St Sophia and her daughters

Sophia, whose name means Wisdom, was a Christian widow living in Rome in the reign of the emperor Hadrian. She had named her three daughters for the virtues St Paul praises: Pistis, Elpis, and Agape — Faith, Hope, and Love — aged, the tradition says, twelve, ten, and nine. Denounced as Christians, mother and daughters were brought before the emperor, and Sophia encouraged each child in turn not to fear. One by one the girls confessed Christ, refused to sacrifice to Artemis, endured tortures, and were beheaded before their mother's eyes, from the eldest to the youngest. Sophia was not executed; her martyrdom was to witness the death of her children and to bury them. She remained praying at their grave outside the city and on the third day gave up her soul to God. The four are venerated together as an image of wisdom crowned by the three great virtues.