Alodia

Holy Martyr Alodia (Élodie), together with her sister Nunilo (Nunilone), was executed in the year 851 and is honored as one of the young martyrs of Huesca in Aragon (the French source places them there, though the record ties her to Córdoba). She is commemorated on 22 October.

The two were daughters of a Christian mother and a Muslim father who allowed the girls to follow Christianity. The father died, and their new stepfather, also Muslim, forced them, according to custom, to follow his religion. Moreover, the emir Abd al-⁠Rahman II (822 to 852) decreed during his reign that Christian children born of mixed marriages were apostates. The sisters were thus obliged to abandon their religion and to marry according to their stepfather's wish. They refused, having already given themselves to Christ, and took refuge with a Christian aunt. The peace did not last. They were arrested and did not disown their faith. After a long captivity they were beheaded with a stroke of the sword, according to the punishment of apostates.

According to Aragonese tradition, they came from the village of Adahuesca (Barbastro), were imprisoned in the castle of Alquézar and beheaded at Huesca. Their relics are kept chiefly at the monastery of Leyre, whose west portal has two carved scenes recalling their martyrdom.