St. Agatha was born in
Catania, Sicily, and died there a martyr in approximately 251 AD. In the legend
of her life, we are told that she belonged to a rich, important family. When
she was young, she dedicated her life to God and resisted any men who wanted to
marry her or have sex with her. One of these men, Quintian, was of a high
enough rank that he felt he could force her to acquiesce. Knowing she was a
Christian in a time of persecution, he had her arrested. He expected her to
give in when faced with torture and possible death, but she simply affirmed her
belief in God by praying: "Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart,
you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: help me to
overcome the devil."
Quintian imprisoned her in a brothel in order to
get her to change her mind. He brought her back before him after she had
suffered a month of assault and humiliation in the brothel, but Agatha had
never wavered. Quintian sent her to prison, instead of back to the brothel - a
move intended to make her more afraid, but which probably was a great relief to
her. When she continued to profess her faith in Jesus, Quintian had her
tortured by cutting off her breasts. He refused her any medical care but God
gave her all the care she needed in the form of a vision of St. Peter.
Saint Agatha is often depicted in paintings
carrying her excised breasts on a platter. The shape of her amputated breasts,
especially as depicted in artistic renderings, gave rise to her attribution as
the patron saint of bell-founders and of bakers, whose loaves were blessed at
her feast day. More recently, she has been venerated as patron saint of breast
cancer patients.
Because she was asked for help during the eruption
of Mount Etna she is considered a protector against the outbreak of fire. She
is the patron saint of Catania, Molise, Malta, San Marino and Segovia in Spain.
She is also the patron saint of breast cancer patients, martyrs, wet nurses,
fire and earthquakes.
The following painting is a modern impression of St Agatha, in relation
to her role as patron of breast cancer patients.
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