Sts. Aurelius and Natalia, a Christian married couple in Islamic-controlled Spain, were martyred when they decided to refrain from hiding their faith any longer.

Aurelius was the son of a Spanish woman who had married a Muslim; they were a family of distinction in Cordoba. Both of his parents died when he was a boy, and Aurelius was left in the care of an aunt, who raised him as a Christian.

As he grew and matured, he was Christian in secret and Muslim to all appearances. He married a woman who was also from a half-Muslim family, and after their wedding, she converted to Christianity, taking the name Natalia at her baptism.

One day, Aurelius saw a man from Cordoba beaten and humiliated for standing up for his Christian faith; he was led through the city on a donkey to be gawked at. The sight moved Aurelius, and he was ashamed that he had protected his safety instead of publicly proclaiming his faith.

By this time, Aurelius and Natalia had two young children, and they worried that if they were public with their faith, that they would be martyred and would leave their children destitute. They consulted a holy man in the Christian community, St. Eulogius, who advised them to make arrangements for their children to be cared for and raised as Christians if anything happened to them.

Aurelius and Natalia’s discernment inspired a relative to return to the faith. Felix was Aurelius’ cousin and was raised a Christian, but had turned away to practice Islam. Felix’s wife, Liliosa, remained faithful, and when he returned to the faith, they joined Aurelius and Natalia in reaching out to support imprisoned Christians. They even came to know that man whom Aurelius had seen paraded through the streets.

Aurelius welcomed to his home a traveling monk, George, who came from a monastery in Jerusalem and was traveling to beg for alms to support his community. The two became close friends.

Natalia and Liliosa decided to openly visit the Christian churches in Cordoba with their faces open and unveiled. They were spotted and watched. When the two couples were gathered at Aurelius’ house to celebrate the Mass, they were all arrested, along with the visiting monk, George.

They were all charged with turning away from Islam and condemned to death. As a foreigner, George was given leniency and permitted to leave, but he chose to stay with the faithful couples and to be martyred with them.

Relics of St. Aurelius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

Sts. Aurelius and Natalia, the Christians who inspired their relatives to boldly proclaim the faith in the face of martyrdom, pray for us!

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Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Natalia is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed March 20, 2025.