St. Scholastica
Oil on canvas
Museum of the Church of San Paio, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
In her Benedictine habit, the saint holds a crozier in her right hand, symbol of her authority as abbess. In her left she holds a book, symbol of the Benedictine Rule. The dove on the book refers to her brother Benedict's vision, at the moment she died, of a dove ascending to Heaven.
In the lower left corner a scourge and skull signify the life of a contemplative, while the lilies above them symbolize her virginity. Like many virgin saints, she is crowned by angels with a garland of roses.
The meaning of the orb and snake in the lower right corner is not clear to me. The world of sin she has left behind?
Read more about St. Scholastica.
Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.