7 March: Saints Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs

Two mothers united in their witness to Christ unto sacrificing their lives

They were two young mothers: a 22 year old woman who was still nursing an infant, and a young woman who was eight months pregnant. Both were catechumens who had been imprisoned in Carthage, by Emperor Septimius Severus in 203 A.D. Perpetua and Felicity were from different social classes. Perpetua was part of a noble family, while Felicity was a servant. They were united by their faith in Christ and, later, by their martyrdom. They were arrested along with their catechist, Saturus, and other catechumens, including Saturninus, Revocatus and Secundulus

Details of their passion and of what took place during their imprisonment were found in Perpetua’s diary, which was enhanced and became known as Acta Perpetuae et Felicitatis. Perpetua’s father pleaded in vain to persuade her, in the name of motherly love, to make sacrifices to the gods.

Meanwhile, Felicity feared she would not be martyred along with the others because she was pregnant, and the law forbade the torture of pregnant women. However, Felicity gave birth three days before she was martyred. The two women were led into the arena, wrapped in a net and subjected to the horns of a furious cow.

As she sang the Psalms, Perpetua reassured her companions in front of the crowd. They died when their throats were cut. According to the Acta, some witnesses said  that their faces were radiant and very beautiful and showed no fear, but joy.

Devotion to the two young women spready quickly throughout the Church, immediately after their deaths. Their dies natalis were recorded in the Depositio martyrum, the ancient calendar of the Roman Church.