Saints Perpetua and Felicity are two renowned martyrs of the early Church. In the first Eucharistic prayer, we ask for the intercession of these saints due to their significance and their powerful witness in the life of the early Church. The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity is a beautiful and moving account of the courage and valor of these two holy women of God during their time of greatest trial. The text contains edits from a narrator in the opening and closing, yet the majority of the text was composed by St Perpetua herself. The account relays the trial and martyrdom of these saints during the persecution of the early Church near the second century.
Felicity was a slave who was eight months pregnant, while Perpetua was a twenty-two year old catechumen who had an infant child. While in prison, Perpetua was very concerned with the well being of her baby since she was unable to see or nurse her child. Perpetua was able to be reunited with her infant and care for the baby in the prison. After being with her baby, Perpetua claimed the prison seemed like a palace. Perpetua’s father was not supportive of her faith and continually sought to convince her to renounce her faith. He came to the prison multiple times to persuade Perpetua to turn back upon her Christian beliefs. In response, Perpetua firmly said to him, “I too cannot be called anything other than what I am, a Christian.”1
In the prison with Perpetua was her brother, who was also a catechumen. At the prompting of her brother, Perpetua prayer for a vision of her future. She received a vision of a narrow ladder surrounded by dangerous weapons. A dragon stood at the base of the ladder seeking to prevent anyone from ascending up. Perpetua did not fear the dragon due to the power of Christ. She walked upon its head and entered the garden above to see God Himself, drinking sweet milk which he gave to her. This vision was a prophetic foretelling of Perpetua’s death, where she would not fear the devil nor death due to the power of Christ within her.
Perpetua, Felicity, and the other prisoners were condemned to death by the beasts. Upon their condemnation, they left and “returned to prison in high spirits.”2 The bravery and joyfulness of these early Christians is astonishing. It is clear that they believed the words of Saint Paul, “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”3 The night before Perpetua’s death, she had a vision of herself in the amphitheatre. Rather than facing beasts, she faced an Egyptian man with a fierce appearance. The two fought each other and the fight ended with Perpetua’s victory as she stepped on his head. Perpetua recognized the meaning of the vision, realizing that in her upcoming execution “it was not with wild animals that I would fight but with the Devil, but I knew that I would win the victory.”4
In prison, Felicity was with child and she was very concerned that she would have to wait until giving birth to be executed. Thus, she would be executed with the common criminals, rather than dying with her brothers and sisters in Christ. Deeply distressed at the thought of this, she fervently prayed that she would give birth early. In response to her prayer, the Lord allowed her to give birth that evening so that she could die with her fellow Christians the following day. Felicity endured the pains of early childbirth with perseverance and determination, recognizing that in the morning she would have the honor of suffering for the sake of Christ.
On the day of execution, the Christians marched forth from the prison with joy, acknowledging that “they were going to heaven, with calm faces, trembling, if at all, with joy rather than fear.”5 The Christians rejoiced at their suffering, recognizing that they would experience a share in the Cross of the Lord. Perpetua and Felicity were told to put on robes of the priestess of Ceres. Perpetua sternly opposed this degrading act and told the military tribune that this would be unjust. Perpetua explained that they had chosen death rather than compromising their faith; thus, she refused to compromise even to the slightest degree by wearing these robes. In the face of her courage, the tribune agreed and allowed them to go without the pagan clothing.
In the arena, Perpetua sang Psalms of praise to the Lord, choosing to see this time as a time of victory and glory. Perpetua and Felicity were to be tortured through a wild heifer. Perpetua was thrown by the animal, yet composed herself afterwards, desiring to look dignified as a martyr who saw this moment as a time of triumph rather than sorrow. Perpetua did not feel her first encounter with the heifer due to a sleep she experienced by the grace of God. After being thrown from the heifer, Perpetua helped Felicity get back on her feet. In addition, she spoke to her brother with words of encouragement, saying, “You must all stand fast in the faith and love one another, and do not be weakened by what we have gone through.”6 Even from the arena of death, Perpetua aided those around her and strengthened their faith through her motherly care and support.
After being tossed about by various beasts, the Christians came back to the center of the theatre to be killed through a cut of the throat. The Christians exchanged a peaceful embrace with each other before submitting freely to their death. When Perpetua was struck with the sword, she experienced great pain; yet, she guided the sword of the executioner to her throat a second time in an act of great strength and submission.
The martyrs of the early Church exemplified heroic courage, passionate love, and unchanging joy. Truly, these men and women are an example of the importance of clinging to the Faith in times of trial and receiving strength from the Cross of Christ. This account of Felicity and Perpetua’s martyrdom particularly shows the fearlessness of the Christians in the early Church. These Christians understood the gravity of sin and the glory of virtue; as a result, they readily submitted to death rather than renouncing their Savior for the sake of comfort.
This text from the Early Church speaks volumes to today’s modern Christian. These men and women exemplified strength, determination, and fortitude in the face of trial for their faith. For many of them, the Faith was new to them. For example, the text explains that Perpetua had been recently baptized before her martyrdom.7 Consequently, one is astonished to see the strength of faith modeled by this woman of God. Nevertheless, this illustrates that whether one is a recent convert to Catholicism or a “cradle Catholic,” we are all called to heroic virtue. Perpetua and Felicity exemplified great virtue because they knew the Source of all virtue; that is, Christ Himself. They found their strength in Christ and His Cross, rather than in themselves. As a result, they found themselves equipped with power from the Holy Spirit at the time of their death. In their own hour of glory, Christ was present with them.
Before Christ sent out his Apostles in the Gospel of Matthew, He warned them of the persecution which they would face for His sake …
“On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” 8
These powerful words of Christ are made tangible through the witness of Perpetua and Felicity. While in the arena, these women called others to greatness through both their example and their heartfelt words. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God was radiated to others through their presence. Like Perpetua and Felicity, let us always ask the Lord to grant us courage, strength, and joy in the face of trial, recognizing that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”9
Endnotes
1 “The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas,” trans. Herbert Musuriillo, in The Acts of the Christian Martyrs, (Oxford University Press, 1972), 1.
2 “The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas,” 3.
3 Romans 14:8, NIV.
4 “The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas,” 4.
5 “The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas,” 5.
6 “The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas,” 6.
7 “The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas,” 1.
8 Matthew 10:18-20, NIV.
9 Romans 8:18, NIV.
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