The Passion of the Holy Women 
Perpetua and Felicitas
 
 
1.1 If ancient examples of faith, which were both evidence of the grace of God and things that assisted in the instruction of men, have been set down in writing so that by reading them and, as it were, by the representation of the actions themselves, God is honoured and man is comforted, why should not new examples which contribute equally to both ends also be disseminated?
1.2 At some time in the future these examples themselves will be 'ancient' and necessary for those times, even if in the present, in their own time, they are considered to have somewhat lesser authority because of the normal veneration of things that are old.
1.3 But let those who adjudge the unique power of the one Holy Spirit to be limited to certain ages and times consider this: that more recent events should in fact be considered the greater since they are the most recent and because of the overflowing of grace decreed for the final expanses of time.
1.4 For in the last days, says the Lord, I will pour my Spirit over all flesh, and their sons and daughters will prophesy; and I will pour forth my Spirit even over my slave men and slave women; and young men will see visions, and old men will dream dreams.
1.5  So we also recognize and honour new prophesies and visions just as they have been promised, and all the other powers of the Holy Spirit that we believe to be for the use of the Church (to whom the Spirit has also been sent to manage the distribution of these gifts to everyone, just as the Lord distributes them to everyone).  So it is necessary that we disseminate them and, by reading them, celebrate the glory of God, so that neither weakness nor despair of faith should lead anyone to believe that the grace of God was shared only by the ancients (whether it be the honour of martyrdom or of revelations) since God will always bring about what he has promised -- as evidence for those who do not believe, and as a favour for those who do.
1.6 And so let us also announce to you, our brothers and little sons, that which we have heard and have touched, so that you who are also interested in remembering the glory of the Lord might now know that though hearing you might have a partnership with the holy martyrs, and through them with our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is splendour and honour though the ages of ages.  Amen.
2.1 The young catechumens were arrested, Revocatus and his fellow female-slave Felicitas, and Saturninus and Secundulus.  Among these persons was also Vibia Perpetua, a woman of honest birth, educated as befitting a person of free status, and properly married. 
2.2  She had a father, a mother, and two brothers, one of whom was a catechumen like herself, and a young infant son whom she was breastfeeding. 
2.3 

She herself was about twenty-one years old.  From this point on she narrates the whole sequence of events of her own martyrdom, just as she wrote it down in her own hand and according to her own understanding.  She says:
3.1  When we were still with our arresting officers, my father wished to  make me change my mind with words of persuasion.  He  perservered  in his attempts to defeat me, all because of his love for me. 
 'Father', I said, 'For the sake of argument, do you see this vase, or   whatever you want to call it, lying here?'
 And he said, 'Yes, I see it'.
3.2  And I said to him, 'Can you call it by any other name than what it is?'
 And he said, 'No, you can't'.
 'So,' I said, 'I cannot call myself anything other than what I am -- a   Christian'.
3.3  Merely hearing this word upset my father greatly.  He threw himself at  me with such violence that it seemed he wanted to tear my eyes out,  but in the end he just harrassed me and then left, beaten, along with 3.4 his devilish arguments.  For the next few days during which my father  was away, I gave thanks to the Lord, and was able to refresh myself  because of his absence.
3.5  In the space of those few days I was baptized, and the Spirit told me not to expect anything else from the water except suffering in the flesh.  A few days later we were thrown into prison.  I was really frightened.  I'd never experienced such darkness.
3.6  It was a hard time. The heat was stifling because of overcrowding. The constant 'shake-downs' and demands by the prison guards and soldiers.  On top of everything, I was tortured with worry for my baby.
3.7  Then the blessed deacons Tertius and Pomponius, who brought help to us, paid out the necessary bribes -- and within a few hours we were sent to a better part of the prison where we were able to refresh ourselves.
3.8  When we left our prison quarters, we were all able to get some freedom for ourselves.  I breastfed my baby.  He was already faint from hunger.  In my worry, I spoke to my mother about the baby, and tried to comfort my brother.  I handed my baby boy over to their care.  I was exhausted when I saw how worn out they were with concern for me.
3.9 These worries tortured me for many days. Finally I got permission to keep my baby with me in prison. Once I had been relieved of the tortures and worries about my child, I immediately got better. The prison suddenly became a palace -- I would have preferred to be there rather than anywhere else in the world.
4.1

 Then my brother said to me, "Lady sister, you already have such an elevated standing that you can ask for a vision and it will be shown to you whether you are to suffer or to be set free."
4.2

