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St. Cecilia

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    ( -circa 117)
    Resided in Rome
    Represented in art and iconography by musical instruments
    Executed by decapitation by order of the Roman prefect Turcius Almachius
    Feast day is November 22

Why she might be annoying:

    She insisted on staying a virgin after marriage (but her husband was fine with this).
    She is the patron saint of musicians, yet her biographies make little mention of music.
    Her followers eagerly collected her blood with cloths as she lay dying.
    As with many early saints, it is hard to separate fact from legend.
    When her remains went missing in ninth century Rome, the Lombards, a Germanic tribe, were wrongly blamed.
    She is often portrayed playing a type of organ that didn’t exist in her time.

Why she might not be annoying:

    Her ancestors played an important role in Roman history.
    She converted her husband and brother-in-law.
    She was arrested for giving her husband and brother-in-law Christian burials after they were martyred.
    She died three days after a botched attempt to behead her.
    Her body reportedly had not decayed when her tomb was opened in 1599.
    She inspired Geoffrey Chaucer, Raphael, John Dryden, George Frideric Handel and W.H. Auden to create some of their greatest works.

Credit: Georgina


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 153 Votes: 49.02% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 22 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 101 Votes: 49.50% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 107 Votes: 48.60% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 21 Votes: 38.10% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 17 Votes: 35.29% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 87 Votes: 44.83% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 58 Votes: 36.21% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 78 Votes: 35.90% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 151 Votes: 45.03% Annoying