Daily Martyrology for February 5

At Catania, in Sicily, the martyrdom of St. Agatha. She dedicated her virginity to Christ, and for being a Christian and refusing to compromise her pledge to him, she was martyred. Her breasts were cut off, so she is patron of breast ailments. She is also venerated as a protector against fire. She is sometimes depicted holding a platter with her breasts on it. These were sometimes mistaken for loaves of bread, and it became customary to bake and eat St. Agatha's bread on her feast day.

In 1015, near Cologne, St. Adelaide of Vilich. She introduced the Rule of St. Benedict to the convent her father had established there.

In 1825, Blessed Elizabeth Canori Mora. She was married to a man who led a dissolute life. She spent seven miserable years with him, and had four daughters, two of whom lived. She had a vision of a heart pieced with a dart, joined the Third Order of the Trinitarians, and supported herself and her daughters. She included her husband in their daughters’ lives. After she died, he became a Franciscan priest.

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Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.