Her Love was a Hymn to Jesus
Feast: November 22nd
This Saint has the distinction of not just being one of the most famous of the Virgin Martyrs from the early Church, but she is also the very first confirmed case of "Incorruptibility" in the history of our Faith. What we know of her life is from an ancient, historical document called the Passio Sanctae Caeciliae. According to the Passio, St. Cecilia was a Roman noblewoman martyred circa 230AD.
Educated in the Christian Faith as a child, the Saint was reported to have been divinely inspired to consecrate her life and virginity to Jesus; living a spiritual routine of prayer, charitable works, and voluntary penances. Despite these worthy practices, Cecilia was given in marriage - against her will, by her father - to a wealthy pagan Patrician named Valerian. As her story goes, during their wedding ceremony, the Saint sang improvised hymns in her heart to her Divine Spouse to reassure herself.
Later, that same evening of the nuptials, Cecilia confessed to Valerian that she was a Christian who had vowed herself completely to our Lord. She also warned him that she was specially protected by her guardian angel against any carnal advances and/or physical harm that he may attempt against her. When her husband asked to see the angel, the Saint challenged him to first convert and be baptized to which he surprisingly agreed.
Valerian received instructions in the Faith and was baptized by Pope Urban I ... and subsequently witnessed an apparition of his wife's angel, which had the effect of invigorating his blossoming faith. The new convert went on to lead several others, including his brother - Tiburtius - into Christianity.
Valerian and Tiburtius were later apprehended by Roman officials for their evangelization work in Rome, and sentenced to death by the Prefect Almachius when they flatly refused to offer sacrifices to heathen deities. Instead, the brothers passionately admonished and preached to the spectators who had gathered to watch them die. Many were converted, including the executioner, Maximus, who professed belief in Christ and heroically chose to die with the brothers - all three were beheaded together and buried by Cecilia; it was a pious act that drew the attention of the Prefect.
Not long after the martyrdoms of Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus, Cecilia was also arrested for being a suspected Christian. As with her late husband, Prefect Almachius offered her freedom if she would only pay homage to the Roman gods. Cecilia refused and rebuked her judge, after which Almachius sentenced her to a unique death - she was taken to and locked in her villa's private bath, which was then heated to such a high degree so as to suffocate her with steam ... but inexplicably, the woman was unharmed and heard singing hymns inside the bath, which contributed to her designation as the Patron Saint of Musicians.
Upon hearing of her survival, the infuriated Prefect ordered Cecilia's beheading, but instead of immediately killing her, the swordsman botched the execution and failed to decapitate her even after three blows! The soldiers fled, leaving our Saint with a half-severed neck on the floor of her bath, where she was soon discovered by other Christians. Still conscious and in terrible agony, the Saint managed to briefly speak only to bequeath her remaining wealth to the poor and to the Church. She then turned her face to the floor and spoke no more; on her left hand she extended a single finger, while on the right hand she extended three. It was her silent and final profession of faith in the Holy Trinity - one God in three Divine Persons - and those around her were effectively edified.
Incredibly, Cecilia lingered for three painful days before finally expiring. The Christians covered the Saint's remains with a veil before placing it in a cypress wood coffin, in the exact position in which she died. Pope Urban I then had her body buried in a place of honor in the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, and had the Saint's home converted into a chapel, which eventually became a large basilica.
In 822, Pope Pascal I commissioned a restoration of the Basilica of St. Cecilia, and desired that the relics of the Martyr be transferred into it from the catacombs ... but the location of her grave had been forgotten over time. The Saint solved this problem by appearing to the Pontiff to disclose the exact place of her burial. Subsequently, Cecilia's original coffin was retrieved, along with those of Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus (now honored as Saints, too) ... and all were reinterred in the renovated Basilica.
Another renovation of the Saint's basilica was undertaken in 1599 by a Cardinal Paolo Sfrondati. At that time, the Cardinal wished to rediscover Cecilia's relics, which had again been lost. The prelate enlisted the aid of a reputable mystic - a stigmatic Dominican nun named, Ven. Caterina Paluzzi of Morlupo (d. 1645) - who through her mystical gift of prophetic insight, provided the location of the tomb under the main altar of the Basilica ... while also predicting that the Saint's body would be found intact. Excavations revealed two marble sarcaphogi, which contained Cecilia's orginal wooden coffin and another for the three other Roman Martyrs associated with her.
As described by Sr. Caterina, when the lid of the coffin was lifted, the remains of the Saint were discovered perfectly incorrupt and wearing a silk dress stained at the neck/chest with her blood; she lay on her right side with arms extended towards the legs, which were somewhat bent at the knees. At her feet were bundles of cloth that were used by the early Christians to collect her precious blood. Witnesses also reported a wonderful fragrance of roses and lillies emanating from the sacred body. All who witnessed the scene were profoundly moved and amazed at the miraculous state of the relic.
ABOVE: An eye-witness account and
drawing of the Saint's incorrupt body.
BELOW: The statue in the Basilica of
St. Cecilia representing her in death.
Today, St. Cecilia remains entombed in a crypt-chapel in her Basilica in Trastavere, Rome, over which is a marble statue carved by the artist, Stefano Maderno, who personally saw her body in 1599. The famous sculpture depicts Cecilia in the position in which her corpse was discovered ... with her fingers forever professing her faith in our triune God for whom she heroically gave up her life.
St. Cecilia, pray for us!
Thoroughly enjoyed your post! Your perspective is refreshing. Keep up the great work and write more!
ReplyDeleteThank you and God bless you!
Delete