Major relics of the early Christian martyr St. Severa rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. Upon entering the chapel, visitors are immediately drawn to a wax figure of St. Severa, which rests above two lead boxes that contain her bones.

Severa was a child in a Christian family of martyrs who were killed in the early Christian persecutions. Her parents are Sts. Maximinus and Secunda, and her brothers are Sts. Mark (not the evangelist) and Calendine. Severa’s entire family is commemorated all together on this feast day.

Maximinus, her father, commanded a thousand soldiers. When it was discovered that he was converting many of his soldiers to Christianity, he was condemned to work in the mines. When he continued to make converts even there, he was executed.

His wife, Secunda, and her children were arrested and brought to trial. Secunda died from the anxiety of the crisis itself, and Mark, Calendine, and Severa were scourged and martyred.

St. Severa, the child-martyr whose bones rest in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart—pray for us!