 And since I knew that I was able to talk with the Lord, whose favours I had shared so much, I faithfully promised this to him, saying, "Tomorrow I will report back to you." I asked, and the following was shown to me.
4.3  I see a bronze ladder of great size reaching up to the sky, but narrow, so that only one person at a time could climb it, and on the sides of the ladder hung every type of iron instrument.  There were swords, spears, curved hooks, knives, and sharp spits, so that if anyone tried to climb the ladder carelessly or did not pay attention while going up, they would be torn and their flesh would become hooked on the iron instruments.
4.4  And at the foot of the ladder itself there was coiled a snake of immense size, which would mount attacks on those who tried to climb the ladder and which would terrify them from making the attempt. 
 
 
4.5  But Saturus climbed up first -- he was the man who, although he was not present when we were arrested, later voluntarily handed himself over on our account (because he was the one who had taught us).
4.6 When he got to the top of the ladder, he turned around and said to me:  "Perpetua, I am supporting the ladder for you -- but watch that the snake doesn't bite you." And I said, "In the name of Jesus Christ, it will not harm me."
4.7  And, as if it were afraid of me, it stuck its head out only warily from beneath the foot of the ladder. And, as if I were stepping on the first rung of a ladder, I stepped on its head and began my climb.
4.8  And I saw the immense expanse of a garden and in the middle there sat a white-haired man in the clothing of a shepherd, a large man, milking his sheep. And standing about were a many thousands clad in shining white robes.
4.9

 And he raised his head, noticed me and said: "It is good that you have come, my child." And he called me over and from the cheese that he had milked he gave me a little mouthful. And I took it in my cupped hands and ate it.  And all those who were standing round about said, "Amen".
4.10  And at the sound of their voice I woke up, still chewing something sweet.  And I immediately reported all of this to my brother.  And I understood that I was to suffer and I began to have no more hope for this earthly life.
 
 
5.1  A few days later a rumour began to circulate that we were to be taken to our court hearing.  My father, consumed with worry, hurried from the city.  He came to me in order to dissuade me, and said:
5.2 

"My daughter, have pity on my grey hair. Have pity on your father, if I am still worthy to be called 'father' by you. With these hands of mine I raised you to the flower of your present age. I placed you before all your brothers in honour. Please don't shame me before other men.
5.3 Consider your brothers. Consider your mother and your mother's sister. Think of your baby son, who will not be able to live without you.
5.4 Change you mind before you destroy us all. If anything should happen to you, none of us will be able to speak freely again."
5.5  My father spoke these words to me, as a father would, with paternal affection, kissing my hands. Throwing himself at my feet, he wept.  He no longer addressed me as 'daughter', but rather as 'Lady.'
5.6  For my part, I grieved for my father's misfortune, because he alone of all my relations took no joy in my suffering. I tried to comfort him, and said, "What happens tomorrow on the prisoners' platform will be what God wishes. You must know that we are no longer in our own power, but in that of God." He went away from me deeply saddened.
 
