St. Thecla of Rome--The Patroness and Namesake of Tecla Hashimoto

You can read the great, fascinating, and inspiring story of the female protomartyr (the first and therefore the model for all subsequent female martyrs), St. Thecla of Rome, by clicking here.*  There have been a few St. Theclas throughout Catholic history, but St. Thecla of Rome is the one from whom Tecla Hashimoto apparently took her name. 

As if by some kind of Divine Insight did Tecla Hashimoto take her Baptism name from St. Thecla of Rome, considering that, like her predecessor, Tecla Hashimoto would be thrown to the fire by command of the despot leader of her country.  Sadly, Tecla Hashimoto did not survive this treatment as did St. Thecla of Rome, but both arrived at the Heavenly Banquet through different means.  Ironically, whereas St. Thecla of Rome defied her family in embracing her martyrdom, Tecla Hahimoto brought her family with her. 

Most tragically of all, the cult of St. Thecla of Rome was suppressed by order of "Pope" Paul VI in 1969, along with those of nearly 100 other saints of the traditional liturgical calendar (in apparent fulfillment of the verse from the Apocalypse which says that in the End Times one-third of the stars will fall from the sky)--so no wonder the modern Vatican has been woking so assiduously to suppress any kind of devotion to her namesake, Tecla Hashimoto.

* This link will bring you to a website that is still in accord with the modern "church" despite said website's strong traditional stance.  The dating of St. Thecla of Rome's Feast Day as "September 22" seems to be an oversight since it appears as "September 23" (the correct dating of her feast) on the same site's index.