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Saint Christina of Tyre

detail of the lithograph 'Saint James the Less and Saint Christina' by N J Strixner, 1829; part of the Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom; swiped from Wikimedia Commons Memorial

24 July

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Young girl imprisoned for her faith. Her mother tried to argue her into making the required pagan sacrifices, but Christina refused, and was executed. Martyr.

Due to the details of her martyrdom, listed below, she’s likely a pious fiction, but was highly honoured in Greece for centuries. Her story and that of Christina of Bolsena seem to have been confused and combined in rewrites through the ages.

Born

at Tyre

Died

a fire was lit under her, raged out of control, killed hundreds of pagan bystanders, but Christina escaped unscathed
her breasts were cut off, and then milk flowed from them
her tongue was cut out; she continued to preach, louder, and more clearly and eloquently than ever
she threw the severed tongue at the judge, who was permanently blinded in one eye
she was thrown into the sea to drown; there she was baptized by Jesus, then returned to land by Michael the Archangel
she was finally shot through the heart with an arrow, which did her in

Canonized