Martyr Petronia

Just the other day I decided to do a thorough Google search on my patron saint, Marytr Petronia. There is very little information about her since she lived and died in the first century, as far as I can tell. I actually found three dates set aside for a St Petronia (Petronilla): Sept 29, May 31, and Oct 8. I don't know if there are three different St Petronia's or if the one is celebrated on different dates.

Interestingly, October 8 is Taisia's name day, our wedding day, and the name day of the priest who married us. I am, however, a little skeptical about this date because of the source where I found it.

In Rome St Petronilla (May 31) is very popular and her relics are even in St Peter's Basillica. There are several of legends attached to her, including that she is the "daughter" of Apostle Peter and that instead of dying a martyr she miraculously became deathly ill and died a virgin, thus avoiding unwanted marriage to a noble. Funny how the people prefer a romantic story to a martyr's crown.

As for September 29, I was able to find her listed on several Orthodox calendars and so I'm sure it is legit. I remembered that this date is around the time that I was baptized, about a week before our wedding (Oct 8). Out of curiosity I asked my mother in law to see if she could find the exact date on which I was baptized (b/c our dated photos are on a hard drive that died, and I didn't have a calendar to mark at that point). She found her day-timer for that year and wrote me back...I was baptized on September 29!

This is really exciting and affirming for me because although I have grown to love my name and have learned to pray to St Petronia, every so often a little doubt creeps in about the reality of her existence. Also, my original intent was to be named after Apostle Peter, so sometimes I wonder if I should consider him as my patron saint. Also, I have been baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church, and it is uncommon to pick a non-Russian name--and Petronia is about as uncommon as one can get (outside of Rome, apparently). So I've had all these little doubts, try as I have to squash them by trusting God's good will.

So yeah, having been unwittingly baptized on my name day makes it quite obvious that Martyr Petronia is praying for me and is meant to be my patron saint. Fits right in with the saying that the saints choose us. Glory to God!