For five years, the governor Urbanus had sought to enforce the orders of the Emperors that all should perform sacrifices to the Roman gods, upon pain of death.

On Easter Day, 307, according to Eusebius, she went to the public square where a number of Christians were in chains awaiting interrogation.

[4] Seized by the guards and brought before the governor, he ordered her to sacrifice to the gods, and when she would not, he had her tortured with "cruel combs" on her side and breasts, and "she was torn on the ribs until her bowels were seen.

"[3] The governor, seeing that she endured these tortures uncomplainingly, appealed to her to perform sacrifices to the gods and be released, but, according to Eusebius, she replied that she had purposely come there and spoken to the Christians under guard in the square for the express purpose of being put to death by the authorities: "Why, oh man, dost thou deceive thyself, and not perceive that I have found the thing which I prayed to obtain at thy hands?

Eusebius says that Urbanus had spent all his fury on the young girl and so the Christians she had spoken to who were under interrogation were sent as slaves to work in copper mines, without any torture being inflicted on them.