Saint Mina (Abu Mena)

Saint Mina was born in Egypt around 285 AD to a Christian family. He joined the Roman army and served as a soldier. When the emperor Diocletian unleashed a violent persecution against Christians and ordered all soldiers to sacrifice to the Roman gods, Mina refused. He left the army and went into the desert to pray and fast.

Three years later, during gladiatorial games in the city of Cotyaeum, Mina walked into the arena and publicly declared himself a Christian before the crowds. He was arrested, tortured with extraordinary cruelty, and finally beheaded. His body was burned, and his ashes were kept by a Christian soldier who had witnessed his martyrdom.

When the soldier later sailed to Egypt, the camel carrying Mina's ashes stopped on a hill outside Alexandria and refused to move. The ashes were buried there. Shortly after, miraculous healings began to occur at that spot. The site grew into a great basilica and pilgrimage center — Abu Mena — which became one of the most visited Christian shrines in the ancient world. Pilgrims came from across the Roman Empire to be healed. Even today, his name is beloved throughout Egypt: "Mina" is one of the most common Coptic Christian names, given to boys in his memory.