (GlROLAMO)— 

Delle  Vite  delle  donne  illustre  per  santita. 
Vite  de'  Santi  e  Beati  Toscani. 


LIST  OF   AUTHORITIES  323 

RAZZI  (SERAFINO) — 

Istoria  degli  Huomini  illustri  .  .  .  del  Sacro  Ordine  decjli  Predicatori. 
Vite  de  i  Santi  e  Beati  .  .  .  dell'  ordine  de  Frati  Predicatori. 

RlBADENETRA 

Flos  Sanctorum. 

Autores  Espanoles.     "  Maria  de  Agrcda." 
RIMMER,  Our  Old  Country  Towns. 

RUINART  (T.) — 

Historia  Persecutionis  Vandalicse. 

Acta  primorum  Martyrum  Sincera  et  Selecta. 

See  MABILLON. 

SANDERUS,  Hagiologium  Flandrise. 
SAUSSAYE  (ANDRE  DU),  Mart.  G-allicanum. 
SCHAFARIK,  Serbischen  Literatur. 

SlMONDE  DE  SlSMONDI  (JEAN  CHARLES  LEONARD) — 

Histoire  des  Francais. 

Ilistoire  des  Itepubliques  italiennes  du  Moyen  Age. 
SMITH  AND  WAGE,  Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography. 
STADLER  UNO  HEIM,  Vollst'dndigcs  Ileiligen-Lexicon,  etc. 
STANTON,  Menology  of  England  and  Wales. 
STENGEL  (CARL  VON) — 

Corona  Lucida  ex  illustrious  Monachis  0.  S.  B.  dcscripta. 

Kurtze  Beschreibung  und  Abriss  ettlicher  furnemer  Oldster  St.  Benedicts  Ordens  in 
Teutschland,  erstlich  Lateinisch  jetzt  auch  Teutsch  Itcschriben. 

Monasteriologia  .  .  .  S.  Benedicti  in  Germania. 
STEPHENS  (W.  R.  W.),  Hildebrand  and  his  Times. 
STRUNCK,  Westphalia  Sancta. 
STRUTT  (JOSEPH),  Chronicle  of  England. 
SURIUS  (LORENZ),  De  Probatis  Sanctorum  Historiis. 

TAMAYO  DE  SALAZAR  (JOHN),  Anamnesis. 

The  First  Martyrs  of  the  Holy  Childhood^  by  a  Priest  of  the  Mission.     Tr.  from  the  French 

by  Lady  HERBERT. 
TICIAWA,  Vetera  Analecta. 
TILLEMONT  (LE  NAIN  DE) — 

Histoire  des  Empereurs  .  .  .  durant  les  six  premiers  siecles  de  VEglise. 

Histoire  ecclesiastique  des  six  premiers  siecles. 

TORELLI  (LuiGl) — 

Eistretto  delle  vite  de  gli  huomini  .  .  .  illustri  .  .  .  dell1  Ordine  Agostiniano. 
Secoli  Agostiniani.  * 

TOURON,  Ilistoire  des  hommes  illustres  de  Tordre  de  Saint  Dominique  .  .  .  jusqu*  au  pontificat 
de  Benoit  XIII. 

UGHELLI,  Italia  Sacra. 

VASTOVIUS,  Vitis  Aquilonia. 

VEGA,  Flos  Sanctorum. 

VENETTE  (J.),  La  Vie  des  Trois  Maries. 

YER  MEULEN  (MOLANUS), 

Indiculus  SS.  Belgii. 

Annales  Belgii. 
VILLEGAS  (ALFONSO),  II  perfetto  Leggendario. 


324  LIST   OF   AUTHORITIES 

WADDING  (LUKE),  Annales  Minorum. 

WALASSER  (A.),  Marty  rologium  aus  zalten  luchern  und  schriften  zusamen  bracht. 

WATSON  (JOHN,  a  Catholic  priest),  English  Martyrology.     (1608.) 

WATTEMBACH,  Deutschlands  Geschichts-quette. 

WETZER  ET  WELTE,  Dictionnaire  encydopedique  de  la  Theologie. 

WHYTFORD  (RICHARD,  the  wretche  of  Syon),  The  Martiloge  in  englysshe  after  the  w.se  of  the 

churche  of  Salisbury  and  as  it  is  redde  in  Syon  with  addicyons. 

WILLIAM  OF  MALMESBURY.    WILLELMI  MONACHI  MALMESBIRIENSIS,  Gesta  Jtegum  Anylorum. 
WILSON,  English  Martyrology,  continued  by  JOHN  WATSON. 
WION,  Lignum  Vitse  .  .  .  Religio  Divi  Benedicti.  .  . 

YEPES  (DiEGO  DE),  Disciirso  de  varia  historia.     (Toledo.     1592.) 


INDEX 


The,  number  after  the  name  of  a  Saint  refers  to  her  chronological  place  amongst 
other  Saints  of  the  same  name  in  this  Dictionary. 


Abingdon,  Alice,  Ethelbmrga  (4). 
Achler,  Elisabeth  (19). 
Actress,  Pelagia  (9). 
Adorno,  Catherine  (12). 
>Egina,  Athanasia  (3),  Theodora  (15). 
Africa,  Placidia  (3),  Victoria  (2),  (4),  (ID). 
Age  (Great),  Apollonia(l),  Benilda,  Dominica 
(7),  Galla(8),  Viola  (I). 

80,  Catherine  (G),  Felicitas   (20),  Mtir- 
cella  (7),  Speciosa  (4). 

84,  Jane  (18). 

87,  Bertha  (9). 

90,  Cecilia  (12),  Eustadiola,  Phara'ildis, 
Thecla  (1). 

100,  Antonia  (7). 

127,  Sara  (1). 

130,  Anna  (25). 

180,  Modwenna. 
Agullona,  Margaret  (33). 
Ahumada,  Theresa  (7). 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  Helsvind. 
Ajofin,  Mary  (55). 
Alacoque,  Margaret  (35). 
Albert!,  Bertha  (6). 
Albertoni,  Louisa  (2). 
Alcantara  (St.  Peter  of),  Mary  (72). 
Alexandria,  Ammonaria,  Apolloiiia  (1),  Cyrilla 
(2),  Euphrosyne  (5),  Potamioana,  Quinta, 
Syncletica  (3). 
Almeneches,  Lantilda 
Altenberg,  Gertrude  (11). 
Altitona,  Odilia  (3). 
Altomunster,  Eupheinia  (14). 
Ambrose  (St.),   Marcellina  (4),  Monica  (1), 

Pansofia,  Soteris  (2). 
Ambrose  and  Marcellina  (Order  of  SS.), 

Catherine  (13). 
Amodei,  Elisabeth  (22). 
Amisus,  Alexandra  (3). 
Ancyra,  Thccusa. 
Andalo,  Diana  (1), 


Andechs,  Adelind,  Eupheinia  (14),  lied  wig 
(3),  Matilda  (6). 

Anden,  Begga  (1). 

Anicii,  Cantianilla  (1),  Demetria  (3),  Luciua 
(3),  Placidia  (3),  Silvia  (2). 

Annibali,  Theodora  (16). 

Annunciation  of  Lombardy,  Catherine  (13). 

Antinoe,  Irai's,  Talida. 

Antioch,  Athanasia  (2),  Justiua  (7),  Marcio- 
nilla,  Margaret  (1),  Mary  (34),  Publia  (2), 
Salome  (1),  Serapia,  Thecla  (1). 

Aquila,  Autonia  (6). 

Arbouze,  Margaret  (34). 

Arbrissel  (B.  Robert  of),  Ermongard  (2), 
Eva  (5),  Petronilla  (3). 

Argensol,  Blanche  (3),  Ida  (10). 

Aries,  Cesaria  (3),  Rusticula. 

Arluc,  Angadresima  (2). 

Arnestein,  Elisabeth  (12),  Guda  (2). 

Assisi,  Agnes  17,  Benedicta  (16),  Clara  (2). 

Assumption,  Anna  (24),  Mary  (2),  (58). 

Astorch,  Angela  (8). 

Aubeperre,  Petronilla  (2). 

Augustine  (St.),  Felicitas  (20),  Melania  (2). 
Monica  (1),  Placida. 

Augustine  (Order  of  St.),  Agatha  (7),  Agnes 
(23),  Angela  (3),  (7),  Catherine  (15),  Clara 
(4),  (5),  Constance  (6),  Felicitas  (20), 
Gemma  (5),  Gennaia,  Lucy  (15),  Magda 
lene  (2),  Marchesina,  Margaret  (31), 
Marina  (16),  Mary  (60),  Oringa,  Kita, 
Veronica  (5). 

