December 4 was the universal feast of St. Barbara until the revision of the General Roman Calendar after Vatican II. She was one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers who were grouped together because of the Black Plague which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1349. She was the daughter of a pagan, Dioscorus, who (according to the somewhat questionable Acts of St Barbara) placed her in a high and beautiful tower surrounded by marvelous gardens, and sent philosophers, poets., and scholars to teach her…