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The Life of Saint Genevieve of Paris

Saint Genevieve of Paris: Defying Emperors, Inspiring Kings

Saint Genevieve of Paris

Childhood in Nanterre

Saint Genevieve, or Genovefa in Latin, is the patron saint of Paris and France. She came into the world around the year 420, in the Roman province of Gaul, as Emperor Honorius was nearing the end of his reign. Her Christian parents, Severus and Gerontia, owned a modest farm and some land in Nanterre.

Christianity had begun to seep into the harsh pagan world of Gaul, standing firm through spiritual struggles in which the blood of martyrs was shed. As far back as 52 B.C., Julius Caesar turned Gaul into a Roman province. Settling there, the conquerors brought their culture and religion to the land of the Celts and Gauls.

In the year 96, Christian missionaries rocked up in Gaul. They were led by the bishop and disciple of the Apostle Paul, Dionysius the Areopagite. Bishops appeared in several Gallic towns, while the apostolic follower settled by the walls of Lutetia (Paris). Thus began the life of the Gallic Orthodox Church, which immediately faced persecution. Pagan authorities imprisoned Saint Dionysius and his companions, then beheaded them. Year after year, the ranks of holy martyrs and prayer warriors for the long-suffering Gaul grew. Not until the beginning of the 4th century did the persecution of Christians cease.

Young Genevieve grew up on this soil watered by martyrs' blood. Like all children of her time, she grew up working hard. In her parents' small meadow, she tended sheep, which foreshadowed her future path. This simple girl from a modest family was destined to become the prayerful protector of all the people of Gaul and, later, all of France. An 11th-century chronicle notes: "She was neither from counts nor from kings, but was the daughter of a townsman."

A Vow to God

Genevieve turned twelve when the bishops of two cities — Saint Germanus of Auxerre and Saint Lupus of Troyes — turned up in Nanterre. The people gathered at the dock to give them a warm welcome. Genevieve, with her parents, was there too. Crowding around the visitors, each person hoped to receive a blessing. Bishop Germanus noticed Genevieve and beckoned her over. She approached hesitantly as the crowd parted. The shepherd kissed her forehead and turned to her parents, blessing them and promising a good life for their daughter. In that brief exchange, Genevieve expressed her dream of dedicating her life to Christ. Later, during the solemn church service, Bishop Germanus kept his hand on the young girl's head and afterwards asked Severus to bring his daughter back the next day.

La Défense Quarter, Nanterre, France

La Défense Quarter, Nanterre, France

At their next meeting, Saint Germanus asked Genevieve if she remembered their conversation. Once again, she affirmed her readiness to forsake earthly goods for the Lord, remain unmarried, and live in prayer to Christ.

“Take heart, my child,” the shepherd encouraged. “May the Lord be your strength and power according to your faith.” The bishop’s eye fell upon a bronze Byzantine coin, bearing Christ's monogram. Someone had dropped it. "Here, take this gift from your Heavenly Bridegroom," he picked up the coin and handed it to Genevieve. “Always carry this as a reminder of me, and allow no other finery to adorn your neck or fingers. For if your soul is tempted by the fleeting treasures of this world, the radiance of eternal, heavenly riches will slip beyond your reach." With a blessing for a life of monastic discipline, the shepherds departed Gaul for Great Britain. Genevieve remained.

Saint Germanus, Bishop of Paris

Saint Germanus, Bishop of Paris

The healing of her mother

As time passed, Genevieve began spending more and more time in church, which did not always sit well with her parents. Her mother would complain about needing help at home. One day, Gerontia’s anger boiled over. When Genevieve asked to attend a church festival, Gerontia struck her hard across the face. While refusing to let her daughter go, Gerontia herself was heading to the service. Her daughter explained that she had made a promise to God that must not be broken.

Right after striking Genevieve, Gerontia went blind and couldn't see for nearly three months. In her darkness, she remembered Saint Germanus' words about Genevieve. Recognising she had defied God’s will, she felt remorse and asked her daughter’s forgiveness. Genevieve felt for her mother, cared for her, and pleaded with God for help.

orthodox music

One day, Gerontia, now understanding God's protection and guidance, asked Genevieve for water blessed with the sign of the cross. Genevieve did as asked. Gerontia washed herself, praying to God for forgiveness and healing. After washing her eyes, her sight improved, and when she repeated this three times, her vision returned completely. Her mother’s healing became the first miracle occurring through Genevieve’s prayers.