Austrasia,  Adela  (1,)  (2),  Begga  (1),  Doda  (1), 
(2),  Plectrude,  Verona  (4). 

Austria,  Agnes  (9),  (22),  Wilburga  (3),  Hemma 

(4). 

Avenay,  Bertha  (2). 
Azores,  Margaret  (31). 

Bagnesi,  Mary  (f><5),  (57), 
Barcelona,  Agnes  (18),  Madruyna. 


326 


INDEX 


Bardi,  Bertha  (G). 

Bardney,  Wereburga  (2). 

Barking",  Cuthburga,  Ethelburga  (2),  (4), 
Hildelid,  Torchgith. 

Bartolini,  Lucy  (19). 

Basil  (St.)>  Emily,  Eupbrasia  (8),  Macrina 
(1),  (2). 

Basto,  Godina. 

Bavaria,  Afra  (4),  Agnes  (24),  Barbara  (2), 
Crescentia  (7),  Euphemia  (14),  Gisela  (1). 

Beans,  Magdalene  (2),  Viridiana,  Zita. 

Beard,  Galla  (9),  Paula,  (15),  Wilgefortis. 

Beaulieu,  Flora  (4). 

Beguine,  Agnes  (22),  Begga  (1),  Christina  (12), 
Gertrude  (14),  Jane  (21),  Matilda  (9). 

Belgium,  Adelaide  (10),  Adeltrude  (2),  Adilia, 
Alcna,  Alpai's,  Araelberga  (1),  (2),  (3), 
Beatrice  (7),  (10),  Begga  (1),  Colette, 
Elisabeth  (13),  Ermelinda  (1),  Eusebia 
(5),  Eva  (6),  Gertrude  (5),  (15),  Gudula, 
Harlind,  Herswind,  Jane  (3),  Juliana  (21), 
Margaret  (12),  Kelind,  Rictrude  (1). 

Belise,  Landrada. 

Bellanti,  Alda  (2). 

Bembi,  Illuminata. 

Benedict  (St.),  Scholastica. 

Benedictine,  Ada,  Adela  (2),  (3),  Adelaide 
(3),  (4),  (6),  (7),  Adeltrude  (3),  Adelviva, 
Adeodata,  Adilia,  Adozina,  Agnes  (16), 
Ailbert,  Aldegundis  (2),  Alfreda,  Ama- 
bilia  (2),  Amadea,  Angilburga,  Anna  (16), 
(25),  Ansoald,  Antonia  (8),  Balda,  Balde- 
gund,  Basilissa  (8),  Beatrice  (3),  (4),  Begga 
(1),  Benedlcta  (13),  (14),  Bertha  (3),  (5), 
(6),  Bertilla  (3),  Bilhild  (3),  Bova,  Columba 
(12),  Eleonora,  Ethelreda,  Euphemia  (14), 
Eusebia  (7),  Flavia  (7),  Gebetrude,  Gego- 
burga,  Gertrude  (4),  (5),  (8),  Gibitrude, 
Gisela,  Glodesind,  Godeberta,  Guntild  (1), 
(3),  Harlind,  Helvisa,  Hildegard  (1),  (3), 
Hunegund,  Ida  (6),  (7),  (9),  Ilduarda,  Irene 
(11),  Juliana  (22),  Liberata  (5),  Lioba, 
Mactaflede,  Mlada,  Madruyna,  Paulina 
(10),  Relind  (1),  (2),  Kictrude  (1),  (2), 
Sisetrude,  Sperandea,  Tetta  (2),  Yiolante 
(1),  Walburga. 

Benincasa,  Agnes  (26),  Catherine  (3),  Ursula 
(2). 

Benintendi,  Villana. 

Berkowna,  Zdislawa. 

Bernard  (St.),  Adelaide  (7),  Ascelina,  Ermen- 
gard  (2),  Humbelina. 

Bernardi,  Agnes  (19). 

Biblisheim,  Guntild  (3). 

Bicchieri,  Emilia  (5). 

Bigaerde,  Wiviu. 


Biloka,  Gertrude  (15). 

Binasco,  Veronica  (5). 

Bingen,  Bertha  (4),  Hildegard  (3),  Margaret 
(10). 

Bischofsheim,  Lioba. 

Blangy,  Bertha  (3). 

Blind,  Aldegund  (1),  Ava,  Corona,  Daria  (o), 
Gegoburga,  Irmgard  (1),  Margaret  (19), 
(26),  Mundana,  Oda  (4),  Odilia  (3),  Sibil- 
lina,  Syra. 

Bohemia,  Abdela,  Agnes  (20),  (21),  Ainabilia, 
(2),  Angela  (1),  Anna  (19),  Beatrice  (2), 
Cunegund  (5),  Elisabeth  (10),  Ephrasia, 
Ludmilla,  Margaret  (11),  Mlada,  Przbi- 
slawa,  Wodolana,  Woyslawa,  Zdislawa. 

Bojani,  Benvenuta  (1). 

Bologna,  Catherine  (9). 

Boniface  (St.),  Adcla  (2),  Bcrathgit,  Ed- 
burga  (5),  Guntild  (1),  Lioba,  Tetta, 
Walburga  (1). 

Bordeaux,  Corona  (2),  Hildcmar,  Jane  (18). 

Borneach,  Gobnata. 

Borromeo  (St.  Charles),  Angela  (7),  Beatrice 
(16). 

Botti,  Villana. 

Bourbon,  Clotilda  (3). 

Bourgotte,  Aliz. 

Bourreliere,  Clara  (11). 

Brabant,  Adela  (1),  Berlcndis,  Christina  (9), 
Eusebia  (5),  Genevieve  (2),  Mary  (43). 
(45),  (46), 

Brendan  (St.),  Briga  (4),  Ita  (1). 

Bregentz,  Haberilla. 

Brescia,  Afra  (1),  Angela  (7),  Antonia  (7), 
Olive  (1). 

Brie,  Ercongota,  Ethelburga  (3),  Fara,  Gibi 
trude,  Hercaiitrudis,  Hereswitha,  Sedrido. 

Brittany,  Adelaide  (11),  Alda  (1),  Anna  (29), 
Canna,  Christina  (5),  Diodie,  Ermengard 
(2),  Frances  (7),  Ninnoc,Noyala,  Kivanona, 
Twina,  Ursula  (1). 

Brunate,  Magdalene  (2). 

Buchau,  Adelind. 

Buffalari,  Lucy  (15). 

Burgundy,  Adelaide  (3),  (?),  Clotilda  (1). 

Burton,  Modwenna. 

Byblus,  Aquilina  (2). 

Caesia,  Firmina  (2). 

Calafato,  Eustochia  (3). 

Calaxibeta,  Margaret  (30). 

Calcinaria,  Ubaldesca. 

Camaldoli,  Agnes  (8),  Gcrardesca,  Lucy  (13). 

Camp  Hospital,  Isabel  (see  Addenda). 

Canada,  Catherine  (22). 

Cantona,  Catherine  (16). 


INDEX 


327 


Captive,    Catherine  (7),  Flora  (1),  Honorata 
(5),  Julia  (21),  (27),  Luceja  (1),  Lucilla 
(2),  Nino,  Placidia  (3),  Rudegund,  Rusina, 
Theoctistc  (2),  Zlata. 
Cardona,  Catherine  (17). 

Carillo,  Sanclia  (2). 

Carinthia,  Agatha  (5),  Hemraa  (3),  Mary  (38). 

Carmelite,  Angela  (1),  Anna  (28),  Archangcla 
(2),  Barbara  (3),  Beatrice  (15),  Frances 
(7),  Jane  (15),  Mary  (59),  (70),  Theresa 
(7),  (8),  (9). 

Carthusian,  Beatrice  (9),  Jane  (8),  Rosscline. 

Carreria,  Catherine  (6). 

Casata,  Beatrice  (11). 

Castro,  Violante  (1). 

Catesby,  Alice  Rich,  Margaret  (14). 

Cave,  Montana  (2). 

Cepeda,  Theresa  (7). 

Cerchi,  Emiliana  (3). 

Cervellon,  Mary  (47). 

Chantal,  Jane  (19). 

Chelles,  Bathildc(l),  Bcrtilla(3),  Hereswitha. 

Chemille,  Petronilla  (3). 

Chester,  Wereburga  (1). 

Chiave,  Margaret  (31). 

Chigi,  Angela  (3). 

China,  Agnes  (33),  Louisa  (6). 

Chrysostom  (St.),  Anthusa  (8),  Niceras, 
Olympias  (o),  Pulcheria,  Sabiniana  (2). 

