[Rank]
S. Bibianae Virginis Martyris;;Semiduplex;;2;;vide C6b

[Rank] (rubrica 1570)
S. Bibianae Virginis et Martyris;;Simplex;;1.1;;vide C6b

[Rule]
vide C6b;
9 lectiones

[Oratio]
O God, the Giver of all good gifts, Who unto the lily of pure maidenhood in the~
hand of thy servant Bibiana, didst join the palm of a glorious martyrdom, grant~
us, we beseech thee, at her pleading, that our hearts and minds being joined to~
thee by thy love, we may escape all dangers which do presently beset us, and~
finally attain unto thine everlasting joy.
$Per Dominum

[Lectio4]
Bibiana was a Roman maiden, distinguished on account of the nobility of her~
family, but now far more distinguished for her confession of Christ. In the~
reign of the foul tyrant, Julian the Apostate, her father Flavian, although he~
was an ex-Praefect, was branded as a slave and banished to Acquapendente, not~
far from Rome, where he soon died a martyr for his faith. His wife, Dafrosa, and~
his two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria, were first imprisoned in their own~
house, with the idea of starving them to death; but the mother was afterwards~
taken outside the city and beheaded. Bibiana and her sister Demetria, after the~
death of their holy parents, were stripped of all they had in the world.~
Apronianus, Praetor of the city, who hankered after their property, continued to~
persecute them, but although they were destitute of all human support, God, Who~
giveth bread to the hungry, fed them, and kept them in health, life, and~
strength, to the wonder of their enemies.

[Lectio5]
Apronianus then attacked them, to make them worship the gods of the Gentiles,~
and promised them the restoration of their property, the favour of the Emperor,~
and a great marriage for each of them, if they would give way, and, on the other~
hand, imprisonment, stripes, and death. But neither promises nor threats availed,~
for they remained firm in the faith, being resolved rather to die than to~
pollute themselves by doing according to the deeds of the heathen; and, as for~
the iniquity of the Praetor, they loathed it continually. At length the strength~
of Demetria gave way, and she fell down suddenly, and died in the Lord, before~
the eyes of her sister Bibiana. Then Bibiana was put into the hands of an artful~
woman named Rufina, to seduce her if possible; but she had known the law of~
Christ from her childhood, and kept the lily of her purity undefiled, triumphing~
over the efforts of that vile person, and disappointing the lust of the Praetor.

[Lectio6]
Then, when Rufina saw that her false words availed not, she took to blows, and~
scourged Bibiana daily, but the saint was not staggered in her holy resolution.~
At last the Praetor, mad with baffled lust, when he found his labour was thrown~
away, ordered his lictors to strip her naked, hang her up by the hands to a~
pillar, and flog her to death with whips weighted with lead. When all was over,~
her sacred body was thrown out for the dogs to eat. It lay two days in the Forum~
Tauri, but the animals would not touch it; and, at last, a Priest, named John,~
took it, and buried it by night beside the graves of her mother and sister, near~
the Licinian Palace. This is the place where there is still a church, dedicated~
in the name of St. Bibiana. When this church was being restored by Urban VIII.,~
the bodies of these three holy women, Bibiana, Demetria, and Dafrosa, were found,~
and were re-buried under the High Altar.

[Lectio94]
Bibiana, a Roman virgin, was born of noble parents but was of still nobler race~
by reason of her Christian faith. Her parents, Flavian and Dafrosa, suffered~
martyrdom under Julian the Apostate. Then Bibiana and her sister, Demetria, were~
deprived of all their possessions, and Apronianus, praetor of the City,~
attempted, both by promises and by threats, to make them abandon the true~
faith. But they resisted him and his wickedness with great constancy. In this~
struggle, Demetria suddenly collapsed before Bibiana's eyes, and died in the~
Lord. Next Bibiana herself was handed over to a very crafty woman called Rufina,~
who was to have her seduced. But Bibiana was victorious over all her wiles, and~
thwarted the praetor's evil designs. Then he commanded that she be beaten with~
leaded whips, and at length she breathed out her soul. Her sacred body, left~
exposed to the dogs for two days, was preserved unharmed by divine power. John~
the priest buried it by night next to the grave of her sister and mother, near~
the palace of Licinius, where now stands a church dedicated to God and named~
after St. Bibiana.
&teDeum