Casilda (d. about 1007)

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Casilda (d. about 1007)

Moorish saint. Died around 1007; daughter of Aldemon, Moorish king of Toledo; widowed.

Casilda was the daughter of Aldemon, the Moorish king of Toledo who hated the Christians and had a predilection for keeping many imprisoned and in chains. Casilda, a catechumen (a student of Christianity), secretly visited these prisoners and brought them food. Legend has it that one day, while on her way to the prison with a basket filled with loaves of bread, she ran into her father who insisted on seeing the contents of the basket. It is said that when she lifted the cloth, the basket contained red roses; the flowers then returned to bread as soon as Aldemon walked on. When Casilda succumbed to what was thought to be an incurable illness, she traveled to bathe in Lake St. Vincent, received baptism, and built a small chapel and a house by the lake where she passed her years in retreat.

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