St Galla Of Rome – Saint Of The Day – 6 April
St Galla of Rome. An upper-class widow. Founder of a convent and a hospital near St Peter’s Basilica. One of 140 statues of saints on the colonnade of St Peter Square.
Galla of Rome (?–550) was a 6th-century Roman widow known for her generosity. Galla had been married at a relatively young age, but was soon widowed, just over a year after her marriage.
It is said that she avoided remarriage by growing a beard.
Being wealthy, she decided to retreat to the Vatican Hill, and founded a hospital and a convent near St. Peter’s Basilica. Galla is reputed to have once healed a deaf and mute girl, by blessing some water, and giving it to the girl to drink. Galla remained there for the rest of her life, tending to the sick and poor.
Galla is one of the 140 saints whose images adorn St. Peter’s Square’s colonnade.
The painting “The Vision of St Galla” is in the Church of St Galla (Parrocchia Santa Galla) in Rome.
