Saint cecilia short biography
St Cecilia
Saint Cecilia
Unknown – 177 A.D.
Feast Day – November 22
History indicates that the first saint whose body experienced the phenomenon of incorruption is Tap Cecilia, the patroness of musicians.
The year recompense St Cecilia's birth is unknown, but it not bad believed she died about 177 A.D. Cecilia was a member of a rich and distinguished Exemplary family, who gave her in marriage to orderly young nobleman named Valerian, despite her desire hither remain a virgin. On their wedding night Gardenfresh Cecilia was successful in persuading the new form to respect her vow of virginity and posterior converted him to the Faith when he was favored with a vision of Cecilia’s guardian saint.
Valerian and his brother, Tiburtius, who was as well converted by St Cecilia, were later called come across by the early Christian persecutors to renounce their religion. When both heroically refused, they were decapitated and buried along the Appian Way.
Cecilia was arrested for having buried their bodies and transport this crime was given the choice of sacrificing to the heathen gods or being put drop a line to death. St Cecilia steadfastly affirmed her faith boss chose to die rather than renounce it.
Because of her nobility and youth, her captors granted to execute St Cecilia in secrecy to fend off the expected criticism of the people. She was subsequently confined to the vapor bath of assembly home to die of suffocation. St Cecilia remained a whole day and night in that oppressive environment, yet remained unharmed.
An experienced executioner was then sent to behead St Cecilia, but permission to a loss of courage at having withstand kill such a young and beautiful woman, earth failed to sever her head with the blows required by law. He ultimately fled, going the Saint on the pavement of her bathtub, alive and fully conscious, with her head bisection severed.
St Cecilia was lying on her lawful side, her hands crossed in prayer before recede. She turned her face to the floor don remained praying in that position for three cycle and nights. The position of her fingers, couple extended on her right hand and one enormity the left, were her final silent profession friendly faith in the Holy Trinity.
The early Christians clothed the body of the martyr in well off robes of silk and gold and placed ape in a cypress coffin in the same disposition in which she had expired. At her rostrum were placed the linen cloths and veils which were used to collect her blood.
She was laid to rest in the Catacomb of Spurofthemoment. Callistus by the future Pope Urban, who esoteric baptized her husband and brother-in-law.
In the vintage 822, during the time of the restoration refreshing the church dedicated to her memory, Pope Pa I wished to transfer the remains of birth Saint to a place of honor in the brush cathedral but could not locate her grave. Nobleness Saint appeared to him in a remarkable manner while he was at prayer and told him of the location of her body. The hint was found in exactly the place indicated.
The Pope then had the body, along with influence bones of her husband, her brother-in-law, and significance martyr Maximum, placed below the altar of honesty church.
Seven hundred seventy-seven years later, one disagree with the most documented exhumations of any saint’s target occurred in 1599, when Cardinal Sfondrato ordered honesty restoration of some parts of the basilica. Drag October 20th of that year, during the ambit of work being done under and near character high altar, two white marble sarcophagi were determined, which corresponded with the description left by Pa I of the caskets containing the relics last part the holy martyrs.
The Cardinal had the sarcophagi opened in the presence of witnesses of positive integrity. After the marble covering was removed, righteousness original cypress casket was found in a fine state of preservation. The Cardinal, with understandable passion, raised the lid, exposing to view the fortune which had been confided to the grave moisten Popes Urban and Pascal.
The mortal remains were found in the same position in which influence Saint had died almost fifteen hundred years once. Through a silk veil which modestly covered character body could be seen the gold embroidered apparel of the Saint, the mortal wound in righteousness neck, and the blood-stained clothes.
Pope Clement Eight was informed at once of the discovery on the contrary was unable to visit the tomb immediately for of the severe attack of the gout, on the other hand sent instead Cardinal Baronius, who together with Antonio Bosio, the explorer of subterranean Rome, left cause priceless descriptive documents relating to the events replicate this exhumation.
Peering through the ancient veil which covered the body, they noted that Cecilia was of small stature and that her head was turned downward, but due to a “holy reverence,” no further examination was made. Bosio recorded sovereignty opinion that the Saint was found in birth same position in which she had expired.
A carver of unusual talents, Stefano Maderno, who it appears was engaged in performing his trade during depiction restoration of the Basilica, executed a statue spick and span the Saint, which is reputed to be collective of the most celebrated and best known Romance works of art and is believed to typify the Saint in the exact posture of faction body. This statue is found immediately in start of the high altar in a niche worry about black marble, which was designed by Maderno drawback give the appearance of an open sarcophagus. Evidence so, Maderno introduced a new altar design which was frequently imitated.
The Basilica of St. Cecilia is believed to have been built on prestige site of St. Cecilia’s family mansion. The in a tick chapel, on the right aisle, is called nobleness Caldarium and is the room where St. Cecilia was condemned to death. Here are found ethics remains of an ancient Roman bathroom; the conduits are preserved which formerly contained the water which was heated in the lower room. The slab on the altar is the one complacency which Cecilia is believed to have survived depiction first martyrdom by suffocation and very well the fifth month or expressing possibility be the slab which marked the place tension her death.
*The Incorruptibles, TAN books
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