Saint Saint Ursula

Ursula (Latin for 'little she-bear') was a Romano-British virgin and martyr possibly of royal origin. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. Her feast day in the pre-1970 General Roman Calendar and in some regional calendars of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite is 21 October. There is little information about Ursula or the anonymous group of holy virgins who accompanied her and, on an uncertain date, were killed along with her at Colonia Agrippina. They remain in the Roman Martyrology, although their commemoration does not appear in the simplified General Roman Calendar of the 1970 Missale Romanum. The earliest evidence of a cult of martyred virgins at Cologne is an inscription from c. 400 in the Church of St Ursula, on Ursulaplatz in Cologne. This inscription commonly referred to as the Clematius Inscription states that the ancient basilica had been restored by senator Clemantius on the site where the holy virgins were killed. The earliest source to name one of these virgins as "Ursula" dates from the 10th century. Her legendary fame comes from a medieval story with many variations. In it, Ursula was a princess who had already promised herself to Christ. However her father, the semi-legendary King Dionotus of Dumnonia in south-west Britain in the late 4th century, demanded that she marry the pagan governor Conan Meriadoc of Armorica. Ursula could not refuse but managed to delay the wedding by three years. During those three years Ursula took part in a pan-European pilgrimage, accompanied by 10 virgins, who in turn would eventually be accompanied by 1,000 virgins each. She headed for Rome with her followers and persuaded the Pope, Cyriacus (unknown in the pontifical records, though from late AD 384 there was a Pope Siricius), and Sulpicius, bishop of Ravenna, to join them. After setting out for Cologne, which was being besieged by Huns, all the virgins were beheaded in a massacre.