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St Felicity Healing Oil (Patron for Butchers)

St Felicity Healing Oil (Patron for Butchers) from A Blessed Call To Love, Ireland.

Saint Felicity of Rome or Saint Felicitas 101-165, feast day on November 23. According to legend, a rich and pious Christian widow in Rome who had seven sons. She devoted her life to charitable works and converted many Romans to the Christian faith by her example.

This, however, aroused the wrath of local pagan priests who complained about her actions to Emperor Marcus Aurelius. St. Felicity and her sons were brought before the Prefect of Rome, Publius. Who desperately tried with various pleas and threats to get her to worship and sacrifice to the pagan gods. With no sign of success, they were instead delivered over to four judges, who condemned them to be executed.

St Felicity implored God that she would not be killed before her sons. So that they would not be tempted to abandon Christ but instead encourage them in their torture. Her seven sons were thus scourged, beaten and beheaded in front of her eyes. While she refused to denounce the Faith after every single killing.

It is said that she died eight times. Once with each of her sons before she was finally martyred by the sword herself. St Felicity was buried in the catacomb of Maximus on Via Salaria. Her vita may have been mixed up or mingled with other pious Christian stories of The Seven Holy Brothers. Venerated on 10 July. St. Felicitas is often represented in art with her seven children martyred by her feet or holding their heads. She is the Patron saint of parents who have lost their children and to have male children.