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Catania Cathedral (Relics of St. Agatha)

Saints & Tombs Not Applicable
Sicily, Italy (tomb) Founded 1094 Feast day: February 5

A church holding relics of St. Agatha.

St. Agatha →
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The Story

The Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Agatha in Catania, Sicily, guards the relics of one of the most beloved virgin martyrs of the early Church. Founded under the Norman count Roger I and consecrated in 1094, the cathedral was rebuilt in Sicilian Baroque style after the devastating earthquake of 1693, though its Norman apses and transept survive. According to the traditional account, Agatha was a young Christian woman of Catania who consecrated her virginity to Christ and refused the advances of the Roman prefect Quintianus. Denounced as a Christian during the persecution of the emperor Decius, she endured imprisonment and cruel tortures, and died around the year 251. Her witness spread quickly through the Christian world: she is among the seven women, besides the Blessed Virgin, named in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Her relics have had an eventful history. Taken to Constantinople in 1040, they were returned to Catania in 1126, an event the city still commemorates each August 17. Today they are kept in the cathedral's Chapel of St. Agatha, enclosed in a jeweled silver reliquary bust of 1376 and an ornate silver casket that are carried in procession during her feast. The Festa di Sant'Agata, celebrated February 3–5, is among the largest religious festivals in the world. Hundreds of thousands of devoti in white robes accompany the fercolo bearing her relics through the streets of Catania in a display of devotion that has continued for centuries, making the cathedral a living center of veneration of the early martyrs.

Church Recognition

The cathedral, seat of the Archdiocese of Catania and a minor basilica, holds the recognized relics of St. Agatha, an early virgin martyr honored on the General Roman Calendar on February 5 and named in the Roman Canon of the Mass.

Catholic Teaching

St. Agatha's martyrdom is the supreme witness of faith the Church calls all Christians to be ready to give (CCC 2473), and the veneration of her relics is a form of popular piety the Church has long cherished (CCC 1674), uniting the faithful with the martyrs in the communion of saints.

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Practical

Additional Information

Pilgrims visit the Chapel of St. Agatha with the saint's relics, the Norman apses, and the tomb of the composer Vincenzo Bellini. The Festa di Sant'Agata on February 3–5, when the relics are carried in procession through the city, is among the largest religious celebrations in the world; the return of her relics is also commemorated on August 17.

Go Deeper

Information on the cathedral and the feast is available through the Archdiocese of Catania and Sicilian tourism resources; for St. Agatha's place in the Church's prayer, see the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I) and the Catechism on martyrdom (CCC 2473) and the veneration of the saints (CCC 1674).

Location

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