Saint Eugenia was an early Christian Roman martyr, and one of the first Catholic feminists, whose feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of her martyrdom by beheading on December 25, 258. A Roman by birth, she grew up in Alexandria, where her father Philip was sent by the Roman emperor Commodus to be Prefect of Egypt.

Eugenia was not born a Christian, but was converted in her youth without the knowledge of her parents, who were strongly opposed to the new religion. When it came time to screen suitors for the inevitable marriage, one of convenience for the aristocracy, Eugenia slipped away, accompanied by a pair of faithful servants, Protus and Hyacinthus, disguised in men’s clothes.  

She and her companions were baptized at a monastery by a bishop, who blessed her to pursue asceticism at the monastery disguised as a monk, a man named “Eugene,” which means “noble” in Greek.

She later became an abbot, still pretending to be a man.  Legend has it that she could miraculously heal people.

One version of her story says that while she was working as an abbot and still dressing like a man, she cured a woman of an illness, and when the woman made sexual advances, which she rebuffed, the woman accused her publicly of rape and adultery. The saint was taken to court, where, still disguised, she faced her father as the judge. At the trial, her real identity was revealed and she was exonerated.  She, her family, and her servants ultimately moved to Rome, where she worked to convert young women to Christianity.