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The saints

St Cecilia

One of the most venerated martyrs of Christian antiquity, and the patron of church music.

Feast: 22 November · 3rd century · Rome, Italy

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The façade and courtyard of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome, with a medieval bell tower.

NateBergin, 2026. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Home / The saints / St Cecilia

Rome, the Catacomb of Callistus

In the Catacomb of Callistus on the Appian Way, right beside the crypt of the popes, the archaeologist De Rossi located the grave of a martyr.1

Her name was Cecilia, and her feast was already kept in Rome in the fourth century.1

Her story would fill the Church with music.

Patron of church music1

01St Cecilia

Venerated from the start

She is one of the most venerated martyrs of Christian antiquity.1

Her feast on 22 November was kept in her church in the Trastevere quarter of Rome.1

The façade and courtyard of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome, with a medieval bell tower.
Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome, where her feast has been kept since ancient times. NateBergin, 2026. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

02St Cecilia

Patroness of church music

The Catholic Encyclopedia names her the patroness of church music.1

Every choir that sings at Mass on her feast is singing in her honour.

Notes

  1. Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “St. Cecilia”. New Advent edition. newadvent.org

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: Douay-Rheims, Challoner revision (public domain). Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an error.