A young martyr for Christ - Mary Manning

Today we talk to Vibia Perpetua, an early Christian martyr who died in 203 CE. She lived in or near Carthage, the provincial capital of North Africa which had been a Roman colony for some 250 years. We know about her from a unique written record, Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis—her own account of her experiences and the words of a narrator.

MM Tell us about your life at the time you were arrested for converting to Christianity.

F I was 21, maybe 22, a married woman with a child I was still breast feeding. To convert to Christianity was forbidden and I was arrested, along with Revocatus, Felicitas, Saturninus and Secundulus. We were all catechumens, students, so it was obvious we were committed to Christianity although not yet baptised. We were convicted of civil disobedience, and condemned to fight with the beasts of the arena—the alternative sentence was being burnt alive.

MM You had parents and family. How did they feel about your arrest?

F My father was not a Christian and was angry with me for insisting I was in view of the punishment I would receive. He thought denying my Christianity would be the easiest way out, but I refused. This made him very angry.

MM This was written so long ago. How do modern readers know that the words are yours and not made up by the narrator?

F You have to take some things on trust. But if you read carefully it is my voice you will hear, that of a practical young woman concerned with caring for her child. I don’t think you’d be able to write about breast feeding in the way I did without personal experience.

MM Can you tell us how you felt in prison.

F I was terrified as I had never before been in such a dark hole. The heat was stifling and I was tortured with worry about my baby. My family’s visits offered some comfort. My brother urged me to pray for a vision to show if I was to be martyred or freed. My father urged me to deny that I was Christian. He said, ‘Give up your pride. You will destroy all of us!’ I refused his pleas. We were all sentenced, condemned to the beasts.

MM I have read that you had visions that helped you cope with such suffering.

F Yes, I was blessed in this way. In prison I had a vision of an immense garden where I was welcomed and fed by a man in shepherd’s garb. This convinced me that while I had no hope of avoiding earthly suffering I would be rewarded in the next life. The day before the contest I had a vision of winning my freedom by fighting a man so tall he rose above the top of the amphitheatre. Eventually he fell flat on his face and I stepped on his head.

MM What of Felicitas? I believe she was in her eighth month of pregnancy when the time of the spectacle drew near.

F Felicitas was distressed that her martyrdom might be postponed for it is against the law for women with child to be executed. However, two days before the date she gave birth to a girl who was brought up by one of the sisters as her own daughter.

MM Tell us about the day of your martyrdom, or, as you called it, your ‘victory’.

F I was prepared for death but I didn’t go in humbly. At the gates to arena the women resisted when we were forced to put on the dress of the priestesses of Ceres. Even the military tribune agreed that we were to be brought into the arena dressed just as we were. This enraged the crowds who demanded that we be scourged before a line of gladiators. And we rejoiced that we had obtained a share in the Lord's sufferings.

We were each given the death we had prayed for. Saturninus who had wanted to be exposed to all the different beasts was first matched with a leopard then attacked by a bear.

Felicitas and I were attacked by a mad heifer. But first we were stripped naked, placed in nets and brought out into the arena. Even the crowd was horrified when they saw that I was a young girl and Felicitas was so fresh from childbirth that milk was still dripping from her breasts. And so we were brought back again and dressed in unbelted tunics.

The heifer tossed me and I fell on my back. Then seeing that Felicitas had been crushed to the ground, I went over and lifted her up. Then the two of us stood side by side to receive the sword to assure the crowd that we were dead. The cruelty of the mob was by now appeased, and so we were called through the Gate of Life.

MM You died so long ago for your faith. Have we learned since then? Do we still punish people for their beliefs?

F You don’t punish people in the same ways, but just as many people die today for their beliefs. On the other hand your generation, like every generation, has its ‘deeds of heroism’. The following words from the Passio might have been written for people who give themselves so heroically:

Ah, most valiant and blessed martyrs! Truly are you called and chosen for the glory of Christ Jesus our Lord! And anyone who exalts, honours and worships his glory should read for the consolation of the church these new deeds of heroism which are no less significant than the tales of old. These new manifestations of virtue will bear witness to one and the same Spirit who still operates, and to God the Father almighty, and to his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom is splendour and immeasurable power for all the ages.

Amen.