St. Genevieve of Paris

St. Genevieve (c.422-512 A.D.) was born to a respectable family in a small village outside Paris, France. When she was seven years old a famous bishop, St. Germain, spotted her in a crowd and prophesied to her parents about her future sanctity. At his invitation, St. Genevieve expressed her desire to live in a state of perpetual virginity and made her vows under him, after which St. Germain gave her a brass medal engraved with a cross as a reminder of her consecration to Christ. In her teens she received the religious veil under the Bishop of Paris and lived a devout life of prayer, charity, and austerity. She was especially known for her gifts of prophecy and reading consciences. When her parents died she lived with her grandmother in Paris, often visiting other cities where she would perform miracles. This led to her persecution, with a plot against her life, but when St. Germain came to her defense she was afterwards greatly revered by the people. St. Genevieve became venerated as the patron saint of Paris after she helped avert an attack against the city by Attila the Hun, and for saving the city from famine during a siege, when a boatload of grain overcame a military blockade due to her intercession. St. Genevieve is also the patron saint against fever, plague, and disasters. Her feast day is January 3rd.