Catherine of Alexandria

St Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria was a princess, the daughter of the governor of Alexandrian Egypt, Constas, during the reign of the emperor Maxentius (306-312). She came to the faith at age fourteen after seeing a vision of Christ, and she converted hundreds of people by her fervor. She denounced Maxentius in person for his persecution of Christians, and she contended with his scholars, being a scholar herself. She won converts in his court before he ordered her killed. They attempted to martyr her on a spoked wheel (shown in the lower right of this picture) but it broke, and then she was beheaded. The palm she holds is a traditional symbol of martyrdom. St. Joan of Arc reported that one of the Saints that spoke to her was Catherine. Catherine of Alexandria is the patron saint of young women, philosophers and preachers. She is also the patron saint of wheelwrights and millers, and by extension, of workers in general.She is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, vener