Plautina
Patrician (aristocrat) Roman, friend and probably relative of Claudia Procula.
Character and Appearance[edit | edit source]
"Tall, imposing, with splendid black eyes, somewhat imperious, under a smooth and very white forehead, a straight, perfect nose; a mouth with somewhat thick lips, but well shaped; a rounded, protruding chin. She reminds me of certain very beautiful statues of Roman empresses. Heavy rings shine on her very beautiful hands and wide gold bracelets adorn her arms, true statue arms, at the wrist and beyond the elbow, which appears white-pink, smooth and perfect outside the short draped sleeve."[1]
Apostolic Journey[edit | edit source]
From the beginning of the Public Life, she is among the Roman women sympathizers of Jesus. Their faith evolves: they are found on the Via Dolorosa where they pity the sufferings of the Christ.[2]
They openly convert on Easter morning: they speak among themselves of Jesus when a light appears and transforms into the smiling Face of Christ.
Without waiting, they come to the Cenacle to greet Mary, the "Mother of the Savior."
Plautina, the most respected of all, takes the floor
- "If before we admired Wisdom, now we want to be the daughters of Christ. It is to you that we say this. You alone can overcome the Hebrew mistrust towards us. It is to you that we will come to be taught until they (and she shows the Apostles) allow us to call ourselves Disciples of Jesus."[3]Plautina then withdraws, with Claudia, to Caesarea on the Sea.[4]
Where is she mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
EMV 158 EMV 167 EMV 193
EMV 204
EMV 370 EMV 371 EMV 378 EMV 393
EMV 401 EMV 425 EMV 426 EMV 448
EMV 582 EMV 583
EMV 626 EMV 630
Learn more about this character[edit | edit source]
History of this era knows Aulus Plautius or Plautinus, one of the first personalities of the Empire. His family was of plebeian origin.
His wife, whom History names Plautiana, Plautina or Plautilla, was born Pomponia Graecina. Her family belonged to the imperial Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of a suffect consul, an honorary title.
Her uncle, Lucius Pomponius Flaccus, was governor of Syria in 35.
From 43 onwards, she led an austere life in Rome that she officially attributed to the Mourning for her cousin Julia, granddaughter of Emperor Tiberius.
In 57, she was accused of "foreign superstition" and "unauthorized religious activities", which at that time was practically synonymous with conversion to Christianity. According to Roman law, her husband had to decide her fate: she was acquitted (Dion Cassius, LX 19-21, 30; Suetonius: Claudius 24, Vespasian 4; Tacitus Agr 14; Annals 13, 32).
Some authors identify Pomponia Graecina with Saint Lucina (Paul Allard, Battista de Rossi). This would be a baptismal name. She visited imprisoned Christians and opened in Rome one of the first Christian burial sites on the Via Aurelia. (Catholic Encyclopedia).
In a vision, Maria Valtorta describes a visit of a Plautina in the Mamertine prison. She meets there Paul carrying the Eucharist to the condemned (The Notebooks of 1944 - February 29).
She is said to have buried the body of the apostle after his decapitation.
According to information given by Tacitus (Annals 13, 32), she died around year 77.
Saint Lucina is celebrated on June 30. The Greek Orthodox Church has not canonized her but considers her one of the first Roman nobles converted to Christianity.
Her Relics are said to be at Saint Cecilia in Trastevere.