One of the most informative documents from this time tells of the martyrdom of the widow Felicitas and her seven sons. Felicitas was one of the consecrated widows (that is, women who devoted all their time to work for the church, which in turn supported them). Her work was such that some pagan priests decided to put an end to it by accusing her before the authorities. When the prefect tried to persuade her to abandon her faith, first with promises and then with threats, she answered that he was wasting his time, for “while I live, I shall defeat you; and if you kill me, in my death I shall
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