 
6.1  On the next day, when we were eating breakfast, we were suddenly seized to be taken to our court hearing. We came to the forum.  Rumour had quickly run through the parts of the town neighbouring on the forum, and an immense crowd began to gather.
6.2  We ascended the platform. The others, when questioned, confessed.  Then my turn came. My father appeared right there with my baby son He pulled me down off the stairs, and said, "Sacrifice. Have pity on your child." 
6.3  And Hilarianus the procurator, who was then acting (governor) in place of the deceased proconsul Mincius Timinianus, and who had received the governor's 'right of the sword', said:  "Spare the white hair of your father, spare your infant son. Make sacrifice on behalf of the Health of our Lord Emperors."
6.4 And I said, "I will not."
 Hilarianus then asked: "Are you a Christian?"
 And I replied, "I am a Christian."
6.5  And when my father rushed up in order to dissuade me, Hilarianus ordered him to be struck down and to be beaten with rods. And the fate of my father made me grieve as if I myself were being beaten. Thus I grieved for his old age.
6.6  Then the governor pronounced his sentence against us all and condemned us to the beasts.  We descended the platform and returned, happy, to the prison.
6.7  But because my baby had become used to being breastfed and to staying with me in prison, I immediately sent the deacon Pomponius to my father to ask him to return my baby to me. My father refused. It was as God willed. The baby no longer desired my breasts. They were no longer to be so sore and inflamed. I was no longer tortured with concern for my baby, or by the pain in my breasts.
7.1 A few days later we were all praying.  Suddenly, in the midst of prayer, a voice came to me and I called out the name of Dinocrates. And I was shocked because his name had never entered my mind except at that moment, and I became very sad when I remembered his fate. 
7.2  And I knew at once that I was full of honour and had to make a request on his behalf. And I began to make a long prayer on his behalf and to groan out aloud to the Lord.
7.3 On that very same night, the following was shown to me:
7.4  I see Dinocrates coming out of a shadowy place where there are many other persons -- he is very hot and dry, his clothes filthy and his colour pale.  And there is that wound on his face, which he had when he died.
7.5  This Dinocrates was my brother in the flesh, six years old, who, because of his weak state, had died from a cancer of the face -- a death so terrible that it was hateful to all those who witnessed it.
7.6  Therefore I prayed on his behalf. But between him and me there was a great chasm so that neither one of us could approach the other.
7.7 In that place, where Dinocrates was, there was a reservoir full of water, but it had a rim higher than the height of the boy; and Dinocrates always had to try to stretch himself upwards in order to get a drink.
7.8  I was pained because the reservoir was full of water, but Dinocrates was not able to get a drink because of the height of the rim.
7.9  Then, suddenly, I woke up and I realized that my brother was suffering.  But I had faith that I would be able to assist him. On every day we spent in the military prison, I kept praying on his behalf. For we were to fight in the military games.  At this time it was the anniversary (birthday) of Geta Caesar.
7.10 

And I prayed on his behalf day and night, groaning and crying that this gift might be given to me.
 
 
8.1  On the day on which we were kept in bonds, the following was shown to me:  I see that place where I had earlier seen Dinocrates, but he now has a clean body, is well clothed and refreshed; and where there was once a wound, I now see a scar.
8.2 And that reservoir, which I had seen earlier, has its rim lowered to the level of the boy's navel, and he is drawing water from it without cease.
8.3  And on rim there is a golden dish full of water. And Dinocrates comes near to it and begins to drink from it; and that dish never ran dry.
8.4  And when he was full, he goes away from the water and begins to play happily in the usual manner of children. And suddenly I woke up.  Then I realized that he had been removed from his punishment.
9.1 Then, a few days later, the soldier, the 'officer' (optio) Pudens, who was in charge of the prison, began to praise us realizing what great courage there was in us. He allowed many people to visit us so that, in turns, we and they were able to refresh ourselves.
9.2  As the day of the games was now coming near, my father came to me consumed with worry, and he began to pull out the hairs of his beard and to throw them on the ground, and he then threw himself prostrate on the ground before me, and began to curse the number of his years, and to utter such words as would move all creation.
9.3  And I grieved for his unhappy old age.
10.1  On the day before we were to fight, I see in the following vision: 
 The deacon Pomponius came to the door of the prison and beat on it loudly.
10.2 And I went out to him and opened the door for him. He was clothed in an unbelted shining white garment, and was wearing multilayered sandals.
10.3  And he said to me, "Perpetua, we are waiting for you -- come." And he held my hand and we began to go through some very harsh and rugged country.
10.4  We had hardly arrived, out of breath, at the amphitheater when he led me into the middle of the arena and said to me:  "Don't be afraid.  I am with you here and will struggle with you." And he went away.
10.5  And I notice the huge roaring crowd. Because I knew that I had been sentenced to the beasts, I was surprised that no wild animals were being sent out against me.
10.6 Instead there came out against me an Egyptian, disgusting in appearance, along with his assistants to fight with me. And there come to me some handsome young men, and my assistants and supporters.
10.7

