Estelle

Saint Estelle (Estelle, in some sources Eustelle) of Saintes is a Catholic saint about whom in fact very little is known. She was a contemporary of Saint Eutropius of Saintes and, according to legend, lived in the third century. She appears in Christian literature only in the Middle Ages, especially in the Pilgrim's Guide of Saint James of Compostela, in the passage on the life of Saint Eutropius of Saintes.

According to the legend, she was the daughter of an illustrious Roman and descended from a powerful family of Druids. She was attracted to the group of Saint Eutropius, the first bishop of the region, and asked to be baptized. Because she would not renounce, her father condemned her to death in the arena. She has been much venerated in the Charente and regarded as the patron of young Christian girls; she is also the patron of the Félibrige, the cultural association for Occitan language and literature. In the Life of the martyr Saint Eutropius of Saintes, written in 1612 by an anonymous Jesuit of Saintes, she is presented as a martyr. The old Breviary of Saintonge gives her the title of virgin and martyr and sets her feast on 24 May, without saying anything else about her death. Another source gives the commemoration on 11 May.