Engratia

Engratia
Saint Engratia

The flagellation of Saint Engratia. Bartolomé Bermejo, 1474-1478.
Martyr
Born Braga, Portugal
Died ~303 AD
Zaragoza, Spain
Honored in Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Catholic Church
Major shrine Zaragoza
Feast April 16
Attributes palm, depicted as a richly-dressed girl

Saint Engratia (Spanish: Santa Engracia, Engrácia) is venerated as a virgin martyr and saint. Tradition states that she was martyred with eighteen companions in 303 AD. She should not be confused with the 8th century Spanish martyr of the same name.

Contents

Legend

Engratia was a native of Braga who had been promised in marriage to a nobleman of Roussillon. He sent as her escort to Gaul her uncle Lupercius (sometimes identified with the Luperculus who was a bishop of Eauze[1]) and a suite of sixteen noblemen and a servant named Julie or Julia.[2]

Upon reaching Zaragoza, they learned of the persecution of Christians there by the governor Dacian, who reigned in the time of the emperors of Diocletian and Maximian. She attempted to dissuade him from his persecution, but was whipped and imprisoned when it was discovered that she was a Christian. She died of her wounds. Her companions were decapitated.

Martyrs of Zaragoza

Many others, called the Martyrs of Zaragoza, were martyred at the same time.[2] Also called the Countless Martyrs of Zaragoza,[2] their number includes, besides Engratia, Lupercius and Julia:

  • Caius, Crescentius, Successus, Martial, Urban, Quintilian, Publius, Fronto, Felix, Cecilian, Evodius, Primitivus, Apodemius, and four men all sharing the name Saturninus.[3]

Veneration

Saint Engratia, Bartolomé Bermejo.

Prudentius, a native of Zaragoza, wrote a hymn in honor of these martyrs, and lists their names, and describes the terrible tortures suffered by Encratis (Engratia).[3] Engratia was certainly the most venerated of the group, and her cult was diffused throughout Spain and the Pyrenees.

During a synod held at Zaragoza in 592, the church dedicated to her there was reconsecrated, an act celebrated on November 3, which sometimes served as an alternate feast day.[3]

The Church of Santa Engrácia in Lisbon is dedicated to her.

The Church of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza was built on the spot where Engratia and her companions were said to have been martyred. It was destroyed in the Spanish War of Independence, with only the crypt and the doorway being left. It was rebuilt in the late 19th or early 20th century, and served as a parish church.[4]

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Engratia, S. — S. Engratia, V. M. (16. April). S. oben S. Encratis …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zaragoza — Location of the Archdiocese of Zaragoza …   Wikipedia

  • Saint Fructus — Infobox Saint name= Saint Fructus birth date= 642 (Fructus) death date=715 AD feast day= 25 October venerated in= Roman Catholic Church; Western Rite Orthodoxy imagesize= 250px caption= birth place= Segovia death place= titles= beatified date=… …   Wikipedia

  • Saragossa — • Diocese in Spain Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Saragossa     Saragossa     † Cathol …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Marcellus of Tangier — Saint Marcellus of Tangier Icon of Saint Marcellus located in the Russian Orthodox Church of the Resurrection, Rabat Martyr Born c. mid 3rd century AD …   Wikipedia

  • Luperculus — Infobox Saint name= Saint Luperculus birth date= death date=3rd century feast day= March 1; March 5 (Tarbes); June 28 venerated in= Roman Catholic Church imagesize= 250px caption= birth place= death place=Zaragoza or Eauze titles= Bishop and… …   Wikipedia

  • Church of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza — Basilica church of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza The Church of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza is a basilica church in Zaragoza, Spain. It was built on the spot where Saint Engratia and her companions were said to have been martyred in 303 AD. It was… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Christian martyrs — Since its earliest decades, Christianity has glorified martyrdom. Apostolic Age 1st century *Saint Stephen, Protomartyr, was stoned c. 34 A.D. *James the Great (Son of Zebedee) was beheaded in 44 A.D. *Philip the Apostle was crucified in 54 A.D.… …   Wikipedia

  • Dacien — Dacien, en latin Dacianus, en espagnol Daciano, en catalan Dacià, est un proconsul romain, représentant dans la péninsule Ibérique et en Aquitaine les empereurs Dioclétien et Maximien, au début du IVe siècle. Son existence réelle est peu ou… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Encratis, S. — S. Encratis (Eucratides, Engratia), V. M. (16. al. 18., 20. April). Die hl. Jungfrau Encratis erhielt die Martyrerkrone mit 18 Gefährten, unter denen ein gewisser Lupercus ihr Blutsverwandter gewesen seyn soll, und zwar zu Saragossa… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”