Odilia of Cologne

Holy Martyr Odilia of Cologne is one of the virgin martyrs venerated at Cologne in Germany, linked with the company of Saint Ursula. The legend says little about her; she is said to have lived in the 4th century and to have been the daughter of a ruler in Britain. Her death is usually placed around 451.

According to the legend, Odilia traveled with Saint Ursula and a band of other young women. Some accounts say they were on pilgrimage to Rome, others that they were looking for a place to live quietly in the faith. At the gates of Cologne "barbarians" (Huns, in the story of Ursula) met them and put them to death.

In 1287 Odilia appeared to a brother of the Crosier Order in Paris and, at her request, her relics were found at Cologne and moved to the order's motherhouse at Huy in Belgium. Healings were reported along the way. Some of her relics are now in her shrine at Onamia, Minnesota. Odilia is a patroness of the Order of the Holy Cross. She is not to be confused with Saint Odilia of Alsace. Her feast is on 18 July, by the Western calendar (new style), though it is not in the present liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. She is honored as a saint of the undivided Church.