Dedication

Christian maidens wishing to preserve their purity and devote themselves to their Heavenly Bridegroom underwent two trials. First came the promise of dedication to God, followed by a period of obedience, testing their faith and resolve. After this, they would vow chastity. During the dedication ceremony, the bishop would present them with a small red or purple headband, a mitre, or flammeum. Such headbands signified their devotion to God. When Genevieve reached fourteen, she was deemed ready for dedication. Three maidens appeared before the bishop that day. “Let the one at the back come forward,” he commanded unexpectedly, indicating Genevieve, the youngest.

Declaring that, despite her youth, she was already under God's care, he bestowed the flammeum upon Genevieve and instructed her to wear it unblemished “until the Day of Judgement.”

To Lutetia

In Gaul, several women's monasteries already existed. Yet, many devout women remained in their families, leading lives like everyone around them, simply praying more and remaining unmarried. And so, Genevieve stayed with her parents in Nanterre.

Too soon, however, her father and mother succumbed to an illness that swept through their area. Following custom, Genevieve, now a virgin orphan dedicated to God, went to live with a pious older woman. From Nanterre, she moved to Lutetia, to her godmother.

Nikolai Roerich, "Saint Genevieve", 1933

Nikolai Roerich, "Saint Genevieve", 1933

Lutetia sat on the Île de la Cité. Two bridges linked it to villages on opposing banks. Churches dotted the city. At its heart, stood Saint Stephen’s Cathedral; to the east, across the river, was a wooden church dedicated to the Mother of God, and near the bridge stood a baptistery bore the name of Saint John the Baptist. Her godmother’s small house lay close by.

Genevieve’s arrival in Lutetia was far from joyous. A sudden paralysis gripped her - for three days, she lay still and pale, unable to move. When her strength returned, she described how an angel had carried her to the realms of the blessed. "Such was the glory of that place," she recounted to her godmother, "that those without faith would scarcely believe my account of it." After her recovery, she found she had been given the gift of spiritual insight. This blessing flowed chiefly from her life of devotion to God.

A life of fasting and prayer

From the age of fifteen, Genevieve ate only twice a week – on Sundays and Thursdays. She allowed herself nothing but barley bread and beans dressed with oil. This strict fast she kept up for many years. Only at fifty, and by the bishop’s urging, did she add milk and fish to her meals.

Prayer with tears remained her true sustenance and filled most of her days. Her night prayers held special significance: from Saturday into Sunday, and from Epiphany to Maundy Thursday, she kept vigil, locking herself in her cell.

Meeting with the bishop

Despite Genevieve's devotion, rumours began to swirl, accusing her of hypocrisy and deceit. Only the arrival in Lutetia of Bishop Germanus put an end to people’s malice. The bishop commanded respect throughout Gaul, even among pagans. Every soul made their way to the landing to welcome the esteemed visitor.

During the welcome, some couldn't resist slandering the bishop’s spiritual daughter. The bishop, however, “paid no heed to these words,” and made straight for Genevieve’s dwelling. The townspeople marvelled at the haste and reverence with which he approached her home. Opening the door to her cell, he found the floor wet with tears – the tears of prayer. The onlookers fell silent, struck with awe.

From that day forward, the townspeople stopped judging Genevieve, finally realising her true holiness. During that visit, the bishop entrusted Genevieve with the role of spiritual mother to the virgins who had chosen a life of celibacy for Christ's sake. From then on, she guided these dedicated women in their devotion.

Saint Genevieve on her knees before Saint Germanus of Auxerre

Saint Genevieve on her knees before Saint Germanus of Auxerre. A 16th-century stained glass window from the church of Saint-Julien-du-Sault (Yonne), France.

The miracle of the church's construction

Genevieve often visited the grave of the first Bishop of Paris, Dionysius the Areopagite, with the presbyter Rusticus and Archdeacon Eleutherius. There she prayed, lamenting that no fitting church stood over the relics of the saints, only a meagre wooden chapel. One day, the saint addressed the Paris clergy with these words: “Venerable shepherds of Christ, I urge you to think about building a basilica in honour of Saint Dionysius.”

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite. A mosaic in the monastery of Hosios Loukas, Greece.

