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147 ST. CASILLA 147 by Hensohenius to be tb en recently fonnd in one of the Roman cemeteries. Her history was unknown to him. AA,SS. St. Casdia, Gasdoa. St. Casdoa, Sept. 20 (Casdia, Casdoe). Wife of Didas, or Dada, kins- man of Sapor, king of Persia, by whom they and their son Grabdelas were de- prived of their rank and property, and, after a long imprisonment, beheaded. By another account she was wife of Sapor. B,M. AA.SS, SS. Casia, Philippa, and Eutychia were tried with Agape (8), Chionia, and Ibene, and remanded to prison, there to bo starved to death. Whether the sentence was carried out is not known, but they are accounted martyrs. St. Casilda, April 9 (Casilla, Cas- silda). "f c. the middle of the 11th century. Patron of Toledo. Invoked against dysentery. Eepresented carry- ing roses in her lap. Daughter of a Moorish king of Toledo, called by different authors Alimaymon, Aldemon, and Cano. This king was a friend of Alfonso YI He had a palace on the spot where afterwards stood the monastery of Santa Fe, and a prison near it where the hospital of Santa Cruz was built. In that prison were many Chris- tian captives, whom Casilda could see from her windows in the palace. She had a brother named Alimaymon, who was converted to Christianity, and took the name of Peter on his baptism, in consequence of which he is commonly remembered as the Infante Petran, and the place where the B. Y. Mary appeared to him is called to this day Nuestra Sefiora de Sepetran. His conversion led to that of his sister. He found many ways of alleviating the sufferings of the Christian prisoners and slaves, and soon Casilda, although still a Mohammedan, joined him in this charitable work. One day, as she was going to the prison, attended by servants carrying baskets of food and other comforts, she met her father, who asked her what she had in those baskets. She was afraid, and answered, " Roses." The king, however, suspected the truth, and opened the baskets. He found them full of roses ; but when distributed to the Christians they were changed back again to bread, meat, etc. The same miracle is told of 8S. Elizabeth of Hungary, Rose op YiTEKBO, R0SCELINB,YERENA,and MaTHIA. After this Casilda was disposed to believe in the doctrine of the Christians, and they gladly instructed her in their religion. She had dysentery, and kept growing worse, in spite of all the care and advice of all the doctors in the king- dom. The Christians told her she would recover if she went and bathed in the lake of San Yicente, near Burgos, as there were leeches in it that would suck away all the bad blood, and completely cure her complaint. She was extremely anxious to try it, but it was in Christian territory. King Alimaymon, however, procured a safe conduct. for her from Fernando I., king of Castile. She set out, accompanied by two maids, and taking a present of Christian slaves to- the king. On the way, she had to cross a narrow bridge. The devil, foreseeing that he would lose a precious soul if Casilda went to a Christian country and was baptized, took this opportunity to- frighten her mule. She fell into the water, and would certainly have been drowned but for the timely interference of an angel. At Burgos she recovered, and was baptized in the church of St. Yinoent. She would not return to Toledo, but remained among the Christians, and lived as a religious recluse in a hut on the banks of ^e lake. She attempted to build a church on its borders, but the work of each day was mysteriously re- moved by night to the top of the hill, so in the end the church was built there. After some years her illness returned. Feeling that death was near, she entreated that if any one ever prayed in her name for recovery, especially from the com- plaint of which she was dying, the prayer might be granted. Yepez places her death about 1047. Some accounts make it later. Yepez, Sermon 25. Quintadueno, Santos de Toledo, Moroni, Diz, Eccles.y "Toledo." Papebroch, in ^^.iS^5. Cahier. Husenbeth, Eniblems, Florez, Espaiia Sagrada, xxvii. 754, gives the legend with slight variations. St. Casilla, Casilda.