Today, the Lenten weekday Mass is celebrated. The Collect of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity may be prayed.

Some Notes on Sts. Perpetua and Felicity:

They were martyred in Carthage in the 3rd century, ca. 203, during the persecution of Septimius Severus (193-211).

Recently married and the mother of an infant, Vibia Perpetua was a well-educated woman of noble birth, 22 years of age, while Felicity (Felicitas) was a pregnant slave woman. They were imprisoned and put to death along with four others at Carthage in the Roman province of Africa.

The source of the story of their martyrdom is the “Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity.” This is one of the most ancient and reliable histories of the martyrs. Perpetua herself wrote a diary in the “Passion” about her suffering in prison.

According to the “Passion,” Perpetua, Felicity, Revocatus (also a slave), Saturninus, and Secundulus were arrested and executed. They were catechumens and were baptized after their arrest. To this group was added Saturus, a catechist, who voluntarily went to the magistrate and proclaimed himself a Christian.

Perpetua’s father had beseeched her to apostatize but she refused. In prison, she had a vision of a ladder guarded by a dragon and strewn with arms that prevented ascent. She walked over the dragon and reached a beautiful place with a green pasture, where a flock was grazing. She interpreted this as her entry into heaven. Again, her father asked her to apostatize and offer sacrifice to the gods. He repeated his appeal to the forum before the people. But again, Perpetua stood firm in her faith.

Perpetua and the others were condemned to the wild beasts in the arena. Perpetua had another vision that her younger brother, Dinocrates, who had died of cancer as a pagan, was in heaven after she had prayed for him. Her mother brought her child to be nursed. The infant was a great source of consolation to her. She had another vision in which she saw a ladder leading to heaven. But a serpent was attacking Christians who were trying to ascend the ladder. She understood that her trial would come from Satan rather than from the wild beasts in the arena.

One of the martyrs, Secundulus, died in prison. Three days before their execution, Felicity gave birth prematurely to a girl and could now be legally executed. After being flogged, they were led to the amphitheater and beheaded.

Perpetua’s diary is the first known writing by a Christian woman and was well respected in the churches of Carthage and Orthodox Christians. Perpetua and Felicity were commemorated in Rome in the 4th century and their names were inserted in the list of Saints in the Canon of the Mass, today’s Eucharistic Prayer I.

Prayer: O God, at the urging of your love, the Martyrs Saints Perpetua and Felicity defied their persecutors and overcame the torment of earth. We ask, by their prayers, that we may ever grow in your love, through Christ our Lord. Amen.