Comasia

Who they were

Little is known of Comasia beyond her name: since it was unknown, she was called "Santa Come Sia" ("Saint Whatever-Her-Name-Is"), from which "Comasia" is said to derive. Venerated as a virgin and martyr, her relics were translated from the catacombs of Saint Agnes on the Via Nomentana to Martina Franca in Puglia in 1645, where they are kept in the basilica of San Martino.

From the 17th century on, she has been invoked in times of drought, when her relics are carried in penitential processions through the town — rain is said to follow almost immediately. A similar event is recorded for 1714, when a silver reliquary statue arrived from Naples, and again as recently as 2000, a notably dry year. A local saying still recalls the tradition: when heavy rain falls, people say the body of Saint Comasia has gone out.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: she has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

Virgin and martyr of unknown name (hence "Comasia"), patron of Martina Franca and invoked for rain; feast 5 November.