 I am undressed and become a man. And my assistants began to rub me all over with olive oil, as is customary in such athletic contests. And on the other side I see the Egyptian rolling around in the dust.
 10.8  And there came out a man of great size so that he even exceeded the roof of the amphitheater in height, dressed in an unbelted cloak coloured purple between two stripes that ran down the middle of his chest, wearing multi-layered sandals made from gold and silver, carrying a baton somewhat like a lanista (gladiatorial trainer), and holding a green branch on which there were golden apples.
10.9 And he asked for silence, and said, "This Egyptian, if he beats this woman, will kill her with his sword; this woman, if she beats him, will receive this branch.
10.10 And he went back to his seat. And we advanced towards each other and began to exchange blows. The Egyptian wanted to be able to grab me by the feet, but I was able to keep striking him in the face with my heels.
10.11  And I was raised up in the air and I began to strike him in this way even though I was not able to step on the ground. But when I saw there was a delay in his reactions, I joined my hands by knitting my fingers together and grabbed hold of his head. He fell on his face and I stepped on his head.
10.12  And the crowd began to shout and my supporters began to sing songs in my praise. And I went up to the lanista and received the branch.
10.13  And he kissed me and said to me, "Daughter, peace be with you.  And I began to leave the arena through the Gate of Life, covered with glory.  Then, suddenly, I woke up.
10.14 And I realized that I was not about to do battle with the beasts, but against the devil. But I also knew that I was to be victorious.
10.15  I have written my account up to the day before the games. What happens at the games themselves, let him write who wishes to do so.
11.1 But the blessed Saturus also issued this vision of his own, which he himself wrote down.  He said:
11.2 We had died and had departed from our flesh, and we began to be carried by four angels towards the east, angels whose hands did not touch ours.
11.3  We were indeed moving, not lying down and turned upwards, but as if climbing a gentle slope.
11.4  And as soon as we were freed from this world, we saw an immense light, and I said to Perpetua (for she was at my side): 'This is what the Lord promised us. We have received his promise.'
11.5  And while we were being guided along by these four angels, a great open space appeared to us, which was much like a formal garden, having rose bushes and every kind of flower.
11.6 The height of the trees was the same as that of a cypress, and their leaves kept falling all the time.
11.7  In that garden there were four more angels, more resplendent than the others, who, when they saw us, honoured us, and said to the other angels, in admiration: "Here they are, here they are!" And those four angels who had guided us became fearful, and so they set us down.
11.8 And on foot we crossed to a stadium by a broad road.
11.9  There we found Iucundus and Saturninus and Artaxius, who had been burned alive in the same persecution, and Quintus, who had died as a martyr while still in prison, and we asked of them where they had been.
11.10 But the other angels said to us, 'First come, enter, and greet the Lord.'
12.1  And we came to a place whose walls seemed to be constructed from light; and in front of the doorway of this place stood four angels, who clothed those who entered in long shining white robes.
12.2 

And we entered, and we heard a single united voice saying 'Holy, Holy, Holy, ' without cease.

12.3 

 And we saw in that same place a sort of white-haired man sitting down who had snowy white hair and the face of a young man, but whose feet we could not see.
12.4 To his right and to his left stood four elders, and behind them stood many other elders.
12.5  And entering with a sense of wonder we stood before the throne, and four angels raised us up and we kissed him, and he stretched out his hand and touched us on the face.

12.6

 And some elders said to us: 'Let us stand.' And so we stood and made the greeting of peace. And other elders said to us, 'Get up and play.'
12.7 And I said to Perpetua, 'You now have what you want.'  And she said to me, 'Thanks be to God. As I was once happy in the flesh, I am now much happier in this existence.'
13.1  And then we went out, and we saw outside the gate the bishop Optatus on the right and the learned presbyter Aspasius to the left, both looking rather sad and lonely.

13.2

 And they threw themselves at our feet and said, 'Let us make up matters between us, since you have gone away, and have left us here alone.'
13.3 And we said to them, 'Are you not our father and you our priest, and yet you are throwing yourselves at our feet?' And we were greatly moved and we embraced them.
13.4 And Perpetua began to speak in Greek with them, and we went apart with them into the garden, beneath the rose trees.
13.5 And when we were speaking with them, the angels said to them, 'Allow these people to refresh themselves. And if you have any quarrels amongst yourselves, then settle them amongst yourselves.'
13.6  And the angels greatly upset them. They said to Optatus, 'Correct your congregation, because they are coming to you as if they were returning from the chariot races and from fighting over the different teams.'
13.7 And thus it seemed to us that they wished to close the gates.
13.8 And we began to recognize many brothers there and also martyrs, and we were all nourished on an ineffable fragrance which filled us to the full. Thus, rejoicing, I woke up.

