Melania
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St. Melania the Younger (383-439 A.D.)
Melania was a wealthy Christian who gave away her great wealth, using it to help the poor, free 8,000 slaves, and support monasteries and churches. She was devoted to the idea of celibacy.
Melania was born in 383 in Rome, a daughter of wealthy Christians-- Publicola, a Roman senator, and Albina. Influenced by her grandmother living in Jerusalem, Melania developed ascetic tendencies at an early age[1] Her wealthy and ambitious father did not agree, so he forced her marriage at age 14 to Valerius Pinianus, then 17.[2][3] Her two children died soon after childbirth, and her husband conceded to a life of celibacy.
- â Henry Wace, D.D., Ed., A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Hendrickson Publihsers, Peabody, MA, 1994, p.717
- â Dictionary of Christian Biography, p.717
- â Catholic Online, http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=426