Saint Fina

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Saint Fina
Fresco of Fina painted by Benozzo Gozzoli
Born 1238, San Gimignano
Died 1253, San Gimignano
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Feast March 12
Attributes Violets, depicted with Saint Gregory the Great, or lying on her wooden board
Patronage Handicapped people
Saints Portal
Announcement of Death to Saint Fina by Saint Gregory the Great painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Announcement of Death to Saint Fina by Saint Gregory the Great painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio.

Saint Fina (Seraphina, Serafina) (1238-1253) was a thirteenth century Italian saint. Born in San Gimignano, she became ill with an incurable disease at the age of ten. Experiencing five years of enormous suffering, she nevertheless worked at making garments for the poor until paralysis forced her to stop. She then used a wooden board as her bed and increased her mortification of the flesh in order to be nearer to Christ. Her sufferings increased when rats attacked her as she lay alone on her board. She was unable to drive them off.[1]

Fina took a vow of chastity, but never became a nun. She lived at home under obedience to the Rule of Saint Benedict.

The house said to be where she lived and died still stands in the town.

Contents

[edit] Iconography

The Collegiata di San Gimignano has two main chapels, one of which is called the Cappella di Santa Fina, designed by Giuliano da Maiano, with the sculpture by his brother Benedetto. Domenico Ghirlandaio painted the frescoes in the latter chapel.

Fina often is depicted with violets. This in reference to the legend that states that after her death, the wooden board upon which she had laid for so long was covered with yellow violets of great sweetness.

[edit] Legends

It is said that after learning of the great sufferings that the seventh century Church Father Saint Gregory the Great had endured in his lifetime, Fina became devoted to him.

One day, Saint Gregory appeared to Fina and revealed to her that she would receive eternal rest on the day of his feast day, which fell on March 12 because he had died on that date in 604. Saint Fina thus died on March 12, 1253 and March 12 became her feast day as well.

She is said to have restored a choirboy's sight. After her death, her hand, a relic, also is said to have cured her nurse of a serious disease.

[edit] Sources

  • George Ferguson, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art (New York: Oxford University Press, 1961), 118.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^  Similarly, Saint Verdiana was forced to deal with snakes that had infiltrated her cell.