8For well over 1,000 years while celebrating the Mass, priests have intoned the names of seven female martyrs of the early Church: Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, and Anastasia. These young women chose to defy the authority of the Roman Empire and be put to death rather than compromise their faith. Far from stamping out the Church, the Empire s actions sowed the seeds of her growth. This work is not just a historical and artistic survey of these martyrs, but an offering given in gratitude to the example they set for all who must live in difficult times. Though evil may abound, these saints show that the power of grace and fidelity will always have the final word.