Saint Christina of Bolsena

Saint Christina of Tyre, also known as Christine of Bolsena, or in the Eastern Orthodox Church as Christina the Great martyr, is venerated as a virgin martyr of the third century. Archaeological excavations of an underground cemetery constructed over her tomb have shown that she was venerated at Tyre by the fourth century. The existence of Christina is poorly attested. Some versions of her legend place her in Tyre (Phoenicia), while other evidence points to Bolsena, an ancient town in central Italy near an Etruscan settlement called Volsinium. There were found some catacombs in which were the remains of an early Christian church and the tomb of a female martyr. Inscriptions at the site confirmed the martyr had a name like "Christina", and that the local community was already venerating her as a saint by the end of the fourth century. Some corroborating evidence is also provided by a sixth-century mosaic in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, which includes a procession of virgins, one of which is a saint named Christina wearing a martyr's crown. Christina is an early virgin Christian martyr. By the ninth century, an account of her martyrdom was composed, which developed many variants. According to these, she was born either in Tyre (Eastern stories) or in Persia (Western stories) during the third century or fifth century. She was born into a rich family, and her father was governor of Tyre. By the age of 11, the girl was exceptionally beautiful, and many wanted to marry her. Christina's father, however, envisioned that his daughter should become a pagan priestess. To this end, he placed her in a special dwelling where he had set up many gold and silver idols, and he commanded his daughter to burn incense before them. Two servants also attended Christina. According to some accounts, Christina was once visited by an angel, who instructed her in the Christian religion.