Saint Abundantia (died 804) was a
Christian saint. Her
feast day is 19 January.
Life
She was born at
Spoleto
Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.
History
Spolet ...
, and was educated by
Majolus of Cluny
Majolus of Cluny (Maieul, Mayeul, Mayeule) (c. 906 – May 11, 994) was the fourth Abbey of Cluny, abbot of Cluny. Majolus was very active in reforming individual communities of monks and canons; first, as a personal commission, requested and aut ...
. She later made a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
with her mother. She would go on to spend five years in the cave of
Onuphrius
Onuphrius ( el, Ὀνούφριος, Onouphrios; also ''Onoufrios'') lived as a hermit in the desert of Upper Egypt in the 4th or 5th centuries. He is venerated as Saint Onuphrius in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic churches, as Vene ...
in the desert of
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient E ...
.
She is said to have cultivated devotion in honor of
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
.
She returned to Spoleto, where she died in 804.
The story of her life has been challenged, and is considered by at least some as unreliable.
Notes and references
*
Holweck, F. G., ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.
Year of birth missing
804 deaths
8th-century Christian saints
People from Spoleto
Medieval Italian saints
Female saints of medieval Italy
8th-century Italian women
8th-century Italian people
{{Italy-saint-stub