According to her legendary Acts, St. Cecilia was a native of  Rome. At an early age she made a vow of virginity, but her  parents forced her to marry a nobleman named Valerian.  She converted him to the Faith of Christ, and, by the providence of God, preserved her virginity. She also converted Tiburtius, the brother of Valerian. Both these men suffered martyrdom for the Faith, and St.  Cecilia died the same glorious death a few days after.  Their death occurred probably in the reign of Marcus  Aurelius or of Commodus, between the years 161 and 192.

The name of St. Cecilia has always been most illustrious in  the Church, and since the primitive ages it has been mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. She is honored as the patroness of ecclesiastical music.

PRAYER: O God, Thou who gladden us with the annual feast of Blessed Cecilia, Thy Virgin and Martyr, grant that we who honor her by this service, may also follow the example of her holy life. Amen.

Lives of the Saints, pg. 457