Kayleigh Robic

Mr. Campbell

Religion II

12/15/17

Saint Cecilia

Saint Cecilia was a young girl living in Rome. She was born into a rich and wealthy

family, but was close to God her whole life. She promised her purity and virginity to God at a

young age. When she was older, however, she was unwillingly forced to marry. Before her

wedding, Saint Cecilia prayed to and invoked the protection of the saints, angels, and virgins.

She asked them to help protect her virginity. After the wedding ceremony, she told her husband

that she wished to remain pure, and that an angel was guarding her. Her husband, a noble named

Valerian, agreed to this, if she let him see her angel. Valerian was only able to do so, if he

traveled past the third milestone on Appian Way and was baptized by the pope.

Through his trust in Saint Cecilia, her husband did just this, and was converted to

Catholicism. After traveling back to his wife, he was greeted by the sight of her beside an angel.

Upon hearing about Saint Cecilia’s angel and Valerian baptism, Tibertius, Valerian’s brother,

was also moved by the faith and became baptized. The two brothers proceeded to follow Saint

Cecilia’s example and dedicate their lives to the faith. Valerian and Tibertius chose to honor God

by taking it upon themselves to bury those who died for their faith. Because of their work, the

brothers were brought before Almachius, the prefect of the city. Almachius was the same prefect

who had ordered the execution of the martyrs.

Upon hearing of the deaths of her husband and brother-in-law, Saint Cecilia decided to

prepare for the future. She made plans to turn her home into a church, distributed her belongings
to the poor, converted many, and buried Valerian’s and Tibertius’s bodies in the villa. These

actions angered Almachius. Saint Cecilia was brought before him and ordered to give sacrifice to

false gods. Forever strong in her faith, she refused. The prefect ordered her death as suffocation

in the baths. This meant that she was sealed in the bathhouse while the flames were fueled. She

stayed here for twenty-four hours and did not perish. This infuriated the prefect even more and

she was ordered to be beheaded. The executioner struck her three times, but failed to kill Saint

Cecilia. After he fled, she was left bleeding and dying for three days and nights. Crowds came

from all over to see her, and even as she was dying, Saint Cecilia continued to convert those who

wished to be. On the third day, she finally succumbed to her wounds and was buried by Pope

Urban, the same man who converted her husband.

Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of music, musicians, purity, and martyrs. She became the

patron saint of music and musicians because she was said to have heard heavenly music in her

heart. She is the patron saint of purity and incorruptness because of her commitment to God and

to her virginity. I chose her not only because the name Cecilia runs in my family, but also

because I am inspired by her faith and trust in God. Even through all Saint Cecilia endured, from

the loss of her husband and brother-in-law, to her own trial and drawn out execution, she never

faltered in her faith. Her never ending trust in God inspires me every day.

Saint Cecilia,

We pray for your intercession,

Help us give ourselves to God,

In prayers, songs, and life,

Amen.
 Works Cited

Online, Catholic. “St. Cecilia - Saints & Angels.” Catholic Online, Catholic Online,

www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=34.

“Saint Cecilia.” CatholicSaints.Info, 3 Dec. 2017, catholicsaints.info/saint-cecilia/.

“Saint Cecilia.” Saint Cecilia, www.saintcecilia.us/.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “St. Cecilia.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia

Britannica, inc., 24 Mar. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Cecilia.