Sainte Foy, the Little Saint of Conques
The Feast of Sainte Foy is an important annual pilgrimage that attracts thousands of pilgrims to the charming medieval village of Conques.
The Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an essential stop on the famous Santiago de Compostela (Way of St. James).
The abbey owes much of its renown to the patron saint of the village, affectionately nicknamed the “Little Saint”: Sainte Foy (Saint Faith in English, and Santa Fe in Spanish).
Legend has it that Sainte Foy, whose pagan name we do not know, was born in 290 AD in Agen, to rich and noble, but pagan parents, and that her nurse introduced her to the Christian faith.
In 303 AD, Emperor Diocletian perceived the spread of Christianity as a threat and persecuted all converts.
Sadly, Sainte Foy was denounced to the local governor, Dace, by her own father!
The girl, then 12 years old, was dragged into court, but refused to offer a sacrifice to the goddess Diana.
As punishment, Dace had her tied naked to a metal grate placed over a blazing fire.
But a miracle occurred: snow suddenly began to fall, extinguishing the fire and covering her nakedness.
But that did not save her, for Dace had her beheaded.
Her Christian fellows secretly brought her remains back to Agen, where they remained for almost 500 years.
The monks of Conques stole Sainte Foy’s relics
Despite its importance, the Abbey of Conques experienced a decline in its influence and financial stability in the mid-9th century.
Aware of the need to attract pilgrims and increase their revenues, the monks devised a daring plan: to steal the relics of Saint Foy and start a pilgrimage to their abbey.
Thus, a daring monk disguised himself as a simple labourer and got himself hired by the Abbey of Agen, where he worked patiently for a decade until the opportunity arose in 866.
He seized the relics of Sainte Foy and brought them back to Conques, where they have been venerated ever since.
Over time, the miracles attributed to Saint Foy multiplied.
Perhaps because of her age, she became the patron saint of jokers and pranksters, or “joca,” often playing tricks on the local nobility.
But the mischievous Sainte Foy, like any young girl, also loved jewels and gold, and often asked the rich for trinkets in exchange for miracles or healing! The monks really knew what they were doing!
Besides her antics, Sainte Foy also became a revered patron saint of pregnant women and those who wished to conceive.
The Abbey of Conques thus amassed a considerable treasure of sumptuous works of art, fashioned in gold and silver and adorned with precious and semi-precious stones.
These treasures are now displayed in the Treasury, alongside a superb reliquary statue of Sainte Foy containing her relics.
This statue has a unique history. It is indeed said that the head is a replica of Emperor Charlemagne’s death mask.
Whether it’s true or not, the Sainte Foy statue has an adult man’s face, which is quite unconventional for representing a 12-year-old girl!
The Saint’s Day
The feast of Sainte Foy takes place on October 6, but the “little saint” is honoured on the Sunday closest to that date.
The religious festivities begin with vespers, where the faithful have the opportunity to respectfully ‘kiss’ the glass flask containing the relics of Sainte Foy. A candlelight procession departs from the church square at 8:30 p.m. Participants receive lit candles and a list of religious songs, and join the priests and monks as they leave the church. In the procession, one person carries the glass vase containing the relics, another carries a large golden cross, while a third accompanies the procession on the accordion.
The warm glow of hundreds of votive candles illuminates the village’s cobbled streets. All the houses, cars, gardens, as well as the fronts of the shops, are decorated with lit candles and votive offerings. The procession makes regular stops so that people can reflect and pray, and ends with the solemn return of the relics of Sainte Foy to the church.
Department of Aveyron
Coordinates: Lat 44.599450 – Long 2.397991
Credits: Photos atelier434 and Text Melanged Magic by Evelyn Jackson – Edited by and for Travel France Online – Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Header by 自由馴鹿 (ZiYouXunLu) CC BY-SA 3.0
