Sr Lini Sheeja MSC –
Saints Perpetua and Felicity were thrown into an arena of wild animals, but they were not killed. Tragically, the emperor Severus then commanded that they be put to death by the sword. On March 7, we observed the Feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs of the early Church in Carthage. In the face of pressure from both the government and their family members, these two women remained steadfast in their faith. Saints Perpetua and Felicity, a young noblewoman and her slave, were martyred for their faith in A.D. 203, under the emperor Severus. At the time of their arrest, Perpetua had an infant son, and Felicity was pregnant. While she was in prison, Perpetua wrote about the circumstances leading up to their death in a diary that was later published as The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity – one of the earliest writings by a Christian woman.
Prior to their arrest, the women had been studying the Scriptures and were preparing for baptism. Perpetua and Felicity were part of a group of five catechumens apprehended in Carthage, North Africa in 203 A.D. for practice of the faith. Perpetua was a well-educated twenty-two-year-old married woman and a mother with her nursing infant, and Felicity was her servant, herself seven months pregnant. Together they and their companions were imprisoned and roughly treated by the soldiers as they awaited their martyrdom. They were baptized in prison by their teacher, who was imprisoned with them. Their prison warden was so inspired by their faith that he too got converted.
St Perpetua – Passionate Woman of God
St Perpetua (181-203) is also known as St Perpetua of Carthage. She was born in Carthage, North Africa. Her mother was Christian, but her father was a pagan who worshipped the Roman gods. By most assumptions, the family had three children: Perpetua, her brother, and a younger brother who died in childhood. Perpetua was literate and well-educated, and she married as a young woman. By the time of her martyrdom at approximately age 22, she had an infant son, but as her account makes no mention of her husband, so most historians assume she was already a young widow. When Perpetua was in prison her father came to her, begging her to give in, kissing her hands, and throwing himself at her feet. She told him, “We lie not in our own power but in the power of God.” When she and the others were taken to be examined and sentenced, her father followed, pleading with her and the judge. The judge, out of pity, also tried to get Perpetua to change her mind, but when she stood fast, she was sentenced with the others to be thrown to the wild beasts in the arena. Perpetua is one of the first Christian female writers before the fourth century whose works have survived.
St Felicity– Passionate Woman of God
Felicity was in torment. It was against the law for pregnant women to be executed. To kill a child in the womb was shedding innocent and sacred blood. Felicity was afraid that she would not give birth before the day set for their martyrdom and her companions would go on their journey without her. Her friends also didn’t want to leave so “good a comrade” behind. Two days before the execution, Felicity went into a painful labour. The guards made fun of her, insulting her by saying, “If you think you suffer now, how will you stand it when you face the wild beasts?” Felicity answered them calmly, “Now I’m the one who is suffering, but in the arena, another will be in me suffering for me because I will be suffering for him.” She gave birth to a healthy girl who was adopted and raised by one of the Christian women of Carthage.
Firm Faith
Perpetua was firm in her faith despite all tortures. Her brother also joined her in studying the Christian faith, much to the horror of their father, who objected on both religious and practical grounds. He repeatedly attempted to convince Perpetua to renounce her Christian belief, but Perpetua held fast, even when her father tried to attack her. Perpetua writes, “When my father in his affection for me was trying to turn me from my purpose by arguments and thus weaken my faith, I said to him, ‘Do you see this vessel—water pot or whatever it may be? Can it be called by any other name than what it is?’ ‘No,’ he replied. ‘So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.” When she and the others were taken to be examined and sentenced, her father followed, pleading with her and the judge. The judge, out of pity, also tried to get Perpetua to change her mind, but when she stood fast, she was sentenced with the others to be thrown to the wild beasts in the arena.
Imprisonment and Torture
Perpetua was baptized into the faith before being arrested. She was taken to prison with a group of fellow catechumens: Saturninus and Secundulus, two slaves named Felicitas (called Felicity) and Revocatus, and their instructor, Saturus. Felicity was about eight months pregnant at the time. The group was brought before the Roman governor of the region, Hilarianus, and confessed their faith. Conditions in the prison were dark, crowded and hot, and the soldiers in charge often physically mistreated or neglected the prisoners. Perpetua was separated from her child upon her arrest as she left her to the care of her mother and her brother.