Chrysobalant,  Irene  (13). 

Cingoli,  Sperandea. 

Cistercian,  Adelaide  (7),  (8),  (9),  (10),  Ade- 
lina  (2),  Agnes  (11),  (13),  (14),  (15),  Anas- 
tasia  (9),  Anna  (17),  (20),  Antonia  (8), 
Ascclina,  Beatrice  (7),  (10),  Benigna, 
Berengaria,  Bertha  (8),  Catherine  (2), 
Constance  (4),  Gertrude  (10),  (12),  (13), 
(15),  (1G),  Hedwig  (3),  Holsvind,  Hemeliua, 
Hildegund  (2),  Humbelina,  Ida  (9), 
Imaine,  Ivetta,  Jane  (5),  (11),  (20), 
Jolenta  (1),  Juliana  (21),  Lutgard,  Ma- 
falda,  Margaret  (9),  (10),  Matilda  (12), 
Ozilia,  Sancha  (1),  Sophia  (16),  (17), 
Theresa  (4),  (5). 

Clairfont,  Havydis. 

Clastres,  Ricovera. 

Clatow,  Amabilia  (2). 

Clonbrone,  Samdyne. 

Cloud  (St.),  Clotilda  (1). 

Coblentz,  Gudu  (2). 

Coimbra,  Isabel  (2),  Sanclia  (1). 

Coldinghame,  Ebba  (1),  (2). 

Collalto,  Juliana  (22). 

Colombini,  Catherine  (5). 

Colonna,  Margaret  (17). 

Comitola,  Frances  (2). 


Comnena,  Angelina  (5). 
Como,  Magdalene  (2). 

Constantinople,  Agatha  (2),  Anastasia  (7), 
Anna  (10),  (11),  Anthusa  (4),  (5),  An- 
tonina  (1),  Arthellais,  Mary  (33),  (36), 
Olympias  (5),  Pulcheria,  Theodora  (14), 
Theodosia  (8),  Theophano. 
Corbara,  Angelina  (3). 

Cordova,  Benilda,  Digna  (7),  Flora  (3),  Liliosa, 
Mary  (39),  Natalia  (3),  Pomposa,  Victoria 
(3),  Violante  (2). 
Corea,  Columba  (17). 
Cornillan,  Cerona  (2). 
Cornillon,  Juliana  (21). 

Cornwall,  Agnes  (5),  Anna  (9),  Breaca,  Buri- 
ana,  Crewenna,   Grace  (2),   la  (3),  Mor- 
wenna,  Piala. 
Coronel,  Mary  (69). 
Corsica,  Devota,  Julia  (27). 
Costa,  Paula  (18). 

Countess  of  Andechs,  Cuncgund  (2). 
,,  Ar,  Hildegund  (1). 

,,  Ariano,  Delphine. 

,,  Arnestein,  Guda  (2). 

,,  Aurillac,  Adeltrude  (3). 

,,  Baudemont,  Agnes  (10). 

Blois,  Adelaide  (11). 
Bordeaux,  Benedicta  (1). 
Boulogne,  Ida  (5). 
Bratuspantium,  Hcrswind. 
Burgundy,  Leodegouta. 
Carinthia,  Hemma  (3). 
Chambensium,  Alruna. 
Civitella,  Angelina  (3). 
Flanders,  Adela  (3),  Jane  (5). 
Guastalla,  Louisa  (3). 
Hochstadt,  Hildegund  (1).         ; 
Lamberg,  Zdislawa. 
Mispilingen,  Adelaide  (6). 
Motegiove,  Angelina  (3). 
Rusca,  Beatrice  (11). 
Salisbury,  Margaret  (29). 
Sultz,  Adelaide  (6). 
Toggenburg,  Ida  (8). 
Zutphen,  Irrngard  (2). 
Countess  Palatine,  Gcnevievc  (2),  Matilda  (3). 
Courcelle,  June  (20). 
Courtenay,  Yoland  (3). 
Craon,  Fetronilla  (3). 

David  (St.),  Nonna  (8). 

Davila,  Theresa  (7). 

Deaconess,  Martina.  Olympias  (5),  Phebe, 
Sabiniana  (2),  Salvina  (2),  Syncletica  (4), 
Tatiana  (1),  Timo,  Tryphcna  (1),  Tryphosa. 

Dereham,  Withburga  (1). 


828 


INDEX 


Diessen,  Matilda  (6). 
Dinant  sur  1'Escaut,  Ava,  Regina  (6). 
Disguised,  Agnes  (27),  Auastasia  (7),  Angela 
(1),  Anna  (11),  Antonina  (1),  Apollinaris 
(2),  Athanasia  (2),  Callisthene,  Domna  (1), 
Eugenia  (1),  Euphrosyne  (5),  Hildegund 
(1),  Hugolina,  Margaret  (4),  Marina  (15), 
Matrona  (18),    Susanna    (13),    Theodora 
(11),  (12). 

Domenici,  Margaret  (22). 
Dominic  (Mother  of  St.),  Jane  (4). 
Dominican,  Agnes  (23),  (25),  (26),  (29),  (32), 
Amata  (2),  Amicia,|  Angela  (5),  (G),  An- 
tonia  (7),  Beatrice  (13),   Benvenuta  (1), 
Catherine  (3),  (6),  (11),  (14),  (18),  (19), 
Cecilia    (12),   (15),  (16),    Christina  (12), 
Clara  (8),  (11),  Columba  (15)  (16),  Diana 
(1),  Dominica  (5),  Dorothy  (10),  Elisabeth 
(17),  Emilia  (5),  Esprite,  Eustochia  (4), 
Helen   (14),    Imata,    Imelda,    Isabel  (3), 
Jane  (4),  (7),  (14),  Lucina  (5),  Lucy  (17), 
(19),  (21),  Mancia,   Margaret  (15),  (19), 
(24),   (27),  Mary  (48),  (54),  (56),   Nera, 
Osanna  (2),  (3),  Paula  (19),  Pcrpetua  (10), 
Rose    (6),    Stephana    (2),    Veronica    (6), 
Yillana,  Yoland  (8),  Zdislawa. 
Donati,  Constance  (5). 
Donskoi,   Euphrosyne  (12). 
Dormundcaster,  Kyneburga  (1). 
Duccio,  Agnes  (26). 
Duchess  of  Alencon,  Margaret  (28). 
,,  Austrasia,  Plectrude. 

,,  Bavaria,  Mary  (45). 

„  Bingen,  Bertha  (4). 

,,  Bohemia,  Ludmilla. 

„  Brittany,  Ermengard  (2),  Frances 

(7). 

, ,  Carinthia,  Hemma  (3),  Mary  (38). 

,,  Galicia,  Jolenta  (2),  Salome  (5). 

„  Hess,  Elisabeth  (11). 

,,  Louvain,  Bertilla  (1). 

,,  Orleans,  Jane  (16). 

„  Poland,  Hedwig  (3). 

„  Pomerania,  Anastasia  (10). 

„  Pskov,  Martha  (18). 

,,  Russia,  Olga. 

,,  Sandomir,  Salome  (5). 

„  Savoy,  Margaret  (32). 

„  Schbbeina,  Doda  (2). 

„  Silesia,  Anna  (19),  Hedwig  (3). 

„  Thuringia,  Elisabeth  (11). 

„  Wurtzburg,  Bilhild  (3). 

Duglioli,  Helen  (19). 

Edmund  (St.),  Alice  Rich. 
Egypt,  Athnnnsia  (3),  Mary  (30). 


Elesbaan  (King),  Ruma. 

Eleven  thousand  Virgins,  Ursula  (1). 

ilimonte,  Humility. 

ily,  Krmenilda,  Ethelreda,  Sexburga,  With- 
burga. 

Empress,  Adelaide  (3),  Agnes  (7),  Alexandra 
(1),  Angilburga,  Augusta  (2),  Cunegund 
(3),  Faustina(l  1 ),  Flaccilla,  Helen  (3),  Irene 
(12),  (15),  (16),  Placidia  (2),  (3),  Praxedis 
(3),  Pulcheria,  Richarda,  Serena  (3),  Theo 
dora  (14),  Theophauo,  Tryphonia. 

