Catherine of Alexandria

Catherine was born circa 287 in Alexandria, Egypt. According to the traditional narrative, Catherine was the daughter of Constus, the governor of Egyptian Alexandria during the reign of Emperor Maximian (286 - 305).

From a young age, Catherine devoted herself to study; when she was a teenager, she had a vision of the Madonna and the Child that persuaded her to become a Christian. When the persecutions began under Emperor Maxentius, Catherine went to him and rebuked him for his cruelty. Hoping to discredit her, Maxentius summoned fifty of the best pagan philosophers and orators to debate with her and refute her pro-Christian arguments. However, Catherine won the debate and some of her adversaries, conquered by her eloquence, declared themselves Christians; they were condemned to death.

As a result of the debate, Catherine was scourged and then imprisoned. During her imprisonment, over 200 people came to visit her, including Maxentius' own wife, Valeria Maximilla. Catherine was so eloquent that they all left converted to Christianity (and were, of course, subsequently martyred).

Upon the failure of Maxentius to make Catherine yield by the way of torture, he tried to win the beautiful and wise girl over by proposing marriage. Catherine refused, stating that Jesus Christ was her spouse, to whom she had consecrated her virginity. Furious, Maxentius condemned Catherine to death on a spiked breaking wheel (an object with the goal of breaking the bones or bludgeoning someone to death...ouch). On the day of her execution, when Catherine touched the wheel, a miracle occurred and it shattered. Unable to torture her to death, Maxentius finally had her beheaded.

A tradition dating to about 800 states that angels carried her corpse to Mount Sinai. Her body is said to have been discovered there around the year 800, with hair still growing and a constant stream of healing oil issuing from her body. In the 6th century, the Eastern Emperor Justinian established what is now Saint Catherine's Monastery in Egypt.

According to modern scholarship, the legend of Catherine of Alexandria was probably based on the life and murder of the Greek philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria (who was murdered by Christian fanatics), with reversed roles of Christians and pagans.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria's feast is celebrated on 25 November.

Catherine of Alexandria

Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina

(1505 - 1510)

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