Venerable Xenia of Rome
5th century
A Roman senator's daughter who fled an arranged marriage with two servants, took the name Xenia ('stranger'), and founded a convent of great humility in Mylasa of Caria.
Our Venerable Mother Xenia of Rome
Life
Xenia of Rome, who is said to have borne the name Eusebia before her monastic life, was an ascetic of the fifth century. She is commemorated on January 24.
By the accounts she was the only daughter of an eminent Roman senator. Wishing to avoid the marriage that had been arranged for her, she secretly left her parental home together with two servants devoted to her and set sail by ship. To conceal her identity she took the name Xenia, which means 'stranger' or 'foreigner'.
She came at length to Mylasa in Caria, in Asia Minor, where she founded a convent and lived with her two companions in great humility. She is remembered for her ascetic labors and for the hidden, lowly manner of life she embraced.