England  (Some  Saints  of),  Abyce,  Alburgha, 
Alfrcda,  Alfrida,  Alice,  Alkalda,  Begu, 
Berathgit,  Bertha  (1),  Blida,  Breaca,  Clara 
(12),  Claudia  (1),  Ealswide,  Eanfleda, 
Eanswith,  Ebba  (1),  (2),  Edburga  (1),  (2), 
(3),  (4),  (5),  (6),  Edith  (1-7),  Elfleda  (1), 
(2),  (3),  Elgiva  (1),  (2),  (3),  (4),  Ercongota, 
Ermenburga,  Ermenilda,  Ethelburga  (1), 
(2),  (3),  (4),  Ethelreda,  Eva  (4),  (5),  Everil- 
dis,  Frideswide,  Grace  (2),  Guntild  (1), 
Helen  (3),  Hereswitha,  Hilda,  Hildelid, 
Hisberga,  Juliana  (25),  Kyueburga  (1), 
(2),  (3),  Kynedride,  Kyneswide,  Lioba, 
Margaret  (6),  (9),  (14),  (29),  Matilda  (4), 
Merwin  (1),  (2),  Milburg,  Mildred,  Milgith, 
Modwenna,  Morwenna,  Osanna,  Osburg, 
Osith,  Osthrida,  Pega,  Rictrith,  Rictrude 
(2),  Royes,  Salome  (4),  Sedrido,  Sexburga. 
Sidwell,  Sisetrude,  Tetta  (2),  Teutcria, 
Torchgith,  Walburga,  Weeda,  Wereburga, 
AVithburga  (1),  (2),  Wulfilda,  Wulfrida. 

Enselmina,  Helen  (13). 

Este,  Beatrice  (3),  (4),  (5). 
Evora,  Constance  (6),  Jane  (11). 

Falconieri,  Juliana  (23). 

Faremoutier,  Ercongota,  Ethelburga  (15),  Fara, 

Hereswitha,  Sedrido,  Sisetrude. 
Favernai,  Elisabeth  (8). 
Fecamp,  Hildemar. 
Fernandez,  Isabel  (6). 

Ferrara,  Beatrice (3), (4), (13),  Cecilia  (15),(16). 
Ferrieres,  Montana  (2). 
Feuillantines,  Jane  (18). 
Fieschi,  Catherine  (12). 
Figliuoli,  Gemma  (1). 
First  Nun,  Marcella  (7). 

(Anglo-Saxon),  Edburga  (1), 

(Dominican),  Cecilia  (12). 

(Franciscan),  Clara  (2). 

(Jesuate),  Catherine  (5). 

in  Northumberland,  Heiu. 

of  the  Reform  of  St.   Colette, 
Louisa  (1). 

(Servite).  Juliana  (23). 


INDEX 


329 


First  Nun  veiled  by  St.  Patrick,  Ethembria. 

Flines,  Imaine. 

Florence,  Antonia  (6),  Bertha  (6),  Julia  (29), 

Viridiana  (1). 

Flores,  Mariana  (3),  Rose  (6). 
Florival,  Matilda  (8). 

Foligno,  Alex  an drina,  Angelina  (3),  MesBalina. 
Folkestone,  Eanswith. 
Fontana,  Margaret  (27). 
Fontanella,  Mary  (70). 
Fontevrault,   Angelina  (1),  Ermengard    (2), 

Lucy  (17),  Fetronilla  (3). 
Fornari,  Mary  (GO). 
Founder  of  Annonciades,  Jano  (16). 
„          Brigittines,  Brigid  (19). 
,,          Candlemas,  Icelia. 
,,         Celestial  Annonciades,  Mary(GO). 
,,          Cistercian  Nuns,  Humbelina. 
,,         Cloistered  Tertiaries,    Angelina 

(3). 

,,          Conceptionists,  Beatrice  (12). 
, ,         Congregation  of  the  Good  Jesus, 

Margaret  (2G). 
,,          Congregation  of  Mary,  Alix  le 

Clerc. 
, ,         Congregation  of  M  ount  Calvary, 

Antonia  (8). 

„          Corpus  Christi,  Juliana  (21). 
,,         Daughters  of  the  B.  V.  Mary, 

Jane  (18). 

„          Daughters  of  Charity,  Louisa  (5). 
,,          Devotion  to  Sacred  Heart,  Mar 
garet  (35). 

,,          First  Hospital,  Fabiola. 
„         Nuns  of  St.  Ambrose  ad  Nemus, 

Catherine  (10). 
,,         Nuns  of  St.  Augustine,  Perpetua 

(7). 

,,          Oblates,  Frances  (5). 
,,          Oblates  of  St.  Mary,  Hyacinth. 
,,         Orphan  Asylum  (first),  Anthusa 

(5). 

,,         Rosines,  Rose  (7). 
,,          Servites,  Juliana  (23). 
„         Sisters    of  the    Holy    Family, 

Emily  (2). 
„         Theatines   (two   branches   of), 

Ursula  (2). 

,,          Torchine,  Mary  (60). 
„          Ursulines,  Angela  (7). 
„         Ephemeral  Orders,  Louisa  (3). 
France  (Some  Saints  of),  Ada,  Adela  (3), 
Adeltrude  (3),  Adfalduid,  Afra  (5),  Agia 
(1),  Agnes  (6),  (7),  (10),  (32),  Ailbert,  Al- 
degundis  (2),  Aliz  la  Bourgotte,  Alpai's  (2), 
Amicia,  Angadresima  (1),  Angelina  (1), 


Ascelina,  Aurea  (7),  Austreberta,  Aus- 
trudc,  Barbara  (3),  Benedicta  (1),  (7), 
Bertha  (1),  (2),  (3),  Cerona,  Cilinia,  Clo 
tilda,  (1),(2),(3),  Colette,  Consortia,  Damge- 
rosa,  Delphine,Edigna,  Ermengard  (1),  (2), 
Esprite,  Eusebia  (7),  Fara,  Galswintha, 
Gegoberga,  Genevieve  (1),  Germana  (6), 
Gertrude  (4),  Gibitrude,  Godeberta,  Helen 
(5),  Hemelina,  Hercantrudis,  Hildemar, 
Humbelina,Hunegund,Isabel(l),Jane(16), 
(18),  (19),  (20),  Joan,  Lene  (1),  Lucy  (1), 
(17),  Mactaflede,  Manna  (2),  Margaret  (3), 
(28),  (32),  (34),  (35),  Martha  (10),  Mary(53), 
Matilda  (7),  Maura  (6),  Maxellenda,  Maxi 
ma  (5),  Monegund,  Mundana,  Oda  (1),  (3), 
Opportuna,  Perpetua  (9),  Petronilla  (2), 
(3),  Radegund  (1),  Rictrude  (1),  Rivanonu, 
Rosamond  (1),  Rosseline,  Sabina  (12), 
Salaberga,  Scariberg,  Sirude,  Sisetrudc, 
Solange. 

Francis  (St.),  Clara  (2),  Pica. 

Francis  of  Paula  (St.),  Jane  (16). 

Francis  of  Sales  (St.),  Jane  (19). 

Franciscan,  Adriana(2),Agnes  (17),  (18),  (19), 
(21),  (23),  (24),  (28),  (30),  Alexandria  di 
Letto,  Amata  (3),  Angela  (2),  (7),  (8), 
Angelina  (3),  (4),  Antonia  (6),  Balbina  (2), 
Baptista,  Barbara  (2),  Beatrice  (12),  (14), 
Benedicta  (16),  Bona  (4),  (5),  Catherine 
(9),  Christina  (10),  Clara  (2),  (3), (6),  (12), 
Colette,  Constance  (5),  Dclphine,  Dorothy, 
(8),  Dulcelina,  Elisabeth  (19),'Emiliana  (3), 
Euphrasia  (12),  Eustochia  (3),  Felicia  (11), 
(12),  Frances  (2),  Helen  (13),  Geronima  (1), 
(2),  Hyacinth,  Isabel  (1),  (2),  Jane  (17), 
Jolenta  (2),  Louisa  (2),  Lucy  (14),  (16), 
(18),  (22),  Magdalene  (3),  Margaret  (17), 
(18),  (22),  (23),  (28),  (33),  Mary  (53),  (57), 
(68),  (69),  (71),  (72),  Matthia  (2),  (3),  Orto- 
lana,  Pacifica,  Paula  (17),  (18),  (20),  Pica, 
Pudentiana  (2),  Rose  (5),  Veronica  (7),  (8). 

Frankenhofen,  Anna  (17). 

Freckenhorst,  Thiadild. 

Freitas,  Lucy  (22). 

Fremyot,  Jane  (19) 

Gabrielli,  Castora. 

Galla,  Mary  (72). 

Gallardon,  Hildeburg. 

Gambara,  Paula  (18). 

Gandersheim,  Hadumada,  Gerberg  (1). 

Garcias,  Anna  (28). 

