Eulalia of Barcelona | |
|---|---|
 Bernat Martorell'sMartyrdom of Saint Eulalia, 1442–1445 (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya). | |
| Virgin andmartyr | |
| Born | c. 289 Barcelonum,Hispania Tarraconensis (modernBarcelona,Spain) |
| Died | 12 February 303 (aged 13) Barcelonum, Hispania Tarraconensis |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholicism Anglicanism Lutheranism Eastern Orthodoxy[1] |
| Canonized | 633 byPope Vitalian |
| Majorshrine | Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia,Barcelona |
| Feast | February 12 (August 22 and December 10 in the Orthodox Church) |
| Attributes | Saltire,stake,dove |
| Patronage | Barcelona, Spain;sailors; againstdrought[1] |
Eulalia (c. 289 – February 12, 303), co-patron saint ofBarcelona, was a 13-year-oldRoman Christianvirgin who wasmartyred in Barcelona during thepersecution of Christians in thereign of emperor Diocletian (theSequence of Saint Eulalia mentions his co-emperor the "pagan king"Maximian). There is some dispute as to whether she is the same person asEulalia of Mérida, whose story is similar.[2]
According to the Orthodox Church in America, Eulalia, age thirteen, was the daughter of a noble family that lived near the city of Barcelona. Amid the persecutions of Christians underRoman emperorsDiocletian andMaximian, governorDacian arrived in the city intending to carry out the persecutions. Sometime later, Eulalia left her home, entered the city, and publicly confronted the governor for the persecution of Christians. In response, Dacian ordered Eulalia to be stripped and tortured byflagellation, then having her subjected to various other tortures. Eulalia prayed that God would take her to Heaven, and died from her wounds.[3]
According to tradition, her tortures culminated in her crucifixion on an X-shaped cross, a so-calledsaltire, and she is depicted with this cross as the instrument of her martyrdom. However, it has been posited that she was instead publicly tortured to death on an X-frame and her body left on display, artistic depictions of which leading to the later belief that she was crucified.[4]
Her body was originally interred in the church of Santa Maria de les Arenes (St. Mary of the Sands; nowSanta Maria del Mar, St. Mary of the Sea). It was hidden in 713 during theMoorish invasion, and only recovered in 878. In 1339, it was relocated to analabastersarcophagus in thecrypt of the newly builtCathedral of Santa Eulalia.[5] The festival of Saint Eulalia is held in Barcelona for a week around herfeast day on February 12.[6]
Eulalia is commemorated with statues and street names throughout Barcelona.[7] For example, Eulalia is traditionally believed to have been placed in a barrel with shards of glass and rolled down the street namedBaixada de Santa Eulàlia ("Saint Eulalia's descent").[7]
