Sts. Perpetua and Felicity

Their story

In the year 203, the Roman emperor forbade anyone to become a Christian. In the city of Carthage, in North Africa, a group of catechumens, people preparing for Baptism, were arrested. Among them were Perpetua, a 22-year-old noblewoman nursing her infant son, and Felicity, a slave who was expecting a child. While under arrest, they were baptized. Perpetua kept a diary in prison, one of the earliest writings we have by a Christian woman. In it she describes her father begging her again and again to give up her faith for the sake of her family. She loved him deeply, but she told him that just as a water jar could not be called by any other name, she could not call herself anything other than what she was: a Christian. She also recorded visions that gave her courage, including one of a ladder reaching up to heaven. Felicity feared she would not be allowed to die with her companions, since Roman law did not permit executing a pregnant woman. Two days before the games she gave birth to a daughter, who was taken in by a Christian woman. On March 7, 203, Perpetua, Felicity and their companions were put to death in the arena. Their names are still prayed in Eucharistic Prayer I at Mass.