Numberless chapels were dedicated to her, and in nearly all churches her statue was set up, the saint being represented with a wheel, her instrument of torture, and sometimes with a crown and a book. She is said to have learned philosophy, languages, science (natural philosophy), and medicine.
image: John Smith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The young saint was born around 287 in Alexandria, Egypt. Thank you. Purgatory Punishments, Copyright 2020 Catholic Online. When fifty pagan philosophers were converted by her arguments, he had them burned to death. She was a very studious child and became a Christian after the Blessed Virgin and the Christ Child appeared to her in a vision. Jesus willreturn. Devotees relished tales of her rejection of marriage, her rebuke to an emperor, and her decision to cleave to Christ even under threat of torture. She was noted for her wealth, intelligence, and beauty. Accounts of Catherine's life also agree on the location where she was born, educated, and bore witness to her faith. Another development of the legend is that in which, having rejected many offers of marriage, she was taken to heaven in vision and betrothed to Jesus Christ by the Virgin Mary. During this time, just before the Emperor Constantine's embrace and legalization of Christianity, the Church was growing but also attracting persecution. Sinai monastery do not mention her legend for the first few centuries after her death. Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Devotees relished tales of her rejection of marriage, her rebuke to an emperor, and her decision to cleave to Christ even under threat of torture. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2020 Catholic Online.
Many Roman Catholics also venerate her to this day as one of the great virgin saints of the early Church. Preeclampsia Differential Diagnosis,
The angry tyrant, unable to refute her arguments himself, sent for pagan scholars to argue with her, but they were discomfited. St. Catherine of Alexandria is not mentioned before the 9th century, and her historicity is doubtful. The Egyptian city of Alexandria was a center of learning in the ancient world, and tradition represents Catherine as the highly educated daughter of a noble pagan family. Nursing Interventions For Sputum Collection, In about the 8th or 9th century, a story became popular that after she died, St. Catherine's body was carried by angels to Mount Sinai, and that the monastery there was built in honor of this event. (??) How To Keep Name For New Born Baby In Hindu, The wheel being her symbol she was the patron Saint of wheelwrights and mechanics; as the confounder of heathen sophistry she was invoked by theologians, apologists, preachers and philosophers, and was chosen as the patron saint of the university of Paris; as the most holy and illustrious of Christian virgins she became the tutelary saint of nuns and virgins generally. Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time. However, this is not mentioned in the historical record and may be a legend.
She denounced Emperor Maximinus in person for his persecution of Christians. Reflection: The constancy displayed by the Saints in their glorious martyrdom cannot be isolated from their previous lives, but is their logical sequence. Addal cured Abgar and converted the king and his people to the faith. How long will the footprints on the moon last? Eusebius writes about 320 of a Christian woman of Alexandria who refused the advances of the Roman emperor and, as a consequence of her refusal, lost her estates and was banished.
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile, Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile. The Maronite scholar, Joseph Simon Assemani (1687-1768), first identified her with the royal and wealthy lady of Alexandria who, for refusing the solicitations of the emperor Maximinus, was deprived of her property and banished. Today, St. Catherine of Alexandria is more appropriately known as the namesake of a monastery at Mount Sinai that claims to be the oldest in the world. Thrace Meaning, If we wish to emulate their perseverance, let us first imitate their fidelity to grace. She is also recognized as … We can not be sure about when Catherine of Alexandria lived, if indeed she lived at all. O God, Who didst distinguish Thy holy virgin and martyr Catherine by the gift of great wisdom and virtue, and a victorious combat with the enemies of the Faith; grant us, we beseech Thee, through her intercession, constancy in the Faith and the wisdom of the saints, that we may devote all the powers of our mind and heart to Thy service. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The following summarizes the life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria depicted in those popular stories. Little or nothing of the history of this St. Catherine is known. Of the graces of baptism, which do I most need to experience right now? Her principal symbol is the spiked wheel, which has become known as the Catherine wheel, and her feast day is celebrated on 25 November by most Christian churches. By her teens, she had become a noted scholar. Thank you. St. Catherine, meanwhile, inspired generations of philosophers, consecrated women, and martyrs.
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