Marciana of Toledo

Saint Marciana of Toledo (also known as Marciana of Mauretania or of Caesarea) died as a martyr in the persecution of Diocletian, around 303 or 304 (on 9 January 304 according to some sources). She is called "of Toledo" because her relics were moved to Toledo in Spain. The account of her martyrdom was written in Latin, possibly in the fifth century.

According to Alban Butler she was a native of Rusuccur (Dellys) in Mauretania, in present-⁠day Algeria. She despised her high rank, put aside her riches and travelled to Caesarea in Mauretania, where she took up residence in a cave to preserve her virginity, consecrating herself to God through fasts and other ascetic labours. One day, walking in the public square, she overthrew a statue of the goddess Diana, tearing off its head and smashing it to pieces. The citizens had her arrested and brought before the governor's tribunal. She was imprisoned in the local gladiatorial school and then thrown into the arena, where she was mangled by a bull; after her death a leopard was sent in and snapped her neck. The Mozarabic office has a hymn in her honour. She is commemorated on 12 July, as a saint of the West before the Great Schism (a saint of the undivided Church), by the New Calendar; some early calendars have her on 9 January.