Venerable Xanthippe and Polyxenia (+109)

The Venerable Xanthippe and Polyxenia were sisters and lived in Spain in the time of the apostles. The blessed ones first heard of the saving teaching of Christ from Saint Paul. The Venerable Xanthippe accepted Christianity together with her husband Probus, while Polyxenia remained a pagan. A man captivated by her beauty carried her off by force to Greece. The Lord kept the saint unharmed. On the ship she heard the preaching of the Apostle Peter and believed in Christ. When she reached Greece, Polyxenia asked the Christians for protection and help, and they hid the blessed one in the city of Patras in the province of Achaia, where she was baptised by the hand of Andrew the First-called himself. The venerable mother witnessed the miracles worked by the apostle, was present at his martyrdom too, and saw with what calm he endured cruel torments. After the martyr’s death of Andrew the First-called the holy mother returned to Spain and preached there for about forty years. The blessed one was supported by her sister Xanthippe, who preached in the populous city of Toledo. The Venerable Polyxenia departed this world around the year 109.