St. Barbara

Nothing is known for historical certainty about St. Barbara and most scholars believe her story is a pious legend. Barbara is supposed to have lived in the second century and is reputed to have been the daughter of Dioscorus, a pagan who locked her in a tower when she refused to marry, and turned her over to the authorities when she revealed her Christian faith. The judge had her tortured and then ordered her father to kill her which he did; he was then killed by lightening. No mention is found of Barbara until the seventh century. During the Middle Ages she was revered as one of the fourteen Holy Helpers and came to be invoked for protection against lightening and fire. Due to her association with a tower, she also became the patroness of architects. The Church suppressed her cult in 1969, because there was not sufficient historical evidence to support it.