Skip to content

Bl. Eustochium

Facts

Feastday: February 13

Author and Publisher - Catholic Online
Printable Catholic Saints PDFs
Shop Bl. Eustochium

Image of Bl. Eustochium

Bl. Eustochium, the illegitimate child of a seduced nun, she was born at San Prosdocimo convent in Padua, baptized Lucrezia, and raised and educated at the convent. When she grew older she wished to become a nun and despite the opposition of many in the community because of the circumstances of her birth, the Bishop approved her noviceship and she was veiled, taking the name Eustochium. Though normally humble and obedient, she soon began to display strange and curious spells of unusual behavior in which she acted like a mad woman. For a time she was tied up for days and when the Abbess fell ill, Eustochium was accused of poisoning her and was barely saved from a mob of townspeople who wanted her burned as a witch. Instead the Bishop had her imprisoned in a cell; fortunately the Abbess recovered, but Eustochium was shunned by the members of the community. Her spells continued, with such manifestations as self-inflicted wounds, walking on high roofs, and being found naked in her cell with marks on her throat; on her recovery from each of the attacks, she was a model religious. At the insistence of her confessor, she was allowed to become a nun and seems to have conquered what appeared to be diabolical attacks. In time she won the respect of her community by her penitance and holiness. She died on February 13, at which time the name Jesus was found burned on her breast. Her feast day is February 13th.

We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.

Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

Help Now >

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.

Prayer of the Day logo
Saint of the Day logo

Catholic Online Logo

Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.

Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.