Saints Justa and Rufina (Ruffina) ( es, Santa Justa y Santa Rufina) are venerated as

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

s. They are said to have been martyred at Hispalis (

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...

) during the 3rd century. Only St. Justa (sometimes "Justus" in early manuscripts) is mentioned in the '' Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (93), but in the historical martyrologies. Rufina is also mentioned, following the legendary ''Acts''.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Sts. Rufina." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 28 October 2021 The two saints are highly honored in the Mozarabic Liturgy.

Legend

Their legend states that they were sisters and natives of Seville who are said to have lived in the neighborhood of Triana. Justa was born in 268 AD, Rufina in 270 AD, of a poor but pious Christian family. They made fine

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a ce ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and po ...

for a living, with which they supported themselves and helped many of the city's poor. Like many other merchants, they sold their pottery from booths set up out of doors where people could see their wares. During a pagan festival, they refused to sell their wares for use in these celebrations. In anger, locals broke all of their dishes and pots. Justa and Rufina retaliated by smashing an image of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

. They were immediately arrested. The city's prefect, Diogenianus, ordered them to be imprisoned. Failing to convince them to renounce their faith, he had them tortured on the rack and with iron hooks. They were then forced to walk barefoot to the Sierra Morena; when this did not break their resolve, they were imprisoned without water or food. Justa died first. Her body, thrown into a well, was later recovered by the Bishop Sabinus. Diogenianus believed that the death of Justa would break the resolve of Rufina. Rufina refused to renounce her faith and was thus thrown to the lions. However the lions in the

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

refused to attack Rufina, remaining as docile as house cats. Infuriated, Diogenianus had Rufina's neck broken and her body burned. Her remains were recovered by Sabinus and buried alongside her sister.

Veneration

Their cult in Seville was ancient and strong, and soon spread elsewhere in Spain. La Seo Cathedral (

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tribut ...

) contains a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common typ ...

dedicated to Justa and Rufina. Agost, in

Valencia province Valencia ( ca-valencia, València) is a province of Spain, in the central part of the autonomous Valencian Community. Of the province's over 2.5 million people (2018), one-third live in the capital, Valencia, which is also the capital of the au ...

, is the location of a hermitage dedicated to these saints (''Ermita de Santa Justa y Rufina''), built in 1821.

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

also has a church dedicated to them. There is a shrine to the saints in

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

where a three-day fiesta is held in their honor in July.

Patronage

Justa and Rufina are the patron saints of the cities Seville and

Orihuela Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...

, where there is a parish Church of Saints Justa and Rufina built on the site of a Visigoth church that was later used as a mosque. They are also the patrons of potters. According to tradition, they are protectors of the Giralda and the Cathedral of Seville, and are said to have protected both during the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Feast day

Their feast day is 19 July. During the Middle Ages their feast was celebrated in the Iberian Peninsula on 17 July, as attested by calendars of the time, such as for example by that in the Antiphonary of León.

Iconography

They are often depicted as young women with their heads uncovered (indicating their status as unmarried), with clay pots, palms (representing martyrdom), and a lion licking Rufina's bare foot. As patrons of Seville, they are often pictured flanking the "Giralda".

In art

Justa and Rufina were a popular subject for Spanish artists. A 1540

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...

is the earliest known piece of artwork depicting these two saints. A painting of the saints was done by

Francisco Camilo Francisco Camilo (Madrid 1610–Madrid 1671) was a Spanish painter, the son of an Italian immigrant who had settled in Madrid. When his father died, his mother remarried, and Camilo became the stepson of the painter Pedro de las Cuevas.William ...

in 1644.

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

, Murillo, and Zurbarán also painted these saints. A 1989 painting is a modern interpretation of these saints. Image:Santas Justa y Rufina (Hernando de Valladares).jpg, Santas Justa y Rufina (Hernando de Valladares ( es).) Image:Santa Rufina.jpg, Saint Rufina, by

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of the ...

Image:Francisco de Zurbarán 049.jpg, Saint Rufina, by Zurbarán

References

External links

Altar of SS. Justa and Rufina in the Cathedral of Seville
{{authority control Ante-Nicene Christian female saints History of Seville Sibling duos Spanish potters 3rd-century Christian martyrs Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Saints from Hispania 268 births 270 births 287 deaths