Saint Munditia

The saint.The skeleton.The inspiration.

Saint Munditia is the historical inspiration behind Spinster Day.

Saint Munditia as a jeweled skeleton, painted in ink, gouache and gold leaf, lounging on a gold-embroidered plum chaise heaped with tasselled cushions: winking beneath a tipped crown of ruby, emerald, sapphire and amethyst under a radiant gold halo, robed in sheer tulle studded with sparkling coloured gemstones, with ropes of pearls and stacked jeweled bangles, one hand propping her grinning skull and the other raising a jeweled gold chalice in a toast. Tall lit candles in gold candlesticks glow beside the chaise, a small spray of pink and ivory roses sits at its foot, and she wears coral slippers.

Who She Was

Munditia was an early Christian martyr of Rome. Almost nothing is known of her life. Her remains come from the Roman catacombs, and tradition holds that she died for her faith around the year 310.

November 17

Her grave inscription gives November 17 as the day of her death. It is kept as her feast day — and it is the day Spinster Day is celebrated.

Munich

Her relics were brought from Rome to Munich in the seventeenth century and have rested since 1677 in St. Peter’s Church — the Alter Peter, the city’s oldest parish church.

The Jeweled Reliquary

She lies in a glass shrine on a side altar: a gilded skeleton set with coloured stones, veiled in fine netting and holding a small glass vessel.

Why She Inspired Spinster Day

Saint Munditia is venerated as the patron saint of unmarried women. Spinster Day borrows her day and her splendour to honour women who belong to themselves.

Spinster Day is an independent celebration inspired by Saint Munditia. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Catholic Church or St. Peter’s Church, Munich.

Learn moreSt. Peter’s Church, Munich