Story of St. Catherine
Saint Catherine of Alexandria was a popular figure in
Catholic iconography. Her qualities are supposed to be those of beauty, fearlessness, virginity, and intelligence. She was of
noble origins, and dedicated herself as a
Christian after having a
vision. At the age of 18, she confronted the
Roman Emperor Maximus (presumably this refers to
Galerius Maximianus), debated his
pagan philosophers, and succeeded in
converting many of them to Christianity. Imprisoned by the Emperor, she converted his empress
Valeria Maximilla and the leader of his armies. Maximus executed her converts, including the Empress, and ordered that Catherine herself be put to death on a
spiked wheel. The wheel reportedly shattered the moment Catherine touched it. Maximus then had her beheaded. She became
patron saint of libraries and librarians, as well as teachers,
archivists, and all those associated with wisdom and teaching, and all those whose livelihoods depended upon wheels. The year of her
martyrdom was traditionally held to have been 305 (the year of a major
persecution of Christians under Galerius), and her
feast day was celebrated on 25 November. In 1969, the Church removed her from the
calendar of saints, persuaded by the overwhelming opinion of historians that Catherine had probably never existed. By 2002, while the majority of historians had not changed their minds, the Church had, and she was reinstated. ==See also==