St. Veronica's Day
St. Veronica is identified with a hemorrhaging woman in
the New Testament Gospel of Matthew (19.20), which
reads: "And behold, a woman which was diseased with an
issue of blood twelve years came behind him and touched
the hem of his garment, for she said within herself, `If
I may touch his garment I shall be made whole.' But
Jesus . . . when he saw her said, 'Daughter, be of good
comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole." It is known
from the Gospel that Veronica was not only a real person
but one who was aging and who was but one of many healed
by the Savior. Thereafter, she is said to have had a
statue of Christ, arms extended to comfort the world,
erected and placed in front of her home as a token of
her gratitude and reverence.
St. Veronica, whose name is a compound of the two words
"Vera" and "Icon" which means true image, has origins
none too distinct. The Western Church has suggested that
she was originally known as Martha, the sister of
Lazaros, but the Eastern Church disputes this and, in
fact, she is referred to by some Eastern theologians as
having originally been named Berenike. This welter of
names and origins has in no way detracted from her image
as a pious woman of God who has come down to us as
Veronica, who by any name would have been ennobled by
her close association with Jesus Christ.
On the first Good Friday, St. Veronica was the woman
who stepped out of the crowd and wiped the perspiring
face of Christ as he struggled to carry the Cross on the
road to Calvary. The cloth she used miraculously
retained an imprint of the countenance of the suffering
Messiah, an incident which gave rise to the legends
which surround what has been called Veronica's veil and
which has been the subject of many moving tales.
This incident also produced thereafter a number of
veils, all of which reverent Christians came to look
upon as genuine, not daring to deny any of them for fear
they might be denying the actual veil of Veronica.
The actual veil is now the precious property of the
Roman Catholic Church, placed in a hallowed corner of
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where it is put on display
the second Sunday after Epiphany, the four days of Holy
Week, Easter Sunday, the Monday after Easter, Monday of
Pentecost, February 22, May 3, and November 18 of each
year, as well as on other special occasions…
St. Veronica married a Christian convert named Zacchaios
who joined her in all of her religious efforts, which
were considerable and included missionary work, during
which time she held tight to her precious veil. She was
called to the side of the ailing Emperor Tiberius, whose
physicians had given up hope, but at the mere sight of
the veil which Veronica held forth, who was cured of his
malady.
Together with her converted husband, Veronica undertook
to carry the message of Christ to remote areas,
concentrating on what is now the south of France. At
about this point in the history of the Church, Veronica,
drops out of sight and nothing is known about her final
days, although several versions are offered in legendary
accounts.
George Poulos, Orthodox Saints, Vol. 3, Pg. 29
Holy Cross Orthodox Press, Brookline Mass. 1991