Ulphia

Who was Ulphia?

Ulphia of Amiens is a saint of the Catholic Church, venerated particularly at Amiens. She was said to be a young girl living on the banks of the Noye who became a hermit at Saint-Acheul, near Amiens, under the spiritual direction of Saint Domitius. At the end of her life, she formed and directed a community of religious women at Amiens. Her feast day is January 31.

Legend states that Ulphe placed the frogs in the area around her hermitage under interdict as a result of their loud croaking, which kept her awake at nights. Thus, in her iconography, she is depicted as a young nun seated in prayer on a rock with a frog in the pool near her.

A 19th century hagiographer noted that the frogs in the area around the oratory of Saint Ulphe were, indeed, very quiet. However, if these frogs were taken elsewhere, they became boisterous once again.

A statue of Ulphia stands in the portal of Amiens Cathedral and a painting of Ulphia with Saint Domitius by the nineteenth century painter, Jean de Franqueville, hangs inside the cathedral.