Perpetua by this time was in great pain from not having nursed her baby for several days, and she was greatly distressed over her son’s lack of nourishment. She endured these trials until it was arranged that the baby be allowed to stay with her in the prison, where they both quickly regained strength. And there, Perpetua writes, “the dungeon became to me as it were a palace, so that I preferred being there to being elsewhere.” Perpetua was baptized before being taken to prison. She was known for her gift of “the Lord’s speech” for receiving messages from God. She tells us that at the time of her baptism she was told to pray for nothing but endurance in the face of her trials.The prison was so crowded with people that the heat was suffocating. There was no light anywhere and Perpetua “had never known such darkness.”
Receiver of Visions
Perpetua’s mother and brothers were believers, but they, too, were suffering on her account. During this time, Perpetua’s brother asked her to ask God in prayer if they would be released or if the imprisonment would result in death. Perpetua was given a vision of a golden ladder laden with iron weapons leading to heaven with a dragon crouching at the bottom. The two ascend successfully in the vision, and after Perpetua related this to her brother, they understood that it meant that this imprisonment would lead to their martyrdom and not their release. Perpetua writes, “We understood that it was to be a passion, and we ceased henceforth to have any hope in this world.”
She also wrote about a vision of her brother Dinocrates, who had died as a young child. In a vision, she saw him happy and healthy, with the scars from his fatal illness reduced to a single scar. After a pair of deacons bribed the prison guards, the Christians were moved to a better part of the prison and permitted visitors, including Perpetua’s family. When the time came for the Christians to go before the judge, Perpetua’s father followed them, begging Perpetua to recant and begging the judge for mercy. Upon seeing this, the judge also tried to convince Perpetua to change her stance, but she refused and, like the others, was sentenced to death.
Sentenced to Death
There was a feast the day before the games, so that the crowd could see the martyrs and make fun of them. But the martyrs turned this all around by laughing at the crowd for not being Christians and exhorting them to follow their example. The four new Christians and their teacher went to the arena (the fifth, Secundulus, had died in prison) with joy and calm. Perpetua in usual high spirits met the eyes of everyone along the way. She walked with “shining steps as the true wife of Christ, the darling of God.”
When those at the arena tried to force Perpetua and the rest to dress in robes dedicated to their gods, Perpetua challenged her executioners. “We came to die out of our own free will so we wouldn’t lose our freedom to worship our God. We gave you our lives so that we wouldn’t have to worship your gods.” She and the others were allowed to keep their clothes. The men were attacked by bears, leopards, and wild boars. The women were stripped to face a rabid heifer. The two were thrown out and attacked, but the crowd cried out saying they had had enough. The women were removed and clothed again. Perpetua and Felicity were thrown back into the arena to face the gladiators. Perpetua called out to her brother and other Christians, “Stand fast in the faith, and love one another. Do not let our sufferings be a stumbling block to you.” Perpetua and Felicity were thrown into an arena of wild animals, but they were not killed. Tragically, the emperor Severus then commanded that they be put to death by the sword.
The Passion of St Perpetua, St Felicity, and Their Companions
The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity (Latin: Passio sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis) is a diary by Vibia Perpetua describing her imprisonment as a Christian in 203, completed after her death by a redactor. It is one of the oldest and most notable early Christian texts. Along with the experiences of Perpetua and Felicity, the text also appears to contain, in his own words, the accounts of the visions of Saturus, another Christian martyred with Perpetua. An editor, who states he was an eyewitness, has added accounts of the martyrs’ suffering and death. It survives in both Latin and Greek forms.
Canonization
Perpetua was canonized, along with Felicity, and both their names appear among the ancient martyrs in the Canon of the Mass for Roman Catholics. The two women share a feast day (March 7) in the Roman Catholic Church.
Festal Blessings
The faith of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity was such an example that one of their guards became a Christian because of them. They walked with joy in their hearts to the death chamber. Jesus walked to his death joyously and we have 2 women here who embraced their death courageously for God whom they found as the greatest wealth. They defeated human power with their faith. Their journey of faith is a great challenge to each of us to hold on to God in all circumstances. These 3rd century saints teach the 21st century followers of Jesus to walk to our death chambers with faith and joy. Let our journey of faith be rooted in the words, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”(Rom. 8:31). “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”(Rom.8:35). Not even wild animals or the sword could separate Sts. Perpetua and Felicity from the love of Christ. Our Redeemer died for us! Let us lay down our lives for our Redeemer and live for His people at any cost! May our Master who embraced the death chamber joyously fill us with hope! May Sts. Perpetua and Felicity who embraced their death chamber courageously intercede for us to become courageous warriors!
Sr Lini Sheeja MSC, belongs to the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. She authored a book named, Redeemed Prisoner in which she brings out the life stories of people who walked to the death chambers courageously after having been redeemed.