{"id":108995,"date":"2024-10-05T12:55:44","date_gmt":"2024-10-05T19:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=108995"},"modified":"2025-04-17T10:32:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:32:46","slug":"sainte-foy-complete-devotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/sainte-foy-complete-devotion\/","title":{"rendered":"Sainte-Foy: Complete Devotion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

W<\/span>ere it not Sunday, tomorrow would be the feast day of Sainte-Foy. She was born around AD 291 in the Gallo-Roman city of Aginnum<\/a>, modern-day Agen<\/a> in France. She suffered martyrdom in 303 at the age of 12. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite her youth, the fame of this little martyr spread quickly, and her cultus was celebrated throughout France and Spain. Indeed, the city of Santa Fe<\/a>, New Mexico, is named for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although her name (fides<\/a><\/em>) is usually translated as “Faith<\/a>” in English, its original meaning was probably related to the Latin word for the playing of the lyre. It is for this reason, as well as more than 1,800 years of common usage, that I prefer the French rendition of her name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So who was she? <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Reliquary Shrine of Sainte-Foy in Conques Abbey<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

According to the Passio<\/em> of Sainte-Foy,<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> she was from an old and high-born family. She is described as “beautiful in appearance, but her mind was more beautiful”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the persecution of Diocletian, she was brought before a visiting magistrate with hundreds of others suspected of being Christian. When asked what faith she followed, she is said to have replied, “From my earliest youth I have been a Christian, and I serve the Lord Jesus Christ with complete devotion.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The magistrate, perhaps taking pity on her because of her young age, gave her several opportunities to walk this back, promising her gifts and almost imploring her to offer incense as a sacrifice to Diana<\/a>. Foy remained firm in her faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After she called Diana a demon, the magistrate lost his temper and ordered Foy to be burned to death on a gridiron, so consummating her martyrdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this was just the start of Sainte-Foy’s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the legalization of Christianity, a church and, later, a basilica were raised to house her relics. Unfortunately, the city fared badly in the early medieval period. It was, over the course of a couple of centuries, attacked and sacked by Vandals, Visigoths, Franks, and then several times by Vikings. After a particularly destructive Viking attack in 853, the monks of the Abbey of Conques made off with the relics of Sainte-Foy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This entire escapade is probably worthy of an essay in its own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chapel of Sainte-Foy in the Abbey of Conques<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After Sainte-Foy settled in Conques, at least five books were written about her miracles<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>. The author of several was a monk named Bernard of Angers. Writing in the 11th century, he called her miracles joca<\/em>\u2014”tricks” or “jokes”. And indeed, the young saint seems to have a somewhat juvenile sense of fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her fame spread as stories of her miracles were told and retold. Conques, once a way station on the Camino from Le Puy-en-Velay to Santiago de Compostela, quickly became a pilgrimage destination itself. Pilgrims still come here, seeking a miracle from this little saint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year<\/a>, I visited her relics in Conques, and I prayed for her intercession on my pilgrimage. Although her relics are in a shrine in the abbey church, each year on her feast day, they are paraded through the streets<\/a> in a very unusual reliquary, called “the Majesty of Saint Foy”.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We don’t know the origin or date of this reliquary, but it is already mentioned by our old friend Bernard of Angers in about AD 1010. Over the centuries, pilgrims have donated gems and antique cameos and intaglios to further adorn the reliquary. When not in use, it is displayed at the Abbey Museum. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
The Majesty of Sainte-Foy, 2023<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Let us pray for the intercession of this mighty little saint!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

O Saint Foy,
you who had the courage to confront your persecutors as faithful witness to the Lord,
help us to testify to Jesus our Saviour.
You who restored sight to the unseeing,
heal us in our blindness and unbelief,
that we might be enchanted by the loving Son of God.
You who freed the prisoners from their chains,
open the doors of our hearts chained by sin.
You, who on the Way to Compostela shine like a first star on the road,
maintain in us always the ardent desire
of being tireless seekers of God
and passionate builders of the Kingdom.

