ST ROSINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR - 11 MARCH

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH

Saints celebrated on the 11th of March

WELCOME!

SAINT ROSINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR

The sign at the Rosina Chapel,
text translated below¹

Saint Rosina (March 11), is listed as a "virgin and martyr" in an ancient handwritten calendar of saints, albeit without an original source being provided. Unless it was supported by an older martyrology of some authority, this calendar entry would be quite worthless to us. Further research led us to a certain list compiled according to Nadasius and Sautel (annus sacer), also handwritten, There, Saint Rosina is mentioned as just a "virgin" (rather than "virgin and martyr"). Upon seeking out the sources the latter list was supposed to be based upon, we discovered that she could not be found in Nadasius' work; whether she is mentioned by Sautel, we do not know, as his book was not available to us. We cannot confirm the assumption that the name is an abbreviation of Euphrosyna, partly because of the irregularity of this alleged abbreviation, and partly because the date of her veneration does not match. In yet another ancient handwritten manuscript treating holy virgins, which was available to us, Saint Rosina is mentioned with the addition: silvicola, i.e., forest dweller, crowned with martyrdom.

In the church of Wenglingen, part of the parish of Apfeltrang in the Diocese of Augsburg, Saint Rosina is venerated as a patron saint. However, no real additional information about her is known there either. The altarpiece merely indicates that the artist understood she was a martyr (palm tree) and beheaded (sword). The roses, alluding to her name, are also present. Since Rosina is a popular patron saint name at baptisms, the information compiled by us here, however meagre, may be of interest to some. By the way, she may be identical with Rosina (Martin III, 555). This saint, too, is of uncertain origin.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 5, Augsburg, 1882, p. 148)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

¹The translation of the text on the sign at the Rosina Chapel in Wenglingen:

As early as 1679, there was a chapel bearing the name "Rosina," originally built as a grotto. The current chapel was erected shortly after 1700. It is possibly the only rural church in the world dedicated to Saint Rosina. The identity of Saint Rosina, who may have lived around the year 1000, remains somewhat of a mystery.

Thus, Wenglingen is a village with its own patron saint!

Between 1900 and 1965, the chapel was lovingly renovated by the residents. The altarpiece depicts a female figure surrounded by celestial rays of light. In one hand, she holds a palm branch, and in the other, a basket of roses, with the martyr's sword at her feet.

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Rosina may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org