Saint Venera

Saint Venera, also known as Veneranda or Venerina, was born in Gaul in the second century, a Christian virgin formed from youth by love of the Gospel and the witness of the martyrs. After the death of her parents, tradition says she gave herself to the poor and the sick, and set out as a missionary, preaching across Sicily and southern Italy. In Grotte she lived simply in a cave and cared tenderly for the suffering; popular devotion remembers that her visits left behind the fragrance of roses. Her zeal drew persecution. Legends recount her arrest on the way to Rome and cruel torments under imperial officials during the reign of Antoninus Pius—trials by fire and boiling oil from which she emerged unharmed, leading even some of her persecutors to conversion. At last she sealed her faith with martyrdom by beheading, and her body was honored among the early Christian dead in Rome’s catacombs. Saint Venera is venerated especially in Sicily and is patroness of Santa Venerina. Her feast day is July 26.