Today is the feast of St. Cecilia, a very special saint in My Domestic Church as we are all musicians! She is one of the saints of the early church and her story is one of religious persecution and brave martyrdom. yet Cecilia is another girl-boss saint, living her life on her own terms and laying down that life for the love of Christ. Here are 6 fascinating facts about today’s special saint.
1. Her name might already sound familiar to you.
Whenever your church uses the very first Eucharistic Prayer before communion, You’ll hear Cecilia mentioned. That’s how highly venerated she is in the church. We hear that one often in my parish at certain high points in the liturgical year!
From the First Eucharistic prayer:
Remember, Lord, those who have died and have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, especially those for whom we now pray, {names deceased loved ones whom the celebrant or parishioner wishes to offer before God}. May these, and all who sleep in Christ, find in your presence light, happiness, and peace. [Through Christ our Lord. Amen.]
For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, [Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia] and all the saints. Though we are sinners, we trust in your mercy and love. Do not consider what we truly deserve, but grant us your forgiveness. Through Christ our Lord.
2. She’s Legendary!
Read the Legend of St. Cecilia for free online here.
To our modern senses, this might not sound like a desirable virtue, but St. Cecilia is one of the famous virgin saints of the church. She had vowed to remain a virgin. The fact that she sought her own autonomy during the time of the Roman Empire is striking.
The story goes that a young man named Valerian fell in love with her and asked her parents for her hand in marriage. On their wedding night, Cecilia confided in Valerian.
“I have an angel which thus loveth me – That with great love, whether I wake or sleep, Is ready, aye, my body for to keep.” Chaucer, “Second Nonnes Tale”
Chaucer, Second Nonnes Tale
This must have at least intrigued Valerian because he said he would believe her only if he could see the angel. Cecilia told him that he would only be able to see the angel if he himself was baptized first.
We have no idea how much time passed, but Valerian was baptized by Pope Urban I (the great converter). When Valerian returned to his bride, “He found Cecilia in her little room lost in prayer, and next to her the angel of the Lord was standing. When Valerian saw the angel, he was seized with great terror.”
So powerful was Valerian’s conversion, he was able to convert his brother Tiburtius. When Tiburtius saw the beautiful flowers and heard the story of their origin, he asked to be baptized too.
But eventually, the story of these three young Christians reached the ears of the prefect, Almachius. He ordered his soldier, Maximus, to arrest them all. The night before their execution, Cecilia, Valerian, and Tiburtius shared their faith with Maximus. He was converted along with his family.
The Wedding of St. Cecilia by Father Lawrence Lew, OP, via Flickr. Licensed cc.
3. She is associated with a special rose.
Interestingly, the angel gave Cecilia a bouquet of red and white roses. The white symbolized chastity and the red love, although it also portends her martyrdom. There really exists today a St. Celia rose that is white with a blush of red. It’s considered one of the finer English roses.
Rexnex via Flickr, licensed cc
St. Valerian, St. Tiburtius, and St. Maximus share a feast day on April 14.
4. Her death was extraordinary – even for a martyr!
St. Cecilia did not have a pleasant death. After an attempt at suffocation failed, an executioner made three attempts to behead her. She lived for three days before succumbing to her injuries.
Father Lawrence Lew, OP, via Flickr, licensed cc From the Shrine of St. Cecilia.
Another well-known piece of art with Cecilia as the subject is the sculpture ‘St. Cecilia Lying Dead.’ It was commissioned by Cardinal Sfondrati to commemorate the attitude in which she was found (Jameson 347).
Sir Charles Bell describes the statue:
The body lies on its side, the limbs a little drawn up; the hands are delicate and fine,–they are not locked, but crossed at the wrist: the arms are stretched out. The drapery is beautifully modeled, and modestly covers the limbs. The head is enveloped in linen, but the general form is seen…
Jameson 347
Father Lawrence Lew, via Flickr, licensed cc –
Entrance to San Callisto’s catacomb, St. Cecilia’s grave.
5. She’s incorruptible!
Cecilia’s grave was found and opened in the Roman catacombs in 1599. Her body was incorrupt. Stefano Maderna was an eyewitness to the exhumation. He chiseled the statue that resembled the body, which is now at the Shrine of St. Cecilia
6. Why is she associated with music?
St. Cecilia Story
Along with St. Gregory, Cecilia is a patron of church music. The oldest known art work of St. Cecilia is in the catacomb of San Lorenzo which dates back to 817 AD. She is depicted in Western Art mainly, with a “rapt expression.” Perhaps that reminded artists of how it feels to listen to beautiful music. It wasn’t until the late 15th century however, that Cecilia started to be portrayed at the organ singing and we know the pipe organ wasn’t a thing when Cecilia was alive – so the whole depiction is artistic conjecture.
I like to think that perhaps as a young woman, singing and joy were part of her life and comforted her even as she withstood persecution.
Before her association with music, St. Cecilia was portrayed with a palm in one hand and the gospel often in the other. She was also often depicted wearing either the martyr’s crown or a crown of roses (Jameson 351). The most celebrated modern representation of the virgin saint is the painting by Raphael. It was commissioned as the altar piece for her chapel in the church of San Giovanni-in-Monte near Bologne (Jameson 350-51).
7. A shared feast day
November 22 is notable for some other big losses.
It was November 22, 1963 that President John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
That same day in 1963, author C.S. Lewis, noted Christian writer also passed away from kidney failure.
“The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”
C.S. Lewis
