Christina of Bolsena, also known as Christine, or in the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
as Christina the Great Martyr, is venerated as a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
of the third century. Archaeological excavations of an underground cemetery constructed over her tomb have shown that she was venerated at Bolsena by the fourth century.
Life
The existence of Christina herself is poorly attested. Some versions of her legend place her in
Tyre (
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
), while other evidence points to
Bolsena, an ancient town in central Italy near an
Etruscan settlement called ''Volsinium.'' There were found some
catacombs
Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
Etymology and history
The first place to be referred ...
in which were the remains of an early Christian church and the tomb of a female martyr. Inscriptions at the site confirmed the martyr had a name like "Christina", and that the local community was already venerating her as a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...
by the end of the fourth century. Some corroborating evidence is also provided by a sixth-century mosaic in the
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is a basilica church in Ravenna, Italy. It was erected by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel during the first quarter of the 6th century (as attested to in the ''Liber Pontificalis ...
in
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...
, which includes a
procession
A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner.
History
Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
of virgins, one of which is a saint named Christina wearing a
martyr's crown.
[Reames, Sherry L. ed.]
"Christina of Bolsena: Introduction", ''Middle English Legends of Women Saints''
Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, 2003
Traditional accounts
Christina is an early virgin Christian martyr. By the ninth century, an account of her martyrdom was composed, which developed many variants. According to these, she was born either in
Tyre (Eastern stories) or in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
(Western stories) during the third century or fifth century.
She was born into a rich family, and her father was governor of Tyre. By the age of 11, the girl was exceptionally beautiful, and many wanted to marry her. Christina's father, however, envisioned that his daughter should become a pagan priestess. To this end, he placed her in a special dwelling where he had set up many gold and silver
idols, and he commanded his daughter to burn incense before them. Two servants also attended Christina.
According to some accounts, Christina was once visited by an angel, who instructed her in the Christian religion. The angel then called her a bride of Christ and told her about her future suffering. Christina then smashed all the idols in her room and threw the pieces out the window. On visiting his daughter, Christina's father, Urbanus, asked her where all the idols had disappeared. Christina was silent, but upon summoning the two servants, Urbanus learned the truth from them.
[
Urbanus had his daughter tortured because of her faith, but God thwarted his efforts. The nature of her torture varies with each source, and can include iron hooks, grilling by fire, placement in a furnace, torture on the wheel, assault by snakes, assailment by arrows, and other assorted methods, all of which she survives. After her father's death, his successor Dion continued to torture her. Christina is eventually beheaded.
]
Veneration
The entry for her in the 2004 ''Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approve ...
'' is very brief: "At Bolsena in Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
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, Saint Christina, Virgin and Martyr". She was once included in the General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These cel ...
; the older Tridentine Calendar gave her a commemoration
Commemoration may refer to:
*Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion
*Commemoration (liturgy)
In the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, a commemoration is the recital, within the Li ...
within the Mass of the Vigil
A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' ( Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become gener ...
of Saint James the Great
James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...
. When Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
suppressed this vigil as part of his 1955 reforms, celebration of Saint Christina became a "simple" and by 1960, a "commemoration". The 1969 revision omitted her from that calendar, "because nothing is known of this virgin and martyr apart from her name and her burial at Bolsena", but not from the Martyrology, the official list of recognized saints.
According to the present rubrics of the Roman Missal
The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...
, Saint Christina may be celebrated with a "memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...
" everywhere on her feast day, unless in some locality a different, obligatory celebration is assigned to that day.
Relics
Toffia in the Province of Rieti displays her relics in a transparent urn. Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...
, of which Christina is one of four patron saints
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person.
I ...
, also claims to enshrine her relics at the Church of Santa Cristina Gela, an Arbëresh village 20 kilometres south of the city.
Eastern tradition connects Christina with Tyre, Lebanon
Tyre (; ar, صور, translit=Ṣūr; phn, 𐤑𐤓, translit=Ṣūr, Greek language, Greek ''Tyros'', Τύρος) is a city in Lebanon, one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, t ...
, but this may be due to confusion with the name of a different locality near Bolsena.
Contrary to local belief, Saint Christina of Bolsena is not the individual whose relics are enshrined in the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...
.
Miracle of Bolsena
A second legend is connected to Christina. The Eucharistic miracle, depicted in Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...
's '' The Mass at Bolsena'', is often considered to be the catalyst for the Feast of Corpus Christi. In the Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
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region in 1263, a priest named Peter from Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
harboured doubts on the Real Presence
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way.
There are a number of Christian denomin ...
of Christ in the Host during Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...
via transubstantiation
Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις '' metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of ...
. During his pilgrimage towards Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
he prayed to be relieved of his questions. Peter said Mass at the Basilica of Santa Cristina in Bolsena: as he repeated the Words of Institution
The Words of Institution (also called the Words of Consecration) are words echoing those of Jesus himself at his Last Supper that, when consecrating bread and wine, Christian Eucharistic liturgies include in a narrative of that event. Eucharist ...
, the Host dripped the Precious Blood on his hands, and spilling onto the corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...
beneath."Poetry, painting and procession"
, Zenit, June 23, 2011
References
*
External links
Catholic Online-Saints & Angels: ''St Christina''*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christina
3rd-century deaths
Sicilian saints
3rd-century Romans
3rd-century Christian saints
Italian saints
Christian child saints
Year of birth unknown
Angelic visionaries
Ante-Nicene Christian female saints