Picture: Tomás A. Santa Coloma Señoráns · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Columba of Spain
9th-century Spanish Christian saint and martyr
SaintResearchedEmirate of CórdobaPre-congregation
Feast: 17 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
—
unknown
Died
853
verified
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Columba was a Spanish nun of the monastery of Tabanos who, it is related, was beheaded by the Moors in 853. Her body was thrown into the Guadalquivir but rescued by Christians, and her relics were venerated in Old Castile.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: she has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A nun who died a martyr under Moorish rule.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Columba
- Wikidata Q3297080 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Columba of Spain (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.