Today we celebrate the memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity. Patron Saints of Widows, Mothers of Deceased Sons

Perpetua was born to a Christian mother and a Pagan Father. Her father begged her to denounce her Faith in Christ, which she refused, which got her subsequently imprisoned at 22.

Perpetua writes in her diary about her time in captivity, citing the terrible heat due to the crowd, the rough treatment of her guards, and most importantly, her worries for her infant child. Her concerns grew every passing day until she was permitted to have her child with her in prison so that she could take care of her child, relieving her of her worries and slowly becoming healthy again. Upon her recovery, the prison became more of a home for her and she would rather be not anywhere else but there.

Perpetua, Felicity, a slave woman, and expectant mother, and their three companions, Revocatus, Secundulus, and Saturninus, refused to surrender their Christian religion in the face of persecution and death threats. Due to their staunch refusal, their punishment was participating in the arena’s open games. The rest died to the beast, while Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded.

Several days before the start of the games, Felicity gave birth to a daughter.

The day before the games, Perpetua’s account of her trial and imprisonment concludes. “Let him write who will of what was done in the games themselves,” the witness concluded in the diary.

Source: franciscanmedia.org