Felicitas of Rome

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UK and the town of Isca sullo Ionio, Province of Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy
These SS Felix and Januarius are not to be confused with SS Felix and Januarius of Heraclea or with SS Felix and Januarius who were martyred in 303 with Audactus, Septimus, and Fortunatus. For the space cat, see Félicette.

Felicitas of Rome (c. 101 – 165), also anglicized as Felicity, is a

Christian martyrs. Apart from her name, the only thing known for certain about this martyr is that she was buried in the Cemetery of Maximus, on the Via Salaria on a 23 November.[1]
However, a legend presents her as the mother of the seven martyrs whose feast is celebrated on 10 July. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates their martyrdom on 25 January.

The legend of

Saint Symphorosa is very similar and their acts may have been confused. She was a patron saint of healing. They may even be the same person.[2] This Felicitas is not the same as the North African Felicitas who was martyred with Perpetua
.

History of Saint Felicitas

The feast of Saint Felicitas of Rome was first mentioned in the "

Saint Gregory the Great delivered a homily in the Basilica that rose above her tomb. Her body then rested in the catacomb of Maximus on the Via Salaria; in that cemetery all Roman itineraries, or guides to the burial-places of martyrs, locate her burial-place, specifying that her tomb was in a church above this catacomb.[3] The crypt
where St Felicitas was laid to rest was later enlarged into a subterranean chapel, and was rediscovered in 1885.

In the early Middle Ages there was a chapel in honour of St Felicitas (Felicity) in an ancient Roman edifice near the ruins of the Baths of Titus.

Some of her

Santa Susanna in Rome
.

Association with the seven martyrs venerated on 10 July

Seven martyrs who on that day, though perhaps in different years, were buried in four different Roman cemeteries are celebrated jointly on 10 July:

The earliest list of the Roman feasts of martyrs, known as the "Depositio Martyrum" and dating from the time of

Novatians
(hunc Silvanum martyrem Novatiani furati sunt). It does not say that they were brothers.

The tomb of St Januarius in the catacomb of Prætextatus belongs to the end of the second century, to which period, therefore, the martyrdoms, if they are in fact associated with one another, must belong, under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

One of the seven martyrs, Saint Martialis (Martial, Marziale), is venerated as the patron saint of Torricella Peligna in the Abruzzo, and Isca sullo Ionio in Calabria, Italy with his feast day on 10 July.[6][7]

Until it was

traditionalist Catholics
continue to celebrate them under this designation.

Legend of Felicitas and the Seven Holy Brothers

Saint Felicitas (also known as Felicity) is said[8] to have been a rich and pious Christian widow who had seven sons. She devoted herself to charitable work and converted many to the Christian faith by her example. This aroused the wrath of pagan priests who lodged a complaint against her with Emperor Marcus Aurelius. These priests asserted the ire of the gods and demanded sacrifice from Felicitas and her children. The Emperor acquiesced to their demand and Felicitas was brought before Publius, the Prefect of Rome. Taking Felicitas aside, he used various pleas and threats in an unsuccessful attempt to get her to worship the pagan gods. He was equally unsuccessful with her seven sons who followed their mother's example.

Before the Prefect Publius they adhered firmly to their religion, and were delivered over to four judges, who condemned them to various modes of death. The division of the martyrs among four judges corresponds to the four places of their burial. She implored God only that she not to be killed before her sons, so that she might be able to encourage them during their torture and death in order that they would not deny Christ. With joy, she accompanied her sons one by one until she had witnessed the death of all seven. We are not entirely sure as to how each of them died, but it is said that Januarius, the eldest, was

scourged to death; Felix and Philip were beaten with clubs until they expired; Silvanus was thrown headlong down a precipice; and the three youngest, Alexander, Vitalis and Martialis were beheaded
. After each execution she was given the chance to denounce her faith. She refused to act against her conscience and so she too suffered martyrdom. Certain communities around the United States still celebrate San Marziale (Saint Martialis/Saint Marshall) with a San Marziale festival typically held on July 10 or near that date.

They suffered and entered into eternal rest in Rome about the year 164 She was buried in the catacomb of Maximus on the Via Salaria, beside St Silvanus. It is said that she died eight times. Once with each of her sons, and finally her own, and their feast day is held on January 25.

Origin of the legend

The Seven Holy Brothers

The "Acts" that give the above account of the seven martyrs as sons of Felicitas existed, in some form, in the sixth century, since

Latin text, but on a Greek original. Moreover, apart from the existing form of the "Acts," various details have been called into question. If Felicitas were really the mother of the seven martyrs honoured on 10 July, it is strange that her name does not appear in the well-known fourth-century Roman calendar.[10]

The tomb of St Silvanus, one of the seven martyrs commemorated on 10 July, adjoined that of St Felicitas; it is quite possible, therefore, that tradition soon identified the seven martyrs of 10 July as the sons of St Felicitas, and that this formed the basis for the extant "Acts."[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 146
  2. ^ "St Patrick Catholic Church - Saint of the Day: November 23 Felicitas of Rome". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  3. ^ De Rossi, "Roma sotterranea, I," 176-77
  4. ^ "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 129
  5. ISBN 88-209-7210-7
    )
  6. ^ Saint Martialis Archived 2008-06-17 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Gianni Materazzo, The Procession of San Marziale
  8. ^ "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," edited by Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O.Cist., Ph.D., New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1955, pp. 261-262
  9. ^ P.L., LXXVI, 1087
  10. ^ a b Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Felicitas

External links

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