ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA

LIFE

• Born to nobility c. 287
• Learned in the sciences
• Lived in Rome under Maximus
• Upbraided him at 18

SAINTHOOD

• Was pitted against best Roman scholars
• Debated on pagan worship
• None could best her
• Maximus had her scourged and imprisoned

SAINTHOOD (CONT.)

• Empress and head of guard converted and were martyred
• Catherine sentenced to die on the wheel
• The wheel was destroyed at her touch
• Was beheaded c. 305

SAINTHOOD (CONT.)

• Angels carried her body to Mt. Sinai
• A monastery was built there in her honor
• Feast day on November 25
• Patron of wheelwrights and mechanics
• "Vox Sonora nostri chori"
• "Sonorous voice of our choir"

RELATION TO CLASS

• She showed deep knowledge of her belief
• She also displayed knowledge of pagan beliefs
• She brought the Word to those who rejected it