Saint Cecilia

Roman Catholic saint, martyr and patron saint of music

Saint Cecilia (Latin: Sancta Caecilia) is the patroness of musicians. At her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord".[1][2] Her feast day is celebrated in the Latin Catholic, Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and in the Anglican Communion on November 22.[3] She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.

While the details of her story appear to be fictional,[4] her existence and martyrdom are considered a historical fact[source?]. She is said to have been beheaded with a sword. An early Roman Christian church, Santa Cecilia, was founded in the fourth century in the Trastevere section of Rome, reputedly on the site of the house in which she lived. A number of musical compositions are dedicated to her, and her feast day has become the occasion for concerts and musical festivals.

References

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  1. Lovewell, Bertha Ellen (1898). The Life Of St. Cecilia.
  2. Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI (1997). "St. Cecilia". My First Book of Saints. Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate - Quality Catholic Publications. pp. 280–282. ISBN 978-971-91595-4-4.
  3. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cecilia, Saint" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  4. Foley, Leonard; McCloskey, Patrick (2009). Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons & Feasts. ISBN 978-0-86716-887-7.