Fabiola or The Church of the Catacombs

Fabiola or The Church of the Catacombs is a historical novel by Cardinal Nicholas Patrick Wiseman, published in the 19th century. Set in early 4th century Rome during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian, it follows Fabiola, a young pagan woman from a noble family, who undergoes a transformation after a violent encounter with her Christian slave girl, Syra. The narrative intertwines fictional elements with accounts of real Christian martyrs, such as Saint Agnes and Saint Sebastian, and serves as a response to anti-Catholic sentiments of the time, particularly to Charles Kingsley's Hypatia.