| Saint Munditia | |
|---|---|
Relics of Munditia in St. Peter’s Church (Old Peter, Alter Peter), Munich. |
|
| Died | ~310 AD? Rome? |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Major shrine | St. Peter’s Church, Munich |
| Feast | 17 November[1] |
| Patronage | single, unmarried women[1] |
Saint Munditia (Mundita) is venerated as a Christian martyr. Her relics are found in a side altar at St. Peter's Church (known as “Old Peter,” Alter Peter) in Munich. They consist of a gilt-covered and gem-studded skeleton, located in a glass case, with false eyes in her skull, which is wrapped in netting. Jewels cover the mouth of the relic’s rotten teeth.[2]
Her relics were translated to Munich from Rome in 1675 from the catacombs of Cyriaca. They were transferred to her Baroque Era-shrine was built on September 5, 1677.
The inscription on the reliquary reads:
DDM MUNDICIE PROTOGENIE BENEMERENTI QUAE VIXIT ANNOS LX QUAE IBIT IN PACE XV KAL D ZUM FROMMEN GEDENKEN AN MUNDITIA PROTOGENIA DIE WOHLVERDIENTE: SIE LEBTE 60 JAHRE UND GING EIN IN DEN FRIEDEN AM 15. TAG VOR DEN KALENDEN DES DEZEMBERS (17. NOVEMBER) – APC
— Anonymous, Inscription on reliquary, [1]
The meaning of “APC” is unclear. The Roman document of authenticity states that it means “ASCIA PLEXA CAPITA” (“beheaded with a hatchet”), describing the manner of her martyrdom.[1] APC may also refer to: "ANDRONICO PROBO CONSULIBUS”, referring to the fact that she was martyred during the consulate of Andronicus and Probus, thus making her date of death 310 AD.[1]
In 1804, her relics were concealed behind a wooden shrine, but this was removed in 1883, restoring interest in her cult. Her feast day is now celebrated annually with a High Mass and a procession with candles.[3]
Vahni Capildeo's poem, called "Saint Munditia", is found in her collection No Traveller Returns, in which she describes the saint as being "dug up from her burial / a millennium and a third since the flesh fell off her. / She’s back in church."[4]