Saint Martina, martyr – Church of Milan

Saint Martina, a noble young Roman woman, martyred in the persecution of Alexander Severus, had almost been lost in memory, even though a church in Rome had been dedicated to her in the Middle Ages.
It was Pope Urban VIII who, coming across the relics of Saint Martina among the ruins of an ancient church, researched their history and wanted to propose the young girl again as an example of sanctity. He himself composed a hymn in her honour, which mentions the life of the girl, daughter of a Roman consul, left orphaned and heir to a rich heritage, and praises the saint in her exemplary charity, in the purity of her life, in courage in the confession of faith. Her martyrdom and death by decapitation are then narrated.
Urban VIII, who was working on the definitive arrangement of the Church calendar, established the feast day of Saint Martina on January 30 and included the prayers dedicated to her in the Roman Breviary on this day.