Bona of Pisa

Saint Bona of Pisa was born around 1156 in Pisa, in the parish of San Martino in Guazzolongo. Her mother, Berta, was Corsican, and her father, Bernardo, a Pisan merchant who left the family when Bona was only three, plunging them into hardship. From childhood she turned to God with unusual fervor, dedicating herself by age ten as a tertiary of the Augustinian tradition. At fourteen she began a life marked by pilgrimage and courageous charity, traveling toward the Holy Land in search of her crusader father. On her return she was seized by pirates, wounded, and imprisoned, then ransomed and brought home. Rather than retreat, Bona embraced the pilgrim’s road more deeply, guiding others to Santiago de Compostela, encouraging the weary, tending the sick, and calling her companions to prayer and penance. The Knights of Saint James later appointed her an official guide, and she completed the journey nine times, also visiting Rome and Monte Sant’Angelo. She is venerated as patron of Pisa and of travelers—especially pilgrims, couriers, and flight attendants. Her feast day is May 29.