Eulalia of Barcelona

A 13 year old girl once stood up to the Roman Empire and paid with her life, becoming one of the most revered figures in the city's history. Eulalia of Barcelona, co-patron saint of this ancient city, was martyred in 303 AD for refusing to renounce her Christian faith during Emperor Diocletian's brutal persecution of Christians across the Roman Empire. Inside the Gothic Quarter, where narrow medieval streets wind through centuries of history, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia rises as a monument to her courage.

Born around 290 in what Romans called Barcino, young Eulalia secretly left her family home and confronted Governor Dacian at the Roman forum, boldly condemning his persecution. Her defiance came at a brutal cost. According to historical accounts, she endured 13 tortures, one for each year of her young life. She was rolled in a barrel filled with knives, her flesh torn with iron hooks, placed on a bed of burning coals, and finally crucified on an X shaped cross.

Legend tells that a white dove emerged from her mouth at the moment of her death while miraculous snow fell to cover her body. Her remains were hidden during the Moorish invasion in 713 and rediscovered in 878. They now rest in an alabaster sarcophagus within the cathedral's crypt, where 13 white geese wander the Gothic cloister, each representing a year of her life.