Saint Agatha, is a famous saint of Sicily, proclaimed the patron saint of Catania.
The story of her life and martyrdom has been passed down through the centuries, through one occupation after the other, just as the Faith has survived, from one generation to the next, her story on the lips of the natives of this city.
Her short life ended cruelly in 251. She is one of the most well-documented Martyrs in the history of the Church, despite the persecution by Diocletian, the Arab invasion, and the suppression of the Christian faith in Sicily.
Saint Agatha and Saint Lucy, another Sicilian Saint and Martyr are on the Martyrology calendar.
And if you consider the Renaissance period, with all the influences of secularism, it's a miracle that the people were able to maintain their faith and devotion to the little heroic virgin and martyr.
Agatha's story is very simple; she loved Our Lord Jesus with all her heart and all her life, and was willing to give up her life for that love.
Her love for Jesus began at a very early age. She could very well have been accused of loving Jesus more than any one or anything on earth, to which she would have been found guilty.
This would ultimately cause the little teen-ager a major problem with one of the officials of the city whose ardor suppressed any sense of decency he might have possessed.
He insisted she should love him above anyone, and be demonstrative in her love for him, in such a way that she would prove to him that he was more important than this Christian God whom she embraced.
It is reported Saint Agatha was born in 231 to a very well-to-do family, from the upper class of Catania. As the Greeks inhabited Sicily at that time, her parents named her Agatha, which in Greek, means GOOD. She was not only from birth, a good girl, she was a beautiful girl. Her parents had a premonition of Agatha's sanctity from her earliest years. Her radiant piety was enriched by her parents Rao and Appola and their profound Christian faith, who early on made sure that this special child was baptized, received First Holy Communion, and was confirmed, as well as giving their consent to her being consecrated as a Virgin to God at an early age. She lived in her home as if she were in a convent, denying herself all the worldly pleasures which the outside world promised
Author Resource:-
Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more about Sicily and the Saints and Shrines of Sicily go to: http://www.experience-catholic-pilgrimages.com/sicily-travel.html
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