Saint Catherine of Alexandria

<p>According to legend, Catherine was a woman of learning in 4th-century Alexandria, Egypt, who at the age of 18 converted to Christianity. She was imprisoned for speaking publicly against the Emperor Maximinus' persecution of Christians. While in prison, she was visited by the Empress and the leader of the armed forces, both of whom she converted. For this she and they were martyred. Tortured by being strapped to a spiked wheel, Catherine was eventually beheaded about 310 A.D. She is a patron of librarians, teachers, students, jurists, nurses, unmarried girls, philosophers, those who work with wheels (e.g. potters, spinners, mechanics, etc.), the dying, and several other groups.©2011 <em>Living with Christ, </em>Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., <strong>http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/</strong&gt;. Reprinted with permission.</p>