Perpetua, a young noblewoman and new mother, and Felicity, her servant who gave birth just days before her death, were martyred together in the arena at Carthage in the year 203. Perpetua's prison diary, recording her final days, is one of the earliest surviving Christian texts written by a woman. They went to their deaths calmly, exchanging a kiss of peace.
Perpetua and Felicity show that faith and love can hold steady even in the hardest hours, and that courage is not the absence of grief but trust carried through it. Their friendship across every difference of rank reminds us that in God's family we belong to one another completely.
Saints Perpetua and Felicity, who held fast to Christ with brave and tender hearts, pray for us and for all we love, that we too may trust God in every trial. Amen.