THE FEAST OF ST AGATHA - 5TH FEBRUARY 2026

Fr Billy Swan

In December, January and February each year, the Church celebrates the feast days of three female saints who all have something in common. St Lucy’s feast day falls on 13^th December; St Agnes’ on 21^st January and the feast of St Agatha is celebrated on 5^th February. All three are included in the Roman Canon; all three were young at the time of their deaths and all three are martyrs. The light of their courage and refusal to deny their Christian faith, remains an inspiration for all of us today, especially for Christians suffering from persecution and those denied religious liberty. That said, the light of their witness pierces a very black darkness that surrounded their deaths – a darkness that still remains today and represents the persistent evil of the harm done to children and the destruction of their innocence. This is why St Agatha is the patron saint of rape victims -  not just because she was a victim of violation herself, but because she points victims in the direction of healing and hope.

St. Agatha is one of the most highly venerated martyrs of the Church. She was born around 231 in Sicily to a rich and noble family. From a young age, Agatha dedicated herself completely to God. She was beautiful in appearance and rejected the advances of many men including one of high diplomatic ranking. In revenge, this man publicly outed her for being Christian which was a capital offense under the persecution of the Emperor Decius. Faced with torture and death, Agatha prayed for the grace to be faithful and for courage at the moment of truth: “Lord, my Creator, you have ever protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer: receive now my soul".

She received that grace and remained faithful, dying from the mutilation of her body. She was 20 years old. Early artistic expressions of Agatha show her with her breasts on a plate. Similarly, St Lucy is often depicted with her eyes on a dish, indicating that she too was mutilated. Why were these depictions so graphic? Because the artists wanted to communicate to people of every age that this was what happened – this was the evil that people did and that despite this grotesque inhumanity, the light of faith triumphed.

 The annual ‘Day of Prayer for Survivors and Victims of Abuse’ takes place on 20^th February.  It is an important time to pause, pray and to reflect on the open wound that is sexual and physical abuse committed both inside and outside the Church. It’s proximity to the feast of St Agatha is a sober remind that the sin of abusing another person’s rights and dignity is not something new but is a cancer that has blighted us since Cain killed his brother Abel. It is the sin of abusing power over another for selfish ends and falling to respect their boundaries, dignity and freedom. And like the deaths of Lucy, Agnes and Agatha, this sin is particularly vile when it is a child or vulnerable adult who is abused and hurt.

The lives of Lucy, Agnes and Agatha are also painful reminders of the presence of a societal cancer that is with us still, namely the scourge of violence against women. The feast of St Agatha is a call to action so that all of us never tire of proclaiming their dignity, rights and the duty of all in society to respect them. We must keep on message that every human being has an innate dignity and sacred value in and of themselves – a value that needs to be acknowledged and safe-guarded by law and inculcated in all people, young and old in the home, in schools, parishes and society.

I would like to conclude with a prayer for all who have suffered abuse and hurt, that they find healing and hope in the same faith that Agatha refused to abandon or deny:

“Saint Agatha, you suffered sexual assault and indignity because of your faith and purity. Help heal all those who are survivors of sexual abuse and by your prayers, protect those women and children who are in danger this day. Amen”.