The response was disheartening: they would gladly put up a worthy basilica, but there was no suitable quicklime to be had. “Cross the bridge, and then come back and tell me what you've heard there,” — Genevieve instructed the shepherds. On the left bank of the Seine, they heard pig keepers bragging that they had found two large pits full of lime. After listening to the presbyters, the swineherds showed them the spot.

Once they confirmed that the lime had indeed been found, the shepherds hurried back to the city and reported this to Genevieve. She wept tears of joy, thanking God throughout the night for blessing her endeavours to start building the church. Genevieve entrusted the basilica's construction to Presbyter Genesius, while she herself gathered funds for it. The people of Paris gave generously, and soon the basilica rose in their city.

The Basilica of Saint Dionysius

The Basilica of Saint Dionysius the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis (formerly the church of the Saint-Denis monastery).

Saving Paris and its people

The Roman Empire, it turned out, was not eternal. Internal strife weakened it, and its borders grew porous. The Huns drove the Germanic tribes onwards, and in 451, led by Attila, they crossed the Rhine to storm into Gaul. Saint Genevieve was 28 when Attila advanced towards the city of Orléans, intending to pass through Paris.

Fear gripped the Parisians as they gathered their belongings to flee to safer outlying areas. Genevieve, though, urged everyone to stay put in Paris, prophesying that the city would come to no harm, and that places currently seen as safe concealed danger. She cited Judith and Esther, who prayed and repented, thus turning away peril. The women of Paris put their faith in her words, and joined the saint in praying day and night for the Lord to spare the city. But the men, seeing the looming peril, flew into a rage, calling Saint Genevieve a false prophet and a liar. "Stone her! Throw her in the river! She's leading our wives astray!" they yelled, dragging the saint from the church steps.

The mob was already deciding how best to do away with the holy woman when suddenly they spotted Sedulius, the Archdeacon of Auxerre. Seeing the commotion, he called out: "Citizens! Don't you dare kill the one of whom Saint Germanus said she was chosen by God from her mother's womb!" His words hit home. The people began to pray that disaster might pass them by. And pass it did: Attila unexpectedly changed tack and headed towards Orléans, bypassing Paris. The city was saved, and Genevieve's prophecy was fulfilled.

Even pagans could not resist her pleas. According to chroniclers, Childeric I, King of the Franks, held Saint Genevieve in high regard and was devoted to her. One story tells how Childeric entered Paris with many captives whom he ordered to be executed. Fearing Saint Genevieve's intervention, he commanded that the city gates be bolted shut. He knew she would come to plead for the prisoners' lives, as she had done before, and he doubted his ability to refuse her, knowing the gifts her God had given her. However, the saint got wind of the impending executions and dashed to the city. The moment she touched the gates, they swung open. Genevieve walked straight into the palace, past the guards. None dared to stop her, just as Childeric dared not execute the people after speaking with Genevieve.

Miracles through Saint Genevieve's prayers

Saint Genevieve's life is a string of miracles and events where she showed compassion and healed through love. She made no distinction between noble and servant, prisoner and commoner.

Once, she saved a servant from his cruel master's punishment. The master refused to listen to her pleas. With a heavy heart, she exclaimed: "If you turn down my request, then Someone else will grant it, for He is good and loves mankind!" The man, though a Christian, was too proud to relent. Yet, as soon as he got home, he fell gravely ill, burning with fever. After a night of suffering, the next morning he rushed to Genevieve, dropped to his knees, and begged her forgiveness. In a flash, he felt as right as rain. Thus, both the servant and the master were forgiven.

Another time, during Great Lent, a Christian woman wanted to see how Genevieve prayed and lived in her secluded cell. She tried peeping through a crack in the door, but the moment she approached, she was struck blind. The woman had to wait until Maundy Thursday, when the saint would leave her enclosure. When Genevieve saw the afflicted woman that day, she made the sign of the cross over her eyes, and her sight returned.

The life of Saint Genevieve also includes accounts of her pilgrimages and devout journeys. She walked on foot to Saint-Denis, where the relics of Saint Dionysius lay, to the city of Tours, where the greatest miracle-worker of the West, Saint Martin, had been resting in the basilica since the early 5th century, and to Orléans, where Saint Agnan was buried. Once, en route to Bishop Remigius in Reims, near the city of Laon, Genevieve was met by locals. From the crowd, the parents of a paralysed nine-year-old girl stepped forward. They begged the holy pilgrim to visit their home and pray for their daughter's recovery. Genevieve entered the room and prayed at the girl's bedside. She then asked the child to get up and dress herself. The girl did so without hesitation and immediately went to the church, completely healed. The people accompanied Genevieve with joy, praising God.

