Messalina of Foligno (; 235–249) was a 3rd-century Italian Christian

consecrated virgin In the Catholic Church, a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been consecrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity as a bride of Christ. Consecrated virgins are consecrated by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical ...

and martyr who was a disciple of

Felician of Foligno Felician(us) of Foligno () (c. 160 – c. 250) is the patron saint of Foligno. Biography According to Christian tradition, he was born in ''Forum Flaminii'' (present-day San Giovanni Profiamma), on the Via Flaminia, of a Christian family, around ...

. During the persecution of Christians by Emperor

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...

, she was clubbed to death after she refused to make a sacrifice to the

Roman gods The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts, integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin literature, Roman art, and relig ...

. She is venerated ad a saint in the

Catholic Church 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 ...

Biography

Messalina was a Christian woman living in

Foligno Foligno (; Central Italian, Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clit ...

in the third century. She was a disciple of Bishop

, from whom she received the veil upon taking vows of celibacy and chastity.Saint of the Day, January 24: ''Felician of Foligno & Messalina''
''SaintPatrickDC.org''. Retrieved 2012-03-08. She visited Felician in prison following his arrest during Emperor

's persecution of Christians. She was denounced as a Christian and, after she refused to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods, she was beaten to death on 23 January 249. Messalina is venerated as a saint in the

and

.January 19
. Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome. Her major shrine is at

Foligno Cathedral Foligno Cathedral () is a Catholic cathedral situated on the Piazza della Repubblica in the center of Foligno, Italy. The cathedral, built on the site of an earlier basilica, is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, the martyr Felician of Fol ...

References

{{authority control 235 births 249 deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Roman women Ancient Christian female saints Deaths by beating in Italy People from Foligno Virgin martyrs