Susanna | |
|---|---|
 Saint Susanna | |
| Virgin and martyr | |
| Died | 3rd century Rome |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church Oriental Orthodoxy |
| Major shrine | Santa Susanna in Rome |
| Feast | 11 August |
| Attributes | martyr's palm, sword, holding lilies |
Susanna of Rome (fl. 3rd century) was a Christian martyr of the Diocletianic Persecution. Her existing hagiography, written between about 450 and 500 AD, is of no historical value and the relations it attributes to Susanna are entirely fictitious.[1] It is probable that a real martyr named Susanna lies behind the literary invention.[2][3][4]
Her feast day is on 11 August in the Roman Martyrology, but since 1969 her veneration has been limited to the Church of Santa Susanna in Rome. She has no connection to Saint Tiburtius, who is commemorated on the same day.[2] The Church of Santa Susanna was originally that of Gaius, but by 595 it was named after Susanna, possibly because of the popularity of her hagiography.[1]
In addition to her main shrine in Rome, a church exists in Santiago de Compostela dedicated to her; it was first built in the early twelfth century after her relics were translated from Braga to Compostela by Diego Gelmírez according to the Historia Compostelana. Susanna is the co-patron of the city along with St. James.[5]
- ^ a b Michael Lapidge, The Roman Martyrs: Introduction, Translations, and Commentary (Oxford University Press, 2018), pp. 270–71.
- ^ a b Basil Watkins, The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary, 8th rev. ed. (Bloomsbury, 2016), p. 696.
- ^ According to Lapidge (n. 1), her hagiography is "an attempt to provide personalities for the names associated with a titulus-church".
- ^ According to David Hugh Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 5th rev. ed. (Oxford University Press, 2011), s.v. "Tiburtius and Susanna", her legend was written around an actual entry in a martyrology.
- ^ Jacobean Foundation, "Iglesias de Santiago: Santa Susana" https://www.fundacionjacobea.org/santiago-de-compostela/iglesias-de-santiago-santa-susana/ (in Spanish.