Roman Catholic Saint. Nothing is known of her early life except that she was reportedly born a peasant girl around 419 to 422 in Nanterre, France to a Frankish father and Gallo-Roman mother. Around the age of 7, she encountered Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes (both who later became saints of the Roman Catholic Church) and decided to dedicate herself to a Christian life. On the deaths of her parents around the age of 15, she went to live with her godmother in Paris, France. She devoted herself to works of charity and practiced severe corporal austerities, abstaining completely from flesh meat and breaking her fast only twice in the week. In 451 she led a "prayer marathon" that reportedly saved Paris by diverting Attila the Hun's army away from the city to Orleans instead. When the Merovingian king of the Salian Franks Childeric I besieged the city in 464 and conquered it, she acted as an intermediary between the city and its conqueror, collecting food and convincing Childeric to release his prisoners. She claimed to have frequent visions of heavenly saints and angels and reported her visions and prophesies, until he r enemies conspired to drown her in a lake of fire. Through the intervention of Germain of Auxerre, their animosity was finally overcome. The bishop of the city appointed her to look after the welfare of the virgins dedicated to God, and by her instruction and example she led them to a high degree of sanctity. Her cult and her status as patron saint of Paris were promoted by Saint Clotilde, who may have commissioned the writing of her biography. She died sometime between 502 to 512. Her feast day is January 3rd.
Roman Catholic Saint. Nothing is known of her early life except that she was reportedly born a peasant girl around 419 to 422 in Nanterre, France to a Frankish father and Gallo-Roman mother. Around the age of 7, she encountered Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes (both who later became saints of the Roman Catholic Church) and decided to dedicate herself to a Christian life. On the deaths of her parents around the age of 15, she went to live with her godmother in Paris, France. She devoted herself to works of charity and practiced severe corporal austerities, abstaining completely from flesh meat and breaking her fast only twice in the week. In 451 she led a "prayer marathon" that reportedly saved Paris by diverting Attila the Hun's army away from the city to Orleans instead. When the Merovingian king of the Salian Franks Childeric I besieged the city in 464 and conquered it, she acted as an intermediary between the city and its conqueror, collecting food and convincing Childeric to release his prisoners. She claimed to have frequent visions of heavenly saints and angels and reported her visions and prophesies, until he r enemies conspired to drown her in a lake of fire. Through the intervention of Germain of Auxerre, their animosity was finally overcome. The bishop of the city appointed her to look after the welfare of the virgins dedicated to God, and by her instruction and example she led them to a high degree of sanctity. Her cult and her status as patron saint of Paris were promoted by Saint Clotilde, who may have commissioned the writing of her biography. She died sometime between 502 to 512. Her feast day is January 3rd.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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