St. Praxedes at Rome

Commemorated on July 21

St. Praxedes was the daughter of Roman Senator Pudens, a Christian, who is mentioned in one of St. Paul’s letters to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:21). She was also the sister of St. Pudentiana, who helped St. Praxedes in her endeavors.

She and her sister built a baptistry inside their father's house and baptized pagans.

During the persecution of Christians by Emperor Marcus Antoninus in the first century, St. Praxedes contributed to their care and comfort. She hid many Christians in her home, while she encouraged others to keep firm in the faith. She was also known to lovingly bury the bodies of those who had been martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.

She entered into the heavenly kingdom on July 21 at the age of sixteen and was possibly a martyr. Her body was laid in the tomb next to her father, Pudens, and her sister, St. Pudentiana, who had both predeceased her, in the catacombs of Priscilla near the Via Salaria.

The Church of St. Praxedes in Rome was built on the site of her former house.

By permission of www.orthodoxeurope.org