Saint Petronilla

This great Apostle having crossed the seas and come to R ome Rome Birthplace of Maximian. to establish his see there, she also came, and she spent several years there in the exercises of a very Christian life, cooperating, moreover, with all her power, in the propagation of the Gospel and in the conversion of Roman ladies and maidens.

The letter of Saint Marcellus, son of Marcus, prefect of Rome, which is found in the Acts of Saint Nereus and Saint Achilleus, martyrs, reports that Petronilla having fallen into paralysis, her father, who by his touch and his word, and even by his shadow, performed many miracles, did not wish to heal her, because he knew that the illness, which purified her soul and exercised her patience, was more advantageous to her than health. A Christian, named Titus, made a respectful reproach to him ; Pete Pierre Apostle mentioned for the setting of the procession date. r replied that it was advantageous for his daughter to be paralyzed. However, to show that it was not out of powerlessness that he did not heal her, he commanded her to rise and serve the company: which she did; and, immediately after, she returned to bed and was ill as before. But when the illness had entirely purified her, God restored the use of her limbs and her former health, and even gave her a beauty so regular and accomplished that a Roman patrician, named Flaccus, became enamored with her . He fi Flaccus Roman patrician and persecutor. rst spoke of his passion to his friends; then, as it inflamed more and more, he came himself to find Petronilla, and revealed to her the ardent desire he had to marry her. The Saint, who had long ago consecrated her virginity to Jesus Christ, was careful not to give any consent to his proposal; but to skillfully rid herself of his pursuits, she did not show him her aversion, but only asked him for three days to deliberate on such an important matter. The patrician granted them to her. During this interval, Petronilla poured out her heart in the presence of God, and shed such an abundance of tears that she finally obtained from the heavenly Spouse the grace to leave this corrupt world, where the purity of virgins is never without danger, and to go and enjoy his divine embraces. Thus, on the third day, she had a holy priest, called Nicomedes, come to her house, who administered to her the adorable sacrament of the Eucharist; and, after she had received it, she fell asleep peacefully in Our Lord, without any effort other than that of her love, thus leaving Flaccus frustrated in his expectation. It was May 31, the day on which the Roman Church and several other Churches have always celebrated her feast. — Saint Petronilla had a friend or rather a servant, named Felicula, who survived her and died a martyr.

The body of this holy Virgin was buried on the Via Ardeatina, where there was once a cemetery and a church in her name: Pope Gregory III established a station there. Pope Pau l I, who lived t Le pape Paul Ier Pope who authorized the transfer of martyrs' relics to France. wenty-six years after Gregory, found this rich treasure and transported it to the Basilica of Saint Peter, where he basilique de Saint-Pierre Burial place of the saint in Rome. had it placed in a marble tomb with this inscription: Auree Petronilla dulcissima Filii, — to the very sweet golden virgin Petronilla. The various changes to this basilica have, since then, very often caused this precious treasure to be moved. Gregory XIII had it placed near the altar of the most holy Crucifix of the old temple; but, in the new church, a chapel was built in honor of Saint Petronilla, where the bones of her body were carried with great solemnity on January 15, 1606. As for her head, it was enclosed in a beautiful reliquary which is kept in the sacristy.

The nuns of La Villette, near Paris, possessed a portion of these holy remains: this is why they were called the nuns of Sainte-Perrine. The nuns of La Barre, near Château-Thierry, also possessed a considerable piece of her head, which was given to them by Queen Joan, wife of Philip the Fair, King reine Jeanne Queen of France, wife of Philip the Fair, who donated a relic. of France. Perhaps there were two Saint Petronillas, one of whom remained in Rome, and the other was brought to France: it is difficult to decide.

The attributes given by popular art to Saint Petronilla are: the broom, because she took care of household chores when her health permitted. — She is also represented receiving communion from the hands of Saint Peter. — Saint Petronilla is invoked against fevers, because she was constantly ill with them, and when one must travel in the mountains, because of the stones that can cause one to stumble on the path and the rocks by which one might be crushed.

All martyrologies speak of Saint Petronilla with honor, and some give her the status of daughter of Saint Peter. Father Giry, whose account we have preserved, takes this expression in the ordinary sense. But several authors see in Saint Petronilla only the spiritual daughter of Saint Peter. This is the opinion of the learned M. de Rossi: "I have found," he M. de Rossi Christian archaeologist whose work brought to light the contributions of Damasus in the catacombs. says, "the paten (gentilitium) name of this virgin; she was called Aurelia, and the surname of Petronilla was probably derived from Petro, aleni of the Flavius Augustus and the Domitilla."

Fr. Giry, supplemented by the Bollandists, Fr. Cahier (Characteristics of the Saints), and M. de Rossi (Bulletin of Christian Archaeology, 1874.)