Martyr Leonilla the grandmother in Cappadocia

Saint Leonilla was the grandmother of Saints Eleusippus, Meleusippus, and Speusippus, . They all suffered martyrdom with Neon , Turbo, and Jonilla in Gaul (by another account, in Cappadocia) in the second century, during the persecution under Marcus Aurelius (161-180).


After the torture and death of her grandchildren, Saint Leonilla was beheaded with a sword. Saint Jonilla saw the steadfast faith of the holy martyrs and said that she too was a Christian. The torturers hung her up by the hair, lacerated her body, then beheaded her. She left behind her husband and young son.


These martyrs are particularly revered in Spain, where many churches are dedicated to them. The relics of the holy martyrs were given by the Byzantine emperor Zeno to a French nobleman from the city of Langres, where they now rest.