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Above ground, Rome commands wealth and armies; below it, a hidden Christian community holds fast to its faith.
Fabiola, the proud, clever daughter of a wealthy Roman senator, has little reason to question her life of luxury. Then Syra, her quiet Christian slave, unsettles her with patience and goodness. In Nicholas Patrick Wiseman’s historical novel, Fabiola encounters a faith she cannot easily dismiss, even as the world around her turns against its followers.
As persecution under Diocletian threatens Rome’s Christians, soldiers, slaves, and children face danger together. Sebastian, a captain in the emperor’s guard, conceals his faith while protecting fellow believers. The young Agnes and Pancratius show a quieter strength. Meanwhile, informers see profit in the hunt, and the catacombs reveal a close community beneath Rome’s powerful public world.
What you’ll discover
- A proud woman challenged Follow Fabiola as Syra’s patient goodness makes familiar customs harder to accept without question.
- Rome beneath the surface Enter the underground burial galleries where the novel brings a hidden Christian community into view.
- A soldier’s divided service Meet Sebastian, whose place in the emperor’s guard conceals his commitment to fellow Christians.
- Courage in young lives Discover the cheerful devotion of Pancratius and the still, firm faith of Agnes.
- Two kinds of power Explore a devout novel that sets Roman wealth and force against Christian faith and courage.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy historical fiction set in ancient Rome, tales of faith and courage, vivid saints' lives, and the strange world of the catacombs will love this book.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two households face a threatened faith
- Pancratius chooses forgiveness over revenge
- Syra claims what cannot be owned
- Secret charity meets selfish ambition
- Conviction needs more than bold words
- The underground Church prepares for danger
- A hidden community keeps mercy open
- Scenes and symbols make belief visible
- Lived faith unsettles Fabiola's pride
Who’s who
- PancratiusA fourteen-year-old Christian boy, son of a martyr, who forgives a bully and longs to give his life for his faith.
- LucinaHis widowed mother, a deaconess, who guards a relic of her husband's blood and prays that her son will be worthy of it.
- FabiolaA proud, clever heiress who believes in nothing beyond this life and slowly wonders what her Christian friends know.
- SyraFabiola's quiet slave from the East, who claims a soul no mistress can own and wants her mistress to find peace.
- AgnesA young cousin of Fabiola, dressed in white, who has pledged her love to Christ and shows unshaken courage.
- SebastianA tribune of the imperial guard, secretly Christian, who protects the helpless and guides Pancratius.
- FulviusA smooth stranger from the East who flatters his way into society and hunts Christians and their wealth.
- CorvinusThe prefect's brutal son, who nurses a grudge against Pancratius and hungers for revenge and spoils.
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Fabiola; Or, the Church of the Catacombs
by Nicholas Patrick Wiseman · 1854
A boy in Rome in 302 forgives the classmate who strikes him, while a proud heiress learns from her own slave.
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“Christians never hurt one another.”
In short
What would you do if a classmate struck you in the face and dared you to fight back? In Rome in the year 302, a boy of fourteen named Pancratius walks home from school with that question burning in him.
Fabiola; Or, the Church of the Catacombs at a glance
- Reading time
- About 9 h 10 min7 h 15 min fast, 10 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 130,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1854by Nicholas Patrick Wiseman
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Christian house hides behind plain walls
The story opens on an afternoon in September 302, in the Campus Martius. Behind a blank outer wall stands a great house with a fountain, a colonnaded court and a mosaic that says welcome. The author lingers on these details because he wants you to see how a Christian could live inside a rich Roman home.
In the inner court sits a widow named Lucina. Her robes are plain and she wears no jewel, though the table beside her holds caskets of pearls and gems. She is sewing those gems into a strip of gold cloth. She keeps glancing at the door and the water clock, because her son is an hour late.
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Details
- First published
- 1854
- Language
- English
- Level
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Cite this edition
Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick. Fabiola; Or, the Church of the Catacombs. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/fabiola-or-the-church-of-the-catacombs.
Wiseman, N. P. (2026). Fabiola; or, the church of the catacombs. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fabiola-or-the-church-of-the-catacombs (Original work published 1854)
Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick. Fabiola; Or, the Church of the Catacombs. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fabiola-or-the-church-of-the-catacombs.
@book{wiseman2026fabiola,
author = {Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick},
title = {Fabiola; Or, the Church of the Catacombs},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/fabiola-or-the-church-of-the-catacombs},
note = {First published 1854}
}
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What is Fabiola by Cardinal Wiseman about?
It is a novel of Rome around 302, when Christians face a coming persecution. It follows the boy Pancratius, the soldier Sebastian, the child Agnes and the proud heiress Fabiola, whose life changes through her contact with them.
Is Fabiola a true story?
It is fiction built on real saints, places and early Christian records. Wiseman says it is a series of pictures, not a strict history, and he moved some dates and events to fit the story.
When was Fabiola written and why?
Wiseman wrote it in the 1850s, in spare moments, as part of a plan for tales about different ages of the Church. His aim was to make readers familiar with the habits and spirit of early Christians.
The author
Nicholas Patrick Wiseman
1802–1865 · English cardinal and theologian
Nicholas Patrick Wiseman (1802–1865) was a Catholic bishop and writer. He was born in Seville, Spain, studied and worked in Rome, and later lived in England. In 1850 he became the first Archbishop of Westminster and a cardinal. He published the novel Fabiola; Or, the Church of the Catacombs in 1854.
“Christians never hurt one another.”
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