Geese,  Amelberga  (2),  (3),  Bertha  (7),  Mildred, 

Pharaildis,  Wereburga  (1). 
Gemmola,  Beatrice  (3). 
Genoa,  Catherine  (12),  (13),  Limbania. 


330 


INDEX 


Genouillac,  Galliota. 

George  the  Chozebite  (St.),  Domnina  (7). 

George  the  Martyr  (St.),  Alexandra. 

Gerenrhoda,  Abdcla. 

Germany  (Some  Saints  of),  Achachildis, 
Adelaide  (3),  (4),  (6),  (8),  Adeline!,  Bertha 
(4),  (5),  Cunegund  (3),  Dorothy  (6), 
Elisabeth  (11),  (19),  Framechildc,  Gerberg 
(1),  (2),  Gertrude  (11),  (12),  (13),  Hadc- 
loga,  Hadumada,  Hazeka,  Hemma  (1),  (2), 
(3),  (4),  Hildcgund  (1),  (2),  Matilda  (1), 
(2),  (3),  (5),  (6),  (9),  (11),  (12),  Plectrude, 
Sophia  (17),  Stilla. 

Gesulda,  Anna  (30). 

Ghent,  Aldegundis  (1),  Phara'ildis. 

Girlani,  Archangela  (2). 

Giuliani,  Veronica  (7). 

Giustiniani,  Anna  (16). 

Glandeve,  Delphine. 

Gloucester,  Eva  (4),  Kyneburga  (2),  (3), 
Weeda. 

Goth,  Anna  (7). 

Govone,  Rose  (7). 

Grand-Princess,  Agatha  (6),  Anna  (13),  (14), 
(22),  Euphrosyne,  (12),  Olga. 

Greece,  Athanasia  (3),  Irene  (5),  Martha 
(16). 

Gregory  of  Nazianzus,  Gorgonia,  Nonna  (7). 

Gregory  the  Great,  Bertha  (1),  Emiliana, 
Silvia  (2),  Tharsilla,  Theodolind. 

Guaineri,  Antonia  (7). 

Gubbio,  Castora,  Frances  (6). 

Gunvara,  Mary  (67). 

Gurk,  Hemma  (3). 

Guttenstein,  Woyslawa. 

Guzman,  Jane  (4).    . 

H abend,  Gebetrude,  Gegoberga,  Mactaflcde. 

Hackeborn,  Gertrude  (12),  Matilda  (12). 

Hamay,  Gertrude  (4),  Eusebia  (5). 

H  anbury,  Wereburga  (1). 

Hanmer,  Clara  (12). 

Heidenheim,  Walburga  (1). 

Helfta,  Gertrude  (12),  (13),  Matilda  (9),  (11), 

(12). 
Hermits  (Order    of),    Christina    (13),    (14), 

Clara  (4),  (5),  Helen  (18),  Lucy  (15). 
Hermit  (secular),  Jane  (9). 
Hervey  of  Anjou  (St.),  Eva  (5). 
Hervey  of  Bretagne  (St.),  Christina  (5). 
Hohenburg,  Odilia  (3). 
Hohenwart,  Wiltrude  (2). 
Holkham,  Withburga  (1). 
Holland,  Brigid  (21),  Gertrude  (14),  Lid  win, 

Zuwarda. 
Homblieres,  Hunegund. 


Horres,  Irmiua  (1),  Lucy  (10),  Modesta  (3). 

Horton,  Wulfikla. 

Hospital,  Anna  (29),   Basilissa  (6),  Fabiola, 

Flora  (4). 
Hospitaller,   Aliz,  Angela  (4),  Basilissa  (6), 

Flora  (4),  Galliota,  Tuscana,  Ubaldesca. 
Hosz,  Crescentia  (7). 
Humiliati  (Order  of),  Alda  (2). 
Hungary,   Elisabeth  (11),  (17),  Helen  (14), 

Jolenta  (2),  Margaret  (15). 
Hurtado,  Mary  (48). 

Irish,  Atea,  Attracta,  Bega  (1),  Breaca,  Bret- 
tiva,  Briga,  Brigid  (2),  (15),  Canncra. 
Carecha,  Cera,  Concessa,  Conchenna,  Cor- 
cair,  Darerca,  Daria  (5),  (7),  Dorothy  (5), 
Dympna,  Ethnea,  Faila,  Fanchea,  Fcdel- 
inia,  Hinna  (2),  la  (3),  Ita  (1),  Kairecha, 
Kentigerna,  Lassara,  Lassedia,  Latecrin, 
Louisa  (6),  Mella,  Mingarda,  Modwenna, 
Monessa,  Nessa,  Orbilia,  Osman,  Osnata, 
Piala,  Rethna,  Samdyne,  Scoth,  Segretia, 
Temaria. 

Italy  (Some  Saints  of),  Abundantia  (1),  (2), 
Adelaide  (1),  (3),  (5),  Afra  (1),  Agues  (17), 
(18),  (19),  Albina  (1),  (5),  (6),  Alda  (2), 
Amata  (2),  (3),  Angela  (2),  (3),  (4),  (5),  (6), 
(7),  Angelina  (3),  (4),  Anna  (10),  (30), 
Archangela  (2),  Asella,  Aurea  (3),  Aurelia 
(3),  Balbina  (1),  (2),  Baptista,  Beatrice 
(1),  (3),  (4),  (5),  (11),  (13),  Benedicta  (16), 
(17),  Benvenuta  (1),  (2),  Bertha  (6),  Bona 
(3),  (4),  Brigid  (15),  Candida  (1),  (2),  (3), 
(9),  (12),  Cantianiila  (1),  Catherine  (3;, 
(5),  (6),  (9),  (10),  (11),  (12),  (13),  (14),  (18). 
Christina  (1),  (10),  (13),  (14),  (16),  Clara 
(2),  (3),  (4),  (5),  (6),  (8),  Clotilda  (3), 
Columba  (15),  (16),  Domitilla,  Dorothy 
(10),  Elisabeth  (20),  (21),  (22),  Emiliana 
(3),  Fina  (2),  Frances  (2),  (3),  (4),  (5),  (6), 
Gentile,  Gerardesca,  Helen  (17),  (18),  (19), 
Heliena,  Hyacinth,  Jane  (2),  (7),  (9),  (10), 
(15),  Julia  (29),  Juliana  (18),  (19),  (22), 
(23),  (26),  Justa  (3),  Justina  (9),  (10;, 
Louisa  (2),  (3),  Lucina  (5),  Lucy  (5),  (6), 
(8),  (13),  (14),  (15),  (18),  (19),  (21),  Mar- 
cella  (7),  Marcellina,  Margaret  (17),  (18), 
(19),  (20),  (21),  (22),  (23),  (26),  (27),  (30), 
Martina,  Mary  (37),  (50),  (51),  (54),  (56), 
(57),  (59),  (60),  (70),  (71),  (72),  Matthia 
(2),  Melania  (1),  (2),  Messalina,  Miche- 
lina,  Nera,  Olive  (6),  Oringa,  Pacifica, 
Pamphila,  Panacea,  Passidea,  Patricia  (4), 
Paula  (13),  (16),  (17),  (18),  (19),  (20), 
Placidia  (2),  (3),  Rose  (7),  Santuccia, 
Scholastica,  Seraphina  (2),  Speciosa  (4), 


INDEX 


331 


Spcrandea,  Stephana  (2),  Theresa  (8),  (9), 
Tuscana,  Ubaldesca,  Ursula  (2),  Ursulina, 
Valeria  (2),  Veronica  (5),  (6),  (7),  (8), 
Victoria  (1),  Villana,  Vinccntia  (1), 
Viridiana,  Zita. 

Jacobi,  Bertha  (9). 

Japan,  Agnes  (31),  Aloysia  (3),  Apollonia  (2), 
Catherine  (20),  (21),  Clara  (9),  (10), 
Dominica  (6),  Isabel  (6),  Louisa  (4),  Lucy 
(22),  (23),  Magdalene  (4),  (5),  (6),  (7), 
Mary  (61),  (62),  (63),  (64),  (65),  (66),  (68), 
Matthia  (3),  Monica  (2),  Susanna  (18), 
Tascita,  Thecla  (20). 

Jaussaud,  Eaprite. 

Jerome  (St.),  Asella,  Blaesilla,  Eustochium, 
Fabiola,  Laeta,  Marcclla  (7),  Melania  (1), 
Paula  (13),  (14),  Salvina  (2),  Theresa  (1). 

Jeronimite,  Mary  (55). 

Jouarre,  Ailbcrt,  Balda,  Thcodcchild  (2). 

Joygni,  Amicia. 

