Bernice (Veronica), Prosdocia And Domnina, Saints, Martyrs

BERNICE (VERONICA), PRÔSDOCE and DOMNINA, saints, martyrs. - Their most singular martyrdom, which took place in Antiochia, is attested by Eusebio di Cesarea and by s. Giovanni Crisostomo. D., very well known for her beauty and wealth, fled the city with her two daughters, B. and P., remarkable for the loveliness of their forms and their blooming youth, at the outbreak of the persecution. Soldiers were sent to track down the fugitives; when captured, they were taken back to Antiochia. But, on reaching a river, aware of the fate awaiting them, the mother urged her daughters to throw themselves into it in order to escape dishonour; having put on festive garments and asked the soldiers for leave to withdraw for a moment, they flung themselves in and were drowned. Such strength of soul won the praise of Christian antiquity, as s. Agostino attests (Decivitate Dei, I, 26). The Martyrologium Hieronymianum commemorates them on 15 Apr., while the Greek Sinassari do so on 4 Oct.