St. Balbina

Saint Balbina
Statue of Saint Balbina, one of the 140 statues on the colonnade of St. Peter's Square.
Born	unknown
Died	c. 130 Rome, Italy
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine	Santa Balbina
Feast	31 March
Attributes	Chains; Fetters; Young woman holding a chain; Young woman kissing the chains of captive Christians
Patronage	Struma, Scrofulous Diseases, Goiter, Throat Diseases

Saint Balbina (Latin: bahl-BEE-nə), sometimes called Balbina of Rome and Balbina the Virgin is venerated as a virgin martyr and saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

The story of Balbina is introduced in the legendary Acts of Sts. Alexander and Balbina, where it is said that she was the daughter of Quirinus, a Tribune in the Roman Army.Usuardus speaks of her in his martyrology; his account of St. Balbina rests on the record of the martyrdom of St. Alexander.

Legend has it that Quirinus was ordered to hold Pope Alexander I and a man named Hermes in prison because of their Christian faith. They were held in separate prisons that were a great distance apart, and both were shackled and well guarded. Quirinus was trying to convert Hermes back to the old gods, but promised to become a Christian if Hermes could prove that there was an after life. Hermes explained that Pope Alexander could make a better argument than he, and asked several times to visit his prison. At first Quirinus agreed to this, but after a while he became angry, convinced that these visits were frivolous excursions. He tightened the guard so that the two would not be able to speak with one other another. That night Hermes prayed, and an angel appeared to Pope Alexander, releasing his chains and bringing him to Hermes' prison cell.

The next morning Quirinus came to Hermes cell as usual, and he was shocked to find both men inside. His heart now open to what the two Christians had to say, he stayed and talked with the men for a while. Hermes shared his story and told of how the Pope with the help of God had raised his son from the dead. Hearing this, Quirinus said that his daughter Balbina had a large goiter, and if the Pope could heal her, he would believe and become a Christian. The Pope asked him to bring her to prison where he was held originally. "How can she find you there, when you're here with Hermes?" Quirinus asked. "He who brought me here, will also bring me back", replied the Pope. So Quirinus quickly returned home and brought his daughter to the prison where he had originally locked up Pope Alexander. There, they found Alexander patiently waiting for them, tightly shackled in the way he had been before. Seeing this, they knelt before him in reverence.