Jumigny,  Ermcngard  (1). 

Kent  (Some  Saints  of),  Bertha  (l),Eanflcda, 
Eanswith,  Edburga  (1),  (5),  Ercongota, 
Ermenburga,  Ermcngith,  Ermenilda,  Kthcl- 
burga  (1),  (3),  Etheldrcda  (1),  Milburga, 
Mildred,  Milgitha,  Sexburga. 

Kildare,  Brigid  (2),  Talulla,  Tulelacia. 

Kileedy,  Ita  (1). 

Kitzingen,  Hadeloga. 

Kossowa,  Angelina  (2). 

Kreutzenacht,  Odilia  (5). 

Kulikovo,  Euplirosync  (12). 

Lackey,  Leocadia. 

Lago  Maggiore,  Catherine  (10). 

Lambertini,  Imekla. 

Laon,  Austrude,  Salaberga. 

Le  Clerc,  Alix. 

Le  Gras,  Louisa  (5). 

Lestonnac,  Jane  (18). 

Letto,  Alexandrina,  Margaret  (23). 

Licarelli,  Christina  (14). 

Liguori,  Theresa  (8). 

Lindovia,  Alberada. 

Lissonia,  Dorothy  (8). 

Lobbes,  Amalberga  (2). 

Loss,  Imaine. 

Louvain,  Margaret  (12),  Verona  (4). 

Lubomirska,  Christina  (15),  Sophia  (18). 

Luxemburg,  Yoland  (3). 

Luzi,  Marchesina. 

Lyming,   Eanfleda,  Edburga  (1),  Ethelburga 

(1). 
Lyons,  Biblias,  Blandiiia. 


Maccabees,  Salome  (1). 

Macleeadar,  Wai  trade. 

Mactail,  Brigid  (12). 

Magician,  Brigid  (2),  Golinduca,  Justina  (7), 

Mary  (34). 
Maguire,  Waltrude. 
Maillac,  Mary  (53). 
Maintz,  Bilhild  (3). 
Majorca,  Catherine  (15),  Madruyna. 
Malatesta,  Elisabeth  (21),  Goroniina  (1). 
Maltese  nun,  Flora  (4). 
Malvasia,  Martha  (16). 
Mancini,  Mary  (54). 
Manfredi,  Beatrice  (4). 
Manilla,  Geronima  (2). 
Marbais,  Bertha  (8). 
March,  "Wendreda. 
Marchioness  of  Austria,  Agnes  (9). 

„  Belle  Isle,  Antonia  (8  . 

„  the  Flemings,  Adela  (3). 

„  Italy,  Adelaide  (5). 

,,  Montferrant-Landais,  Jane 

(18). 

Marendez,  Ilduarda. 
Mareri,  Philippa  (4). 
Marillac,  Louisa  (5). 
Mariscotti,  Hyacinth. 
Martinenghi,  Louisa  (3),  Mary  (71). 
Martini,  Amata  (3). 
Maseych,  Plarlind,  Eelind. 
Matthew  (St.),  Iphigcnia. 
Matthia,  Margaret  (30). 
Maubeuge,  Adeltrudc,  Aldegtmdis  (2),  Madel- 

bert. 

Meer,  Hildegund  (1). 
Meran,  Euphemia  (14). 
Merici,  Angela  (7). 
Merida,  Eulalia  (1). 
Messina,  Eustochia  (3). 
Metz,  Glodesind,  Waldrada. 
Milan,  Felicia  (11). 
Minori  Scalzi,  Mary  (72). 
Minster,   Ermenburga,    Mildred,    Wercburgu 

(1). 

Mons,  Waltrude. 
Montaigne,  Jane  (18). 
Montaldi,  Paula  (20). 
Montebard,  Anor. 
Montecelli,  Agnes  (17). 
Montefeltri,  Elisabeth  (21). 
Monte  Varasio,  Benedicta  (17). 
Montfort,  Amicia. 
Montreuil,  Opportuna. 
Morigia,  Catherine  (10). 
Mortagne,  Corona  (2). 
Mortain,  Adelina  (2). 


332 


INDEX 


Mourayama,  Mary  (62). 
Moyen  Moutiers,  Eustadiola. 
Mundo,  Magdalene  (4). 
Munster-Bilsen,  Landrada. 
Murom,  Juliana  (28). 

Nancy,  Alix. 

Nazarei,  Matthia  (2). 

Nazarena,  Villana. 

Nazareth,  Beatrice  (7). 

Neemandja,  Angelina  (2),  Euphemia  (17). 

Negran,  Kuma. 

Neri  (St.  Philip),  Ursula  (2). 

Nidermunster,  Gundeliiid. 

Nivelle,  Gertrude  (5),  Wulfetrude. 

Normandy,  Adelina  (2),  Blanche  (1),  Culuiiiba 

(13),  Hildemar,  Kosamond  (1). 
Norway,  Brettiva,  Ragnhild,  Suuniva. 
Noyon,  Godeberta. 
Nucci,  Veronica  (8). 

Oblates,  Frances  (5). 

Odilienberg,  Richlind. 

Oettelstettin,  Matilda  (6). 

Olives  (Mount  of),  Anastasia  (6),  Melania 

^  (2),  Pclagia  (9). 

Olivetan,  Eustochia  (2),  Frances  (5). 
Ointment,  Euphrasia  (7),  Mary  (33). 
Ones,  Beatrice  (15). 
Ornacieux,  Beatrice  (9). 
Oroer,  Angadresima  (1). 
Osorez,  Columba  (12). 
Oswald  (St.),  Eanfleda,  Ebba  (1),  Osthrida. 

Painter,  Catherine  (9),  Mary  (59). 

Pallanza,  Catherine  (10). 

Paredes,  Mariana  (3). 

Paris,  Alix  le  Clerc,  Aliz  la  Bourgotte,  Aurea 
(7),  Genevieve  (1),  Blanche  (1),  (2). 

Passau,  Gisela  (1). 

Patrick  (St.),  Briga  (1),  Brigid  (2),  Cinna, 
Concessa  (2),  Darerca  (1),  Echea,  Ethnea, 
Lassara  (1),  Piala,  Scariberg. 

Paul  (St.),  Lydia  (1),  Plautilla,  Priscilla  (1), 
Thecla  (1),  Xantippe. 

Pazzi,  Mary  (59). 

Penitent,  Acrabonia,  Adelaide  (8),  Afra  (4), 
Aglae  (1),  Agnes  (12),  Alpais  (1),  Angela 
(2),  Axitiana,  Clara  (6),  Damgerosa, 
Eudocia  (1),  (2),  Fabiola,  Helen  (17), 
Jolenta  (1),  Margaret  (18),  Mary  (3),  (30), 
(31),  Pansemnes,  Pelagia  (9),  Photina, 
Thais,  Theodota  (7),  Zoe  (3). 

Peranda,  Agnes  (18). 

Pereira,  Mancia. 

Perinati,  Dorothy  (10). 


Persecution  (Iconoclast),  Anthusa  (4),  Irene 
(12),  Mary  (36),  Theodosia  (8). 

Persia,  Bahuta,  Casdoa,  Esther  (1),  Eudocia 
(3),  Gobdela,  Gudelia,  Ja,  Ketevan, 
Mamelta,  Martha  (5),  Mary  (29),  Snan- 
dulia,  Tarbula,  Thecla  (15),  (16). 

Pesaro,  Felicia  (11),  Seraphina  (2). 

Peter  (St.),  Axitiana,  Claudia  (1),  Mary  (7), 
Mattidia,  Plautilla,  Perpetua  (1),  (2), 
Petronilla  (1),  Praxedis  (1),  Pudentiana 
(1). 

Petrociani,  Marina  (16). 

Piazza,  Margaret  (30). 

Picenardi,  Elisabeth  (20). 

Pierre  le  vif,  Alboflede  (2). 

Pilgrim,  Adelaide  (11),  Angela  (7),  Anna  (8), 
Apollinaris  (2),  Bona  (3),  Brigid  (19), 
Ethelburga  (4),  Helen  (11),  Hildegimd 
(1),  Irmgard  (2),  Marana,  Margaret  (9), 
Matilda  (10),  Melania,  Mingarda,  Mod- 
wenna,  Posenna,  Keyneld,  Rolendis,  Ru- 
sina,  Sabina  (2),  Silvia  (1),  Trefe,  Tygria, 
Ursula  (1),  Viridiana. 

Placentia,  Angilburga,  Franca. 

Plantagenet,  Margaret  (29). 

Plectole,  Franca. 

Plombariola,  Scholastica. 

