Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/March 12

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Saint Fina (Seraphina, Serafina) (1238-1253) was a thirteenth century Italian saint.

She was born in San Gimignano as the child of parents, who had fallen in poverty. As far as possible she lived the life of a recluse at home, sewing indeed and spinning during the day and praying during the night.

She became ill with an incurable disease at the age of ten. Experiencing five years of enormous suffering, she nevertheless worked at making garments for the poor until paralysis forced her to stop. She then used a wooden board as her bed and increased her mortification of the flesh in order to be nearer to Christ. Her sufferings increased when rats attacked her as she lay alone on her board. She was unable to drive them off. Because of this, the rat has become one of her emblems.

Fina took a vow of chastity, but never became a nun. She lived at home under obedience to the Rule of Saint Benedict.

The house said to be where she lived and died still stands in the town.

It is said that after learning of the great sufferings that the seventh century Church Father Saint Gregory the Great had endured in his lifetime, Fina became devoted to him.

One day, Saint Gregory appeared to Fina and revealed to her that she would receive eternal rest on the day of his feast day, which fell on March 12 because he had died on that date in 604. Saint Fina thus died on March 12, 1253 and March 12 became her feast day as well.

She is said to have restored a choirboy's sight. After her death, her hand, a relic, also is said to have cured her nurse of a serious disease.
Attributes: Violets, rats, depicted with Saint Gregory the Great, or lying on her wooden board
Patronage: Handicapped people
Prayer: