She was a young girl of eighteen who lived in Iconium, in Lycaonia and who was converted by Saint Paul. She then became one of his disciples and followed him on several of his missionary journeys. She was submitted to all sorts of suffering for her Faith. She was thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheater. She was thrown into a furnace of fire. She was cast out into the wilderness. Though she still lived, she is given, because of these sufferings, the title of martyr. Her name is invoked for the dying. She was ninety years old when she died.
Saint Thecla and the Wild Beasts, probably from Egypt, 5th century. Photo from Exhibit in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. (Photo in public domain: source.)
