Feast Day: November 25
Patron of:
- Students
- Philosophers
- Librarians
- Teachers
- Lawyers
- Young women
- Those seeking wisdom
- Wheelwrights & mechanics (because of the “Catherine wheel”)
Who She Was
St. Catherine of Alexandria was a brilliant young woman from Egypt in the early 4th century. According to tradition, she was a princess and a scholar who converted to Christianity as a teenager after a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ Child.
She confronted the Roman Emperor Maxentius, defending the Christian faith with such intelligence that he summoned 50 of the best pagan philosophers to debate her — and she converted them all.
Martyrdom
In anger, the emperor ordered her tortured on a spiked wheel. The wheel miraculously broke, so she was ultimately beheaded. Her story made her one of the most venerated early martyrs.
Symbols
- The wheel: the broken torture device
- The sword: symbol of her martyrdom
- The book: her wisdom and learning
- Crown: her noble birth and spiritual victory
St Catherine was the beautiful daughter and scholar of a pagan King and Queen who ruled Alexandria in Egypt. At around fourteen, following an appearance from the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Catherine converted to Christianity and gave herself in mystical marriage to Jesus. Her beliefs and actions influenced many others who followed her example and likewise, converted to Christianity. Emperors, rulers and great philosophers attempted to dispute her teachings, but she outwitted them with her pro-Christian arguments. In the process, several of them converted to Christianity but they were immediately martyred.
Emperor Maxentius also tried to win her over by proposing marriage. Again, she refused, so in his fury, he ordered her execution by the “Breaking Wheel.” (The execution process involved tying the subject to a cartwheel, breaking their bones with hammers or other available instruments and leaving them to die – it was a barbarous form of torture and execution.) The wheel, however, miraculously fell apart when St Catherine touched it so, he ordered her immediate beheading. St Catherine’s Feast Day is the 25th of November.
PRAYER IN HONOUR OF ST CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA
O God, Who didst distinguish Thy holy virgin and martyr Catherine by the gift of great wisdom and virtue, and victorious combat with the enemies of the Faith; grant us, we beseech Thee, through her intercession, constancy in the Faith and the wisdom of the saints, that we may devote all the powers of our mind and heart to Thy service. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer
Saint Catherine, you devoted yourself to your God after learning of Him through the teaching of a holy monk. Once you wedded yourself to your Lord, you never wavered in your love for Him. Please pray for me, that I will also hear God’s Word, spoken in the depths of my soul, and will respond to His voice with all my heart. Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Prayer:
Glorious Saint Catherine, virgin and martyr, help me to imitate your love of purity. Give me strength and courage in fighting off the temptations of the world and evil desires.
Help me to love God with my whole heart and serve Him faithfully.
O Saint Catherine, through your glorious martyrdom for the love of Christ, help me to be loyal to my faith and my God as long as I live. Amen.
Lets us Pray
God of power and mercy, in our weakness, your power reaches perfection. You gave Saint Catherine of Alexandria the strength to witness the Gospel of Christ even to the
point of giving her life for it. May her prayers be a source of help for us, and may her example of courage and chastity be our inspiration.
Grant this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us!
NOVENA IN HONOUR OF SAINT CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Lord God, we thank You for giving us Your martyr, St. Catherine of Alexandria, as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the deep love for You that led her to become a Christian despite the persecution that she knew she might face.
St. Catherine of Alexandria, you were born into a pagan family, in a society that was hostile to Christianity. You did not have the benefit of an upbringing in the Faith. But when you received a vision of the Blessed Mother and Child Jesus, you knew you wanted to be part of the Christian Faith.
Pray that I may actively choose to love God, as you did!
Even though you knew that your choice to become a Christian could lead to your suffering and death, you did not hesitate to devote your life to God.
Pray for me, that I may be as devoted in my choice to follow Christ as you were.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Lord God, we thank You for giving us Your martyr, St. Catherine of Alexandria, as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the strength she showed when she chose to confront the murderous emperor Maxentius about his unjust treatment of Christians.
St. Catherine of Alexandria, you knew when you became a Christian that the path you were choosing would not be easy. You knew that the society in which you lived was hostile to Christianity. Rather than hiding your new faith in safety, you boldly ventured out to confront the emperor about his treatment of Christians.
Pray that I may be as bold in my defence of others as you were!
You did not fear to tell the emperor that his actions were wrong. You bravely confronted him, never fearing for your own safety.
Pray for me, that I may be as courageous in speaking out against evil as you were.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Let us pray
Almighty and eternal God, with lively faith and reverent worship, I bow before You and invoke, with absolute trust, Your supreme power and mercy.
Illumine the darkness of my mind with a ray of Your heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Your Divine love, so that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in whose honour I make this novena, and following her example imitate, like her, the life of Your Divine Son.
Moreover, I beseech You to graciously grant, through the merits and intercession of St Catherine, the petition that I humbly place before You, devoutly acknowledging, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
(Make your request…)
Merciful God, graciously grant my request, if it is for Your greater honour and glory, and the salvation of my soul.
Say: Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be…
… St Catherine of Alexandria: Pray for Us …
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