Justina of Padua ( it, Santa Giustina di Padova) is a Christian saint and a patroness of Padua. Her feast day is October 7. She is often confused with Justina of Antioch. She was devoted to religion from her earliest years and took the vow of perpetual virginity. When she was brought before Maximian the prefect, she remained firm against all attacks. The prefect caused her to be slain with the sword.

Hagiography

St. Justina of Padua (October 7) was a virgin of noble birth in the city which claims her patronage. Born in Padua about the middle of the first century, her father Vitalian was a rich nobleman and prefect of Padua. Her parents were converted to Christianity by the preaching of Saint Prosdocimo, and not having been blessed with children up to that time, they received Justina in answer to their prayer.Allen Banks Hinds, M.A. “Saint Justina of Padua”. ''A Garner of Saints'', 1900. CatholicSaints.Info. 20 April 2017
/ref> She was devoted to religion from her earliest years and ultimately she took the vow of perpetual virginity. At this time arose the persecutions of the Christians by

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

, and Maximian the prefect who had succeeded Vitalian, proved himself particularly brutal. As Justina would visit the prisons to comfort and encourage the Christians there, Maximian ordered her arrest. While she was passing by the Pont Marin near Padua she was seized by the soldiers. When she was brought before Maximian he was struck by her beauty and endeavoured by every means to shake her constancy. However, she remained firm against all attacks and the prefect caused her to be slain with the sword.

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

texts describe her as a disciple of

Saint Peter the Apostle ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupati ...

since Saint Prosdocimus, the first bishop of Padua, is said to have been Justina's teacher; his hagiography states that he was sent from

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

by Peter. This however is chronologically impossible as Justina being a young woman in 304 AD could not have known Prosdocimus as he died in approximately 100 AD.

Veneration

St. Justina is a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. After St. Mark, she is also a second patroness of Venice.Butler, Alban. "St. Justina of Padua, Virgin and Martyr", ''The Lives of the Saints''. vol.X, 1866
/ref> Her feast day is October 7 and coincided with the end of the grape harvest and the time for settling agricultural contracts. In the 6th century the Paduans dedicated a church to her and she was among the virgin martyrs portrayed in the presbytery arch in the Euphrasian Basilica (at left) and in the procession of virgins in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. In the 7th century, Venantius Fortunatus, writing in Gaul, urged travellers to Padua to visit her relics there. The

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

and

Abbey of Santa Giustina The Abbey of Santa Giustina is a 10th-century Benedictine abbey complex located in front of the Prato della Valle in central Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. Adjacent to the former monastery is the basilica church of Santa Giustina, initially built ...

house the ''Martyrdom of St. Justine'' by Paolo Veronese. The Abbey complex was founded in the 5th century on Justine's tomb, and in the 15th century became one of the most important monasteries in the area, until it was suppressed by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in 1810. In 1919 it was reopened. The tombs of several saints are housed in the interior, including those of Justina, Prosdocimus, St. Maximus, St. Urius, St. Felicitas, St. Julian, as well as relics of the Apostle St. Matthias and the Evangelist St. Luke.

Iconography

Justina is represented in Christian Art crowned as a princess, and with a sword transfixing her bosom, in accordance with her martyrdom, AD. 303.Wagner, Leopold. "Patron Saints and Their Attributes", ''Manners, Customs, and Observances'', London, William Heineman, 1894
/ref>

Gallery

File:Abbazia di Santa Giustina.jpg, Basilica of Saint Justina,

File:Andrea Mantegna 016.jpg, Justina of Padua by Mantegna File:Moretto da Brescia 001b.jpg, ''Saint Justina with the

Unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

'', circa 1530, by

Moretto da Brescia Alessandro Bonvicino (also Buonvicino) (possibly 22 December 1554), more commonly known as Moretto, or in Italian Il Moretto da Brescia (the Moor of Brescia), was an Italian Renaissance painter from Brescia, where he also mostly worked. His ...

File:Martyrdomofjustine.jpg, Paolo Veronese, ''

The Martyrdom of Saint Justina ''The Martyrdom of Saint Justina'' is a c.1570–1575 oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian painter Paolo Veronese with assistance from his younger brother, originally produced for Santa Giustina Basilica in Padua and now in the Uffizi in Floren ...

References

{{Authority control 304 deaths 3rd-century births Late Ancient Christian female saints 4th-century Christian saints 4th-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown 3rd-century Roman women 4th-century Roman women

Hagiography

Veneration

Iconography

Gallery

See also

References