Candida the Elder
{{redirect|Saint Candida|the 1945 Argentine film|Saint Candida (film)}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix=Saint
|name= Candida the Elder
|birth_date=
|death_date={{Circa|AD 78}}
|feast_day= 4 September
|venerated_in= Eastern Orthodox Church
Roman Catholic Church
|image= Luca Giordano Protector saints of Naples.jpg
|imagesize= 300px
|caption= Luca Giordano, The Patron Saints of Naples (Baculus, Euphebius, Francis Borgia, Aspren, and Candida the Elder (kneeling)) adoring the Crucifix, 17th century. Palazzo Reale, Naples.
|birth_place= Naples
|death_place= Naples, Italy, Roman Empire
|titles= Virgin
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=
|patronage=Naples, Dining Clubs
|major_shrine=
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
}}
Candida the Elder ({{langx|it|Candida la Vecchia}}) (died {{Circa|AD 78}}) was a legendary early Christian saint and resident of Naples, Italy, who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church{{Cite web |title=Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome |url=http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/saintsc.htm |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=www.orthodoxengland.org.uk}} and Roman Catholic Church, with a feast day on 4 September. She is one of the patron saints of Naples.
Biography
According to her legend, Candida was an elderly woman who hospitably welcomed Peter the Apostle, when he was passing through Naples on his way to Rome.[http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-candida-the-elder/ Monks of Ramsgate. "Candida the Elder". Book of Saints] 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 26 September 2012{{PD-notice}} The woman was cured of an illness by Peter and converted to Christianity.{{cite web|url=http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90841|title= Sant' Aspreno di Napoli|date=April 19, 2002|publisher=Santi e Beati}} She was baptized by Peter and later converted Aspren, the first bishop of Naples, to Christianity.[https://books.google.com/books?id=PBgYAAAAYAAJ&dq=Saint+Candida+the+Elder&pg=PA142 Dunbar, Agnes Baillie Cunninghame. A Dictionary of Saintly Women] United Kingdom, Bell, 1904. p. 142
Candida Xu, an influential Chinese woman from the 17th century, was named after her{{cite web | url=https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=47585 | title=Language Log » Candida Xu: A highly literate Chinese woman of the 17th century }}
Existence
Basil Watkins says she probably never existed.{{Who|date=December 2024}} Her name has been deleted from the revised Roman Martyrology.{{Cite book |last=Watkins |first=Basil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yzqOCgAAQBAJ&dq=Candida+the+Elder&pg=PT210 |title=The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary |date=2015-11-19 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-66415-0 |language=en}}
Notes
{{Commons category|Candida Major}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Subject bar |portal1= Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Catholicism |portal4= Italy}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candida The Elder}}
Category:1st-century Christian saints
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:1st-century Christian female saints
Category:1st-century Roman women