St. Cecilia

St. Cecilia is one of the most honored of the Roman virgin martyrs, her veneration ancient and beloved, though the surviving account of her passion is a later composition whose details cannot all be verified. Tradition places her martyrdom in the second or third century and relates that she was a Roman noblewoman who had consecrated her virginity to Christ, yet was given in marriage to a young pagan named Valerian, whom she converted along with his brother, all three winning the crown of martyrdom.

According to the legend, as the musicians played at her wedding, Cecilia "sang in her heart to the Lord," and from these words she came to be honored as the patron of musicians, singers, and sacred music. Condemned for her faith, she is said to have survived an attempt to suffocate her and then blows of the sword, lingering and exhorting the faithful before she died. She was buried in the catacomb of St. Callistus, and her name was placed in the Roman Canon of the Mass. She is celebrated on 22 November.