Biography
Catherine was a noble, highly educated young woman in Alexandria, Egypt. When Emperor Maxentius began persecuting Christians, she went to him and rebuked him for his cruelty, debating him on the truths of Christianity. Unable to answer her, the Emperor summoned 50 of the best pagan philosophers to debate her; guided by the Holy Spirit, Catherine's arguments were so compelling that several of the philosophers converted on the spot (and were immediately martyred). Refusing the Emperor's offer of marriage, she was scourged and imprisoned. She was condemned to death on a spiked breaking wheel, but at her touch, the wheel miraculously shattered. She was finally beheaded. Tradition holds that angels transported her body to Mount Sinai, where St. Catherine's Monastery was later built.
Miracles & Signs
- ✦The shattering of the spiked breaking wheel intended for her execution
- ✦Milk, rather than blood, flowing from her neck when she was beheaded
- ✦Angels transporting her body to Mount Sinai
Wisdom & Quotes
“I have given myself as a bride to Christ.”