Saint Remigius of Reims

Saint Remigius of Reims

In the same 5th century, Saint Simeon Stylites was leading an ascetic life in the desert near Antioch. Patriarchs came to him for spiritual guidance, as did ordinary Christians, including merchants from Paris. These traders reported that every time they visited, Saint Simeon enquired about Saint Genevieve and sent her his blessing, asking her to pray for him.

Simeon Stylites

Simeon Stylites (miniature from the Menologion of Basil II)

A servant to all

Clovis, son of Childeric, King of the Franks, left his mark in history as a conqueror, diplomat, and Christian. Eventually, he became the ruler of all Gaul, taking over Roman settlements and pushing back the warlike barbarian tribes. Although a pagan, Clovis did not oppress the bishops, understanding their significant sway across the land.

Between 486 and 487, his forces laid siege to Paris. The aim was to drive the Romans from the city and, ultimately, from all of Gaul. The Life of Saint Genevieve records the events of this time: "During the five-year siege of Paris by the Franks, many of the city's inhabitants died of hunger. Saint Genevieve decided to organise a fleet of boats and travel by water to procure provisions from the city of Arcis-sur-Aube. Upon her arrival, Tribune Paschasius asked her to visit his wife, who had been paralysed and immobile for four years. Saint Genevieve made the sign of the cross over the woman and commanded her to get up. Immediately, Paschasius's wife was healed and rose from her bed."

Saint Genevieve helped people however she could. With her companions who always travelled with her, she gathered bread and donations, visited the sick and poor, and aided the suffering. The boats she led returned to Paris laden with bread.

Once, while travelling to the city of Troyes, she restored a man's sight and healed a girl born blind, in the name of the Holy Trinity. Many more residents of Troyes also received healing through the prayers of Saint Genevieve. Upon seeing this, a subdeacon whose son had been suffering from a severe fever for ten months asked the saint for help. She healed the child by blessing water and giving it to the poorly boy to drink. Many others who approached her with faith or simply stood in the crowd—those possessed by demons and those suffering from various ailments—received what they longed for: the gift of health. The saint then travelled to Arcis and stayed there for several days. During this time, the woman she had healed stayed by her saviour's side and saw her off at the ship.

On the journey back, danger struck. Strong winds drove the vessels towards underwater rocks and ancient trees leaning over the water. As the ships, tipped onto their sides, began to fill with water, Genevieve raised her hands to the heavens and prayed intensely. Miraculously, all eleven ships remained unharmed and returned to Paris with their cargo of bread.

Clovis I, King of the Franks

Clovis I, King of the Franks. Painting by François-Louis Dejuinne (1786–1844), created in 1835, held in Versailles.

The baptism of King Clovis

Clovis entered Paris. Like his father before him, he greatly respected Saint Genevieve and granted her every request. Once again, prisoners condemned to death in a city he had conquered found mercy through the saint's intercession.

At that time, much of Gaul was plagued by the Arian heresy, with only the provinces ruled by the Franks escaping its influence. The entire Gallic clergy, led by Bishop Remigius of Reims, joined Genevieve in praying to the Lord that King Clovis would become a Christian and stand with them in defending the true faith.

In 493, the young king married Clotilde, daughter of the Burgundian king and a devout Christian. The young Queen Clotilde entered a court filled with pagans and, as the chronicler wrote, was "like a lamb among wolves." She needed support, which she found in Saint Genevieve. Their friendship grew strong, enabling Clotilde to persuade Clovis to allow her to baptise their sons.

Initially, the death of their firstborn put him off converting to his wife's faith. However, when their second son was healed through Genevieve's prayers, followed by a victory over the Arians, his hesitation ceased. In 498 (some sources say 496), King Clovis, his courtiers and warriors took baptism at the Cathedral of Reims. The sacrament was administered by Bishop Remigius.

