How she came to be patron saint of music and musicians?
But up to this stage, there had been no association between Cecilia and music. Up till then, those regarded as the patron saints of music were: Pope St Gregory I, credited with originating the style of liturgical singing known as Gregorian chant; from the Old Testament, King David, a fabled harpist and a composer of psalm tunes and texts and Job, who in Job 30:31 says: ”My harp is turned to mourning, my flute to the sound of weepers.” The Acta of St Cecilia telling how she converted her husband Valerian, her brother-in-law Tiburtius and the Roman official Maximus and her death set out the basis for her sainthood (=canonisation). How she became the patroness of music and musicians can be traced to a misunderstanding of the account of Cecilia’s prayer during her wedding as reported in the Acta. What the Acta say is: “So at the ceremony, while musical instruments played around her, she prayed that she might remain as pure in body as she was in spirit”. Her prayers were answered when she
