Saint Mary lived during the 8th century, in Verona, where her brother, Hanno, served as Bishop.
The city of Verona suffered the horrors of famine, as the result of a drought that had lasted several years. Mary and Hanno prayed with tears, for rain.
It was revealed to Mary that there would be no rain until the bodies of the martyrs, Firmus and Eusticus, were brought to Verona, where they had been killed for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was then learned that the precious relics were at Capra, in Istria, but the citizens would not give them up for less than their weight in gold.
Mary collected all the gold she could, and went to Istria to purchase the holy bodies. When they were placed in the balance scale they became miraculously light, and only a small part of the gold Mary had brought was needed to buy them.
When she set sail with the bodies, and most of the gold, the Istrians chased her. Another miracle helped her, when the Istrian ships were unable to steer in the right direction.
Arriving in Verona, she was met by all the people as they came out to honor the holy martyrs. Then the entire region was immediately blessed with life-giving rain.
We commemorate this holy virgin on August 1.
O Holy Virgin of the Lord, we beg you to pray for the salvation of our souls. Amen.
