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Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 11h

Oct 21 – St Ursula 🇬🇧💪
British princess. Refused to marry a pagan prince. Martyred with her girlfriends.
In a world that values women for sex, marriage or status, her “no” was sacred power.
#EmilysFemaleSaintsFest #StUrsula

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 1d

If a burka ban makes women stay home, it proves oppression. If it doesn’t, it proves the burka’s redundant. Either way, it forces the truth into the open. 🧕✨

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 1d

💫 Two women, centuries apart—St Maria Bertilla the humble nurse who healed through war, and St Irene of Tomar who died for choosing faith over fear. One served the wounded, one stood unbroken. Holiness can whisper or roar—but it always loves. #FemaleSaintsFest #HerStoryToo

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 2d

🏰 St Frideswide built the Church that shaped Britain. St Laura kept faith alive in Córdoba, refusing to bow under persecution from Muslim invaders. Builders and defenders of Christendom—women whose courage still lights our heritage. #FemaleSaintsFest #StFrideswide #StLaura

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 3d

🏰 St Wenna of Talgarth — a Celtic princess who turned privilege into mission. Before Canterbury or cathedrals, women like Wenna built Britain’s first churches. She made the Gospel native to our soil. Patriotism can be holy when it remembers her. #FemaleSaintsFest #StWenna

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Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 4d

💫 Anstrudis, Margaret-Mary & Ysoline—three women who never chased fame, but changed the world anyway. They prove holiness doesn’t need a stage; it grows in silence. The bravest thing you can do? Stay faithful when no one’s watching. #FemaleSaintsFest #FaithfulnessInTheShadows

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 4d

Lately I’ve been neglecting this space. Not out of rebellion—just fatigue. But faith isn’t about hype; it’s about showing up. The saints stayed steady when no one was watching. I want to keep the candle lit too. #FemaleSaintsFest #KeepTheCandleLit #FaithfulnessOverFeeling

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 8d

🔹 Our Lady of the Pillar & Our Lady Aparecida

💫 From Spain’s marble pillar to Brazil’s muddy river, Mary stands for all who need hope. She’s the presence that doesn’t leave—the pillar that won’t fall, the Madonna who rises from brokenness. #FemaleSaintsFest #OurLadyOfThePillar #OurLadyAparecida

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 8d

🔥 St Domnina of Anazarbus—teenager, martyr, legend. Rome demanded her silence; she gave them defiance. Tortured but unbroken, she proved holiness isn’t weakness—it’s fire wrapped in grace. #FemaleSaintsFest #StDomnina #FaithOverFear

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 10d

💫 “My body, my choice” — the saints said it first. Pelagia, Athanasia, Juliana, Zenaida, Philonilla didn’t live for the world; they lived for Christ. They reclaimed their bodies not to sin, but to serve. My body isn’t a slogan. It’s a sanctuary. #FemaleSaintsFest #MyBodyHisTemple

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Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 12d

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Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 14d

⚔️ St Justina of Padua — born into privilege, defied empire. When Rome said “bow,” she said “Christ alone.” Her faith wasn’t quiet, it was fearless. Holiness = courage under power. #FemaleSaintsFest #StJustina #HolyDefiance #HerStoryToo

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Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 14d

🌹 Today’s Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary marks two years since Oct 7 2023. Mary isn’t passive—she’s the Jewish woman who fights back with prayer. We remember Israel’s dead, the hostages still in Gaza, and every mother who refuses to stop hoping. #FemaleSaintsFest #OurLadyOfTheRosary #BringThemHome

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 17d

⛪ Sarah Mullally becomes the first woman Archbishop of Canterbury. From nurse to bishop, her life shows leadership begins with service. She stands with Deborah, Phoebe, Junia, Mary Magdalene—& with Hilda, Etheldreda, Mildred—women who’ve led God’s people before. #FemaleSaintsFest

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Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 18d

🕊️ Esther 9:5 reminds us: the enemies of the Jews do not prevail. God promised Abraham his people would endure. From Persia to Manchester, antisemitism rises, but courage + covenant stand stronger. Esther’s voice calls us to speak + to stand. #FemaleSaintsFest #Esther

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 18d

🕯️ Yom Kippur: once a year the high priest sprinkled blood for mercy. Christians see Jesus as the High Priest who sprinkled his own blood - not for his sins but for ours. Hannah’s prayers echo in the liturgy, Mary’s “yes” opened the way. When a synagogue is attacked, we grieve our own roots too

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 23d

🌍 Today we honor St. Leoba (abbess + missionary in Germany) + St. Marina of Omura (Japanese martyr). One built communities, the other defied empire. Both prove women’s faith crosses borders + resists oppression. #FemaleSaintsFest #StLeoba #StMarina #FaithfulResistance

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 24d

🕊️ St. Aquilina (d. 1764) refused to convert to Islam + was beaten to death at 19. In a world where Christians still face pressure + persecution, she reminds us: faith isn’t trendy, it’s tested. Her “no” to empire and "fuck you" to Allah was her loudest “yes” to Christ. #FemaleSaintsFest

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 25d

✊ Virgin martyrs like Firmina + Justina lived the fiercest “my body, my choice.” They said no to empire + yes to Christ. Abortion? Not freedom if it just means surrendering our bodies to culture’s pressure + bearing the pain alone. #FemaleSaintsFest #FaithfulResistance

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Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 26d

🌅 Day 3 of our Rosh Hashanah series: Mary, the New Eve. To become human, God needed a mother. Her “yes” undoes Eve’s curse + fulfills Hannah’s prayer. Girlhood isn’t disposable—it’s where redemption begins. #FemaleSaintsFest #Mary #RoshHashanah

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 28d

🕯️ Day 2 of our Rosh Hashanah series. Today: Hannah. Mocked, silenced, mistaken for drunk—yet she kept praying. From her tears came Samuel, prophet + kingmaker. She proves women’s prayers aren’t background—they’re history-shaping. #FemaleSaintsFest #Hannah

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 29d

Erika Kirk just showed what Christian strength looks like. Instead of vengeance, she chose forgiveness: “The answer to hate is not hate… it’s love.” That’s not weakness — that’s power. A role model for women who refuse to let pain twist their souls. ✝️💪

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · 29d

🌍 Tonight begins Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of creation + start of our 3-day series. We begin with Eve—the first woman. She’s blamed as “the problem,” but really she’s the mother of us all. To be first means mistakes + hope. Beginnings matter. #FemaleSaintsFest #Eve

Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · Sep 21

👑 St. Ephigenia of Ethiopia heard the Apostle Matthew + chose Christ over palace life. When pressured into marriage, she refused—claiming freedom + holiness instead. A princess turned leader, she proves faith is stronger than patriarchy. #FemaleSaintsFest #StEphigenia

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Emily Santanberg @emilysantanberg.bsky.social · Sep 20

✨ St. Candida the Younger (d. 586) wasn’t a martyr or abbess—she was a wife in Naples whose quiet charity + faith made her a saint. She proves holiness isn’t always dramatic—it’s daily, steady, and ordinary faith that counts. #FemaleSaintsFest #EverydayHoliness

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