Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

Perpetua was a young woman of noble birth and the mother of an infant son. She was arrested in Carthage during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Severus, along with several other catechumens who included Felicity, a slave. Perpetua kept a record of the trials and sufferings which the group endured while imprisoned and of the visions which she experienced. This journal, which ran up to the day before their deaths, was completed by an eyewitness.

Nothing could shake the faith of these young women, along with the other martyrs, not even the fear of a painful death. While our faith is normally not tested in the manner of these martyrs, we should still remain prepared to meet death at any time since we never completely know God’s plan for us.