Saints Perpetua and Felicity, died c. AD 202–203
March 7

Saints Perpetua and Felicity lived in Northern Africa. They died together for their faith. Perpetua was a rich woman who became a Christian. Felicity was a slave. She was a Christian, too. Both women had young children. Perpetua wrote about being in prison. She and Felicity helped each other be brave until they died. The Communion of Saints goes back to the start of the Church. In one of the prayers of the Mass, we remember many early Saints, like Perpetua and Felicity.

Discuss: Who are some of your favorite Saints?

Perpetua and Felicity are patron Saints of mothers and pregnant women, ranchers, and butchers. Perpetua’s writings about her time in prison were sometimes read during the liturgy of the early Church. They are mentioned by name in the First Eucharistic Prayer at Mass.

Activity
Write a Litany
Verbal/Linguistic

Find some litanies (e.g., The Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and read them to your child. Discuss what makes a litany (specifically the petitions and/or praise and the repetition of a response).

• Write down the names of some of your favorite Saints.
• Ask your child to list his/her favorite Saints. Remind him/her to think of patron Saints or Saints that are associated with other family members. You might even encourage him/her to flip through the book, looking specifically at the People of Faith content.
• Create a Litany of the Saints, using the names that you both listed. Be sure to include an introduction and a concluding prayer. See the prayer on page 172 in the Student Book for an example.
• Pray the Litany together. Set up a time to share it with the rest of the family.