Agatha Saint February 5 Virgin And Martyr
Saint Agatha
She suffered martyrdom in Catania (Sicily), likely during the persecution under Emperor Decius [249–251]. From ancient times, her veneration
spread throughout the Church, and her name was included in the Roman Canon.
See the sermon by Saint Methodius: Her goodness came from God Himself, the source of all good.
Saint Agatha possessed everything a young woman could desire: a noble family and extraordinary beauty. But she valued her faith in Jesus Christ far above all else. This was proven when Senator Quintianus took advantage of Emperor Decius’ persecution of Christians (250–253) to try to take her for himself. The senator’s advances were firmly rejected by the young virgin, who had already pledged herself to another spouse: Jesus Christ.
Quintianus did not give up. He placed her in the hands of Aphrodisia, a wicked woman, hoping she would lure Agatha with worldly temptations. But her evil tactics were overcome by the virtue and faithfulness to Christ that Saint Agatha displayed.
Enraged, Quintianus cruelly tortured the young virgin, even ordering her breasts to be cut off. Saint Agatha famously replied:
"Cruel tyrant, do you not feel shame torturing in a woman the very breast from which you, as a child, were fed?"
She was then consoled by a miraculous vision of Saint Peter, who healed her. But the tortures continued, and she ultimately earned the crown
of martyrdom when she was rolled over burning coals in Catania, Sicily (Italy).
According to tradition, a year after Saint Agatha’s martyrdom (c. 250), Mount Etna erupted. The lava miraculously stopped when the people prayed for her intercession. For this reason, she is the patroness of Catania, and the regions surrounding Mount Etna invoke her as a protector against fire, lightning, and volcanic eruptions. In addition to these elements, her iconography usually includes the palm of martyrdom, and symbols or gestures representing her tortures (see image above).
Both Catania and Palermo claim the honor of being Saint Agatha’s birthplace. In some places, “Saint Agatha’s bread” and water are blessed during the Mass on her feast day.
The Church of Saint Agatha in Rome features an impressive painting of her martyrdom above the main altar.
Ancient Sources
Her office in the Roman Breviary is taken in part from the Latin Acts of her martyrdom (Acta SS., I, Feb., 595 sqq.). A letter from Pope Gelasius (492–496) to a Bishop Victor (Thiel, Epist. Roman. Pont., 495) refers to a Basilica of Saint Agatha. Pope Gregory I (590–604) also mentions her basilica in Rome (Epp., IV, 19; P.L., LXXVII, 688), and it appears he was the one who included her name in the Canon of the Mass.
Historically, the only facts known with certainty are the date of her martyrdom and the public veneration
she received in the early Church. She appears in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (ed. De Rossi and Duchesne, in Acta
SS.,
Nov. II, 17) and in the Martyrologium Carthaginiense, which dates to the 5th or 6th century (Ruinart, Acta Sincera,
Ratisbon, 1859, 634). In the 6th century, Venantius Fortunatus mentions her in his poem on virginity as one of the
celebrated Christian virgins and martyrs (Carm., VIII, 4, De Virginitate):
“There Euphemia also rejoices with Agatha, and Justina joined by Thecla,” etc.
Bibliography
- Butler’s Lives of the Saints, vol. IV. Mexico City: Collier’s International – John W. Clute, S.A., 1965.
- The Catholic Encyclopedia
- Kirsch, J. P., “Saint Agatha,” Catholic Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Press, 1913
- Sgarbossa, Mario & Giovannini, Luigi. A Saint for Every Day. Bogotá: San Pablo, 1996.
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