Saint Bibiana, Virgin & Martyr
S. Bibianae Virginis et Martyris
Saint Bibiana, a Roman virgin and martyr venerated since ancient times, is honoured for joining the flower of virginity to the palm of martyrdom in the early Church.
On the second of December the Church honours Saint Bibiana, a virgin and martyr of Rome whose veneration is of great antiquity. An ancient church in the city, near the Esquiline, bears her name and has long preserved her memory, and her cult is firmly established; the historical particulars of her life, however, come from a later age and cannot all be confirmed with the certainty of history.
What is known and what is tradition
By the tradition handed down at Rome, Bibiana belonged to a Christian family that suffered in one of the persecutions; her parents and her sister are honoured with her, and she herself, holding fast to her faith and her virginity, was put to death for Christ. Where the details cannot be established, it is fitting to honour soberly what the Church sets before us: that Bibiana is venerated as a holy virgin who bore witness to Christ by her death, and whose name has been kept with reverence in the City of Rome for many centuries. The Collect of her Mass beautifully sums up her glory, that in her God joined the flower of virginity to the palm of martyrdom.
Her veneration
The basilica of Santa Bibiana stands to this day as a witness to the long devotion of the Roman Church to this martyr. In honouring her, the Church remembers the many Christians of the early centuries, named and unnamed, who in time of persecution chose to suffer rather than deny their Lord, and she sets before the faithful, in the season of Advent, the example of a soul that kept itself pure and faithful unto the end.
The Collect
O God, the giver of all good things, who in Thy handmaid Bibiana didst join the palm of martyrdom to the flower of virginity: unite our souls to Thee by the bond of charity through her intercession; that, all dangers being removed, we may obtain the rewards that are everlasting. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
Deus, omnium largitor bonorum, qui in famula tua Bibiana cum virginitatis flore martyrii palmam coniunxisti: mentes nostras eius intercessione tibi caritatis vinculo copula; ut, amotis periculis, praemia consequamur aeterna. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, Filium tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.
Patronage
She is venerated among the early Roman martyrs; the ancient basilica of Santa Bibiana in Rome preserves her memory.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this feast is no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Bibiana?
Her feast is kept on 2 December in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast.
Who was Saint Bibiana?
She is venerated as an early Roman virgin and martyr. By the tradition handed down at Rome she came of a Christian family that suffered persecution, and she was put to death for Christ while keeping her virginity and her faith.
Is her story historically certain?
Her veneration is ancient and well attested, but the detailed account of her life comes from a later age and cannot all be confirmed as history. The Church honours soberly what is sure — that she is venerated as a holy virgin and martyr of Rome.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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