Melania, St

Melania, St.

called THE YOUNGER, a Roman lady of a noble family, who was born about AD. 388, became a convert to Christianity and founded a convent in Palestine, and subsequently a monastery near Mount Calvary. She was the daughter of a Roman consul, and one of the many noble ladies of the Eternal City who joined the cause of the Christians. She died in 439, and her death is commemorated by the Church of Rome Dec. 31. See Mace, Hist. de Sainte-Melanie (Paris, 1729, 12mo).