Agathoclia

Saint Agathoclia
Roman Catholic Church
Feast	September 17
Patronage	Mequinenza, Aragon

Saint Agathoclia (Agathocleia;

is September 17.

Tradition states that she was a

owned by two people who had converted to paganism from Christianity, named Nicolas and Paulina. They subjected Agathoclia to regular physical abuse, including whipping and other violence, in an effort to get Agathoclia to renounce her faith. She repeatedly refused to do so.

Her owners then subjected her to a public trial by a local magistrate. There too, she refused to renounce Christianity, which subjected her to savage mangling from the authorities. When she was found guilty, her sentence included having her tongue cut out, a nonfatal injury.

There is some disagreement about how Agathoclia met her death. Some sources say that her mistress Paulina poured burning coals on her neck. Other sources say that she herself was cast into fire.

The town of Mequinenza celebrates festivals in honor of Santa Agatoclia (called simply “La Santa”) from September 16 to 20.^[1] There is also a confraternity in the town dedicated to the saint.^[2]

• List of enslaved people

• Mequinensa page
• Brotherhood of Saint Agatoclia page
• Catholic Forum page
• St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church Dallas Texas page on Agathocleia
• The Roman Martyrology for September 17
• Dominican Martyrology page on September feasts
• September 17 page of grousrv.com