St Cecilia – 22 November
By Catherine Sheehan
St Cecilia, patron of music and musicians, is one of the most well-loved saints of the Catholic Church.
This is remarkable considering how little is actually known about this virgin martyr of the early Church, one of seven female saints named in the Canon of the Mass.
There is even conjecture about when she died, with some sources citing 177 AD, and others 230 AD.
Today, her tomb can be visited at the site of her home at the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome.
It is believed that Cecilia was born to pagan noble parents in Rome and that at some point she converted to Christianity.
This was an era of terrible persecution of Christians under the ruling pagan authorities of the Roman empire.
Cecilia’s parents betrothed her to a young pagan man named Valerian, however, Cecilia was opposed to the marriage because she wished to dedicate her life to Christ alone.
She relented to her parents’ persistent wishes however, and married Valerian while asking him to respect her vow of virginity.
At her wedding Cecilia focussed her mind solely on God, and in her heart, she sang hymns of praise to the Lord. For this reason, she was later proclaimed patron saint of music and musicians.
She told her husband that an angel of the Lord was watching over her and that if he tried to violate her the angel would punish him. Valerian asked to see the angel and Cecilia responded that if he was baptised by Pope Urban I he would be able to see the angel.
Valerian agreed and was baptised by the pope. He then saw the angel standing beside Cecilia, talking to her, and crowning her head with flowers.
Under her influence, Valerian’s brother Tiburtius also converted to Christianity.
All three were martyred by the Roman authorities because of their Christian faith. It is believed they tried to burn Cecilia to death but failed because her body remained unharmed by the flames.
They tried to behead her but after striking her neck three times with a sword, she remained alive. She was left lying on the ground for three days while she bled to death.
She and her husband were buried in the catacomb of St Callistus near Rome. In the third century their remains were transferred to the site of Cecilia’s house in Trastevere, where a basilica was built in her honour.
In 1599 during restoration work carried out on the basilica, Cecilia’s body was discovered to be incorrupt. A sculpture was made depicting the posture in which Cecilia’s body was found.
It can be seen today under the high altar of the basilica. She is depicted lying on her side with sword marks clearly visible on her neck.
She has three fingers extended on her right hand, believed to indicate the Holy Trinity, and one finger extended on her left hand, symbolising the one, true God.