Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr, who is the patron Saint of musicians is commemorated on November 22, which is her Feast. In the Canon of the Mass where the Roman Missal is still used [popularly called the Latin or Traditional Mass] she is included with other early Martyrs in the Commemoration of the Dead, which follows the Consecration:

BE MINDFUL also, O Lord, of Thy servants N. and N., who have gone before us with the
 sign of faith and who sleep the sleep of peace.

TO THESE, O Lord, and to all who rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee,
a place of refreshment, light, and peace.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Striking his breast the priest says:

TO US sinners, also, Thy servants, who put our trust in the multitude of Thy mercies,
vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs;
with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter,
Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and with all Thy Saints.
Into their company do Thou, we beseech Thee, admit us, not weighing
our merits, but freely pardoning Our offenses: through Christ our Lord.

Saint Cecilia, is the patron of musicians because tradition has it that she praised God by instrumental as well as vocal music, and thus has been the inspiration of many masterpiece paintings and other works of art, only a few we have images of, but we are grateful that God has permitted us this grace, some of which are the The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia by Raphael at Bologna, the Domenichino painting in the Louvre, Paris; in literature, she is remembered in Chaucer's Seconde Nonnes Tale, and by John Dryden's famous ode, set to music by Handel in 1736, and later by Sir Hubert Parry (1889). Other music pieces dedicated to the Martyr is Benjamin Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia, A Hymn for St. Cecilia by Herbert Howells, a Mass by Alessandro Scarlatti, Charles Gounod's Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile, and Hail, Bright Cecilia! by Henry Purcell.

Other midis by Handel are in a zip file HERE.

In the Litany of our Saint, there are 16 petitions in the main body of the Litany, and we have exactly 18 usable images, leaving us with one for this directory and one for the links page, a happy coincidence, or perhaps not a coincidence. Many of the paintings are 400 years old or more and in need of restoration. We did some of our own work on them, but left as much as the original as possible, we are certain you will not mind the "imperfections" of age, simply because the subject herself is so exquisite! Saint Cecilia's Litany is in the Litanies directory but we chose to place one of each petition with an image.

The story of the Angel is also in the BIO section on her Litany page. At the bottom of this page and every other one there is a link to the Litany.

Saint Cecilia is also known as Cecily, an alternate form of her name. She is sometimes prayed to for help with the eyes, along with Saints Lucy and Odilia [Odile] because her name means light. Many Catholics doubt her existence simply because so little is known of her. She is in the Martyrology and in the Roman Missal, and that is more than good enough for me. In 2006 my husband and I had the privilege of attending Mass on her Feast Day, made ever more special because the priest who offered the Mass was our son, Father John.

I keep the images of two Saints in my office, in addition to those of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady: St. Gertrude and Saint Cecilia-----the first one in the gallery.

The gallery links are listed by artist only, except for those that are either a calendar or a traditional poster image or of unknown origin, with no artist's name provided. Besides the gallery itself, we have an image of the St. Cecilia Rose and an external links page for those who want more devotions or are interested in St. Cecilia in general.

HOME---------------------SAINT CECILIA'S LITANY

www.catholictradition.org/Galleries/saint-cecilia.htm