ST. AGATHA OF ROME (FEB. 5TH)
Icon of St. Agatha, Complesso domenicano di Santo Stefano, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, Italy, painted by Bergognone in the Netherlands, AD 1510 Edited by Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) Today, February 5th, we celebrate St. Agatha of Rome, a profoundly popular Christian witness in the Early Western Church, and one of the verifiable prototypes for later hagiographies of many Virgin Martyrs. The earliest reference to her is found on foundation stones of churches built in Rome and vicinity in the AD 480’s, and her legend was adapted by Arians in the 6th Century, who wished to portray her as an early Arian Martyr, calling her “St. Agatha of the Goths.” St. Gregory the Great was central in rehabilitating her image, publishing ancient Orthodox hagiographies of the saint, and placing her name in the Canon of the Mass, permanently ensconcing her at the center of the Western Rite Tradition. According to the 13th Century Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine, 15 year-old St. ...
