The story of St. Cecilia is based on legend since the actual account of her life was written in the 5th Century "Acts of the martyrdom of St. Cecilia".

St. Cecilia was a wealthy patrician woman of Rome who lived during the Roman Persecutions of Christians. At an early age she gave her life to God by a vow of chastity. Obliged to marry Valerian, a pagan, she revealed to him her resolve. He agreed to marry Cecilia without forcing her to break her vow. She is considered the patroness of Church music because it is said "While the musicians played at her nuptials she sang in her heart to God only". (Webpage-Saint Cecilia: Patron Saint of Church Music) While married she remained a virgin and by her exemplary life converted her husband to Christ. Valerian with his brother engaged in giving proper burial to Christian martyrs. For this, they were arrested and put to death. The Roman authorities arrested Cecilia of having buried the bodies of her huband and his brother, both martyrs. She was placed in the steam bath of her own home so she might soffocate. When this failed, Almachius, the prefect of Rome send an executioner to behead Cecilia. The executioner, unable to separate her head with three blows of the sword, fled leaving her body soaked in blood. Christians rushed in to wipe the blood flowing from her wound. For two days and nights she remained on the floor of her bath fully conscious with her head half cut. On the third morning Bishop Urban came to to visit her. She requested that her palace should be made into a church and the poor cared for. She turned her head to the floor and expired. She was buried in the catacombs of St. Callistus in same position she had died. Later historical events presumably moved her body to another catacomb.

In 817 AD Pope Pacal I found St. Cecilia's body in the Catacomb of Praetextatus. She was in a cypress coffin robed in silk and gold with cloths soaked in her blood at her feet, just as Pope Urban had palced her. Her body was fresh and perfect as the day it had been buried. Pope Paschal I separated Cecilia's corpse from that of her husband, left her in the same casket but placed a light silk veil over her body. Her casket was then placed in a marble sarcophagus. He had her re-interred in her own house, now part of the Church of St. Cecilia in Trastevere.

In 1599 AD Cardinal Paul Sfondrati, opened her white marble tomb and found her still incorrupt after 800 years. "Stephan Maderna made an exact reproduction of her body in marble. He engraved this testimony on the case: 'Behold the most holy virgin Cecilia, whom I myself saw lying incorrupt in her tomb....'" (webpage:St Cecilia -Her Story, and a Novena)

Her feast was first celebrated in the fourth century. Today, her name appears in the the Roman Canon , Eucharistic Prayer I of the Mass where we read: "For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of the apostles and martyrs,...Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia and all the saints."

St. Elizabeth of Hungary