Saint Corona, Healer of Diseases

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Today, on November 24, the Russian Orthodox Church remembers St. Victor and St. Corona (also known as St. Stephanie), who were martyred for Christ in the 2nd century — tortured to death by the Romans about 1,800 years ago.

Victor was a Roman soldier in Syria who was martyred for his Christian faith during the persecutions organized by Emperor Antoninus Pius. Corona was in the crowd at the public execution, and was also accused of being a Christian. She was martyred by being “torn to pieces between two trees” — she was tied to the ends of two palm trees which had been bent down, and was then torn apart when the trees were released.

A Precious Reliquary for the Bones of St. Corona

Aachen Cathedral, in western Germany, put on display an elaborate reliquary believed to contain some of St. Corona's bones. This 9th-century cathedral is where many German kings and queens were crowned in the middle ages. It remains a prominent pilgrimage church to this day. King Otto III brought Corona's relics to Aachen in the year 997. They were initially kept in a tomb underneath a slab on the cathedral floor for hundreds of years before they were made accessible to the public in the early 20th century.

St. Corona is the patron saint of butchers and treasure-hunters, as well as lumberjacks (a patronage stemming from the circumstances of her martyrdom). People also seek her aid in times of financial hardship. Some religious representatives say she is also a patron saint for warding off infectious diseases.

In a statement to Reuters, a representative for the Cathedral of Aachen indicated that there is a tradition specific to Germany of invoking St. Corona for protection against plagues. The German cathedral currently houses the relics of St. Corona, which it has taken out of storage to display for public veneration, saying that the virus has brought renewed interest in the formerly obscure saint.

Saint Corona

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