Cecilia
ST., the patroness of musicians, who suffered martyrdom 230 A. D. Her heathen parents, as we are told, belonged to a noble Roman family, and betrothed their daughter, who had been converted to Christianity, to a heathen youth, named Valerian. This youth and his brother Tiberius became Christian converts, and suffered martyrdom. Cecilia, when commanded to sacrifice to idols, firmly refused, and was condemned to death. Her persecutors, it is said, first threw her into a boiling bath, but on the following day they found her unhurt. The executioner next attempted to cut off her head, but found it impossible. She died three days after. As early as the 5th century, there is mention of a church dedicated to her at Rome; and in 821, by order of Pope Pascal, her bones were deposited there.
St. Cecilia is regarded as the inventor of the organ, and in the Roman Catholic Church her festival-day, Nov. 22, is celebrated with splendid music. Chaucer, Dryden, Pope, and other poets have cele brated St. Cecilia, and the painters Raphael, Domenichino, Dolce, and others have represented her in fine pictures.