Eulalia of Barcelona

Infobox Saint
name=Saint Eulàlia of Barcelona
birth_date=ca. AD 290
death_date=ca. AD 303
feast_day=February 12 (August 22 in the Orthodox Church)
venerated_in=Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy

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imagesize=200px
caption=Tomb of Eulalia in the crypt of Barcelona Cathedral.
birth_place= Barcelona, Hispania (Spain)
death_place=Barcelona, Hispania
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canonized_date=633
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attributes=X-shaped cross, stake, and dove
patronage=Barcelona, Spain; sailors; against drought [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainte3s.htm]
major_shrine=Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, Barcelona
suppressed_date=
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Saint Eulàlia (Aulaire, Aulazia, Ollala, Eulària) (ca. 290-12 February 303), co-patron saint of Barcelona, was a thirteen-year-old Roman Christian virgin who suffered martyrdom in Barcelona during the persecution of Christians in the reign of emperor Diocletian. There is some dispute as to whether she is the same person as Saint Eulalia of Mérida, whose story is similar [cite book|title=Between exaltation and infamy: Female mystics in the Golden Age of Spain|first=Stephen|last=Haliczer|pages=236|id=ISBN 0-19-514863-0|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002] .

For refusing to recant her Christianity, the Romans subjected her to thirteen tortures; including:
*Putting her into a barrel with knives (or glass) stuck into it and rolling it down a street (according to tradition, the one now called "Baixada de Santa Eulalia" "Saint Eulalia's descent")cite book|title=Barcelonas|first=Manuel|last=Vázquez Montalbán|year=1992|id=ISBN 0-86091-353-8|publisher=Verso|location=London|pages=42] .
*Cutting off her breasts
*Crucifixion on an X-shaped cross. She is depicted with this cross, the instrument of her martyrdom.
*Finally, decapitation.

A dove flew from her neck after decapitation. This is one point of similarity with the story of Eulalia of Mérida, in which a dove flew from the girl's mouth at the moment of her death. In addition, Eulalia of Mérida's tortures are sometimes enumerated among the Barcelona martyr's, and the two were similar in age and year of death.

Eulalia is commemorated with statues and street names throughout Barcelona. Her body was originally interred in the church of Santa Maria de les Arenes (St. Mary of the Sands; now Santa María del Mar, St. Mary of the Sea). It was hidden in 713 during the Moorish invasion, and only recovered in 878. In 1339, it was relocated to an alabaster sarcophagus in the crypt of the newly-built Cathedral of Santa Eulalia [ [http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/europe/spain/barcelona/sight_details.html?vid=1083747037463 Santa Maria del Mar] from New York Times travel guide.] . The festival of Saint Eulalia is held in Barcelona for a week around her feast day on February 12 [ [http://www.bcn.es/cultura/santaeulalia/ Festes de Santa Eulàlia] from Barcelona municipal website ca icon] .

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05603a.htm St. Eulalia of Barcelona] from the Catholic Encyclopedia
* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainte3s.htm EULALIA of Barcelona] from catholic-forum.com
* [http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0212.htm#eula Saints of February 12: Eulalia of Barcelona]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8008800 Eulalia of Barcelona] at Find-A-Grave

References