View source for Eurosia

{{about||the Blessed Eurosia Fabris|Eurosia Fabris|the moth genus|Eurosia (moth)|the Romanian village of Orosia|Cuci, Mureş}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix=[[Saint]]
|name= Eurosia
|birth_date= 864
|death_date= 880 AD
|titles=Martyr
|feast_day= 25 June
|venerated_in= [[Catholic Church]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
|image= Saint eurosia.jpg
|imagesize= 250px
|caption= Image of Saint Eurosia, whose hands have been cut off, [[Colle Umberto]], Italy, 17th century.
|canonized_date= [[Cult (religious practice)|Cultus]] confirmed in 1902
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by= [[Pope Leo XIII]]
|attributes=
|patronage=
|major_shrine= Jaca
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
}}
'''Eurosia''' (or '''Orosia''') is the [[patron saint]] of [[Jaca]], a city in the [[province of Huesca]] of northeastern [[Spain]], in the [[Pyrenees]], the centre of her [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]].
==In Spain==
The "[[Feast day|Fiesta]] de Santa Orosia" is celebrated on 25 June. Tradition states that she was born in [[Bayonne]] (or perhaps [[Bohemia]]) and died in 880, [[martyr]]ed by the [[Moors]] at Jaca.
Her legend states that she was of noble birth and [[Betrothal|promised]] to a Moor in an [[arranged marriage]]. Eurosia escaped and hid in a [[cave]]. Unfortunately, the smoke from her fire led to her capture. She was dragged from the cave by her hair and martyred. Devotion to St. Eurosia spread into northern Italy during the Middle Ages.<ref name=FaithND>[https://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&pgid=46300&cid=88858&ecid=88858&crid=0&calpgid=61&calcid=53508 "St. Eurosia", FaithND]</ref>
==Eurosia as Bohemian princess==
According to an alternate tradition, she was born ''[[Dobrosława|Dobroslava]]'' into the [[Dukes of Bohemia|ducal family of Bohemia]] in 864. When orphaned, Dobroslava was adopted by the succeeding duke, [[Bořivoj I, Duke of Bohemia|Borivoj I]]. Borivoj's wife was [[Ludmila of Bohemia|Saint Ludmila]], who converted her adoptive daughter to the Christian faith. Borivoj was deposed by [[Christianity and Paganism|pagan]]s, but restored thanks to the efforts of [[Saint Methodius of Thessaloniki|Saint Methodius]]. In 880, Methodius was ordered by [[Pope John VIII]] to find a worthy spouse for the son of the [[king of Pamplona]], [[Fortún of Pamplona|Prince Fortún]]; this son was heir to the throne of Aragon and Navarre, and would be a critical player in the fight against the Moors in [[Spain]].
Eurosia, now sixteen years old, was considered a good candidate and was brought to Spain in 880. As she crossed the Pyrenees, she planned to meet her future spouse at Jaca. However, this area had become a war zone. A Moorish captain named Aben Lupo planned to wed Eurosia for himself and attacked the Bohemian party. However, thanks to the bravery of Eurosia's escort, the young bride-to-be managed to escape through the mountains. She was pursued and eventually caught. Eurosia invoked the heavens and a lightning bolt hit the ground near her captors.<ref name=FaithND/> She was quickly executed, her limbs were amputated and she was [[decapitation|beheaded]]. After she was beheaded, a storm came, terrorizing her tormentors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/59325 |title=Sant' Eurosia di Jaca |publisher=Santiebeati.it |date=2004-12-16 |accessdate=2012-08-03}}</ref>
==Veneration==
A shepherd of Yebra de Basa is said to have discovered her relics in the 11th century thanks to an [[Marian apparition|apparition of the Virgin Mary]] that identified their resting place. Her head remained at the original simple shrine, while [[Sancho Ramírez]], recognizing the importance of Eurosia's [[relics]], brought her body to Jaca, which he had designated the capital of his [[kingdom of Aragon]]. Drawing pilgrims to his city, he shifted the traditional route of the [[The Aragonese Way|Way of St. James]], which had followed the Roman military route of the Puerto del Palo by the [[Monastery of San Pedro de Siresa]] to [[Berdún]]. He established a route through [[Somport]] and Jaca, to bring traffic through his city, reinforced by publicized miracles at the urban shrine that was now on the direct route of the ''[[Camino de Santiago]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andarines.com/culturapopular/santa.htm |title=Antropologia/Santa Orosia |publisher=Andarines.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-03}}</ref>
There is a chapel dedicated to her in [[La Seo Cathedral]], [[Zaragoza]].
Her cult spread throughout [[Béarn]] and northern [[Italy]] thanks to the subsequent campaigns of the Spanish realm in those regions.
It is unclear when Eurosia became patroness of the demonically possessed. Until 1947, when the bishop of Jaca prohibited the practice, those who were afflicted with possession were brought together in a procession and followed an [[urn]] carrying her relics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andarines.com/culturapopular/santa.htm |title=Eurosia |publisher=Andarines.com |date= |accessdate=2012-08-03}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Saint Eurosia}}
*[http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0625.shtml#oros Saints of June 25: Eurosia (Orosia)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419002541/http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0625.shtml#oros |date=2017-04-19 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070221032753/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainte12.htm Saint Eurosia]
*{{in lang|it}} [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/59325 Sant' Eurosia di Jaca]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:8th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:8th-century Christian martyrs]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox saints]]
[[Category:Bohemian nobility]]
[[Category:Women from medieval Bohemia]]
[[Category:People from Jaca]]
[[Category:Medieval Spanish saints]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Female saints of medieval Spain]]
[[Category:9th-century people from the Kingdom of Pamplona]]
[[Category:Female saints from medieval Bohemia]]