Poitiers,  Afra  (5),  Agnes  (6),  (7),  Antonia  (8), 
Radegund  (1). 

Poland,  Adelaide  (9),  Anastasia  (10),  Benigna. 
Bogna,  Bronislavia,  Christina  (15),  Cunc- 
gund  (4),  Euphemia  (16),  Hedwig  (4), 
Jolenta  (2),  Salome  (5),  Sophia  (18). 

Pole,  Margaret  (29). 

Polesworth,  Edith  (3),  Modwenna. 

Polotsk,  Euphrosyne  (7). 

Ponziani,  Frances  (5). 

Ponzii,  Alda  (2). 

Portugal,  Adozina,  Beatrice  (12),  (14),  Colum 
ba  (2),  (3),  (5),  Constance  (6),  Eleonora, 
Godina,  Isabel  (2),  (3),  Jane  (11),  (14), 
Margaret  (31),  Matrona  (17),  Quiteria, 
Sa^icha  (1),  Senorina,  Sila,  Theresa  (5), 
(6),  Texelina. 

Prague,  Agnes  (20),  (21),  Ludmilla,  Mlada. 

Pre,  Ada. 

Premonstratensian,  Agnes  (10),  (20),  Anas 
tasia  (10),  Beatrice  (2),  (6),  Bessela,  Elisa 
beth  (12),  Ermengard  (1),  Gertrude  (11), 
Guda  (2),  Hildegund  (1),  Margaret  (11), 
Petronilla  (2),  Ricovera. 
Prioress  of  Biloka,  Gertrude  (15). 

,,          Catesby,  Alice  Rich,  Margaret. 
„          Ferrara,  Antonia  (7). 

Marienthal,  Yoland  (3), 
Mont  Cornillon,  Juliana  (21). 


INDEX 


383 


Prioress  of  Nazareth  (in  Brabant),  Beatrice 
(7). 

,,          Pontoise,  Anna  (28). 

,,          Rattiboria,  Euphemia  (16). 

,,          Rivroelle,  Oda  (5). 

,,          St.   Walburg's    Mount,    Sophia 

(16). 

Pseudo-saint,  Wilhelraina,  Rosamond. 
Pussium,  Tudeca. 
Puy-Michel,  Delphine. 

Quedlinburg,  Matilda  (2). 
Queen  of  Armenia,  Olympias  (3). 

Armorica,  Copagia,  Laudoveva, 

Austrasia,  Verona  (4). 

Barbarians,  Aucega. 

Bavaria,  Hemma  (1). 

Bohemia,  Ludmilla. 

Cachetia,  Ketevan. 

Castile,     Isabel      (see      Addenda), 

Mafalda,  Olive  (3). 
Denmark,  Botild,  Margaret  (7). 
East  Anglia,  Hereswitlia. 
England,  Elgiva  (4),  Matilda  (4). 
Essex,  Kyneswide.  Osith. 
Ethiopia,  Euphenisia. 
France,    Audovera,    Bathilde    (1), 

Blanche  (1),  Clotilda  (1),  Gals- 

wintha,  Jane  (16),  Radegund  (1). 
Galicia,  Salome  (5). 
Germany,  Adelaide  (3),  Edith  (5), 

Grata  (2),  Matilda  (1). 
Goths,  Amarma,  Placidia  (2). 
Holland,  Soteris. 

Hungary,  Beatrice  (5),  Gisela  (1). 
Iberia,  Susanna  (16). 
Ireland,  Teniaria. 
Italy,  Adelaide  (3). 
Kent,  Bertha  (1),  Sexburga. 
Leon,  Theresa  (5). 
Lombards,      Gundeburga,     Tesia, 

Theodolind. 
Mercia,   Edburga  (4),  Ermenilda, 

Osthrida,  Werebnrga  (2). 
Naples,  Christina  (16). 
Northumberland,  Cuthburga,  Ean- 

fleda,  Edith  (4),  Ethelburga  (1), 

Ethelreda,  Kyueburga  (1),  Riet- 

rith. 

Persia,  Esther  (1). 
Poland,  Cunegund  (4),  Hedwig  (4), 

Rixa. 

Portugal,  Isabel  (2). 
Rome,  Rusina. 
Sardinia,  Clotilda  (3). 
Scotland,  Margaret  (f>),  Udilina. 


Queen  of  Servia,  Angelina  (2),  (5). 

,,        Sicily,  Gerasine. 

,,         Spain,  Isabel  (see  Addenda). 

„        Sweden,  Christina  (8),  Hildegard 
(2),  Ragnhild. 

,,        Thrace,  Tryphena  (2). 

„        Wessex,  Ethelburga  (4). 
Quinzani,  Stephana  (2). 

Rabutin,  Jane  (19). 

Ransom  (Our  Lady  of),  Colagia,  Mary  (47), 
(58). 

Rascia,  Angelina  (5). 

Ratisbon,  Hemma  (4). 

Ravenna,  Innocentia  (3),  Placidia  (2),  Vin- 
centia  (1). 

Recluse,  Abundantia  (2),  Agnes  (27),  Alex 
andra  (4),  Alfreda,  Aurelia  (4),  Aliz, 
Bertha  (9),  Brigid  (15),  Catherine  (6),  (17), 
Chelidonia,  Columba  (4),  (14),  Darnge- 
rosa,  Eva  (5),  (6),  Gemma  (4),  Hazeka, 
Heliena,  Helimdrude,  Helvisa,  Heyleka, 
Hiltrude  (2),  Hugolina,  Humility,  Ida  (8), 
Ivetta,  Jane  (6),  Julia  (29),  Juliana  (25), 
Justina  (9),  Jutta  (o),  Liutberg,  Mone- 
gund  (2),  Offa  (2),  Osinan,  Paulina  (10), 
Pega,  Photina  (2),  Rachild,  Redempta, 
Richilda,  Romana  (8),  Rosalie,  Salome  (4), 
Sibillina,  Sophronia,  Tarsitia,  Teuteria, 
Tusca,  Uda,  Udalgartha,  Ugolina,  Ulphia, 
Viborada,  Viridiana,  Vitalina,  Wilburga 
(3),  Withburga  (2),  Woyslawa,  Zenai's. 

Redi,  Theresa  (9). 

Reformer  of  Carmelites,  Theresa  (7). 
,,  Franciscans,  Colette. 

,,  Hospitallers,  Galliota. 

Remiremont,  Alix,  Perpetua  (9). 

Rena,  Julia  (29). 

Renuntiants,  Marthana. 

Rheims,  Bova,  Doda,  Joan. 

Ricci,  Catherine  (18). 

Rich,  Alice,  Margaret  (14). 

Robert  d'Abrissel,  Ermengard  (2). 

Rodat,  Emily  (2). 

Romaric  (St.),  Adfalduid,  Gegoberga,  Macta- 
flede. 

Rome,  Aglae  (1),  Agnes  (2),  Albina  (5),  (6), 
Anastasia  (1),  (2),  Anna  (30),  Asella,  Bal- 
bina  (1),  Basilissa  (1),  Basilla  (1),  Beatrice 
(1),  Bibiana,  Bonosa  (1),  Cecilia  (1),  Cy- 
riaca  (2),  Dafrosa,  Daria  (2),  Domitilla  (1), 
(2),  Eustochium,  Fabiola,  Felicitas  (1), 
Galla  (9),Hilaria(l),Hirundo,  Laeta,  Lea 
(2),  Lucilla  (1),  Lucina  (1),  (3),  Lucy  (6), 
Marcella  (7),  Marcellina  (4),  Marina  (14), 
Marmenia,  Martana,  Martina,  Melania  (1), 


334 


INDEX 


(2),  Paula  (13),  (14),  Paulina  (1),  (6),  Pla- 
cidia  (2),  (3),  Plautilla,  Poemenia,  Praepe- 
digna,  Praxedis  (1),  Prisca  (2),  Priscilla 
(1),  (2),  (4),  Pudentiana  (1),  Eedempta', 
Eestituta  (2),  Romula,  Susanna  (8),  Theo- 
dara,  Victoria  (1),  Withburga  (2). 

Romero,  Mary  (67). 

Romsey,  Christina  (7). 

Rosoy,  Elisabeth  (7). 

Roucy,  Ermengard  (1). 

Roussy,  Anna  (26). 

Russia,  Anna  (13),  (14),  (15),  Cleopatra  (2), 
Euphrasia  (11),  Euphrosyne  (7),  (9),  (12), 
Febronia  (4),  Juliana  (24),  (27),  (28), 
Martha  (18),  Mary  (44),  Olga,  Parasceve 
(5),  Praxedis  (3). 

