Galla of Rome
6th-century Roman widow and saint
Feast: 5 October (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Galla was a Roman widow of the sixth century, daughter of the patrician Symmachus whom Theodoric unjustly put to death in 525. Widowed within a year of her marriage while still very young, she founded a convent and a hospital near St. Peter's, where she spent the rest of her life in penance and works of mercy.
St. Gregory the Great tells of her holy death. A picture of Our Lady said to show a vision granted to her, long carried in procession in times of plague, now hangs over the high altar of Santa Maria in Campitelli. Her feast is 5 October.
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 young Roman widow who gave her life to prayer and the care of the sick.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Saint Galla
- Wikidata Q5518809 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Galla of Rome (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.