The history of the Catholic Church in Catalonia may date back to the earliest times, with visits of
Paul and
James. (The apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Saint James (
Our Lady of the Pillar) occurred in neighboring
Aragon.) The written record dates to the third century, with the Acts of the Martyrdom of the bishop
Fructuosus and his deacons Augurius and Eulogius.
The patron saint of Catalonia is Saint George; there he is known as
Sant Jordi.
Other people have been canonized saints who, while Catalan by language or ancestry, were not from the modern community of Catalonia. An example is
Junípero Serra. Also of interest, from the culturally and linguistically Catalan nation of
Andorra, would be Mary as
Our Lady of Meritxell.