Saint Petronilla

Saint Petronilla, also known as Aurelia Petronilla, was born in Rome, likely into the Roman family of the Aurelii, though early Christian tradition long remembered her as the daughter of Saint Peter. Whether she was Peter’s child, a spiritual daughter, or a devoted disciple, the Church venerates her as a consecrated virgin whose life was marked by fidelity to Christ amid a pagan world. Ancient stories tell of Peter healing her and of her choosing purity and belonging to God over worldly marriage, even at great cost. Her tomb on the Via Ardeatina, near the martyrs Nereus and Achilleus, became a place of prayer from the earliest centuries, and by the fourth century she was honored at Rome as a martyr. Her relics were later translated to Saint Peter’s Basilica, where devotion to her spread widely, including a special bond with the French crown. Today she is invoked as patroness of Acciano, Assoro, Cabrera, Grottazzolina, and mountaineers. Her feast day is May 31.