1st century
Saints Xanthippe and Polyxena
Sisters from Spain who, according to tradition, came to the faith through the preaching of the Apostle Paul.
Biography
Xanthippe and Polyxena were sisters from Spain who lived in the mid-1st century, under Emperor Claudius I. Xanthippe learned the Christian faith, together with her husband Probus, a local ruler, through the preaching of the Apostle Paul.
Polyxena, still a virgin, escaped an abduction, according to tradition, by God's grace, and travelled while listening to the preaching of the Apostles Peter and Philip, eventually becoming a disciple of the Apostle Andrew, who baptised her. On returning home she brought with her the Apostle Onesimus and her travelling companion Rebecca.
The two sisters devoted themselves to spreading their faith and brought many women to Christianity, dying peacefully at an advanced age.