Read about the story of Saint Natalia of Códoba, who was tortured and killed by Abderramán II because she was a Christian.
History of Saint Natalia
Saint Natalia of Cordoba was born around 825 AD and died in 852 AD, she lived in the Emirate of Cordoba, she was born to Muslim Arab parents, when she was very young her father died, her mother married again but this time to a Christian man who taught her the faith.
They both became Christians when she was old enough to marry. She was married in secret to Saint Aurelius, also the son of a Muslim father and a Christian mother, to avoid persecution.
After the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 AD, Christians and Jews were protected by the Muslims because they were considered people of the book (the Torah for Jews (see: What is the Jewish Torah) and the Bible for Christians).
These proteges had to obey Muslim laws, such as paying taxes called vizia, where they could practice their religion but not speak against the Muslim faith.
If they insulted the Muslim faith, they were considered blasphemers and were sentenced to death, and if someone stopped following the Muslim faith (known as apostasy), they were also sentenced to death.
In this context, the children of Muslim and Christian marriages were considered Muslims and had to follow this religion, and when many refused to do so, they were imprisoned and martyred.
Around the year 850 the Caliph began to persecute Christians because of a priest who professed the Christian faith, and a young man called John was martyred, and Natalia was a witness to this.
As a result, she and her husband began to profess their Christian faith in public, and they were taken to prison by the followers of Abdabarran II.
The executioners tried to persuade them to declare themselves Muslims, but nothing could convince them. They were both beheaded on 27 July 852.
It is not known where their bodies were buried; some say that they were buried in the church of San Fausto, now known as the Basílica Menor de San Pedro de Córdoba.
Others state that, as their bodies were not safe, King Charles II of France (Charles the Bald) took them to Saint Germain in Paris France, although many state that it was only parts of their bodies.
Saint Natalia was canonised by the Catholic Church (See: Where the Catholic Church was born), along with her husband Saint Aurelius, as two of the 48 Martyrs of Cordoba, the name given to a group of Mozarabs who were killed in that city.
We have knowledge of these martyrdoms thanks to the sources of Eulogius of Cordoba, who made a record of these 48 martyrs, including Saint Natalia and Saint Aurelius, who rejected the Muslim religion and defended their Christian faith.
There is another Saint Natalia, but from Constantinople, who was married to Saint Hadrian, she was also martyred in the 4th century and her feast day is 1 December.
Find out more about the story of Saint Natalia and her husband Aurelius in this video:
Saint Natalia’s Day
Her day in the Catholic calendar of saints is 27 July, the day of her death. She was a very young woman when she married Aurelius, who was also a Christian but whose father was a Muslim. Saint Juliana’s day is also celebrated on this date.
Saint Aurelius, like his mother, was brought up by an aunt of Christian origin, since his father died when he was very young, but she had to do it in secret because, according to Muslim law, the children of mixed marriages had to follow the Muslim religion.
When they witnessed the death of a Christian named Juan, they wanted to publicly declare their Christian faith.
Natalia and Aurelio had two young daughters who were taken by the Muslims and taken to the Tabanese convent, where they were taken care of by a woman called Isabela, the widow of Jeremias, and brought up under the Muslim religion.
Here we leave you in this video the Santoral of the 27th of July of Saint Natalia:
Prayer of Saint Natalie
Dear Almighty and Eternal Father, who gave Saint Natalia the courage to suffer death for the love of her Christian faith, I humbly come before You to ask You to give me the strength to remain steadfast in my aims.
I also ask you to remove my weaknesses so that I may follow the path of those who never wavered in their faith.
Enable me to live a life of dignity and integrity. Teach me to be strong, not to lose my convictions and allow me to confess and worship your holy name through Jesus our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Amen.
In this video we leave you with the meaning of the name of Saint Natalia:
