Felicitas

Felicitas a saint of the Roman calendar, supposed to have suffered martyrdom A.D. 164. According to the legend, she was a woman of high birth, who embraced Christianity and brought up her seven sons in the faith. She was denounced to Marcus Aurelius, who ordered an inquiry. The prefect ordered her to sacrifice to the gods; she refused, as did her children. After vain efforts to break their constancy, the prefect reported the case anew to the emperor, who ordered a trial before special judges. The lady and her children were all put to death. The story is plainly of comparatively modern invention. Felicitas is commemorated in the Church of Rome Nov. 13, and her seven sons July 16. The bones of two of her sons are said to be preserved in Germany!-Bolland, Acta Sanctor. July 10; Butler, Lives of Saints, July 10.