A Dictionary of Saintly Women/Olive (6)

by Agnes B. C. Dunbar

St. Olive (6) or Oliva, June 3. Date unknown. Patron of Anagni and Cori. Her high-born parents prepared a suitable marriage for her, but her only ambition was to be numbered among the spouses of Christ. She therefore fled to a church and took the veil. She outdid her sister nuns in every kind of asceticism, avoiding praise and bearing false accusations with meekness. Not content with ordinary self-tortures, she stuck thorns into her breast and would not pull them out until the wounds festered. R.M. AA.SS.