Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.
PETRONILLA, Saint and Martyr. — Commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on 31 May. She was certainly a genuine Roman martyr, though every biographical detail and the circumstances of her martyrdom remain unknown.
The similarity of her name led to the arbitrary belief that she was the daughter of the Apostle Peter; her end is mentioned in the Passio ss. Nerei et Achillei, a legendary account at odds with far more reliable sources. Her tomb, recorded in the Itineraria of the 7th century, was located in the cemetery of Domitilla on the Via Ardeatina, where, during the pontificate of Pope Siricius (384–99), a basilica was built in her honour. A 4th-century fresco in the same cemetery depicts her introducing a devout soul into heaven, and bears the inscription: Petronella martyr. St Petronilla is the special patroness of France. Her feast is celebrated on 31 May.
BIBL.:Acta SS. Maii, VII, Paris 1867, pp. 413–15; G. B. De Rossi, Scoperta della basilica di S. P., in Bull. arch. crist., 5 (1875), pp. 5–19, 26–33; P. Danglefort, Ste P., patronne de France, Avignon 1911; H. Delchaye, Sanctus, Brussels 1927, pp. 118–20; Maryr. Hieronymianum, pp. 280, 283 sg.; Martyr. Romanum, p. 216; R. Valentini-G. Zucchetti, Codice topogr. della città di Roma, II, Rome 1941, p. 63 sg. Agostino Amore
ICONOGRAPHY. — St PETRONILLA is usually depicted as a maiden holding a palm and a book in her hands. Thus by Daniele da Volterra in a statue in Lucca cathedral. A very large altarpiece representing the funeral of the Saint and her entry into heavenly glory was painted in 1623 by Guercino to adorn the altar over the tomb of the Saint in St Peter’s Basilica. This painting was replaced in the 18th century by a copy executed in mosaic; the original by Guercino is now preserved in Rome in the Capitoline Picture Gallery.
(photo: Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology)PETRONILLA, Saint — The deceased Veneranda with the martyr St PETRONILLA. Painting from the second half of the 4th century — Rome, Domitilla catacomb.
BIBL.: K. Künstle, Ikonographie der Heiligen, Freiburg in Br. 1926, pp. 492–93. Witold Wehr
Cite this article
“PETRONILLA, SANTA, MARTIRE.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. IX (1952), p. 781. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/petronilla-santa-martire.
