Feast day of St Christina of Bolsena

Any reader who has incurred the wrath of a father will relate to this saint, as will anyone who has been thrown into a furnace for five days, had their tongue cut out and been rescued by angels.


Christina lived in the 3rd century, probably at Rome and was martyred c.250. Her father, Urban (Urbanus), a devout pagan, had a number of golden idols. Oddly defying the Fifth Commandment, eleven-year-old Christina broke them, then distributed the pieces among the poor. Infuriated by this pre-adolescent petulance, father became the persecutor of his own daughter, having her beaten with sticks and thrown into a dungeon -- reasonable enough so far, I hear you say ...



Categories: christianity, saint, calendar-customs