Two early churches were dedicated in her honor in Rome,Sant'Agata in Trastevere and notably theChurch of Sant'Agata dei Goti in Via Mazzarino,[13] atitular church with apse mosaics ofc. 460 and traces of a fresco cycle,[d] overpainted by Gismondo Cerrini in 1630. In the 6th century AD, the church was adapted toArianism, hence its name "Saint Agatha ofGoths", and later reconsecrated byGregory the Great, who confirmed her traditional sainthood.
Agatha is also depicted in the mosaics ofSant'Apollinare Nuovo inRavenna, where she appears, richly dressed, in theprocession of virgin martyrs along the north wall. Her image forms an initial 'I' in the Sacramentary of Gellone, which dates from the end of the 8th century.
One of the most highly venerated virgin martyrs of Christian antiquity, Agatha was put to death during theDecian persecution (250–253) in Catania, Sicily, for her determined profession of faith.[10]
Her written legend[15] comprises "straightforward accounts of interrogation, torture, resistance, and triumph which constitute some of the earliesthagiographic literature",[16] and are reflected in later recensions, the earliest surviving one being an illustrated late-10th-centurypassio.[17]
Agatha in front of the judge as depicted in a stained glass window from 1515 in Notre-Dame,Saint-Lô[18]
According to the 13th-centuryGolden Legend (III.15) byJacobus de Voragine, 15-year-old Agatha, from a rich and noble family, made avow of virginity and rejected the amorous advances of the Roman prefect Quintianus, who thought he could force her to turn away from her vow and marry him. His persistent proposals were consistently spurned by Agatha. This was during the persecutions of Decius, so Quintianus, knowing she was a Christian, reported her to the authorities. Quintianus himself was governor of the district.[19]
Quintianus expected Agatha to give in to his demands when faced with torture and possible death, but Agatha simply reaffirmed her belief in God by praying: "Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make me worthy to overcome the devil." To force her to change her mind, Quintianus sent Agatha to Aphrodisia, the keeper of a brothel, and had her imprisoned there; however, the punishment failed, with Agatha remaining a Christian.[20]
Quintianus sent for Agatha again, arguing with her and threatening her, before finally having her imprisoned and tortured. She was stretched on a rack to be torn with iron hooks, burned with torches, and whipped. Her breasts were removed by tongs.
St Agatha as depicted in a stained glass window inRouen Cathedral
After further dramatic confrontations with Quintianus, represented in a sequence of dialogues in herpassio that document her fortitude and steadfast devotion, Agatha was then sentenced to beburnt at the stake; however, an earthquake prevented this from happening, and she was instead sent to prison, where St.Peter the Apostle appeared to her and healed her wounds.[21]
Agatha died in prison, probably in the year 251 according to theLegenda Aurea. Although the martyrdom of Agatha is authenticated, and her veneration as a saint had spread beyond her native place even in antiquity, there is no reliable information concerning the details of her death.[10]
Osbern Bokenam,A Legend of Holy Women, written in the 1440s, offers some further detail.[22]
According to Maltese tradition, during the persecution of Roman Emperor Decius (AD 249–251), Agatha, together with some of her friends, fled from Sicily and took refuge in Malta. Some historians believe that her stay on the island was rather short, and she spent her days in a rock-hewn crypt atRabat, praying and teaching Christianity to children. After some time, Agatha returned to Sicily, where she faced martyrdom. Agatha was arrested and brought before Quintianus, praetor of Catania, who condemned her to torture and imprisonment.[23]
The crypt of St. Agatha is an underground basilica, which from early ages was venerated by the Maltese. At the time of St. Agatha's stay, the crypt was a small natural cave, which, later on, during the 4th or 5th century, was enlarged and embellished.[23]
After the Reformation era, Agatha was retained in the calendar of the Church of England'sBook of Common Prayer with her feast on 5 February. Several Church of England parish churches are dedicated in her honor.
