Saint Melania the Younger

Melania the Younger (c. 383 – 31 December 439) is a Christian saint, Desert Mother, and ascetic who lived during the reign of Emperor Honorius, son of Theodosius I. She is the paternal granddaughter of Melania the Elder. The Feast of Melania the Younger is held on 31 December (the Julian calendar's 31 December falls on 13 January on the Gregorian calendar). Melania was the only child of the rich and powerful Valerius Publicola (son of Melania the Elder) and his wife Caeionia Albina, both Christians, of the senatorial Valeria gens family of ancient lineage which was the pride of Rome. Her paternal and maternal relatives had held the highest offices of state with great distinction during the whole of the century, and Melania could even boast of a long line of imperial blood, most recently through Valerius Romulus (r. 308-309). She was married to her paternal cousin, Valerius Pinianus, at the age of fourteen despite her protests. The 5th-century Melaniae Junioris Vita ("Life of Melania the Younger") says: Melania often pleaded for Pinianus to conform to asceticism so she could maintain her purity for the lord, but Pinianus desired to rather continue the family line. Melania's husband wanted two children, yet they both did not survive. These deaths took a toll on the married couple and encouraged the choice of asceticism. This was especially difficult due to Roman societal standards and the familial patrimony present in Melania and Piniasus's life. Knowing that Melania wanted to practice a celibate lifestyle, her father, near death, asked for forgiveness for pushing the unwanted marriage years prior. Once her father passed, She and her husband embraced Christian asceticism and maintained a celibate life thereafter. As the sole heiress to her father and paternal grandfather, she inherited their wealth and enormous estates on the death of Publicola after 7 years of marriage. Melania decided to leave the palace for one of her villas in Spring 404.