Saint Serapia

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Saint Serapia
Martyr
Born	1st century, Rome
Died	c.119, Rome
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Feast	29 July and 3 September
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Serapia was the name of a Roman saint, a slave and martyr, also called Seraphia of Syria. She died in 119CE. She was the servant of Saint Sabina and was responsible for the Roman noblewoman’s conversion to Christianity. Both Sabina and Serapia were subsequently beheaded during the persecutions of Emperor Hadrian.

In the reign of Hadrian, she was handed over to two men, who tried to rape her, but she resisted. They then tried to set her on fire with torches, but could not do so. By command of the judge Derillus, she was beaten with rods and then beheaded by sword. Her body was buried by Sabina in Sabrina's own tomb, near the Vindician field, but the memory of her martyrdom is kept more especially on September 3, on which day their common tomb was finished, adorned and consecrated as a fitting place of prayer.^[1]

In art, Saint Serapia holds a tablet or book; sometimes she appears with Saint Sabina.

[edit] Notes

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.