Saint Agatha

Personal Details 

• Feast Day : 5 February Virgin Martyr 

• Born : 3th century A.D. 

• Died : 5 February A.D.251 

Saint Agatha is one of the four highly regarded martyred virgin saints of the early Catholic Church. The other three are Saint Cecilia, Saint Lucy and Saint Agnes. These four saints were martyred for holding on to the Christian faith. 

Saint Agatha was born in Sicily. She belonged to a rich and important family. Agatha loved God since childhood. She wanted to dedicate her life wholeheartedly to Him and decided not to get married. Agatha was very beautiful, someone proposed marriage to her when she was at the age of about ten and she rejected him. One day, a local high ranking official also came to court her. He thought that Agatha would promise to marry him because he was rich and powerful. Agatha, nevertheless, kept her vows and firmly refused him. The official was very angry and imprisoned Agatha. He expected her to give in when faced with intimidation and temptation. Nevertheless, Saint Agatha simply affirmed her belief in God. The official had beaten Saint Agatha up, and burned her body with a glowing rod. Agatha simply closed her eyes and prayed to God asking for strength to overcome the temptation. 

Lastly, on the night of 5 February 251 A.D., Agatha went back to her heavenly home after cruel tortures. She was panting when she said her final prayer, “Lord, my creator, you have always protected me since the cradle, you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my soul.”

Little Quiz 

• Why did Agatha refuse to marry the local official? 

• What did Agatha do when she was about to die? What was the reason behind her action?