Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara was an early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Accounts place her in the 3rd century in Heliopolis Phoenicia, present-day Baalbek, Lebanon. As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Barbara continues to be a popular saint in modern times. She is perhaps best known as the patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives.
About Saint Barbara in brief
Saint Barbara was an early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Accounts place her in the 3rd century in Heliopolis Phoenicia, present-day Baalbek, Lebanon. As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Barbara continues to be a popular saint in modern times. She is perhaps best known as the patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives. Her association with lightning has caused her to be invoked against lightning and with the fire by association with the December 4 feast on December 4. In 1969, she was removed from the General Roman Calendar in the 1969 revision, though not from the Catholic Church’s list of saints. In the 12th century, Saint Peter Chrysologus brought relics of Barbara from Constantinople to a commemoration in his Mass : 98. The name of Saint Barbara was known in Rome in the 7th century; her cult can be traced to the 9th century. Since there is no mention of her in earlier martyrologies, her historicity is considered doubtful. Her legend is included in Vincent of Beauvais’ Speculum historiale and in later versions of the Golden Legend. Various versions, which include two surviving mystery plays, differ on the location of her martyrdom, which is variously given as Tuscany, Rome, Antioch, Baalbek,. and Nicomedia. Her martyrdom took place on December4 in the reign of emperor Maximianus and Prefect Marcien; the year was given as 267 in the French version edited by Father Harry F.
Williams of the Anglican Community of the Resurrection. In 1729, that date was assigned to the celebration of the feast of Saint Peter. But she is still mentioned in the Roman Martyrology, which lists another ten martyrs named Barbara : 147 in the addition to Saint Barbara in Constantinople. Her relics were brought to the Mass: 98, because the accounts of her life and martyrdom were judged to be entirely fabulous, even if they were not entirely fabulous. She was buried by a Christian, Valentinus, and her tomb became the site of miracles. In 15th-century French version of her story credits her with thirteen miracles, many of which reflect the security she offered that her devotees would not die before getting to make confession and receiving extreme unction. Her father was struck by lightning on the way home and his body was consumed by flame, but he survived and became a saint. The first shepherd rebuffed her, but the second betrayed her. For doing this, he was turned to stone and his flock was changed to locusts. When her father returned, she acknowledged herself to be Christian; upon this he drew his sword to kill her, and she was miraculously transported to a mountain gorge, where two shepherds watched their flocks. During the night, the dark prison was bathed in light and new miracles occurred. Every morning, her wounds were healed.
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This page is based on the article Saint Barbara published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