Amen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Tympanum of Conques Abbey. Note the delightful little fellows peeking out from the top part of the arch.<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Were it not Sunday, tomorrow would be the feast day of Sainte-Foy. She was born around AD 291 in the Gallo-Roman city of Aginnum, modern-day Agen in France. She suffered martyrdom in 303 at the age of 12. Despite her youth, the fame of this little martyr spread quickly, and her cultus was celebrated throughout France and Spain. Indeed, the city of Santa Fe, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40,19,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camino","category-pray","category-saint"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/majesty-of-sainte-foy-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-slZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":109842,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/sainte-foy-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":108995,"position":0},"title":"The Majesty of Sainte-Foy","author":"Thom","date":"06 October 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"the feast day of Sainte-Foy, a saint almost entirely unknown in the English-speaking world. Nevertheless, she is one of my favourite saints, and I wear a medal with her image. She has become very dear to me. Sainte-Foy was born around\u00a0AD 291\u00a0in\u00a0the Gallo-Roman city of Aginnum, modern-day Agen in France.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/majesty-of-sainte-foy-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/majesty-of-sainte-foy-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/majesty-of-sainte-foy-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/majesty-of-sainte-foy-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109062,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/via-podiensis-at-one-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":108995,"position":1},"title":"Via Podiensis at One Year","author":"Thom","date":"23 October 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"the first anniversary of my arrival in Santiago following my thousand-mile walking pilgrimage on the Via Podiensis and Camino Franc\u00e9s. From August 18 through October 23, 2023, I walked from Le Puy-en-Velay in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain on pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle Saint James\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/pilgrim-portrait.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/pilgrim-portrait.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/pilgrim-portrait.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/pilgrim-portrait.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107938,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/update-on-prepping-for-the-via-podiensis\/","url_meta":{"origin":108995,"position":2},"title":"Update on Prepping for the Via Podiensis","author":"Thom","date":"07 July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"this morning, I had my follow-up visit with the podiatrist. He was extremely pleased and somewhat amazed with my rapid progress. We discussed a Cortizone shot, but given the level of improvement, he wasn't too enthusiastic about it. So that's off the table. Most importantly, he cleared me for my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Screenshot-2023-07-07-at-12.31.30.png?fit=663%2C452&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Screenshot-2023-07-07-at-12.31.30.png?fit=663%2C452&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Screenshot-2023-07-07-at-12.31.30.png?fit=663%2C452&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107704,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-via-podiensis-in-the-autumn\/","url_meta":{"origin":108995,"position":3},"title":"The Via Podiensis in the Autumn","author":"Thom","date":"30 March 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Originally published at Pilgrims on the Way years ago today, I posted here about my \"nervousness, elation, and even fear\" as I got ready to fly to Spain to walk our first Camino. To my great surprise, 137 days from today I will fly to Lyon, France for another adventure.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/VP-route-revised-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/VP-route-revised-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/VP-route-revised-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/VP-route-revised-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/VP-route-revised-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107941,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/tentative-itinerary-for-my-long-camino\/","url_meta":{"origin":108995,"position":4},"title":"Tentative Itinerary for my Long Camino","author":"Thom","date":"09 July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"is said that no plan survives contact with the enemy. To this I would add that no plan survives contact with the Camino. Nevertheless, and with some sense of trepidation, I offer here my plan for my \"long Camino\". This is a total of 65 days walking (plus a scheduled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/VP-route-v5-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C512&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108620,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/saint-joan-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":108995,"position":5},"title":"Saint Joan","author":"Thom","date":"30 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"this day in 1431, one of the most truly remarkable women who ever lived was burned at the stake. She was 19 years old. She was known as Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maiden), but today we name her Saint Joan of Arc. Saint Joan at Holy Rosary, Tacoma She\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Saint-Joan-in-Cahors-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Saint-Joan-in-Cahors-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Saint-Joan-in-Cahors-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Saint-Joan-in-Cahors-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108995"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109550,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108995\/revisions\/109550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}