St. Sabina of Rome

St. Sabina of Rome was, according to her traditional acts, a noble Roman widow of the late first or early second century who was converted to Christ through the example and teaching of her devout servant Serapia, a young Christian woman of Syrian origin. When Serapia was arrested and martyred for the faith during persecution, Sabina reverently buried her body and openly professed the Christianity she had embraced.

For this she too was denounced and put to death for the faith, and was buried near her servant. However uncertain the details of her legend, her cult was ancient and prominent in Rome: the great basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill, built in the fifth century over what was held to be her house, preserves her name and remains one of the finest early Christian churches in the city — the station church where the pope traditionally begins Lent on Ash Wednesday.