Feast day: February 5
Birth: 231
Death: 251
Patron: Bell-founders; breast cancer; against fire; earthquakes; jewelers; rape victims
Sicily
Born into a wealthy family, yet she showed humility and chastity at a very young age. Agatha dedicated herself to God as a virgin when she was a young child. Even in her youth, her parents had suitors come to ask for her in marriage.
One such suitor was Quintian, a man of high rank who felt he could force her to change her persistent resolve. Knowing she was a Christian in a time of persecution, he had her arrested and brought before the courts where he would in fact be the judge. He expected her to give in to when faced with torture and possible death, but she simply affirmed 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."
She was then placed in a brothel in hopes that the seductions of those around her would change her mind. When she continued to profess her faith in Jesus, Quintian had her tortured. He refused her any medical care but God gave her all the care she needed in the form of a vision of St. Peter. When she was tortured again, she died after saying a final prayer:
"Lord, my Creator, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my soul."
Because one of the tortures she supposedly suffered was to have her breasts cut off, she was often depicted carrying her breasts on a plate. It is thought that blessing of the bread that takes place on her feast may have come from the mistaken notion that she was carrying loaves of bread.
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