In February, the Catholic Church celebrates the liturgical memory of St. Apollonia, the patron saint of dentists. A virgin and a martyr, she stands as a remarkable figure of resilience and faith. Over time, Apollonia became the patroness of those suffering from toothaches, dental ailments or emergency dental care.
Newsroom (12/02/2023 17:25, Gaudium Press) In 249, a popular revolt was like what the prelude to the great persecution of Decius in Alexandria. Upraised by a poet who played the role of diviner, the pagan people of the city suddenly rose up against the Christians.
A brutal persecution
They held at first an old man named Metras. They ordered him to utter blasphemies; when he refused, they beat him to a pulp, stabbed him in the eyes and the whole face, and finally, dragging him away, they stoned him.
Then they attacked a woman, Quinta or Cointa, took her to the time of their idol, and there ordered her to worship him. She refused, and, horrified, they tied her by the feet, dragged her across the city on rough sidewalks, smashed her against huge stones, and finally led her to the same place as the first, and made her suffer the same kind of death.
Aroused by the first acts of violence, they all threw themselves at the houses of the faithful at the same time; each one pillaged those he knew in the vicinity, taking the most precious things out of the houses, and threw the rest through the windows, to be set on fire in the middle of the streets.
Apollonia, virgin and martyr
Apollonia, virgin and martyr, stands as a remarkable figure of resilience and faith. During this brutal wave of persecution, Christians faced unimaginable trials for their beliefs. The faithful, though losing their earthly possessions, clung to their faith with joy, knowing that their treasures in heaven were secure. Apollonia, a virgin advanced in years and full of virtue, was captured by the pagans who sought to break her spirit. In their rage, they struck her violently in the face, knocking out all of her teeth. Refusing to deny her faith, she was taken outside the city and threatened with death by fire unless she would join in their ungodly words. With remarkable composure, she asked for a moment, and in a flash of inspiration, threw herself into the flames rather than utter words that would betray her soul. Her courage and self-sacrifice marked her as a true martyr.
Saint Apollonia is especially remembered in relation to dental issues because of the specific torture she endured. Over time, she became the patroness of those suffering from toothaches or dental ailments. People have invoked her intercession for centuries in times of oral pain, seeing in her both a model of endurance in the face of physical suffering and a heavenly advocate who understands their pain intimately. Her story continues to inspire those who face both spiritual and physical challenges, reminding us of the strength that can be found in faith.
In case our readers in Canada feel encouraged by the timely story of St Apollonia and consider to look after dental issues, they can pursue all kinds of emergency dental care at glenwooddentalcare.ca
(with Information taken from Book Life of the Saints, Father Rohrbacher, Volume III, p. 119-120)
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
