Wilgefortis is/was a Catholic folk saint, who was apparently based on a misunderstanding of a famous depiction of Christ, Lucca’s “Volto Santo.” According to NewAdvent.Org,
In the early Middle Ages it was common to represent Christ on the cross clothed in a long tunic, and wearing a royal crown; but since the eleventh century this practice has been discontinued. Thus it happened that copies of the “Volto Santo” of Lucca, spread by pilgrims and merchants in various parts of Europe, were no longer recognized as representations of the crucified Saviour, but came to be looked upon as pictures of a woman who had suffered martyrdom.
This image of a woman being martyred required, of course, an accompanying story of said martyrdom. According to Wikipedia,
According to the narrative of the legend, sometimes set in Portugal and Galicia, a teen-aged noblewoman named Wilgefortis had been promised in marriage by her father to a Muslim king. To thwart the unwanted wedding, she had taken a vow of virginity, and prayed that she would be made repulsive. In answer to her prayers she sprouted a beard, which ended the engagement. In anger, Wilgefortis’s father had her crucified.
