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Barbara
was born in Heliopolis in the third century. Her idol-worshipping
pagan father kept her locked in a tower to prevent men from
seeing her radiant beauty. But a crafty Christian doctor got
access to her, told her about Jesus, and she converted. While
her father was away on business, Barbara ventured out to check
on the progress of a bathroom he was having built. She was disturbed
to see only two windows and instructed workmen to install a
third to represent the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Barbara was
baptized there and angrily ripped the faces off her father’s
idols. When her father returned and noticed the third window
and his defaced idols, he drew his sword and tried to kill his
only daughter. She escaped, but two shepherds revealed Barbara's
hiding place to her father. She was stripped and tortured and
then sentenced to death by sword when she still refused to denounce
her love for Jesus. Her father wanted his daughters blood on
his own hands, and he took her to a mountaintop and beheaded
her. Incidentally, on his way down he was struck by lightning
and turned to ashes. Barbara is also a powerful figure in Voodoo
culture. Barbara is also the patron of artillerymen, builders,
fire prevention, fireworks makers, founders, gunners, military
architects, prisoners, sailors and stone masons; and she's invoked
against explosions, fires, lightning and sudden death. Her feast
day is December 14. |
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| St.
Barbara
Patron St. of
Architects |
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