The baptism of King Clovis

The baptism of King Clovis

Despite Clovis's conversion, the fight against heresy remained pressing. The king, who had only recently been a pagan, stood up in defence of the faith. In 501, Clovis and Saint Remigius convened a council of bishops in Lyon. At this council, the king was cured of a long-standing ailment. In gratitude to God, Clovis vowed to drive the Arian Visigoths out of Gaul—and he kept his word.

"Let a church be built"

Saint Genevieve longed for the protection of France's capital through the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul. She implored the king to build a church in honour of these foremost apostles atop the hill of Lutetia. The chronicle recounts: "Clovis, walking with Clotilde on the hill shortly before his campaign against Alaric, marked the area where the future majestic church would stand. Casting his battle-axe far into the distance, he exclaimed: 'Let a temple rise to Saints Peter and Paul if I return alive and well from my campaign against the Arians!' Such was the faith burning within him. But his promise was not mere words spoken in the shadow of danger; that same year, he laid the foundation of the church.

The victory over Alaric was complete, and France was entirely cleansed of Arianism." Inspired by Genevieve’s example and standing, the king’s daughter and sister both took vows of celibacy, becoming virgins consecrated to God, entrusting their lives to the spiritual guidance of the saintly elder.

No significant decisions, not even those concerning the state, were made without her prayers. Saint Remigius, Saint Genevieve, and Queen Clotilde served as King Clovis's advisors on the governance of the Christian state and Church. In 511, through their efforts, a local council convened in Orléans, which established the right of sanctuary within the Church and inaugurated processions of the cross.

Soon after this milestone, also in 511, King Clovis departed to God. A devoted Christian, he was laid to rest in the church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, which he had ordered to be built. Genevieve outlived her king, her spiritual son, by just a few weeks, reposing on 16 January (3 January in the Julian calendar), 512, at the age of ninety. She was buried in the ancient crypt beneath the main altar of the church of the holy apostles. Other sources suggest the saint may have died earlier, around the year 500, before Clovis. Either way, the Lord had bound their paths together. Queen Clotilde was also buried in the basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, alongside those she held dearest. Before her burial, however, she completed the construction begun by her husband.

The people soon renamed the church the Basilica of Saint Genevieve. The hagiographer of Saint Genevieve writes: "The entrance to the basilica was crowned with a triple portico adorned with images of patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, and confessors, known to us from Holy Scripture, Tradition, and the lives of the saints."

Throughout her life, Saint Genevieve loved, protected in prayer, and spiritually guided the people of semi-pagan Gaul. And the people are the true heart of any nation. In her final years, she witnessed the fruit of her life's struggle and prayers: the emergence of the first Christian state in the West — a young France — and she lived to see it thrive. Like Saint Sergius of Radonezh in Holy Russia, who blessed rulers and military commanders through his prayers, Saint Genevieve was a wise companion and spiritual guide to King Clovis.

Today, on the Place du Panthéon, where her basilica once arose, stands the beautiful Library of Saint Genevieve. In Paris's very heart, spanning the Seine between Île de la Cité and the Left Bank's Latin Quarter, her statue stands tall on a bridge, watching over and guiding a young girl - France herself.

The statue of Saint Genevieve
The statue of Saint Genevieve

The statue of Saint Genevieve in the centre of Paris

Soon after Genevieve's repose, she came to be revered as the holy protectress of Paris. Pilgrims began visiting her relics to pay homage and seek her intercession. Her reliquary was carried through the streets of France's capital, and prayers were offered in churches dedicated to her during times of natural disasters, epidemics, or enemy invasions.

Only the political turmoil of the French Revolution proved too much for her protection. In 1793, during the upheaval, a frenzied mob burned her relics in the Place de Grève, the traditional site for executions. Miraculously, the reliquary and a phalanx of her hand survived. These can still be venerated in the Parisian church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.

The feast of Saint Genevieve is celebrated in the Catholic Church on 3 January. For a long time, Saint Genevieve was venerated as a local saint within the Orthodox Church in France. On 9 March 2017, the name of the Venerable Genevieve was added to the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The reliquary of Saint Genevieve of Paris

The reliquary of Saint Genevieve of Paris in the Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

The author of the life of this Orthodox Gallic saint concludes the narrative with the following words: "We, who confess the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, shall ever entreat Saint Genevieve to ask God to forgive our sins, so that with a pure heart, we may glorify our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who reigns and abides forever and ever. Amen."

January 15, 2025
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