Saint Quiteria was born in the 5th century in northern Portugal. There are different stories about her life. Both stories are very different from the other. Both stories tell about how Saint Quiteria survived hardship to fight for her Christian beliefs. One story tells about how she was killed and rose again. The other story tells about how she fought for Christianity.
One story about Saint Quiteria says that she was the daughter of a prince in Portugal. When she was old enough, her father ordered her to marry a Roman officer and give up the Christian religion. Instead of giving up Christianity, Quiteria ran away. When her father’s men caught up with her, they cut off her head and threw her into the sea. So, Saint Quiteria …show more content…
These traditions say that Saint Quiteria was born as one of nine sisters to a Roman military official. Her sisters names were named Euphemia, Liberata, Gema, Genebra, Germana, Basilissa, Marica and Vitoria. Quiteria mother was not happy with nine girls so she told her maid to take them away and drown them. The maid was Christian so she gave the girls to some local women who raised them as Christians. As they grew up, they refused to worship the Roman gods and they were taken to a roman official, who turned out to be their father, for punishment. Their father recognized them and wanted them to marry Roman officers but the girls refused and were imprisoned. The girls later escaped and set all of the other prisoners free. The girls then fought against the Roman Empire for the right to practice Christianity. Saint Quiteria was captured, beheaded and thrown into the sea.
Saint Quiteria is the patron saint against rabies because another story about her says that she held two rabid dogs at bay with the power of her saintly voice. She is known as fighting for her Christian rights and freeing Christians from trouble and anxiety. She is also known for dying for her belief in Christianity. She was canonized as a Saint. Her feastday is May