Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine (Greek: Αίκατερίνη) is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early fourth century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a princess and a noted scholar who became a Christian around the age of 14, converted hundreds of people to Christianity and was martyred around the age of eighteen. More than 1,100 years after Catherine's martyrdom, Joan of Arc identified her as one of the saints who appeared to and counselled her.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria | |
|---|---|
Caravaggio, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1598–99, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum | |
| Virgin and martyr | |
| Born | c. 287 Alexandria, Roman Egypt |
| Died | c. 305 (aged 17–18) Alexandria, Roman Egypt |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Catholic Church Oriental Orthodox Churches Anglican Communion Lutheranism |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Major shrine | Saint Catherine's Monastery |
| Feast |
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| Attributes | breaking wheel; sword; with a crown at her feet; hailstones; bridal veil and ring; dove; surrounded by angels, scourge; book; woman arguing with pagan philosophers |
| Patronage | Unmarried girls; apologists; craftsmen who work with a wheel (potters, spinners); archivists; dying people; educators; girls; jurists; knife sharpeners; lacemakers; lawyers; librarians; libraries; Balliol College; Massey College; maidens; mechanics; millers; milliners; nurses; philosophers; preachers; scholars; schoolchildren; scribes; secretaries; spinsters; stenographers; students; tanners; theologians; St. Catherine University; University of Oviedo; University of Paris; haberdashers; wheelwrights; Aalsum, Germany; Żejtun, Malta; Żurrieq, Malta; Katerini, Greece; Grude, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Pagbilao, Quezon, Philippines; Gerona, Tarlac, Carcar, Cebu, Porac, Pampanga, Arayat, Pampanga, Dumaguete, Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental, Santa Catalina, Ilocos Sur, Santa, Ilocos Sur, Leon, Iloilo, Tayum, Abra, Diocese of Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, University of Santo Tomas; Bagac, Bataan, Santa Catarina (state), Brazil. |
The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates her as a Great Martyr and celebrates her feast day on 24 or 25 November, depending on the regional tradition. In Catholicism, Catherine is traditionally revered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and she is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on 25 November. Her feast was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969, but restored in 2002 as an optional memorial.
Some modern scholars consider that the legend of Catherine was probably based on the life and murder of the virgin Saint Dorothea of Alexandria and the Greek philosopher Hypatia, with the reversed role of a Christian and Neo-Platonist in the case of the latter. On the other hand, the Catholic Encyclopedia states that "Although contemporary hagiographers look upon the authenticity of the various texts containing the legend of St. Catherine as more than doubtful, it is not therefore meant to cast even the shadow of a doubt around the existence of the saint".