Santa Quiteria (from the French: Quitterie; in Portuguese, Quitéria) was a virgin and martyr of the 2nd century (5th century according to other traditions) about whom little is known beyond her name and her cult.
She already appears in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, and her name comes from Kythere or Kuteria, meaning ‘the red one’.
Tradition and cult of Santa Quiteria
Legend holds that Quiteria was one of nine daughters born in a single birth to Calsia, wife of the then Roman governor of Braga, Lucius Castelius Severus. Repudiated by their family at birth, Quiteria and her sisters (Librada, Marina, Victoria, Germana, Eufemia, Marciana, Genibera and Basilia) were secretly adopted by local Christians and raised in the faith. Persecuted and threatened, the young women were forced to flee to different places, and all of them were ultimately martyred.
It is believed that Quiteria first lived withdrawn in the mountains, then travelled through much of Hispania and even reached the south of Gaul, returning to Hispania as far as the town of Marjaliza (in what is now the province of Toledo), where she met her death while still barely a child.
She has traditionally been credited with healing miracles related to rabies, a belief the legend attributes to the fact that dogs would always calm down in Quiteria’s presence. Some of her relics are venerated in Marjaliza (Toledo), Burlada and Tudela (Navarra) and Lanuza (Huesca).
Iconography of Santa Quiteria
She is depicted carrying her own head in her hands. In the 15th century her attribute is a devil in human form, chained at the neck. From the following century onward it is a rabid dog with its tongue hanging out. Sometimes there are one or two dogs which, with lowered heads, appear in a submissive posture. A cut at the neck, chains, and the sword or knife refer to her martyrdom, symbolised by the palm branch she carries.
She may also be shown holding a lily, a symbol of virginity, for having kept it while fleeing her home when her father wanted to marry her off to a pagan youth.
Geography of the cult of Santa Quiteria
In the view of Louis Réau, the main centre of the cult of Santa Quiteria is Gascony, where she is generally paired with Santa Librada (Liberata). In Aire-sur-l’Adour, a town that claims to preserve her relics. There is a chapel dedicated to her in the church of Sainte-Eulalie, in Bordeaux. In Saint-Laurent-d’Arce (Gironde), in the chapel of Magrigne, a pilgrimage is held in her memory. She is also venerated in Normandy, in the diocese of Rouen. Louis Réau states that the cult of Santa Quiteria was introduced into Spain by Bishop Bernardo de Agén, who made the saint the patroness of his episcopal see, the city of Sigüenza.
Santa Quiteria is venerated in various places across the Iberian Peninsula:
| Provinces | Towns |
|---|---|
| Albacete | Casas de VesJorquera, Elche de la Sierra, Barrax, Higueruela, Mora de Santa Quiteria |
| Badajoz | La Nava de Santiago |
| Barcelona | Vilanova del Vallés |
| Castellón | Torás, Almazora |
| Cuenca | Puebla del Salvador, Huete, Rozalén del Monte, Fuentelespino de Moya, Tébar, Cabrejas, Olmeda de la Cuesta, Albalate de las Nogueras |
| Ciudad Real | Puebla de Don Rodrigo, Los Pozuelos de Calatrava, Alcoba de los Montes, Fuente el Fresno, Santa Quiteria, Manzanares, La Solana, Alcázar de San Juan |
| Guadalajara | Ablanque, Aguilar de Anguita, Peralveche |
| Huesca | Biscarrues, Lanuza, Tardienta, Sena, Agüero |
| Jaén | Sorihuela del Guadalimar |
| Madrid | Alpedrete |
| Navarra | Burlada and Tudela |
| Soria | Somaén |
| Toledo | Marjaliza, Minas de Santa Quiteria |
| Tarragona | Bonastre |
| Valencia | Calles, Albalat dels Sorells |
| Zaragoza | Alhama de Aragón, Embid de Ariza, Cetina, Bubierca, Fuentes de Jiloca, La Almolda, Lacorvilla, Paniza, Salillas de Jalón, Vistabella de Huerva |
| Teruel | Castelvispal, Cubla, Celadas, Cascante del Río, Hoya de la Carrasca (Arcos de las Salinas), Samper de Calanda, Torrevelilla, Cedrillas |
| Almería | María |
Santa Quiteria
See also:
