St. Agatha, is a martyr whose name is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. She was executed in the persecutions probably conducted  by Emperor Trajanus Decius (r. 249-251), in a series of anti-Christian campaigns from 250-253. Agatha is listed in the Hieronymian Martyrology and in the Carthaginian Martyrology, from the sixth century. Pope St. Damasus I (r. 366-384) wrote a hymn in her honor or had the poem, perhaps written by someone else, included in his book of devotions. Two versions of her martyrdom were recorded in the early Church. 

She was a daughter of a prominent noble Sicilian family and was very beautiful. A Roman senator, named  Quintianus, listed as the prefect of the region, asked Agatha to marry him. When she refused, he retaliated by placing her in a brothel, where she miraculously remained unharmed. When Agatha still held to her faith in Christ, Quintianus had her tortured. Agatha’s breasts were cut off. She was cured by a vision of St. Peter, but the Romans had her rolled naked across a bed of hot coals and glass. Agatha died from this torture. 

At her funeral, a youth appeared to honor her. Quintianus did not survive long, as he was thrown by his horse and drowned in a river. On the anniversary of Agatha’s death, Mount Etna erupted. The faithful, taking her veil up the mountain, were supposedly able to stop the flow of lava. Agatha also cured the mother of St. Lucy in a vision. Her tomb is in Catania, Sicily, and her veil is enshrined in the cathedral of Florence. In some regions, St. Agatha’s bread is distributed to ward off a variety of diseases and mishaps. Many early Christian churches were dedicated to this great saint.

Cruz, Joan Carroll. The Incorruptibles: A Study of the Incorruption of the Bodies of Various Catholic Saints and Beati. TAN Books, an Imprint of Saint Benedict Press, LLC, 2012. 

Bunson, Matthew E. Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints. 2nd ed., Our Sunday Visitor Inc.,u.s., 2014.