Remembering Saint Catherine of Alexandria for International Women’s Day

For International Women’s Day this year, we’re thinking about Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

She is remembered as a scholar with a formidable mind who defended her Christian faith to the Roman emperor Maxentius and debated 50 of his most brilliant philosophers…and won.

Catherine succeeded in converting many of them to Christianity through her eloquence, reason, and faith (including the emperor’s own wife!), but the price they paid was death.

She was skilled in philosophy and argued for her cause against Governor Maxentius. Maxentius offered to marry Catherine or for her to become his mistress, but she refused. She was martyred in the early 4th century.

According to tradition, Catherine’s body was taken by angels to the top of Mount Sinai in Egypt.

See the area by traveling to the Holy Summit of Mount Sinai at the Saint Catherine’s Monastery exhibition at https://stcatherines.mused.org/tours/111/mount-sinai-holy-summit

The relics of the Egyptian saint were taken to the nearby monastery which became known as Saint Catherine’s Monastery, one of the oldest working monasteries in the world.

These images represent Catherine and are safeguarded in the monastery museum. You can visit the museum and tour the artifacts at https://stcatherines.mused.org/tours/2/the-monastery-museum.

Saint Catherine is the patron saint of single women and female students. She was also one of the prominent voices that helped guide Joan of Arc in battle.

You can read more about Catherine’s life at https://stcatherines.mused.org/stories/40/who-was-saint-catherine.

Explore the monastery at https://stcatherines.mused.org/.

? Image credits to the Mount Sinai Foundations and photography done by Mused.

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