Pudentiana

Saint Pudentiana
Saint Pudentiana in the mosaic of the apse of the Santa Pudenziana
Virgin, Martyr, Friend to the Apostles
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church
Beatified	Pre-Congregation
Major shrine	Santa Pudenziana
Feast	19 May
Attributes	Oil Lamp, Laurel Wreath (for Christ)
Patronage	The Basilica of Santa Pudenziana, Rome Philippines (Second Class Patronage)
Controversy	Martyrdom for refusing to worship the Roman Emperor

Pudentiana is a traditional Christian saint and martyress of the 2nd century who became controversial for refusing to worship the Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus Pius as deities. She is sometimes locally known as Potentiana and is often coupled with her sister, Praxedes the martyr.

According to her acta, published by the Bollandists (dating from the 8th century) and the Martyrology of Reichenau, she was a Roman virgin of the early Christian church, daughter of Saint Pudens, friend of the Apostles, and sister of Praxedes. Praxedes and Pudentiana, together with presbyter Pastor and Pope Pius I, built a baptistry in the church inside their father's house, and started to baptize pagans. Pudentiana died at the age of 16, possibly a martyr, and is buried next to her father Pudens, in the Priscilla catacombs on the via Salaria.

While there is evidence for the life of Pudens, there is no direct evidence for either Pudentiana or Praxedes. It is possible that the early Church's "ecclesia Pudentiana" (i.e., the Church of Pudens) was mistaken for "Saint Pudentiana".

A basilica in Rome is called Santa Pudenziana and Pudentiana had a commemoration in the General Roman Calendar on 19 May until its 1969 revision. Pudentiana is now mentioned neither there nor in the Roman Martyrology.

The Spanish Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi, the founder of the city of Manila, gained possession of the territory in 1571 on 19 May, the feast of Pudentiana (in Spanish "Potenciana"), and declared her patron saint of what is now the Philippines.