Catherine of Alexandria

According to her hagiography, Catherine was a princess who became a Christian around age 14 and quickly distinguished herself as a noted scholar. Her learning and conviction led hundreds to convert, which brought her before the emperor Maxentius in early 4th-century Alexandria. She was martyred for refusing to renounce her faith. The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates her as a great martyr, celebrating her feast on 24 or 25 November depending on region. Catholics count her among the Fourteen Holy Helpers; her feast was dropped from the Roman calendar in 1969, then restored in 2002. Modern scholars suspect the legend conflates figures - perhaps Saint Dorothea, perhaps even the neoplatonist Hypatia, killed 110 years later - but the historical doubt has not dimmed the devotion.