Matrona of Capua

Saint Matrona of Capua was a Roman noblewoman of the 5th or 6th century, famous for having found the body of the first bishop of Capua, Saint Priscus. She was, it is said, of Portuguese origin.

The legend tells that, ill with a disease of the bowels, she came to Capua and was healed at the tomb of the holy Bishop Priscus. She found the ancient tomb of Priscus, lost with the passing of time, near the Conocchia, an old Roman funerary monument on the Via Appia. Because of this discovery a basilica was built in honor of the martyr of Capua. Matrona stayed there for the rest of her life, was afterward venerated as a saint, and is invoked against intestinal epidemics and cholera. A small chapel of Saint Matrona stands in the church of Santa Croce e San Prisco. She is honored as a saint of the undivided Church.