Saint Catherine of Alexandria is the patron Saint of learning and wisdom. She has been revered by students and scholars for centuries. Famed for her debating skills, Saint Catherine succeeded in besting fifty philosophers sent to test her intellect.
St. Catherine is one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers” and the patron of philosophers and scholars around the world. According to legend she was an extremely learned young person of noble birth who protested the persecution of an early minority group and who was able to defeat the most eminent scholars summoned to oppose her. Sentenced to death for converting to Christianity, the spiked wheel by which she was to be killed broke when she touched it. She is a notable virgin martyr and St. Joan of Arc claimed that Catherine was among the heavenly voices that guided her. If you think about it anachronistically the fact that St. Catherine didn’t just stop the wheel, she broke the wheel, brings to mind modern people and even literary characters fighting to end oppression of all kinds and promoting freedom to think, learn, and grow.
I’m not going to stop the wheel; I’m going to break it.
Khaleesi
St. Caterina, Italy, 15th C
St. Caterina, Spain, 14th C
Triptych of St. Catherine, 14th C
St. Catherine, Salzburg, 15th C
St. Caterina, Italy, 14th C
St. Catherine, Gloucestershire, 14th C
Priory of Saint Catherine 