Afra of Augsburg

Saint Afra of Augsburg received the crown of martyrdom in the year 304, in the persecution of Diocletian, being burned alive. With Saint Ulrich and Saint Simpert she is patron of the city of Augsburg. The Orthodox calendar commemorates her on 24 May, the West on 7 August. The list we follow also records, on 24 May, an Afra martyred at Brescia; it cannot be said whether she is the same.

The account that survives was formed from two narratives: that of her conversion, later and legendary, from Carolingian times, and that of her martyrdom. Her pagan family is said to have come from Cyprus to Augsburg at the end of the third century. Her mother, Hilaria, had dedicated her to the goddess Venus. According to the legend she led a sinful life, at a temple of Venus. In the persecution, Bishop Narcissus of Girona sought refuge in Augsburg and lodged with Afra and her mother; through his teaching Afra and her family received the Christian faith. She hid the bishop from the authorities. When it was learned that she was a Christian she was brought before the judges and ordered to sacrifice to the gods; she refused and was condemned to death by fire.