St. Xenia of St. Petersburg

Xenia was a young wife in St. Petersburg whose husband, an army officer, died suddenly without confession. She put on his uniform, answered only to his name, and gave away their house and everything she owned. For 45 years she wandered the streets as a fool for Christ, praying for the city in the fields at night, and secretly carrying bricks to help build a church. People came to treasure her prayers and prophecies. Her chapel in the Smolensky cemetery is always crowded.

• Feast: January 24 (New Calendar)
• Lived: c. 1730–1803
• Place: St. Petersburg
• Relics today: Smolensky Cemetery Chapel, St. Petersburg