St. Katherine was the wise and beautiful daughter of Kestos,the
governer of Alexandria, Egypt. During the time of the persecutions
by emperor Maxentius,she took part in a debate with heathen philosophers
as to the truth of the Christian faith. She strongly and clearly
refuted the philosophers winning many of them to Christianity. For
this, she was jailed by the emperor. Even though imprisioned, St.
Katherine still won many to the Christian faith. The emperor ordered
her tortured upon a spiked wheel. When this wheel broke, she was
beheaded. The famous Greek monastery on Mt. Sinai is named
for her. In the west, St. Katherine is regarded as the patron saint
of scholars.
Photo by John Washinsky
Text by the Ken Mitchel Family
