November 25

                                                      St. Catherine of Alexandria


     There are several saints named Catherine.


     Saint Catherine of Alexandria was born about AD 285 in Egypt.  She was raised a pagan, although she grew up in Alexandria, where the Apostle St. Mark had established the faith. 


     At about 14 years old, Catherine had a vision of Mary and the infant Jesus, and converted to Christ and his Church.


     When the Roman Emperor Maxentius began a severe persecution of Christians, Catherine visited him.  She denounce his cruelty.  Maxentius, respecting her striking intelligence, beauty, and courage, summoned fifty orators and philosophers to debate her.  Catherine spoke in defense of the faith--moved, she later said, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  In fact, several of those debating her stated on the spot that they were converting to Christ.


     Unable to defeat her rhetorically or to intimidate her into giving up her faith, the emperor ordered her to be imprisoned and tortured.  But through it all, she didn’t abandon her faith.  She was already well-known for the strength of her faith, and word of her arrest quickly spread.  Over two hundred people visited her in prison.  


     The emperor's own wife, Valeria Maximilla was converted by Catherine.  Maxentius had Valeria executed. 


     Maxentius, now without a wife, made a final attempt to persuade Catherine to abandon her faith—by proposing marriage to her.  This would have made her the empress, the most influential woman in the empire.  Catherine refused, telling him that she was already married—to Jesus Christ.  The emperor angrily ordered her beheaded.  She was only 18 years old.


     More than 200 years later, a monastery was established in her name.  Saint Catherine’s monastery has remained continuously active to this day.  It sits at the foot of Mt. Sinai in Egypt.


     St. Catherine of Alexandria is one of the great saints of the early Church.  In the short four years from her conversion to her death, she brought many people to Christ.  


     We honor her today.

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