3rd–4th century
Saint Aglaia of Rome
A wealthy Roman woman who, according to tradition, sent her steward Boniface to the East to bring back relics of martyrs and, after he was martyred at Tarsus, devoted the rest of her life to repentance and the care of the poor.
Biography
Aglaia was a wealthy, well-born Roman woman of the 3rd century, known for her almsgiving, and Boniface was the honest steward of her estate.
According to tradition, the two of them fell for a time into a relationship at odds with Christian life, but repented with deep contrition and confessed it. Aglaia then sent Boniface to the East to bring back relics of martyrs, and there he himself was martyred at Tarsus in Cilicia.
On learning of his death, Aglaia sold her possessions and devoted the rest of her life to caring for the poor and the suffering.