Feast day: December 25
Saint Anastasia was a Roman of noble lineage. Her father was a pagan, but her mother, a Christian, had Saint Anastasia baptized as a baby and secretly raised in the Christian faith. Saint Anastasia married a man named Publius, who was a pagan. When Publius discovered that Saint Anastasia was a Christian, he began to treat her cruelly and gave others license to do the same.
After her husband’s death, Saint Anastasia dedicated her time and talent to acts of charity and mercy. She became a spiritual student of Saint Chrysogonus and often visited him in prison, where he was being held for his Christian faith. Under the persecutions of Diocletian, Saint Anastasia became a martyr by fire on Christmas Day.
She is one of only seven women, not including the Blessed Virgin Mary, who are commemorated by name in Eucharistic Prayer I of the Mass.
(Image in public domain-100)