A feast day to honor Agatha on 5 February was given final authorization in theEpiscopal Church in 2022.[24]
The translation of her relics is commemorated on 10 March and 17 August.[25]
TheFestival of Saint Agatha inCatania is a major festival in the region, it takes place during the first five days of February. TheCatania Cathedral (also known asCattedrale di Sant'Agata) is dedicated in her honor.
Saint Agatha's breasts sculpted in the fortification walls atMons, Var in the south of France
Saint Agatha is thepatron saint of rape victims, breast cancer patients, wet nurses, and bellfounders (due to the shape of her severed breasts). She is also considered to be a powerful intercessor when people suffer from fires. Her feast day is celebrated on 5 February.
She is also a patron saint ofMalta, where in 1551 her intercession through a reported apparition to a Benedictine nun is said to have saved Malta fromTurkish invasion.[23]
She is claimed as the patroness ofPalermo. The year after her death, the stilling of an eruption ofMount Etna was attributed to her intercession. As a result, apparently, people continued to ask her prayers for protection against fire.[27]
InSwitzerland, Agatha is considered the patron saint of fire services.
Minne di Sant'Agata, a typical Sicilian sweet shaped as a breast, representing the cut breasts of Saint Agatha
Saint Agatha is often depictediconographically carrying her excised breasts on a platter, as inBernardino Luini'sSaint Agatha (1510–1515) in the Galleria Borghese, Rome, in which Agatha contemplates the breasts on a standingsalver held in her hand.
The tradition of makingshaped pastry on the feast of St. Agatha, such as Agatha bread or buns, or so-calledMinne di Sant'Agata ("Breasts of St. Agatha") orMinni di Virgini ("Breasts of the virgin"), is found in many countries.
TheBasque people have a tradition of gathering on Saint Agatha's Eve (Basque:Santa Ageda bezpera) and going door-to-door through their village. Homeowners can then choose to hear a song about Agatha's life, which is accompanied by the beats of the choir's walking sticks on the ground or else a prayer for the household's deceased. After that, the homeowner donates food to the choir.[29] The song's lyrics vary according to each local tradition and theBasque language dialect spoken locally. In 1937, during theSpanish Civil War, a version of the song in Spanish was composed. In the lyrics, this Spanish version praised the Soviet shipKomsomol, which had sunk while carrying Soviet weapons to theSecond Spanish Republic.
Anannual festival to commemorate the life of Saint Agatha takes place inCatania,Sicily, from 3 to 5 February. The festival culminates in an all-night procession through the city.[30]
St. Agatha's Tower is a former Knight's stronghold located in the north west of Malta. The seventeenth-century tower served as a military base during both World Wars and was used as a radar station by the Maltese army.[23]
St. Agatha is also commemorated in literature. The Italian poet Martha Marchina wrote an epigram inMusa Posthuma that commemorates her martyrdom. In it, Marchina characterizes Agatha as powerful and she reclaims that power because she has become more beautiful through her wounds.[31]
^'Agatha' is theLatinized form of theGreekἈγαθή (Agathe), derived from the Greekἀγαθός (agathos, meaning "good";[5] Jacobus de Voragine, takingetymology in the Classical tradition, as a text for a creativeexcursus, made of 'Agatha' one symbolic origin inἅγιος (agios), "sacred", andΘεός (Theos), "God", and another ina-geos, "without Earth", meaning virginally untainted by earthly desires.[6]
^The relics of St. Agatha, in particular her breasts, were stolen, on orders of the saint herself, and brought to Gallipoli in 1126. She is the patron of the diocese of Gallipoli, the cathedral of Gallipoli, and of the city.[8]
^The date of 460 appears in TCI,Roma e dintorni; a letter fromPope Hadrian I (died 795) toCharlemagne remarks that Gregory (died 604) ordered the church adorned with mosaics and frescoes.[14]
^Acta Sanctorum IV, February vol. I (new ed. Paris, 1863) pp. 599–662
^Magdalena Elizabeth Carrasco, "The early illustrated manuscript of the Passion of Saint Agatha (Paris, Bibl. Nat., MS lat. 5594)",Gesta24 (1985), p. 20.
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