Little Is Known of Cathedral Namesake, an Early Martyr

Roman Catholic leaders say that little is known for certain about St. Vibiana, a 3rd century virgin martyred in Rome. But legends describe her as the daughter of a prominent Christian family persecuted by the Romans.

Her father was burned in the face with a hot iron and banished until death. Her mother was confined to her house for a long period and then beheaded for remaining faithful to Christianity, stories say. Vibiana, sometimes called Bibiana, and her sister Demetria then lived in severe poverty and were later brought into court. Demetria supposedly fell down dead in the presence of the judge and Vibiana was handed over to people who tried to change her convictions.

According to one account, Vibiana was locked up with insane people; she was later honored as patron of the insane. The legend recounts that Vibiana was tied to a pillar and whipped to death with scourges loaded with lead.

Vibiana was elevated to sainthood centuries before records were kept of the process and before reported miracles were required for the honor, according to Los Angeles Archdiocese spokesman Father Gregory Coiro. Her remains were discovered and unearthed in Rome in 1853. Pope Pius IX then offered them to Los Angeles if the city’s Roman Catholics would build a cathedral in her honor. St. Vibiana’s Cathedral was completed in January 1876, when Los Angeles was a town of about 9,000 people.