Saint Catherine
Date of celebration: 25/11
Saint Catherine came from a noble family of Alexandria, “the daughter of a basilisk named Konstos”, and she was martyred at the beginning of the 4th century AD. (304 AD) She was bright and studious. Already at the age of eighteen he possessed the knowledge of Greek, Roman and Latin philology and philosophy, i.e. he knew the works of Homer, the Latin poet Virgil, Asclepius, Hippocrates and Galen the physicians, Aristotle and Plato, Philistion and of Eusebius of the philosophers, of John and Iambri of the great magicians, of Dionysius and the Sibyl and others. But she was also thoroughly trained in the doctrines of the Christian faith.
When during the reign of Maxentius (son of Maximianus) persecution was carried out against the Christians, Catherine was not afraid, but with pride spread how Jesus Christ is the only True God. For this reason she was arrested by the prefect of the region, who tried to persuade her to deny her faith through discussions. When the prefect realized the superiority of Catherine’s words, he called a public debate with the most worthy orators of Alexandria, but Catherine silenced them. And not only that, but some of Catherine’s interlocutors were convinced by her reasons and embraced the Christian Faith.
Faced with this fate, the prefect ordered her to be severely tortured in the hope that the saint would bend and deny Christ. But Catherine remained steadfast in her faith. He was finally beheaded, following an order from the prefect.
