Saint Mariña of Aguas Santas, the Saint Tradition Says Was Born in Xinzo

Saint Mariña of Aguas Santas is the saint whom tradition has born in the town of Xinzo de Limia, and the town’s patron saint. Her figure is traditional, not historical in the strict sense, and the Diccionario Biográfico of the Real Academia de la Historia records the story as it is told ^[1].

The traditional story

According to this version, Mariña was born in AD 123 in Xinzo, at a place near the Lagoa de Antela called Antioquía, when A Limia was highly Romanised (Forum Limicorum) and the Via Nova XVIII, from Bracara to Astorga, passed through it. Her father, Theudio or Theodulus, was a powerful man; her mother died in childbirth. She was raised by a farm woman from Pinnitus (Piñeira de Arcos), her «nurse», and in that community the priest Theotimus encouraged the Christians. Mariña chose the Christian life and was baptised, which separated her from her father and from the ideals of the Empire ^[1].

At fifteen, while minding cattle near the road that led to the praesidium of the city of Armea, she was seen by the prefect Olibrius, who wanted to make her his wife, concubine or slave. She refused repeatedly and Olibrius accused her of being a Christian; with Trajan’s decree in force, the judges sentenced her to be beheaded unless she renounced her faith. She did not: in the year 138 (the same year Hadrian died, on 10 July) she was taken to open ground, where the church of Santa Mariña de Aguas Santas now stands, and there, at the spot recalled by the chapel of Santo Tomé, the executioner cut off her head and clear waters welled up, which are still venerated ^[1].

The cult

The Christians kept the memory of the burial; the inscribed stone beneath the high altar of the Romanesque church and a Suevic capital testify to the ancient cult. Around the year 800, in the time of Alfonso II the Chaste, the cult was consolidated, with the Romanesque church of the late 12th century at Aguas Santas; Ferdinand III erected churches to the saint in Córdoba and Seville after conquering them, and Cardinal Baronio included her in the Roman Martyrology of 1586, with her feast on 18 July ^[1].

In Xinzo

The saint is patron of the town and gives her name to the parish and the festivities: see Festivities of Santa Mariña in Xinzo. The story places her birth in Antioquía, a name recalling the legend of the drowned city of the Lagoa de Antela: Antioquía, the drowned city.

Frequently asked questions

Where was St Mariña born according to tradition? In Xinzo de Limia, in the Antioquía area, in AD 123 ^[1].

When is her feast celebrated? On 18 July ^[1].

Links

• Parish: Xinzo de Limia
• Municipality: Xinzo de Limia
• People of A Limia
• Famous people and sportspeople of A Limia
• Authors and artists of A Limia
• Festivities of Santa Mariña in Xinzo
• Antioquía, the drowned city

Sources

1. Arturo R. Fuentes Varela, «Santa Marina de Aguas Santas», Diccionario Biográfico electrónico, Real Academia de la Historia (Historia Hispánica). https://historia-hispanica.rah.es/biografias/28812