Galla of Rome was a 6th-century

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

known for her generosity. She is considered a saint in the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

es.

Life

Galla was the daughter of

patrician Symmachus the Younger, who was appointed consul in 485. Galla was also the

sister-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling or the sibling of one’s spouse. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred to as a brother-in-law for a male sibling-in-law and a sister-in-law for a female sibling-in-law. Sibling-in-law al ...

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known simply as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480–524 AD), was a Roman Roman Senate, senator, Roman consul, consul, ''magister officiorum'', polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middl ...

. Her father, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, was condemned to death, unjustly, by

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name w ...

in 525. Galla had been married at a relatively young age, but was soon widowed, just over a year after her marriage. Being wealthy, she decided to retreat to the

Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; ; ) is a hill in Rome, located on the right bank (west side) of Tiber river, opposite to the traditional seven hills of Rome. The hill also gave the name to Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology ...

, and founded a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

and a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

near

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

. Galla is reputed to have once healed a deaf and mute girl, by blessing some water, and giving it to the girl to drink. Galla remained there for the rest of her life, tending to the sick and poor, before dying in 550. Chiesa ed Ospizio di S

According to tradition, in 524 in the portico of the house of Santa Galla, an icon of the Mother of God appeared in the pantry where the saint kept the food for the poor. An oratory, Santa Maria in Portico, was built on the site to house the icon, which was said to be carried in processions since 590 to avert the plague.Schofield, Nicholas. "Santa Maria in Campitelli: an old Roman church with strong British connections", Venerable English College, Rome, 26 February 2020
/ref> The Hospice of St. Galla, an overnight shelter for paupers, was established next door by

Pope Celestine III Pope Celestine III (; c. 1105 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, including Emperor ...

. When the icon was transferred to the newly built

Santa Maria in Campitelli Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico (''Santa Maria in Portico di Campitelli'') is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the narrow Piazza di Campitelli in Rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy. The church is served by the Clerics R ...

, Santa Maria in Portico began to be called Santa Galla Antiqua in honor of its foundress.

Legacy

Galla's biography is in the

Dialogues Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is ch ...

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

.Mershman, Francis. "St. Galla." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 19 November 2022 Galla is also believed to be the inspiration for the letter of

Fulgentius of Ruspe Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, also known as Fulgentius of Ruspe (462 or 467 – 1 January 527 or 533), was a North African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe in what is now Tunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He is vene ...

, titled . The new church dedicated to Galla, located in the Ostiense quarter, was consecrated in 1940. Galla is one of the 140 saints whose images adorn St. Peter's Square's colonnade.Schofield, Nicholas. "Santa Maria in Campitelli: an old Roman church with strong British connections", Venerable English College, Rome, 26 February 2020
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galla Of Rome 550 deaths Italian Roman Catholic saints 6th-century Roman women 6th-century Italo-Roman people 6th-century Italian women 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown Aurelii