Saint Cecilia
- aveenpetal44
- Oct 29
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
St. Cecilia was born in the 2nd century of a wealthy and noble Roman family. At a very early age, Cecilia had taken a vow of virginity, though her parents obliged her to marry a nobleman named Valerian. It is said that during her wedding, Cecilia sang in her heart to the Lord, which may have earned for her becoming the patroness of musicians (although there is no record of her actually singing or playing an instrument). On the night of their wedding, Cecilia- with the help of the appearance of her angel- was successful in persuading Valerian to respect her vow of virginity, and actually brought about his conversion and Baptism (as well as that of his brother, Tiburtius) into the Christian Faith. Soon, these two men were persecuted and forced to renounce their religion, yet both heroically refused and, in turn, suffered martyrdom. Cecilia, for having buried their bodies, was arrested, and in consequence for this supposed "crime", was given the choice of sacrificing to the pagan gods or likewise being killed. Like Sts. Valerian and Tiburtius, she remained steadfast in the Faith and refused. At first, she was ordered to be confined to the vapor bath of her own home to die of suffocation, but she remained unscathed from the kindled flames and smoke. When this proved unsuccessful, she was ordered to be beheaded. However, three times the executioner was not able to sever her head completely due to his loss of courage; and so Cecilia was left in the baths with a severed cut on her neck. She remained lying on the floor of her home, praying and still managing to preach to all those who came to tend to her wounds, until she finally expired three days later. She died around the year 230 AD, and was originally buried by Pope St. Urban in the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. In 821 AD, her tomb was exhumed to be moved to the Basilica of St. Cecilia, and she was found to be incorrupt (in fact, St. Cecilia was the first discovered incorrupt saint). During a renovation of the altar, she was again exhumed in 1599, again to be found incorrupt, lying on her right side as if asleep. She is currently still buried in the crypt in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome.
This painting of Saint Cecilia is based on a copper relief plaque of mine of St. Cecilia- which inspired the composition- as well as the famous marble sculpture of St. Cecilia (1600) by Stefano Maderno.
St. Cecilia is actually my patron saint! The story is quite unusual, but endearing... She was actually chosen by my parents for my Baptism; and so, as a child, a copper plaque of her was gifted to my parents from the Benedictine Sisters of St. Cecilia’s Abbey in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, UK (where I was born), and I have had that plaque ever since. Though I technically do not have a Confirmation saint (as I was confirmed in an Eastern rite in which confirmation saints are not chosen), St. Cecilia has become- by default, you could say- my patron, and I have developed such a fondness for her and friendship with her (plus- unbeknownst to my parents at the time- her feast day is also in my birth month!). Hence, I wanted to create a piece honoring her.
Based on the original plaque, I wanted to depict Cecilia in a profile view, looking upwards towards Heaven. She has a gentle and serene countenance as she gazes into the distance, despite the fact that this image captures her after her failed execution. This upward gaze also highlights the fact that she sang to God in her heart amidst the earthly wedding festivities. The life-like marble sculpture by Maderno is actually the most accurate depiction of the positioning of her body when she died; she lay on her right side with her arms before her. The positioning of her fingers is particularly striking and significant: three fingers are extended on her right hand, and one finger on her left, which was her silent means of professing the doctrine of the Trinity- one God in three Persons. I really wished to include this aspect in my painting, and so St. Cecilia, here, also has her hands crossed with the same silent profession of faith seen in the number of fingers she is holding up. Looking closely, one can see the subtle cut on her neck, indicative of the type of death she suffered. With the wound of the execution having been on the left side of her neck, I chose to flip the profile view as seen on the plaque in order to stay as true as possible to the reality of what took place.
She is flanked on either side by organ pipes, which not only allude to her being the patron saint of music and musicians, but also allude to a kind of "heavenly gate" in the way the pipes recede into the vanishing point. She is wearing a deep magenta satin cloak, highlighting her wealth and nobility as a young Roman girl. She is also wearing a laurel wreath on her head with blooming white lilies. The laurel wreath is a sign of her martyrdom: in ancient Rome, athletes would be crowned with a laurel wreath if they won; hence, it became a symbol for the crown of martyrs who had run the race and won the victory through their witness and the shedding of their blood. The white lilies signify her purity and virginity; hence, she has won the "twofold crown of virginity and martyrdom" (the "aureolae" that St. Thomas Aquinas and Prudentius speak of). She is also wearing a thin white veil, signifying that even though she was given in marriage to Valerian, she was first and foremost the bride of Christ. Her halo reads "Sancta Caecilia" in Latin, and is painted to look like copper- a direct nod to the original copper plaque.
Below are some photos of the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere when I visited Rome earlier this year!
The outside facade of the Basilica / the Crypt of St. Cecilia under the main church / marble sculpture
By Aveen Toma · 2025
