Dorothea of Caesarea

Saint Dorothea of Caesarea, whose birthplace is unknown, lived in Cappadocia and suffered martyrdom at Caesarea Mazaca around the year 311, during the final storms of persecution that followed the era of Diocletian. Remembered by the Church as a virgin martyr, she is honored for her steadfast love for Christ, choosing fidelity to her heavenly Bridegroom over safety and worldly favor. Ancient accounts are brief, but a cherished tradition tells of her trial before the prefect Sapricius, her torture, and her sentence to death. As she was led to execution, the pagan lawyer Theophilus mocked her, asking the “Bride of Christ” to send him fruit from her Bridegroom’s garden. In reply, a child delivered to him her veil, wondrously filled with roses and fruit and a heavenly fragrance. Struck to the heart, Theophilus confessed Christ and soon followed her in martyrdom. Venerated in the West from early centuries, Dorothea is invoked especially by gardeners and florists, by brides and newlyweds, and as patroness of brewers and the town of Pescia. Her feast day is February 6.