Patron Saint of Paris

When Genevieve was a little girl in the the village of Nanterre, only four miles from Parish, France, a holy visitor predicted that the child would one day serve God.

"Are you willing to serve God and never marry?" he asked the seven-year-old girl. "Yes, " she replied. So the man took her and her parents to a nearby church where she made her vow before God.

At age 15, Genevieve began a life of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. After her parent's death, Genevieve left Nanterre and move to Paris, where her holiness and generosity soon became well known.

In 451, when Attila the Hun was advancing on the city of Paris, Genevieve is said to have convinced the people to pray and fast for deliverance, rather than flee their homes. When Attila and his troops decided to make a last-minute change of course and bypass Paris. Genevieve was called the savior of the city. She also became a friend and advisor to King Clovis, the first Christian king of the Franks.

She died about 512, at age 89.
Today is the feast of St. Genevieve, the patron of Paris.