Today, February 5, is the memorial of Saint Agatha.
Patron saint of breast cancer patients.
Agatha was born in Sicily in 231. According to the account, Agatha was young, beautiful, and rich. Instead of wasting her time on worldly pleasures, Agatha chose to consecrate her life to God.
When Emperor Decius decided to persecute Christians, his scheming magistrate Quintianus tried to blackmail Agatha. Quintianus offered not to accuse Agatha, provided she would have sex with him. No matter how hard Quintianus tried, Agatha refused him.
Stung by her rejection, he had Agatha jailed and tortured—her breasts were crushed and cut off with a breast-ripper. She said to her persecutor, “Cruel man, have you forgotten your mother and the breast that nourished you, that you dare to mutilate me this way?”
There is a version wherein Saint Peter healed her mutilated breasts. She was jailed again and then rolled on live coals. When she was about to breathe her last, a big earthquake shook the entire city. Agatha thanked God for an end to her pain, and died.
It is believed that if her veil is carried around in procession, eruptions of Mount Etna would stop. Her intercession is reported to have saved Malta from Turkish invasion in 1551.