Columba of Sens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saint Columba of Sens
Main altar of Église Saint-Colombe, Hattstatt, France. The statue on top depicts Columba of Sens (click on picture to enlarge).
Born	c. 257
Died	273 Sens, France
Venerated in	Roman Catholicism
Major shrine	Abbey of Sens
Feast	December 31
Attributes	she-bear, crowned maiden in chains, with a dog or bear on a chain, holding a book and a peacock's feather, with an angel on a funeral pyre
Patronage	Andorra

Columba of Sens (probably born Eporita, d. 273), was a virgin and nun who was born to a noble pagan family in northwestern Spain. She left Spain for France as a child to avoid being denounced as a Christian and received the baptismal name Columba, meaning "dove" in French. Columba was venerated throughout France; a chapel was later built over her relics and the Abbey of Sens, which at one time was a pilgrimage site in her honor, was eventually built there.

Columba is portrayed "as a crowned maiden in chains", with a dog or bear on a chain, holding a book and a peacock's feather, with an angel on a funeral pyre. Her principal attribute is a she-bear. Her feast day is December 31. Her cult was probably a combination of two virgin martyrs, Columba of Spain and Columba of Sens. In 1595, Italian poet and writer Lucrezia Marinella wrote an allegorical Christian epic poem about Columba.

Life

Part of the work "Stories from the life of St. Columba" by Giovanni Baronzio (c. 1345–1350)

Columba was born to a noble pagan family in Zaragoza, the northwestern region of Spain. According to Catholic historian Florence Capes, Columba's history "is somewhat legendary"/ writer Fernando Lanzi called it "hardly historical". Columba fled as a child to Vienne, France and was baptized, receiving the name Columba (meaning "dove" in French). According to hagiographer Omer Englebert, she left Spain for France because she had been told it was where "a more beautiful religion flourished" and because she "had an insurmountable horror of idols". Historian Katharine Rabenstein stated that according to legend, Columba left Spain with other believers to avoid being denounced as a Christian. Columba continued to Sens, near Paris in north-central France, where she was martyred in 273.

Aurelian, the Roman emperor (270-275), passed through Sens and put all the Christians there to death, but as Englebert reported, "Alone, Columba found favour in his eyes, such was the nobility and the beauty of her features revealing her high origin". He wanted her to marry his son, but she refused, so he imprisoned her in the town amphitheater. She was protected from harm by a female bear; Aurelian tried to burn both Columba and the bear alive, but the bear escaped and a "provincial rain put out the fire". Columba was condemned to death and executed, perhaps near a fountain named d'Azon. Columba was at one time venerated throughout France; as Rabenstein reported, "the historical monuments of Sens still testify to this devotion". A chapel was later built over her relics, and the Abbey of Sens, which at one time was a pilgrimage site in her honor, was eventually built there. She was the patron saint of Andorra and might have been the patron of Chevilly Church in Paris. She is invoked to bring about rain or avoid drought. Her principal attribute is a she-bear. Her feast day is December 31.

See also

In Spanish: Colomba de Sens para niños