St. Cecilia of Rome 8" x 10" Print

Cecilia, a beautiful young Roman girl of distinguished heritage and secretly Christian, was forced into marriage with a pagan aristocrat named Valerian. She succeeded in converting her spouse and her brother, and all three eventually died a martyr's death in the early second century. When her body was unearthed almost a millenium and a half later, it was discovered to be incorrupt. Often shown singing, playing the organ or other musical instruments, she is patroness of music and musicians because of a passage in the account of her martyrdom that describes her singing in her heart to her God. Her feast day is celebrated November 22. Original art by Matthew Alderman, matthewalderman.com.