Susanna of Rome
Roman virgin martyred in the third century, held by tradition to be a niece of Pope Caius who died for refusing an imperial marriage.
- Antiquity
- Italy
- Feast day August 11
- Martyr
- Virgin
Susanna of Rome has been venerated as virgin and martyr since Christian antiquity. A late passion account makes her the daughter of the priest Gabinius and niece of Pope Caius, and says she refused to marry a kinsman of the emperor Diocletian in order to remain consecrated to Christ, and was beheaded in her father's house around 295. Historians regard the narrative as largely legendary, apparently built to account for the nearby titulus on the Quirinal, the church of Santa Susanna, whose cult is attested from the fifth century. What is certain is the antiquity of her veneration in Rome. Her feast falls on 11 August.
Patronage
Recognising
Shown as a young woman bearing the martyr's palm and sometimes a sword, the instrument of her beheading.
Sayings for the day — August 11
- A la Sainte-Suzanne, Veau bien venu qui tête.
Other depictions
