Agatha of Sicily

"St Agatha" redirects here. For communities named after St Agatha, see Sainte-Agathe (disambiguation). For churches, see St Agatha's Church. For the painting, see Saint Agatha (Zurbarán). For the 2018 film, see St. Agatha (film).
Saint

Agatha of Sicily
Depiction of Saint Agatha's martyrdom by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1520
Virgin and martyr
Bornc. 231[1]
Catania, Sicilia, Roman Empire
Diedc. 251
Catania, Sicilia, Roman Empire
Cause of deathTorture
Venerated in
CanonizedPre-congregation by tradition confirmed by Pope Gregory I
Feast5 February
Attributespincers, breasts on a plate[3]
Patronage

Agatha[a] of Sicily (c. 231 – 251 AD) is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred c. 251. She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.[7]

Agatha is the patron saint of Catania, Molise, Malta, San Marino, Gallipoli in Apulia,[b] and Zamarramala, a municipality of the Province of Segovia in Spain. She is also the patron saint of breast cancer patients, rape victims, martyrs, wet nurses, bell-founders, and bakers, and is invoked against fire, earthquakes, and eruptions of Mount Etna.

  1. ^ D'Arrigo, Santo. Il Martirio di Santa Agata (Catania) 1985
  2. ^ February 18 / February 5. https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/htc/orthodox-calendar/
  3. ^ Delaney, John P. (1980). Dictionary of Saints (Second ed.). Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-13594-7.
  4. ^ "Saint Agatha", Catholic Culture
  5. ^ Behind the Name: the etymology and history of first names
  6. ^ ""Agatha", III.15". Archived from the original on 2014-11-03. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  7. ^ V. L. Kennedy CSB, The Saints of the Canon of the Mass, Pontifico Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana, Città del Vaticano, 1938.
  8. ^ Ravenna, Bartolomeo (1836). Memorie istoriche della città di Gallipoli (in Italian). Napoli: R. Miranda. pp. 316-326.


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