Saints Rufina and Secunda

Rufina and Secunda were two Roman sisters, daughters of the senator Asterius, and they died in 257, during the persecution of Valerian. Their father had promised them in marriage to two young Christians, Armentarius and Verinus. When the persecution grew harsh, the two fiancés renounced their faith and asked the sisters to do the same. When they refused, the young men denounced them. This is the detail that sets this story apart from the others: the ones who handed them over were not their enemies, but the two men who were supposed to marry them. The sisters tried to flee toward Etruria, were overtaken and arrested, and brought before the prefect Gaius Junius Donatus. After various torments to make them renounce their faith, he had them killed at a place called the Black Wood, at the ninth mile of the Via Cornelia: Rufina beheaded, Secunda beaten to death. After their martyrdom and that of Marcellinus and Peter, that wood changed its name and became Silva Candida — the White Wood in place of the Black Wood. It later became the seat of a diocese, and “Silva Candida” is still one of the titles of the cardinal bishops. If your name is Rufina or Seconda, today is your name day.