St. Seraphia and St. Sabina

ST. SERAPHIA and ST. SABINA
{died 126 A.D.}

Seraphia was born in Antioch, of Christian parents. Adrian, the ruler at that time, was persecuting the Christians, so the parents took their little daughter, and fled to Italy.

The girl led a very holy life and loved to be with God. When her parents were dying, a lot of men came to ask her to marry them but Seraphia wanted to consecrate herself to God alone. She sold all her possessions and gave the money to the poor.

Finally, Seraphia sold herself into voluntary slavery and became the servant of a Roman lady, named Sabina. This lady was the widow of Valentinus and the daughter of Herod Metallarius. The young woman gave a good example to Sabina, by her prayerfulness, her love of work, and her charity. Seraphia soon gained the heart of her mistress and before long, Sabina became a Christian.

One day, somebody discovered that Seraphia was a Christian, and she was condemned to death. The young woman was placed on a pile of burning wood, but the flames would not hurt her. The Prefect Berillu almost gave up hope of killing the young woman, but in the end, he ordered that her head be cut off! Sabina took Seraphia's body and with much love and respect, buried it in a tomb. In the same year, Sabina was also martyred and buried in the same tomb.

In 430, St. Sabina's relics were brought to the Aventine, where a beautiful basilica was built in honour of St. Sabina and St. Seraphia. St. Seraphia's Feast Day is on September 3rd. St. Sabina's Feast Day is on August 29th.

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