Saint Regina (''Regnia'', french: Sainte Reine) (3rd century) was a

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

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 externa ...

and

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

of the pre-

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

Christian Church. Regina was born in Autun,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, to a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

named Clement. Her mother died at her birth and her father placed her with a Christian nurse who baptized her. Regina helped out by tending the sheep. She communed with God in prayer and meditated on the lives of the saints. At the age of fifteen, she was betrothed to the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Olybrius, but refused to renounce her faith to marry him, for which she was

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

d and was

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

at Alesia in the

diocese of Autun The Roman Catholic Diocese of Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Augustodunensis (–Cabillonensis–Matisconensis–Cluniacensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny)''), more simpl ...

,Butler Alban. "St. Regina, or Reine, Virgin and Martyr", ''The Lives of the Saints''. 1866
/ref> called Alise-Sainte-Reine after her. Her martyrdom is considered to have occurred either during the persecution of

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procla ...

, in 251, or under

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

in 286.

Veneration

Honored in many Martyrologies, Regina's feast is celebrated on 7 SeptemberMasters, Ed. "Saint Regina, Martyr", ''Regina Magazine''
/ref> or in the Archdiocese of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

on 20 June. In the past, a procession was held in her honor in the town of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

. However, her relics were transferred to Flavigny Abbey in 864. The history of the

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

of Regina was the subject of a 9th-century account. The village of Alise-Sainte-Reine commemorates the saint each August with a procession from Flavigny to Sainte-Reine followed by the presentation of a mystery play, the "Mystery of Sainte Reine". A tradition that dates back to 866, it has become a cultural event in the area.Semk, Christopher. ''Playing the Martyr: Theater and Theology in Early Modern France'', Bucknell University Press, 2017, p. 9
There are many places in France named Sainte-Reine after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regina 3rd-century deaths People from Autun 3rd-century Gallo-Roman people 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown Ante-Nicene Christian female saints Ancient torture victims 3rd-century Roman women People executed by decapitation Executed ancient Roman women Executed French women