Saint Prisca

Saint Prisca was a child martyr who lived over seventeen hundred years ago. It is believed that she died at the age of 13. We remember her on January eighteenth. She lived in Rome and her parents were from a noble Christian family. At the time, Claudius was the Emperor, and it was dangerous to be Christian. During that time, it was not always best to say what one thought. It is believed that her father and mother went to church in secret chapels underground. They were not suspected of being Christian.

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Prisca believed in Christ and wasn't scared to show it. Many people knew this and reported her to the Emperor's officers. Eventually she was taken by the guards and brought before the Emperor. Claudius was surprised at how young she was and thought he could change her mind and make her obey him. He made his men take her to one of the seven hills of Rome and offer incense to the god of the silver bow. She was taken to the temple of Apollo, the sun-god, and was placed in front of a fire. They gave her incense and demanded her to throw it in the fire for the sun-god. Prisca knew it was wrong to worship false gods and refused. The Emperor became angry and told the soldiers to whip her until she obeyed. She would not obey and the people of Rome thought it was cruel to treat a child like that. The people admired her bravery. Then Prisca appeared in a robe of yellow sunshine. A glorious light shone around her and she seemed to be a human star giving off light. Her brave spirit shone brightly among them. The Emperor did not understand how she could bear so much suffering and hoped she would start obeying him so he wouldn't have to kill her.

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After being whipped, Prisca was taken to prison where she was cold and hungry. She stayed there for a long time, until a guard finally came for her. The guard brought her to the amphitheater, which was filled with people. She sat in the middle praying that the people would see how much courage she had. The door of a den was opened, and a great lion came out. He let out a dreadful roar and ran towards Prisca. He saw her standing there without fear and he walked gently up to her. He bent his head and licked her bare feet and then crouched down by her side. The whole place went silent, and the Emperor watched as she played with the lions mane. The lion did not hurt her, but he did not save her from death.

The Emperor admired her bravery and gave her one more chance. Prisca was placed in the heathen temple and told to sacrifice to the gods and give up Christianity. By now Prisca was ill and tired, but still she would not give in. When they finally realized she would not give in, they brought her outside the Ostian gate and she was beheaded. She never cried or screamed or was even afraid. When she died a eagle hovered over Prisca's body and when the Romans came near the eagle came down with dreadful cries. No one dared to touch Prisca because they were scared of the great eagle. Finally the Christians secretly came to bury Prisca's body and the eagle let them take her. They buried her in a secret cemetery where the Romans couldn't find her.

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Saint Prisca was motivated to stay strong when she saw everyone else around her becoming weak. No one else dared to speak of God for fear of being persecuted. Prisca stood up for her beliefs and that affected others. The citizens of Rome saw her strength and courage with everything she went through. They saw how brave she was and how much she truly believed in her faith. It is amazing how she was able to stay that strong for so long since she was only a child.