A first-century Roman laywoman, one of a group of seven women martyred together in the earliest period of the Roman church.

Saint Serotina was a laywoman of Rome, martyred in the first century as part of a group of seven women that included Donata, Paolina, Rogata, Dominanda, Saturnina, and Hilaria. Their shared death places them among the very earliest martyrs of the Roman Christian community.

Quick Facts

• Died: 1st century (Rome, Italy)
• Venerated as: Laywoman and martyr
• Companion of: Saint Donata, Saint Paolina, Saint Rogata, Saint Dominanda, Saint Saturnina, and Saint Hilaria

Who Was Saint Serotina?

Saint Serotina was a laywoman of Rome martyred in the first century, remembered as one of a group of seven women who died together for their faith during one of the earliest periods of the Church’s life in the imperial capital.

Historical Setting

Christian communities in first-century Rome faced hostility from a very early period, including the persecution under Nero following the fire of Rome in 64 and continuing tensions under subsequent emperors, well before any systematic empire-wide legal framework against Christianity existed. Group martyrdoms of women, as recorded here, reflect the vulnerability of the small, still-forming Roman Christian community during this earliest era.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Serotina

Serotina is remembered as part of this group of seven Roman women, a witness to the earliest generation of Christian martyrs in the city that would become the Church’s central see.

Canonization and Feast Day

No formal canonization process for Serotina is recorded, as expected for a martyr of the apostolic era. Her veneration is ancient and immemorial, part of Rome’s own earliest liturgical memory.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Serotina’s place among the first generation of Roman martyrs, whose faith took root in the very city that would soon govern the wider Church, is a reminder of how much the later, more organized Church owed to believers who had almost no institutional support at all. Her memory calls for gratitude toward the earliest, least-documented Christians.

A Prayer to Saint Serotina

Saint Serotina, one of the earliest women martyred for Christ in Rome, intercede for the Church that grew from seeds planted by believers like you. Help us honor the earliest witnesses of our faith, however little we know of their individual stories.

Sources

• Roman Martyrology
• Butler’s Lives of the Saints
• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia
• Acta Sanctorum