St. Veronica

St. Veronica is honored in Christian devotion as the compassionate woman who, according to a pious and beloved tradition, stepped forward from the crowd as Jesus carried His cross toward Calvary and wiped the sweat and blood from His face with her veil, upon which the image of His countenance was miraculously imprinted. This tender act is remembered in the Sixth Station of the Cross.

Her story is not found in the Gospels and belongs to later tradition; the name Veronica itself is often understood as arising from the words vera icon, meaning "true image," the name given to the veil bearing Christ's likeness. Some early accounts identified her with the woman healed of a hemorrhage by touching the Lord's garment. While the Church does not vouch for the historical details, it treasures Veronica as a model of loving devotion to the suffering Christ, and her memory is kept on 12 July.