St Felicity of Rome
Felicitas of Rome, also anglicized as Felicity, is a saint numbered among the Christian martyrs. Apart from her name, the only thing known for certain about this martyr is that she was buried in the Cemetery of Maximus, on the Via Salaria on a 23 November.
Feast Day: March 7
Patron: of mothers, expectant mothers, ranchers and butchers
Death: 203 AD
With details concerning the lives of many early martyrs unclear and
often based on legend,
we are
fortunate to have the actual record of the courage of Perpetua
and Felicity from the hand of Perpetua herself, her teacher Saturus,
and others who knew them.
This account, known as "The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas,
and their Companions," was so popular in the early centuries that it was
read during liturgies.
often based on legend,
we are
fortunate to have the actual record of the courage of Perpetua
and Felicity from the hand of Perpetua herself, her teacher Saturus,
and others who knew them.
This account, known as "The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas,
and their Companions," was so popular in the early centuries that it was
read during liturgies.
The year 203, Vivia Perpetua, a well-educated noblewoman, made the decision to follow the path of her mother and become a Christian, although she knew it could mean her death during the persecutions ordered by the Emperor Severus. Her surviving brother (another brother had died when he was seven) followed her leadership and became a catechumen as well, meaning he would receive instruction from a Catechist in the Catholic Christian faith and be prepared for Baptism.
