There are two early Christian martyrs with the name Restituta, and the relics of one of them rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame’s campus. We know very little for certain about either of these saints—both martyrs had legends spring up about their lives.
Restituta of Carthage, pictured here with permission from Catholic.org, was martyred either in 255 or 304 (the record is unclear). In medieval times, a legend arose that described Restituta being tortured, then placed on a flaming barge and released into the Mediterranean sea. She drifted away on this flaming barge, but remained unharmed, as she prayed to God to save and guide her. The barge with her body in it was discovered on the coast of an island near Naples, Italy. Today, her relics are kept in the cathedral at Naples, and her feast day is May 17.
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