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Saint Agatha
Francisco de Zurbarán |
February 5 is the feast day for St. Agatha of Sicily, the patron saint for
breast cancer. St. Agatha was born into a wealthy family, and consecrated to God at an early age. She was a lovely girl who attracted the attention of a judge, Quintianus, who wanted both her body and her money. When she refused him, he had her arrested and put into a brothel run by Aphrodisia. She prayed and wept, and her virtue was intact after 30 days. The judge then had her taken to prison to be beaten and stretched on the rack. While chained, she was whipped, cut, burnt, and finally her breasts were cut off. She reportedly said to her guard: "Cruel tyrant, do you not blush to torture this part of my body, you that sucked the breasts of a woman yourself? " That night, St. Peter appeared and gave her a miraculous healing. Quintianus, still not satisfied, ordered her to be rolled naked over live coals mixed with sharp bits of broken pottery. St. Agatha made no other request after this, except that God would "receive now my soul." She was martyred in 251 A.D. St. Agatha is usually depicted carrying her breasts on a plate, as in this painting by Francisco de Zurbarán.
As a cancer survivor I find this appaling. How can a story like this depict a cancer survivor? It shows the cruelty of the time and the agression of men who don’t get their way, not the courage of a woman ravaged by breast cancer. It is disturbing at best and not something I wanted to see. Shame on the person who chose this to depict breast cancer. It shows a woman tortured by a man not her health.
I concure with Connie,this is NOT a survivors story but one of a beasts
sickness
Legends, myths and stories of saints like this one can help us to understand pains which live in the collective unconscious. These stories are sometimes difficult to metabolize as they detail the plight of being human. Though today our circumstances are different, the suffering is the same. St. Agatha’s story details the heart breaking pain that we go through in losing pieces of ourselves through the tyrant cancer. We can relate to Saint Agatha’s pain and loss; we as women who have survived or are living with cancer have been cut in surgery and burnt by radiation. But we can prevail as Agatha did. She ultimately blossomed through her loss in turning to God, and thus becoming a Saint which inspired others like us who are now traveling her road.
Love and Light,
Regina
I can’t believe that ANYONE with a sound mind would think Saint Agatha had anything to do with surviving breast cancer. After searching for more information, none of the story can be substantiated, and attributing this to cancer survival is an insult to the many who have fought this disease. She was NOT diseased, she was ABUSED!! BY A PERSON! Did her abuser turn to God?? It’s an insult to my intelegence to equate her fight with cancer.
This doesn’t have anything to do with breast cancer. Having your breast cut off, isn’t something to be glorified as a Saint! There are a lot of Saints out here then, if thats the case!
I don’t think anyone is suggesting that St. Agatha is representative of breast cancer survivors. But some Catholic women with breast cancer consider St. Agatha a patron saint, so it’s relevant for Pam’s blog to mention the feast day.
[i]I can’t believe that ANYONE with a sound mind would think Saint Agatha had anything to do with surviving breast cancer.[/i]
You don’t have to actually have the illness for a saint to become associated with the illnesses and for sufferers/survivors to pray with that saint. For example, I think that Saint Therese of Lisieux is considered to be one of the Patron Saints for AIDS suffers, but she didn’t have HIV.
I am not sure how Saint Agatha became associated with breast cancer, but she is also associated with rape victims and torture victims, among other things.
Saint Agatha
Thanks for the info
Unfortunately many of the comments have missed the point about St. Agatha. Because she suffered for Christ AND because part of that consisted of violence to her body (the breasts) she is seen as a special intercessor on behalf of women who also are suffering an assault on this part of their bodies (from Cancer or any other enemy). The story of her life is only inspiring and perhaps only makes sense if one believes in the efficacious prayers of the Saints in heaven for those of us on earth (As do Catholics and Eastern Orthodox). St. Agatha, pray for us!
I believe that St. Agatha portrays the strength that is required by all who face this disease. As she lost her breasts, she refused to give up. She fought until she chose to succumb. Don’t all of us who face breast cance do the same thing??
I agree that the point here is to see the strength and resilience of a woman who suffered horrible mutilation, cutting and burning- not to get lost in the details of whether or not she should or should not be a patron saint of breast cancer. Her story is told to us so we may see the similarities in our suffering. We suffer burning from radiation, cutting from the surgeon’s knife and multiple losses at the hand of the tyrant cancer. Saint Agatha suffered burning and cutting from a human tyrant.
I relate to Agatha’s pain and yes, even the abuse. She has suffered as we all have suffered. For this reason, stories, legends and myths are told.
I believe when St. Theresa the Little Flower mother is declared a saint, she should be the patron saint of Breast Cancer. Her mother Zelie Martin died of Breast Cancer. Poor St. Theresa was only a little girl of 4 years old when her mother died.
Reading the comments above I notice first mixed emotions and apparent confusion or misunderstanding as to why St. Agatha.
I agree that she may not be the most appropriate intercessor for women who are attacked by cancer, but she is there should you choose to seek her. It is a simple thought.
Personally I do not share your pain for I am a 25 yr old male with no family history of cancer. But you know what, as a man of growing faith, I will ask that through your faith and God, that all women near and far find their blessing and peace during such times of pain and recuperation; this be with St. Agatha, other Saints or directly through our Lord, but that peace may come at last.
In the end I feel, we are free to reach God however our spirit calls and yearns for.
With all due respect, and that all who pain from this horrid cancer find healing and cure.
A number of people on this site have expressed disapproval in Saint Agatha being chosen by Catholic Church to be the patron saint of breast cancer. She isn’t the patron of survival because she didn’t survive; many women don’t. Should they not get a saint too? Myself, I think the decision is quite appropriate given her story. I look at her and I think, God, how she must have suffered. I don’t think, yeah, well, what does that have to do with me? A person who has suffered from cancer understandably has anger about their disease; please don’t misdirect that at an earnest effort to help one cope.
ignore vincent, paul and those other people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! st agatha is still a saint and god accepted her. God is always right
christine kim is right. God is always right. That’s why he sent St. Peter down to gave her a miraculous healing instead of letting her out of prison. Wait, what?
Clearly those who have a problem with this do not understand the premise of a Catholic Patron Saint. The point is that they understand the suffering and have the ear of God on some particular point. We ask that the Saint intercede on our behalf and pray for us, with the faith that their grace in the eyes of God will engender His mercy, and grant us healing. If Agatha had survived she would not have acheived Sainthood. That is the whole point. But I wouldn’t expect a non-Caholic to understand it.
Now wait a minute. As an atheist, even I can see the relevence of having Saint Agatha as the patron saint for breast cancer. I first heard the story from my girlfriend, and even though the story cannot be fully verified, it is moving nonetheless. Am I to understand that just because someone has not suffered through a specific malady, they become immune from being associated with it? Not remotely.