St. Cecilia is one of the few martyrs whose name we know, along with St.
Agnes, St. Agatha, St. Sebastian, St. George, and St. Lucy, among others. She
was martyred by Emperor Marcus Aurelius between the years 176 and 180 AD.
Cecilia was arrested and condemned to be suffocated in the baths. She was shut
in for one night and one day, as fires were heaped up and stoked to a
terrifying heat - but Cecilia did not even sweat. When the Emperor heard this,
he sent an executioner to cut off her head in the baths. The executioner struck
her three times but was unable to decapitate her, so he left her bleeding and
she lived for three days. Crowds came to her and collected her blood while she
preached to them or prayed. On the third day, she died and was buried by Pope
Urban and his deacons. St. Cecilia is regarded as the patroness of music
because she heard heavenly music in her heart when she was married and is
represented in art with an organ or organ-pipes in her hand. Officials exhumed
her body in 1599 and found her to be incorrupt, the first of all incorrupt
saints. She was draped in a silk veil and wore a gold embroidered dress.
Officials only looked through the veil in an act of holy reverence and made no
further examinations. They also reported a "mysterious and delightful
flower-like odor which proceeded from the coffin." That year, Cardinal
Paolo Sfondrati built a church to honor her and ordered a marble statue in the catacombs to be crafted. A few musical compositions were written in her honor. Among
them are the ‘Ode to St. Cecilia’ by Henry Purcell, a cantata by Georg Frederic
Handel and ‘Hymn to St. Cecilia’ by Benjamin Britten. Paul Simon also wrote a
song in her honor, entitled ‘Cecilia.’ You can also listen to
this beautiful Mass by Charles Gounod written in 1855 in honor of St Cecilia.
Tuesday 22 November 2022
Saint Cecilia
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