Saint Eulogius of Córdoba

Eulogius was born in Córdoba, in southern Spain, in the early 9th century, when the city was the capital of an Islamic emirate. Educated by the abbot Speraindeo, he became a learned priest who traveled to northern Spain and brought back precious Latin manuscripts, including works of Virgil and Saint Augustine. When persecution broke out in 850, many Christians of Córdoba, including Saints Flora and Mary, were executed for professing their faith.

Eulogius was imprisoned for supporting them, and he wrote the Memoriale Sanctorum and other works to record their witness and encourage the faithful. In 858 he was elected archbishop of Toledo, but he was never able to take office. He then sheltered Leocritia, a young woman from a Muslim family who had become Christian. Both were arrested, and Eulogius was beheaded on March 11, 859; Leocritia was killed four days later. His relics were taken to Oviedo in 884.

Córdoba honors him as one of its great martyrs, and his relics are venerated in the Cathedral of Oviedo. Spanish writers and teachers look to him as a model of faith joined to learning.