Saints Faith, Hope, and Charity (or Love) (), are a group of
Christian martyr
In Christianity, a martyr is a person who was killed for their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In the years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake, or ...
ed
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
s who are venerated together with their mother,
Sophia ("
Wisdom
Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...
").
Although earlier editions of the
Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...
commemorated Saints Faith, Hope and Charity on 1 August and their mother Sophia on 30 September, the present text of this official but professedly incomplete catalogue of saints of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
has no feast dedicated to the three saints or their mother: the only Sophia included is an early Christian virgin martyr of Picenum in Italy, commemorated with her companion Vissia on 12 April; another early Christian martyr,
Saint Faith
Saint Faith, Saint Faith of Conques or Saint Faith of Agen (; ; ) is a saint who is said to have been a girl or young woman of Agen in Aquitaine. Her legend recounts how she was arrested during persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire and r ...
(Fides), of
Aquitania
Gallia Aquitania (, ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France and the comarca of Val d'Aran in northeast Spain, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquit ...
(southern France), is celebrated on 6 October, a Saint Hope (Spes), an abbot of
Nursia
Norcia (), traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia (), is a town and comune in the province of Perugia (Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a su ...
who died in about 517, is commemorated on 23 May, and saint Charity (Caritas) is included, although saints with somewhat similar names, Carissa and Carissima, are given, respectively under 16 April and 7 September. Their feast day of August 1 was not entered in the
General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...
, and they have since been removed from the
Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...
.
References of the time of
Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...
suggest two groups of martyrs, mother and daughters, one buried on the
Aurelian Way and the other on the
Via Appia
The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, recor ...
.
According to the ''Passio'', Sophia was a widow of
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
who gave away her possessions and moved to Rome with her daughters. Her daughters were martyred before her and she buried them at
Via Appia
The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, recor ...
. She died a natural death three days later while praying at the grave of her daughters.
The oldest version of the ''Passio'' is
BHL 2966.
Caesar Baronius
Cesare Baronio, C.O. (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian Oratorian, cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiast ...
introduced the saints to the
Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...
in the late 16th century.
Their tomb in a crypt beneath the church afterwards erected to
Saint Pancratius was long a place of resort for
pilgrim
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...
s, as detailed in various documents of the seventh century, such as an Itinerarium (or guide to the holy places of Rome compiled for the use of pilgrims) still preserved at
Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
, the list, preserved in the cathedral archives of Monza, of the oils gathered from the tombs of the martyrs and sent to Queen
Theodelinda
Theodelinda, also spelled ''Theudelinde'' ( 570 – 628 AD), was a queen of the Lombards by marriage to two consecutive Lombard rulers, Autari and then Agilulf, and regent of Lombardia during the minority of her son Adaloald, and co-regent when ...
in the time of
Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...
, etc.
Saxer (2000) notes that early Christians from the 4th century indeed often took in baptism mystical names indicative of Christian virtues, and Sophia, Sapientia, Fides are attested as names of Christian women in Catacomb inscriptions. The veneration of the three saints named for the three
theological virtues
Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally the theolo ...
probably arose in the 6th century based on such inscriptions.
Critical scholarship is unanimous in assuming that the hagiographical tradition is spurious, likely inspired by Latin inscriptions referring to the theological either to concepts of Holy Wisdom, Faith, Hope and Charity.
[Sauser (2000), citing B. Kötting in '']Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche
' (''Lexicon of Theology and the Church''; commonly abbreviated ''LThK'') is a German-language Catholic theological encyclopedia. Three editions have appeared so far, all published by Herder-Verlag in Freiburg im Breisgau.
First edition: 1930 t ...
'' vol. 4, 120f. Her veneration is first recorded in the late 6th century, her being mentioned in the inventory of holy chrisms collected on behalf of
Theodelinda
Theodelinda, also spelled ''Theudelinde'' ( 570 – 628 AD), was a queen of the Lombards by marriage to two consecutive Lombard rulers, Autari and then Agilulf, and regent of Lombardia during the minority of her son Adaloald, and co-regent when ...
, queen of the Lombards.
[V. Saxer, "Sophia v. Rom" in: ''Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche'' vol. 9 (1993)]
733f.
/ref>
The veneration of Sophia of Milan became indistinguishable from that of Sophia of Rome in the medieval period. Relics either of her or of Sophia of Rome were transferred to the women's convent at Eschau in Alsace in 778 from where her cult spread to Germany. She is the patroness saint of widows. A 14th-century fresco of the saints is in St. Agnes chapel in Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
.
See also
*St Trophimus' Church, Eschau
Saint Trophimus' Church () is a Romanesque church in Eschau, a small town in the suburbs of Strasbourg, the historical capital of Alsace. The church is dedicated to Trophimus of Arles.
It houses relics of Saint Sophia (French: ''Sainte Sophie ...
, where their relics are venerated
*St Faith
Saint Faith, Saint Faith of Conques or Saint Faith of Agen (; ; ) is a saint who is said to have been a girl or young woman of Agen in Aquitaine. Her legend recounts how she was arrested during persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire and r ...
of Aquitaine
*Holy Wisdom
Holy Wisdom (, ) is a concept in Christian theology.
Christian theology received the Old Testament personification of Wisdom (Hebrew ''Chokmah'') as well as the concept of Sophia (wisdom), Wisdom (''Sophia'') from Greek philosophy, especially ...
References
* Migne, P.G. CXV, 497; Mombritius, ''Vitae Sanctorum'', II, 204
*
External links
*
Martyr Sophia and her three daughters at Rome
Orthodox synaxarion
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...
( OCA)
Saint Sophia
( Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faith, Hope And Charity
Christian child saints
2nd-century births
2nd-century deaths
Virgin martyrs
2nd-century Christian martyrs
2nd-century Christian saints
Ancient Christian female saints
Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era
Groups of Roman Catholic saints
Groups of Eastern Orthodox saints
Saints trios
Consecrated virgins
History of Milan