Today January 3

Today is the feast of St. Genevieve, (420 - 500), patron of Paris and against disasters. Born in Nanterre to middle-class parents, Genevieve was "discovered" by St. Germanus when she was only 7 years old. He foretold her future as a brave and holy nun, and so she became. He gave her a coin to wear as a souvenir around her neck in remembrance of his blessing. She entered the convent at age 15 in Paris, but she was not cloistered and often traveled for reasons of charity. She set out at the head of a boat down the river to Troyes to bring grain back to starving Parisians. She prevailed upon King Childeric, a pagan and a barbarian, to spare the lives of prisoners. His great respect for her was continued by his son Clovis, who embraced the faith in 496. She led a spiritual front against Attila the Hun by prayer and fasting, and it was believed due to her intercession that the attack veered right around the city. But for every person who rightly looked upon her as a Christian Judith or Esther, there was another who excoriated her as a visionary, hypocrite or impostor. She was buried in the magnificent church first called Saints Peter and Paul and then St. Genevieve's, but now known as the Pantheon. Her relics were destroyed during the French Revolution. Dear St. Genevieve, pray for us.