Virginia of Poitu
5th century saint
Feast: 7 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Under this name is venerated a saintly young shepherdess of Poitou in France, whose apparently legendary life has been handed down by popular tradition. She is patroness of Sainte-Verge in Deux-Sèvres near Poitiers, which has a parish church dedicated to her, and her feast is celebrated on 7 January. Her relics were lost in 1793 during the French Revolution, and nothing more is officially known about her.
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
Shepherdess venerated as patroness of Sainte-Verge near Poitiers; feast 7 January.
- Santi, beati e testimoni (santiebeati.it) - Santa Virginia, by Antonio Borrelli
- Wikidata Q1403277 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.