14.1

 These are the remarkable visions of those most blessed martyrs, Saturus and Perpetua, which they themselves wrote down.
14.2  As for Secundulus, indeed, God called him out from this world by a premature death, while he was still in prison. It was a special favour so that he would be spared from facing the wild beasts.
15.1 As for Felicitas, indeed, the favour of the Lord also touched her in this way.
15.2 She already had an unborn child in her womb for eight months (for she was pregnant when she was arrested). When the day of the spectacle was upon them, she was in great sorrow lest her appearance be put off because of her pregnancy -- for it was not permitted to display pregnant women in public punishments. She feared that she would have to pour out her holy and innocent blood in a later show amongst the guilty common criminals.
15.3  Even her fellow martyrs were greatly saddened lest they leave behind such a good companion, a lone comrade to take the same road of hope.

15.4 

Joined together, therefore, with one groan they pour out a prayer to the Lord on the second day before the games.
15.5 Immediately after their prayer, the birth pains began to overwhelm her. And since she suffered greatly in her labour because of the natural difficulty of giving birth in the eighth month, one of the assistant jailers said to her, "If you are suffering this much with this, what will you do when thrown to the beasts, whom you thought so little of when you refused to sacrifice?"
15.6 And she replied, "Now I am suffering what I am suffering; but there there will be another in me who will suffer for me, because I will be suffering for him".
15.7 Thus she gave birth to a baby girl, whom a certain sister raised for her as her own daughter.
 
 
16.1 Therefore since the Holy Spirit has permitted and in giving permission has so wished it, I have written down the sequence of events in the games themselves. Even if we are unworthy to add to such great glory by our simple narrative, nevertheless since it was the mandate (mandatum) of the most holy Perpetua, we shall execute her trust (fideicommissum), adding one more document concerning her resolve and her nobility of mind.
16.2 The tribune had punished them severely. Because of the warnings of certain very hollow men he was afraid that they be would be whisked out of prison by the use of certain magical incantations. Perpetua addressed him to his face:
16.3  "Why do you not allow us to refresh ourselves at all, we the most noble of the condemned, indeed of Caesar's, since we are intended to fight on his birthday?  Will there not in fact be glory for you, if we are brought forth looking fatter on that day?"
16.4 The tribune was very upset and blushed. He ordered them to be treated more humanely and he gave the opportunity for her brothers and for others to come and and to be refreshed with them, for by this time even the officer (optio) of the prison was a believer.
17.1 On the day before the games they ate the last supper which they call 'the free.' For them, however, it was not a 'free dinner', but rather a 'love feast.' And with that same resolve they hurled words back at the crowd, threatening them with the coming judgment of God. Giving common witness to the happiness they had in their own suffering, they ridiculed the curiosity of the voyeurs.  Saturus said:
17.2  "Will not tomorrow be enough for you? Why do you stare so eagerly at what you hate? Today our friends, tomorrow our enemies. But carefully note our faces, so that you will be able to recognize us on that day."
17.3 

So all the onlookers were thunderstruck, retreated, and from these experiences many of them began to believe.
18.1  The day of their victory dawned. They processed from the prison into the amphitheater, happy, as if they were going to heaven, shaking, not with fear, but with joy.

18.2

 Perpetua followed, with a shining face, a calm step, as the wife of Christ and the girlfriend of God, rejecting the gaze of all the onlookers with the strength of her own eyes.
18.3  Likewise Felicitas, was joyful that she had given birth safely, so that she might do battle with the wild animals, from blood to blood, from the midwife to the net-man gladiator (retarius), washed after giving birth in a second baptism.
18.4 And when they were lead to the gate of the arena, they were forced to put on new clothing, the men that of the priests of Saturn, the women that of the priestesses of Ceres. It was then that that kind woman fought back right to the end with her usual resolve.
18.5 She said, "We came to this place freely, of our own volition, so that our freedom would not be taken away.  We pledged lives, so that we would not be required to do anything else.  That is the agreement we made with you."
18.6 Even injustice recognizes justice. The tribune conceded. They would be led forth into the arena dressed plainly, just as they were.
18.7 Perpetua sand a song, already treading on the head of the Egyptian.  Revocatus, Saturninus and Saturus began to issue threats at the onlooking crowd.
18.8 Then, when they came beneath the gaze of Hilarianus, by gestures and motions they indicated to HilarianusÖ "You -- us, but God -- you."
 18.9 The crowd became very agitated at this and demanded that they be whipped through a line of beast-hunting gladiators. But all the martyrs were happy because they were now able to have a share in the Lord's sufferings.
 
