Praxedes was a daughter of the Roman senator Cornelius Pudens and his wife Servilia. She had two brothers, Novatus and Timotheus, and a sister, Pudentiana, all of whom are numbered with the saints. Praxedes was brought up in chastity and in the knowledge of the laws of God. She is said to have ministered to Christian martyrs in prison and been diligent in the collection of their relics. Assiduously attending to watching, prayer and fasting, she rested in Christ and was buried near Pudentiana in the Catacombs of Priscilla on the Via Salaria.
Dom Prosper Guéranger:
On this day Pudentiana‘s angelic sister at length obtained from her Spouse release from bondage, and from the burden of exile that weighed so heavily on this last scion of a holy and illustrious stock. New races, unknown to her fathers when they laid the world at the feet of Rome, now governed the Eternal City. Nero and Domitian had been actuated by a tyrannical spirit, but the philosophical Caesars showed how absolutely they misconceived the destinies of the great city. The salvation of Rome lay in the hands of a different dynasty: a century back, Praxedes’ grandfather, more legitimate inheritor of the traditions of the Capitol than all the Emperors present or to come, hailed in his guest, Simon Bar-Jona, the ruler of the future. Host of the Prince of the Apostles was a title handed down by Pudens to his posterity: for in the time of Pius I, as in that of Saint Peter, his house was still the shelter of the Vicar of Christ. Left the sole heiress of such traditions, Praxedes, after the death of her beloved sister, converted her palaces into Churches which resounded day and night with divine praises, and where pagans hastened in crowds to be baptised. The policy of Antoninus respected the dwelling of a descendant of the Cornelii. But his adopted son Marcus Aurelius would make no such exception. An assault was made on the title of Praxedes, and many Christians were taken and put to the sword. The virgin, overpowered with grief at seeing all slain around her, and herself untouched, turned to God and besought Him that she might die. Her body was laid with those of her relatives in the cemetery of her grandmother Priscilla.
MOTHER Church is ever grateful to you, O Praxedes! You have long been in the enjoyment of your divine Spouse, and still you continue the traditions of your noble family for the benefit of the Saints on earth. When, in the eighth and ninth centuries, the martyrs, exposed to the profanations of the Lombards, were raised from their tombs and brought within the walls of the eternal City, Paschal I sought hospitality for them, where Peter had found it in the first century. What a day was that 20th of July 817, when, leaving the Catacombs, 2300 of these heroes of Christ came to seek in the title of Praxedes the repose which the barbarians had disturbed! What a tribute Rome offered you, O Virgin, on that day! Can we do better than unite our homage with that of this glorious band coming on the day of your blessed feast thus to acknowledge your benefits? Descendant of Pudens and Priscilla, give us your love of Peter, your devotedness to the Church, your zeal for the Saints of God, whether militant still on Earth or already reigning in glory.Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYOLOGY:
At Babylon, the holy prophet Daniel.
At Marseilles, the birthday of St. Victor, a soldier. Because he refused to serve in the army and sacrifice to idols, he was thrust into prison where he was visited by an angel, then subjected to various torments, and finally being crushed under a millstone, he ended his martyrdom. With him also suffered three soldiers, Alexander, Felician and Longinus.
At Troyes, St. Julia, virgin and martyr.
In the same place, the martyrdom of the saints Claudius, Justus, Jucundinus and five companions, in the time of the emperor Aurelian.
At Comana in Armenia, the holy bishop and martyr Zoticus,who was crowned under Severus.
At Strasburg, St. Arbogastus, a bishop, renowned for miracles.
In Syria, the holy monk John, a companion of St. Simeon.
And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.
Thanks be to God.
