Patricia of Naples

Saint Patricia, also called Patricia of Constantinople, was born into a noble family—tradition even links her to the imperial line—sometime in the early centuries of Christian Byzantium. Desiring to belong wholly to Christ, she sought to escape an arranged marriage said to have been planned by Emperor Constans II. She traveled to Rome, where Pope Liberius received her among the consecrated virgins and clothed her with the veil. After her father’s death, Patricia returned to Constantinople. Renouncing any claim to worldly honor, she gave her wealth to the poor and set her heart on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Yet God led her by another path: a violent storm drove her ship to the shores of Naples. She found shelter on the small island of Megarides, near today’s Castel dell’Ovo, and there she soon died, worn down by illness. Venerated as a virgin saint, Patricia is cherished as a patron of Naples, where her relics and a revered vial of her blood are kept. Her feast day is August 25.