Sabran,  Delphine. 

Salamanca,  Abbatissa. 

Salvio,  Margaret  (20). 

Salzburg,  Erentrude. 

Salzinne,  Imaine. 

Sanchez,  Theresa  (7). 

Sanfonerio,  Castora. 

Sanga,  Magdalene  (7). 

Sangerhausen,  Jutta  (5) 

Sardi,  Perpetua  (10). 

Savoy,   Adelaide  (5),  Amadea,    Louisa    (1), 

Margaret  (24). 

Scete,  Anastasia  (7),  Apollinaris  (2),  Sara  (4). 
Schlusselberg,  Anna  (20). 
Sciffo,  Agnes  (17),  Clara  (2). 
Scillita,  Januaria  (1). 
Scopelli,  Jane  (15). 

Scotland,    Brigid   (3),  (4),  (13),  Kennocha, 
Kennotha,  Kevoca,  Margaret  (6),  Matilda 
(7),  Maura  (7),  Mazota,  Medana,  Mouren, 
Muren,  Muriel,  Thennew,  Triduana,  Vey. 
Seefeldt,  Tudeca. 
Seignelay,  Anor. 

Servant,    Ancilla,    Armella,    Charitina    (1), 
Erotis,  Guntild  (2),  Julia  (29),  Marcella 
(1),  Margaret  (12),  Notburg  (4),  Eadiana, 
Theresa  (6),  Verena  (1),  Zita. 
Servia,  Angelina  (2),  (5). 
Servite,  Bartolommea,  Elisabeth  (20),  Flora 
(5),  Frances  (8),  Helen  (17),  Jane  (10), 
Juliana  (23). 

Seven  sons,  Felicitas  (1),  Salome  (1). 
Seville,  Anna  (24),  Justa  (2),  Eufina  (4). 
Shaftesbury,  Elgiva  (2). 
Sicily,  Agatha  (1),  Lucy  (8). 
Signe,  Delphine. 
Silesia,  Anna  (19),  Hedwip-  (3). 
Silleye,  Mary  (53). 
Silva,  Beatrice  (12). 


Simeon  Stylites  (SS.),  Martha  (12),  (13). 
Simon  de  Montford,  Aniicia. 
Slave,  Agathoclia,  Bathilde,  Blandina,  Brigid 
(2),  Dula,  Mary  (8),  Matrona  (2),  Matthia 
(1),  Maxima  (7),   Nino,   Potamioena  (2), 
Serapia,  Zoe  (1). 

Socos,  Mary  (47). 

Soderini,  Jane  (10). 

Soissons,  Ada. 

Sousa,  Violante  (1). 

Spain  (Some  Saints  of),  Abbatissa,  Agnes 
(28),  Alodia,  Anna  (28),  Artemia  (3),  Auria, 
Beatrice  (15),  (16),  Berengaria,  Blanche 
(1),  Candida  (13),  Casilda,  Catherine  (17), 
(19),  Columba  (11),  Constance  (4),  Digua 
(7),  Elisabeth (6),  Dominica(5),  Eulalia  (1), 
(2),  Florence  (5),  Geronima  (2),  Ilduarda, 
Jane  (4),  (12),  (17),  Justa  (2),  Leocadia, 
Lucretia  (1),(2),  Madruyna,  Margaret  (33), 
Mary  (39),  (41),  (42),  (47),  (48),  (49),  (52), 
(55),  (58),  (67),  (69),  Nunilo,  Pomposa, 
Potentiana,  Eufiua  (4),  Sancha  (2)  Theresa 
(1),  (3),  (4),  (5),  (7),  Tigridia  (2),  Xan- 
tippe. 

Spello,  Pacifica. 

Sperandeo,  Gennaia. 

Spesalasta,  Mary  (50). 

Spezzani,  Paula  (19). 

Spirinx,  Jane  (3). 

Spoleto,  Abundantia  (1),  (2),  Angelina  (4). 

Stanghi,  Louisa  (3). 

Stenkil,  Christina  (8). 

Stephen  Doushan,  Angelina  (2). 

Storioni,  Mary  (51). 

Stramshall,  Modwenna. 

Strasburg,  Attala. 

Strennesheim,  Guntild  (1). 

Stropeni,  Lucina  (5). 

Sullivan,  Louisa  (6). 

Sulmona,  Alexandrina,  Gemma  (4),  (5). 

Superior,  Antonia  (6),  Archangela  (2),  Juliana 
(23). 

Suppone,  Christina  (10). 

Susteren,  Benedicta  (13). 

Sweden,  Anna  (14),  Botild,  Brigid  (19),  (20), 
Catherine  (4),  Helen  (11),  (12),  Ingrid, 
Margaret  (7),  Matilda  (10),  Merita. 

Tabana,  Digna  (7),  Elisabeth  (6). 

Tart,  Elisabeth  (8). 

Tartar  Invasion,  Agatha  (6),  Anna  (19), 
Cunegund  (4),  Euphrosyne  (9),  Hedwig 
(3),  Jutta  (5),  Margaret  (15),  Salome  (5). 

Thebai'd,  Euphrasia  (8),  Isidore  (2),  Talida. 

Thessalonica,  Agape  (3),  Anysia  (1). 

Thomas  (St.),  Migdonia,  Pelagia  (1). 


[NDEX 


335 


Thora,  Benedicta  (15),  Herswind. 

Timia,  Athanasia  (3). 

Tolomei,  Nera. 

Toraas,  Catherine  (15). 

Torelli,  Louisa  (3). 

Torenne,  Benedicta  (15). 

Torres,  Dominica  (5). 

Toschel,  Anna  (25). 

Toussaint  de  Volvire,  Anna  (29). 

Trebnitz,  Adelaide  (9),  Gertrude  (10). 

Trentham,  Wereburga  (1). 

Treves,   Irmina,   Helia,  Lucy  (10),  Modesta 

(3). 

Trocazani,  Columba  (16). 
Troclar,  Sigolena. 
Troyes,  Julia  (21),  Sabina  (2),  Syra  (1). 

Ubaldini,  Clara  (3),  Lucy  14. 
Utrecht,  Bertha  (9). 

Val  de  Grace,  Margaret  (34), 
Valentini,  Helen  (18). 
Vallombrosa,  Bertha  (0),  Humility. 
Vandals,  Julia  (27). 
Varani,  Baptista,  Elisabeth  (21). 
Vasquez,  Jane  (17). 
Vaz,  Mary  (68). 
Vengeance,  Clotilda  (1),  Olga. 
Venice,  Anna  (16),  Juliana  (22),  Mary  (51). 
Vernon,  Rosamond  (1). 
Vidalta,  Franca. 
Vidaura,  Theresa  (4). 
Vigri,  Catherine  (9). 
Vieira,  Senorina. 
Villeneuve,  Rosseline. 
Vincent  de  Paul  (St.),  Louisa  (5),  (6). 
Vincent  Ferrer  (St.),   Agnes  (27),  Colette, 
Frances  (7). 


Visconti,  Christina  (13),  Clara  (3). 
Vladimir  I.  (St.),  Anna  (13),  (14),  Olga. 
Vladimir  II.  (St.),  Anna  (14),  (15). 
Volvire,  Anna  (29). 

Wales,  Almheda,  Anna  (9),  Canna,  Gwendo 
line,  Keyna,  Maches,  Madruu,  Melangell, 
Morwenna,  Nonna  (8),  Tegiwg,  Wenn, 
Winifred. 

Wans,  Elisabeth  (13). 

Warner,  Clara  (12). 

Weaver,  Potentiana  (2). 

Weedon,  Wereburga  (1). 

Weenan,  Yoland  (3). 

Wenlock,  Milburga. 

Wert,  Bessela. 

Whitby,  Hilda. 

Willich,  Adelaide  (4). 

Wilton,  Edith  (6),  Wulfrida. 

Wimborne,  Cuthburga,  Tetta  (2). 

Wippra,  Matilda  (11). 

Writer,  Angela  (2),  Catherine  (3),  (4),  (9), 
(12),  Elisabeth  (9),  Gertrude  (13),  Hilde- 
gard  (3),  Matilda  (9),  (12),  Mary  (69), 
Kadegund  (1),  Roswitha,  Silvia  (1), 
Theresa  (7). 

Xira,  Constance  (6). 

Yaroslav  the  Great,  Anna  (13),  (14),  Mar- 
garet  (6). 

Zaydia,  Theresa  (4). 
Zoppi,  Eusebia  (3). 
Zutphen,  Irmgard  (2). 
Zwifalt,  Alberada. 


THE    END 


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