In the 18th century, the capital of the Russian Empire was St. Petersburg. It had magnificent palaces, excellent urban planning, imposing buildings, and wonderful churches! However, there was another St. Petersburg. It consisted of the poor neighborhoods... Dominated by small narrow streets, full of dirt and mud, and the poor (usually wooden) houses! And the further away from the center you went, the more everything was: poorer, more miserable, more humble, filled with deprivation and suffering. Just like today, ten minutes away from the White House in Washington, there is... a slum.

There, for 45 whole years, a "fool for Christ" wandered around; a woman who, after her husband's death, forgot the world and lived for Christ and her soul. Back then, she spread kindness around her, her own kindness, from her struggle and Christ's, with the miracles she was worthy of performing. And she reminded a distant world of faith and piety. And now, this fool, after 200 years, is honored not only in Russia but also throughout the world. Her name was Xenia. And she truly lived in the world as a stranger.

Let us follow her life, her passage on earth (we are all pilgrims in this world), to understand what God was saying to the world then and what He is saying to us now.