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=                            Saint Agatha                            =
======================================================================

                             Introduction                             
======================================================================
Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her memorial is on February
5. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily,
and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are
commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.

Agatha is the patron saint of Catania, Molise, Malta, San Marino,
Gallipoli in Apulia, and Zamarramala, a municipality of the Province
of Segovia in Spain. She is also the patron saint of breast cancer
patients, martyrs, wet nurses, bell-founders, and bakers, and is
invoked against fire, earthquakes, and eruptions of Mount Etna.


                            Early history                             
======================================================================
Agatha is buried at the Badia di Sant'Agata, Catania. She is listed in
the late 6th-century  associated with Jerome, and the , the calendar
of the church of Carthage, . Agatha also appears in one of the  of
Venantius Fortunatus.

Two early churches were dedicated to her in Rome; Sant'Agata in via
della Lugaretta, Trastevere, and notably the Church of Sant'Agata dei
Goti in Via Mazzarino, a titular church with apse mosaics of  and
traces of a fresco cycle, overpainted by Gismondo Cerrini in 1630. In
the 6th century AD, the church was adapted to Arianism, hence its name
"Saint Agatha of Goths", and later reconsecrated by Gregory the Great,
who confirmed her traditional sainthood.

Agatha is also depicted in the mosaics of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in
Ravenna, where she appears, richly dressed, in the procession of
female 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.


                                 Life                                 
======================================================================
One of the most highly venerated virgin martyrs of Christian
antiquity, Agatha was put to death during the Decian persecution
(250-253) in Catania, Sicily, for her determined profession of faith.

Her written legend comprises "straightforward accounts of
interrogation, torture, resistance, and triumph which constitute some
of the earliest hagiographic literature", and are reflected in later
recensions, the earliest surviving one being an illustrated late
10th-century 'passio' bound into a composite volume in the
Bibliothèque nationale de France, originating probably in Autun,
Burgundy; in its margin illustrations Magdalena Carrasco detected
Carolingian or Late Antique iconographic traditions.

According to the 13th-century 'Golden Legend' (III.15) by Jacobus de
Voragine, 15 year-old Agatha, from a rich and noble family, made a vow
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.

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.

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. Amongst the tortures she underwent was the excision of
her breasts with pincers. After further dramatic confrontations with
Quintianus, represented in a sequence of dialogues in her 'passio'
that document her fortitude and steadfast devotion, Agatha was then
sentenced to be burnt 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.

Agatha died in prison, probably in the year 251 according to the
'Legenda 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.

Osbern Bokenam, 'A Legend of Holy Women', written in the 1440s, offers
some further detail.


                              Veneration                              
======================================================================
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 at Rabat, 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.

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.

After the Reformation era, Agatha was retained in the calendar of the
Church of England's Book of Common Prayer with her feast on 5
February. Several Church of England parish churches are dedicated to
her.


 Festival of Saint Agatha in Catania 
=====================================
The Festival of Saint Agatha in Catania is a major festival in the
region, it takes place in the first five days of February. The Catania
Cathedral (also known as ) is dedicated to her.


File:Catania I cannalori.jpg|alt=A sepia-toned black and white
photograph of a crowd of people.|The Festival of Saint Agatha in 1915
File:Catania Festa S.Agata CANDELORA.jpg|The Festival of Saint Agatha
in 2007
File:Folklore catania sant'agata la salita dei cappuccini
(2247621233).jpg|The Festival of Saint Agatha in 2008
File:Catania's duomo and balloons.jpg|Catania's duomo during the
festival


                              Patronage                               
======================================================================
Saint Agatha is the patron 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 February
5.

She is also a patron saint of Malta, where in 1551 her intercession
through a reported apparition to a Benedictine nun is said to have
saved Malta from Turkish invasion.

She became the patron saint of the Republic of San Marino after Pope
Clement XII restored the independence of the state on her feast day of
February 5, 1740.

She is also the patron saint of Catania, Sorihuela del Guadalimar
(Spain), Molise, San Marino and Kalsa, a historical quarter of
Palermo.

