Cecilia was a devout Christian girl, born to all the luxury of nobility. Despite this, she devoted her life to caring for the sick and poor in the neighborhood across the river from the main part of the city of Rome. This explains the use of "Trastevere" in the name of the church. Trastevere comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber." Therefore, the neighborhood across the river where Cecilia ministered to the sick and poor was "across or beyond the Tiber River."
Here's a photo of the church:
The 16-year-old Cecilia had vowed to remain forever a virgin as a sign of total dedication. However, her father arranged for his daughter to marry Valerian, a pagan nobleman. After the wedding ceremony, Cecilia implored her new husband to honor the vow she had taken and join her in working among the sick and poor. Cecilia eventually won over Valerian, and he and his brother, Tiburtius, eventually received instruction in the Catholic Faith and were baptized. When word of their conversion reached the authorities, they were executed, and Cecilia made sure they were buried in the catacombs outside the walls.
Eventually, Cecilia was arrested on charges of practicing and promoting a forbidden cult and was sentenced to death by suffocation in the steam bath of her own home. Cecilia survived an entire day in the steam bath and stepped out unharmed when the guards opened the door.
The Prefect of Rome, Almachius, then send a soldier to Cecilia's home to behead her. In vain, the man attempted to behead Cecilia, knowing that Roman law stipulated that if a condemned person were to survive three blows of the executioner's axe, he or she was to be set free. The soldier fled, but local Christians found Cecilia in her home lying in a pool of blood, a deep gash on her neck . . . but still alive. For three days, she lay there, preaching the gospel and singing sacred songs to hundreds of pagan visitors who had come to see for themselves! Great numbers of them converted on the spot!
On the third day, the pope arrived, and Cecilia bequeathed the family mansion to him for use as a church. She then passed away on November 22, 230 A.D. Her remains were placed in a crypt in the catacombs. In 821, Pope Paschal I wanted to find the remains of the saint and transfer them to the church. He had a dream telling him to look in the Catacombs of Saint Callistus, and when the crypt was found and opened, the body was found incorrupt.
Eight centuries later in 1599, Cardinal Sfondrato ordered restoration work on the interior of the ancient basilica. Cecilia's relics were moved to a side chapel until completion of the work. The Cardinal invited the sculptor, Stefano Maderno, to create a sculpture/carving of what was found when the tomb was opened. Again, they saw the intact, incorrupt body of the saint, lying on her side, her knees drawn together, her neck deeply gashed, her arms out in front of her, with her right hand extending three fingers, her left hand one. The inference is that in her last breath, she continued to profess her belief in the Holy Trinity (three Persons, one God), that even in death she managed to bear witness to the faith.
This sculpture is prominently displayed in the church today.
Notice the gash on her neck:
Notice Christ (in the middle) is blessing with His right hand with His ring finger and thumb finger touching, which is a symbol of the Trinity. The thumb represents ONE God and the ring finger (third finger) represents THREE divine persons.
Here's a closeup:
Here is a closeup of St. Cecilia (on the right) with her right arm around the pope (Pope Paschal I), holding a house representing the Church. Notice the pope's halo is a blue square, meaning he was still alive at the time of the church's construction. He was eventually canonized a saint.
As many of you know, St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music and musicians since she was known to have loved singing hymns (aloud or in her heart).
