Biography
Rufina
About Rufina
Rufina is remembered with Secunda in the Roman Martyrology’s July 10 entry. A 2009 study by the École française de Rome notes that the Martyrologium Hieronymianum locates their commemoration on the Via Cornelia and describes an early Christian cemetery in that area. The Vatican City State historical overview also cites Roman pilgrim itineraries as evidence for their early cult. These sources support an early shared commemoration, but do not provide a secure personal biography for Rufina.
The detailed account of the women’s lives and martyrdom comes from a Passion written in the second half of the fifth century. Its story of sisters, rejected fiancés, flight and execution under Valerian and Gallienus belongs to later hagiographic tradition. The archaeological study further cautions that one building sometimes identified with their church may instead have been part of another estate complex. This profile therefore records Rufina as a distinct member of the remembered pair, without asserting personal dates, birthplace, or the Passion’s narrative details as established fact.
Wondering how to weigh the stories and sources? Learn how to read a saint biography.