Story
Saint Verena was born of a noble Christian household in the land of Thebes in Upper Egypt, the region that gave the Church so many of her martyrs and ascetics. Her very name, it is said, signifies "the good seed" or "the good fruit," and indeed she grew up adorned with chastity, purity, and the fear of God. She was instructed in the faith by the holy Bishop Chaeremon (Sherimon), who taught her the way of Christ and baptized her, so that from her youth she was clothed in the grace of the Lord.
Verena was a kinswoman of the soldiers of the Theban Legion, that company of Christian soldiers from the Thebaid who were summoned into the service of the empire and sent into the western lands of Rhaetia, which is now Switzerland. As was the custom, certain of the women followed the legion to prepare food and to tend the wounded, and the blessed Verena, skilled in the healing arts of her homeland, went among them as a nurse, devoting her hands to works of mercy.
When the holy commander Saint Maurice and Saint Victor and all the soldiers of the Theban Legion confessed Christ and refused to offer sacrifice to idols, and were slain and received the crown of martyrdom, Saint Verena did not return to Egypt. Rather, she chose to remain in that strange land as a stranger for Christ, embracing the solitary and ascetic life. She dwelt first near Solothurn, and afterward in a cave near the city of Zurich, persevering in fasting, vigil, and unceasing prayer, eating only the labor of her own hands.
From her place of solitude she went out to serve the people, who were still in the darkness of paganism. She nursed the sick and bound up their wounds, and with great courage she cared for the lepers whom others feared to approach. She taught the people cleanliness and the tending of the body, and brought them to the knowledge of the true God by her words and by the example of her holy life. She gave bread to the poor and took special care of young maidens, guiding them in the purity of body and soul, and many were brought to Christ through her.
God glorified His handmaid with many miracles, and the pagan rulers, troubled by her, cast her into prison. There, when her spirit was tried, Saint Maurice appeared to her and strengthened her in the faith, and she was preserved and set free. After her release she continued her labors, journeying and teaching and leading souls to baptism, settling at last at Tenedo, the place now called Zurzach, where she found a church dedicated to the Virgin and resolved to end her days.
Having finished her course in holiness, Saint Verena departed to the Lord in peace on the fourth day of the Coptic month of Thout. A church was raised over her body, and her memory has been honored throughout the lands of Switzerland and beyond from ancient times. In the year of our Lord 1986 a portion of her relics was brought to Egypt, her homeland, and a church was consecrated in her name together with Saint Maurice. May her holy prayers and intercessions be with us. Amen.