She is claimed as the patroness of Palermo. The year after her death,
the stilling of an eruption of Mount Etna was attributed to her
intercession. As a result, apparently, people continued to ask her
prayers for protection against fire.

In Switzerland, Agatha is considered the patron saint of fire
services.

In the United Kingdom, Agatha is the patron saint of bell ringers in
service of the Catholic Church.


                             Iconography                              
======================================================================
Saint Agatha is often depicted iconographically carrying her excised
breasts on a platter, as in Bernardino Luini's 'Saint Agatha'
(1510-1515) in the Galleria Borghese, Rome, in which Agatha
contemplates the breasts on a standing salver held in her hand.

The tradition of making shaped pastry on the feast of St. Agatha, such
us Agatha bread or buns, or so-called  ("Breasts of St. Agatha") or
("Breasts of the virgin"), is found in many countries.


                                Legacy                                
======================================================================
The Basque people have a tradition of gathering on Saint Agatha's Eve
() and going round the village. Homeowners can choose to hear a song
about her life, accompanied by the beats of their walking sticks on
the floor or a prayer for the household's deceased. After that, the
homeowner donates food to the chorus. This song has varying lyrics
according to the local tradition and the Basque language. An
exceptional case was that of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, when
a version appeared that in the Spanish language praised the Soviet
ship 'Komsomol', which had sunk while carrying Soviet weapons to the
Second Spanish Republic.

An annual festival to commemorate the life of Saint Agatha takes place
in Catania, Sicily, from February 3 to 5. The festival culminates in
an all-night procession through the city.

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.

St. Agatha is also commemorated in literature. The Italian poet Martha
Marchina wrote an epigram in  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.

Agatha of Sicily is honored with a Lesser Feast on the liturgical
calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America on
February 5.


 In art 
========
Agatha is a featured figure on Judy Chicago's 1979 installation piece
'The Dinner Party', being represented as one of the 999 names on the
'Heritage Floor.'

File:Alessandro Turchi - Saint Agatha Attended by Saint Peter and an
Angel in Prison - Walters 37552.jpg|Alessandro Turchi, 'Saint Agatha
Attended by Saint Peter and an Angel in Prison', The Walters Art
Museum
File:Santa Agueda - Zurbarán (detalle).png|Saint Agatha, detail from a
painting of Francisco de Zurbarán
File:Piero, sant'agata.jpg|Saint Agatha bearing her severed breasts on
a platter, by Piero della Francesca (c. 1460-1470)
File:Giulio Campi Entierro de Santa Agata.jpg|'Burial of St Agatha',
by Giulio Campi, 1537
File:Lanfranco, Giovanni - St Peter Healing St Agatha - c.
1614.jpg|'Saint Peter Healing Agatha', by the Caravaggio-follower
Giovanni Lanfranco, c. 1614


                               See also                               
======================================================================
* Incorruptibility
* List of Catholic saints
* Saint Agatha of Sicily, patron saint archive
* Santa Gadea, a church of historical importance devoted to Agatha,
located in Burgos


                            External links                            
======================================================================
*[http://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Exterior/Colonnades/Saints/St%20Agatha-8/StAgatha.htm
"St Agatha - St Peter's Square Colonnades"]
*[http://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/agatha.htm "Here
Followeth the Life of St. Agatha,"] from Jacobus Voragine, 'The Golden
Legend', tr. William Caxton.
* [http://www.christianiconography.info/agatha.html "Saint Agatha of
Sicily"] at the [http://www.christianiconography.info Christian
Iconography] website
*[http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/AGATHA.HTM Butler, Alban. 'The
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints', Vol. I, D.
& J. Sadlier, & Company, 1864]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6182078/ "Saint Agatha Movie"] at the
[http://delusionmfg.com Delusion] website
* The Saint Agatha Virgin and Martyr Catholic Church" at the Nova
Crnja municipality.
*
[https://gabrielediegobonsangue.netsons.org/en/projects/le-edicole-votive-dedicate-a-santagata-nella-citta-di-catania-the-votive-aedicules-in-honour-of-saint-agata-in-catania/
The Votive Aedicules in honour of Saint Agata in Catania ]


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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Agatha