March 7

SAINTS PERPETUA AND FELICITY

Carthage (modern Tunisia), Africa

c.203

These two women - one educated and upper-class and the other possibly a slave in the household of St. Perpetua's father - were arrested as Christians and imprisoned. They were brought together to the arena in Carthage to be gored by a rabid heifer, then beheaded by a gladiator. St. Perpetua had a nursing infant at the time of her death, and St. Felicity had just delivered a child (who was adopted by a Christian family).

Did you know?

The story of these two remarkable women was recorded (in part) by St. Perpetua herself, who kept a journal during their trials. Her text is a rare example of the history of the early Church written by a woman.

As with St. Lucy, Sts. Perpetua and Felicity are mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.

A family tradition...

Pray for persecuted Christians.

Reach out to a couple who has suffered a miscarriage or the death of a child.