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Genevieve
Genevieve | |
|---|---|
 Saint Genevieve, 17th-century painting, Musée Carnavalet, Paris | |
| Virgin | |
| Born | c. 419–422 Nanterre, Western Roman Empire |
| Died | 502–512 (aged 79–93) Paris, Francia |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Orthodox Church[1] |
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Feast | 3 January, translation of relics (in Paris) 28 October, elevation of the relics 10 January |
| Attributes | Lit candle, breviary, angels and demons, liturgical vessel, crown, keys of the city of Paris |
| Patronage | Paris, shepherds, winemakers, wax-chandlers, hatmakers; against eye complaints, fever, plagues, drought, war |
Genevieve (French: Sainte Geneviève; Latin: Genovefa;[2] also called Genovefa[3] and Genofeva;[4] c. 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) was a consecrated virgin, and is one of the two patron saints of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast day is on 3 January.
Recognized for her religious devotion at a young age, she met Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes when she was a child and dedicated herself to a virginal life. Miracles and healings began to happen around her early on and she became known for changing the weather. She moved from Nanterre, her hometown, to Paris, after her parents died and became known for her piety, healings, and miracles, although the residents of Paris resented her and would have killed her if not for Germanus' interventions. Her prayers saved Paris from being destroyed by the Huns under Attila in 451 and other wars; her organisation of the city's women was called a "prayer marathon" and Genevieve's "most famous feat".[5] She was involved in two major construction projects in Paris, a basilica in the honour of Saint Denis of Paris in 475 and the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul c. 500.
Genevieve performed miracles both before and after her death. She was recognized as the patron saint of Paris in the 14th century. She was "a favorite of both the humblest residents and of the Bourbon family, and was equally venerated by Erasmus and revolutionary fishwives"[6] and was considered "a cultural symbol which Parisians shared, appropriated, negotiated, and used according to specific communal assumptions and traditions".[7]
Genevieve was publicly invoked during emergencies related to the needs and expectations of the residents of Paris 153 times between 885 and October 1791, ranging from spontaneous and less-ritualized invocations and processions with her reliquary during the Middle Ages to highly ritualized ones said before her unveiled reliquary in the years leading up to the French Revolution. As times and conditions changed in Paris, so did the ways in which Genevieve was invoked and processed. As new calamities threatened the city and new intercessions to her were needed, new associations, images, and metaphors were required. Devotion to her remained popular throughout the history of Paris, although devotion to her has never returned to its pre-Revolutionary popularity and unifying status.
- ^ "Orthodox Calendar". Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church. Baltimore, Maryland. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
- ^ Sluhovsky 1998, p. 11.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
mcnamara-17was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Farmer, David Hugh (2011). "Genevieve". The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (5 ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-19-959660-7.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
mcnamara-4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Sluhovsky 1998, p. 2.
- ^ Sluhovsky 1998, p. 3.
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