EULALIA, Saint, Martyr. — A Spanish virgin who suffered a cruel martyrdom at Mérida. This is celebrated, with particular legendary details, by Prudentius (*Peristeph.*, III) and later by Hydatius, St Gregory of Tours, and Venantius Fortunatus. In the Hieronymian Martyrology she is commemorated for three consecutive days from 10 to 12 December. The true date is the first, which is the same as that in the Carthaginian calendar and the Mozarabic calendars.
The *Passio* of E. of Mérida (BHL 2700) is neither ancient nor reliable. According to the testimony of Prudentius, there was in Mérida at the beginning of the 5th century a fine church in her honour; her relics were also placed in the basilica of Carmona. Her cult spread quickly and widely: at Béziers in 455 a basilica was erected in honour of the martyrs Vincent, Agnes and Eulalia; at Ravenna she is represented in the procession of martyrs in S. Apollinare Nuovo (6th century); in Africa her veneration is attested by a sermon of St Augustine (*De die sanctae Eulaliae*, ed. Morin in *Miscellanea Agostiniana*, I, Rome 1930, pp. 593–95). From the 7th century mention is made of a St Eulalia of Barcelona (feast 1 Feb), who appears to be a duplicate of the one from Mérida, although some (e.g., Garins and Garcia Villada) maintain the thesis of two Eulalias. The *Passio* of Barcelona (BHL 2693–96) is legendary. It is probable that some relics of the saint of Mérida, brought to Barcelona and all placed in the crypt of the cathedral, subsequently led to the belief in the existence of a martyr Eulalia of Barcelona. Today she is the patroness of the city.