Columba of Sens

Columba of Sens, was a virgin and nun who was born to a noble pagan family in northwestern Spain. She left Spain for France as a child to avoid being denounced as a Christian and received the baptismal name Columba, meaning "dove" in French. She settled in Sens, France, when the Roman emperor Aurelian noticed her and tried to force her to marry his son. When she refused, he imprisoned her and after was protected from being burned alive by a female bear and a miraculous rain shower, she was finally beheaded. Columba was venerated throughout France; a chapel was later built over her relics and the Abbey of Sens, which at one time was a pilgrimage site in her honor, was eventually built there.