 
19.1 But he who said, "Ask and you will receive", granted to each one of those who asked the death which that one desired.
19.2 For, when they used to talk amongst themselves concerning the wish they had for their type of martyrdom, Saturninus declared that he wished to be thrown before every different type of wild beast so that he would be able to acquire a more glorious crown.
19.3 So, in the staging of the spectacle, he and Revocatus, having first experienced the attack of a leopard, were then put on a platform where they were attacked by a bear.
19.4  Saturus, however, was terrified most by the thought of bears.  He hoped that he would be finished off by one bite from a leopard.
19.5 He was exposed to a wild boar, but it was the venator who had tied him to the boar who was actually gored by the animal and died a few days after the games.  Saturus himself was only dragged along.
19.6 And when he was exposed to a bear, having been trussed up on the bridge, the bear refused to come out of its cage.  So, still unharmed, Saturus was taken away.
20.1 The devil, however, was preparing a wild cow for the women, an unusual and uncustomary thing. A wild animal to match their sex.
20.2  Unclothed and clad only in see-through nets, the women were brought forth. The crowd, however, was very upset, seeing the one woman was a delicate young girl, and the other, her breasts still dripping with milk, fresh from childbirth.
20.3 So the women were taken away, and were clothed in unbelted robes.  Perpetua was hit first and fell on her side.
20.4 When she sat down, Perpetua drew back the robe which had been torn along one side in order to drape her thighs, more mindful of shame than of pain.
20.5 Then she fixed up her hair, which had become dishevelled, with a sharp pin.  It was, indeed, not right that a female martyr should suffer while her hair was out of order, so that she might actually appear to be mourning while actually in her glory.
20.6 Then she got up and noticed Felicitas who had been crushed to the ground. She went over to her, stretched out her hand and helped her get up. Then the two of them stood together.
20.7 The hardness of the crowd was now finally overcome, and so the women were taken back through the Gate of Life.
20.8  There Perpetua was held up by a certain catechumen named Rusticus who had been close by her side, and, almost as if coming out of a dream (so much had she been imbued in the spirit and in ecstasy) she began to look around and to all those who were there, and who were much taken aback, she said, "When are we going to be exposed to that wild cow, or whatever it is?"
20.9  And when she heard what had already happened, she could not believe it at first, except that she saw the marks of the physical violence on her body and on her clothing.
20.10 Then she summoned her brother and the catechumen, and spoke to them, saying, "Remain strong in the faith and all love each other; do not be panicked by our sufferings".
21.1  Likewise, at another gate, Saturus was exhorting the soldier Pudens, saying, "As things stand now, it is exactly as I presumed and predicted -- I have not yet even felt the attack of one wild beast.  Now believe me with all your heart. See, I will be exposed to that animal, and will be finished off by one bite of a leopard."
21.2 And at the end of the spectacle, he was thrown to a leopard. At one bit from the animal so much blood gushed out that the crowd roared in witness to his second baptism: "Had a great bath!  Had a great bath!"
21.3 For he was certainly well who had been washed in this way.
21.4 Then he said to the soldier Pudens, "Farewell. Remember my faith and me. Don't let these things upset you. Let them strengthen you."
21.5 At the same time he asked him for a ring from his finger, and dipping it in his wound, he gave it back to him as an inheritance, leaving this pledge and memorial of his blood to him.
21.6 By then, as he was unconscious, his body was thrown in the usual place, along with the others, to have his throat cut.
21.7  But the crowd demanded that they be brought back into the middle of the arena, so that, when the sword penetrated into the bodies, their eyes could be companions to the slaughter. The condemned then got up of their own accord and took themselves to the place where the crowd wanted them, exchanged kisses with each other, and so sealed their martyrdom with the ritualistic signs of peace.
21.8  The others, without moving and in silence, received the sword, especially Saturus, who was the first to ascend the platform, and the first to give up his spirit. For he was there to sustain Perpetua.
21.9 Perpetua, however, had to taste more pain yet. She screamed out in agony as she was struck on the bone. She herself had to steady the wavering right hand of a rookie gladiator and guide it to her throat.
21.10 Perhaps such a great woman, who was so feared by the unclean spirit, could not be killed unless she herself willed it.
21.11  O bravest and most blessed martyrs. You are truly called and chosen for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone who praises and honours and adores him ought to read these proofs, which are no less important than the ancient ones for the strengthening of the Church. These new examples of courage will give witness to the one and always the same Holy Spirit who works amongst us even up to the present day. And to almighty God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom is splendour and boundless power through the ages of ages. Amen.
 
 
4 December 1992