Iași, Romania, April 23, 2026
Photo: basilica.ro
The Romanian Orthodox Church uncovered the relics of St. Blondina, a 20th-century confessor of the faith, at Eternitatea Cemetery in Iași on Wednesday in a ceremony attended by two bishops and local faithful.
His Grace Bishop Veniamin of Southern Bessarabia and His Grace Bishop Nichifor Botoșăneanul of Iași led the solemn uncovering service. Her relics were then placed in the old St. George the Great Martyr Cathedral, reports the Basilica News Agency.
St. Blondina Gobjilă (1906-1971), also known as Mama Blondina, a confessor from the communist period who was exiled to Siberia for 15 years, was canonized by the Romanian Holy Synod with 15 other holy women in July 2025. The general proclamation of the canonizations took place at the Patriarchal Cathedral on February 6 of this year. Local proclamations for St. Blondina are scheduled for May 17 in Iași and May 23 in Chișinău.
She is commemorated annually as Confessor Blondina of Iași on May 24.
Photo: basilica.ro
Bp. Veniamin described Blondina as someone who encouraged others despite her own hardships. “She had gone through many hardships and knew people’s weaknesses,” he said, noting that she organized collections for families in difficulty and carried prayer lists to the shrine of St. Parascheva on behalf of those who trusted her.
The bishop called on the faithful to follow her example of unwavering faith and gratitude to God.
Blondina Popovici was born February 24, 1906, in Grușeuți, Bessarabia, the daughter of an Orthodox priest. After training as a teacher, she married engineer Gheorghe Gobjilă in 1926 and had one son, Vladislav. The family was deported to Siberia following the 1940 Soviet occupation of Bessarabia, where they suffered for 15 years.
Upon reaching Romania in 1957, Blondina’s son and daughter-in-law, who opposed her faith, forced her to choose between her family and her beliefs. She chose her faith and became homeless. A Christian family in Iași took her in, and she spent her remaining years at the Metropolitan Cathedral, praying, translating and transcribing akathists, and helping the poor. She reposed on May 24, 1971.
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