On October 22, the Church celebrates the memory of Nunilo and Alodia: two young sisters martyred in the Iberian Peninsula for being Christians.
Newsroom (October 22, 2021, 09:31, Gaudium Press ) When Abd-arram II rose to the throne in the third decade of the ninth century, a trying period began for the Christians of the Emirate of Cordoba. Although there was no intense persecution, anyone who openly disobeyed the laws of the Koran had to be reported to the authorities.
According to tradition, a wealthy muladi from the village of Adahuesca, located in the very north of the Peninsula, married a Christian woman around that time. And from this union, two girls were born: Nunilo and Alodia. Their mother raised them in the true religion, but in secret, to avoid being accused of “apostasy.”
As teenagers, they became orphans of father and mother, and a paternal relative got custody of them, a strict adherent of Islam. However, even in that hostile environment, the sisters persevered in the faith they had received at Baptism.
Fearing being denounced for keeping two young Christian girls in his house and coveting the prize promised to those who would report the followers of Jesus, their guardian handed them over to Jalaf ibn Rasid, governor of Alquezar. The latter tried to convince them, with flattery and threats, to abandon the religion. But the sisters vigorously rejected all his proposals, declaring that they were willing to live or die for Christ.
Admiring their perseverance and being moved by the youth of the two, Calaf ordered them to return home without doing them any harm.
“Death will lead us into the arms of Christ!”
Displeased with the unexpected outcome, the impious relative appealed to the authority of Zimael, Governor of Huesca.
He summoned the girls for interrogation. If they abandoned the Faith, they would receive gold, silver, dresses, and jewels, as well as rich and noble husbands; if not, they would be sentenced to death. But nothing moved the heroic sisters, who replied:
“Do not attempt to separate two virgins from the worship of God! With Christ, there is life, and without Him, there is death. To remain at His side and live with Him is a true joy. To be separated from Him is eternal damnation! We consecrate to Him the integrity of our bodies and have firmly resolved never to abandon Him. We despise all the earthly advantages you offer us. […] We will receive with joy the death with which you threaten us, for we know that it opens the gates of Heaven and brings us into the arms of Christ!”
The governor perceived that the two sisters strengthened their convictions by being together, so he separated them. He sent them to different families, who treated them very well, at the same time tried to persuade them with promises and threats, saying: “What are you doing? Your sister has already renounced and wishes to follow our law”.
Forty days later, Nunilo and Alodia met again before the wicked governor. In this last interrogation, the attack was more subtle: he proposed to them to simulate the renunciation of the Catholic Faith. Upon the young women’s energetic refusal, he immediately pronounced the sentence of death by decapitation.
A Noble Gesture Born of a Pure Heart
Being the eldest, Nunilo was the first.
Uncovering her throat to facilitate the executioner’s work, Nunilo prepared to receive the crown of martyrdom. But as the executioner missed the first blow, she fell to the ground and, while dying, her dress fell apart.
Alodia ran to her sister to mend her clothes. And as she saw her soul flying like a dove to Heaven, she exclaimed full of joy, “Sister, wait for me a little while! Wait for me a little while!”
Alodia then prepared herself to receive the fatal blow, but first, she took off the ribbon that held her hair and, to avoid what happened to her sister, she fastened her tunic at her feet.
Their bodies were abandoned on the spot so that they could become food for the animals. The animals, however, did not dare to touch them, for a divine force was watching over the mortal remains of the two sisters. When the infidel saw this, they dragged them out of the city, where the Christians buried them.
Without a doubt, that courageous young girl who ran to cover the body of her sister could not even imagine that the consideration of her simple gesture, remembered with admiration throughout the centuries, would be worth more than many words in this world so averse to virtue, and especially to modesty!
Text extracted from the magazine Heralds of the Gospel n.226, October 2020.
Compiled by Ena Alfaro