Saint Genevieve

Saint Genevieve was born around 422 in Nanterre near Paris. When she was 7, Saint Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, came to her home village to combat the heresy of Pelagius. The little girl stood among the crowd that had gathered around the holy visitor. Saint Germanus noticed her and foretold that she would become a saint. At her request, the bishop led her to the church, where, in the presence of all the faithful, he consecrated her to God as a virgin.

Before long she began to gather other women around her and to train them in a similar way of life. They supported themselves by the work of their hands and devoted their free time to visiting the sick and helping the abandoned, leading an ascetic life full of zeal and self-denial. Not only simple people but also the powerful came to Genevieve’s humble little house to ask for her prayers and advice. Among them were the kings of France, Childeric and Clovis.

The Lord God did not spare Genevieve hard trials. She was tormented by many physical ailments, which she bore with heroic patience. No less painful were the persecutions she suffered from wicked people. She was even denounced as a witch, and there was an attempt to burn her.

When word spread that Attila’s armies were approaching, the people of Paris began to prepare to flee. Saint Genevieve convinced them that they could avert God’s punishment through fasting and prayer and so secure the protection of heaven. The events that followed confirmed her prediction, for the barbarians suddenly changed the direction of their march. She died in 512.