Sainte-Foy: The Saint with the Wicked Humor

Christian pilgrims who visit the site where the remains of a martyr (a martyr who died for the sake of God) are stored usually offer prayers and supplications and ask the saint to ease their suffering and help them with their daily troubles. However, they should think several times about what they are asking and from whom... especially when they direct their request to the martyred saint Sainte Foy, who, as is known, has a rather wicked sense of humor. Foy's remains are housed in a magnificent gold-plated statue in Conques in the Midi-Pyrenees region, in the south France, where its devout believers have been coming for over a thousand years.

Who was Sainte-Foy?

The monastery, founded in the heart of the village of Konak in 819, on the slope of the rocky hill, led a relatively peaceful life of contemplation for its first fifty years, but in 866 the monks, who began to seek a little more interest and recognition, realized that what they really lacked was a sacred relic, an object that would attract many pilgrims to the place and generate huge revenues. To this end, one of the monks was sent on a mission, who managed to join the competing monastery in Agen, where the relics of Saint Foa, who had long been known as the healer of the blind and the freer of the imprisoned, were stored. The legend of Saint Foa holds that she was the daughter of a wealthy Christian family who refused to worship idols and was condemned to martyrdom in the city of Agen, during the waves of persecution led by Diocletian against the Christians in 303 AD.

The 12-year-old is said to have endured a hellish ordeal on a burning brass bed, and although the flames were miraculously extinguished, the girl's head was beheaded. After her death, the saint's remains began the familiar repertoire of miracles and visions, the number one reason for the influx of pilgrims, and precisely for this reason, the monk stole them and transferred them from Magny to the monastery located in Conques. Over the years, the cult of Sainte-Foy flourished in the monastery, which became an important stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago (Saint Jacques), where pilgrims used to stop and ask the saint for the blessing of the journey.

Here we should note that Saint Foy gained a reputation as a rather active saint, mainly in healing the sick… and not always in conventional ways. In addition to the standard miracles, Saint Foy was fond of mockery, demanded excessive donations, and even imposed strange punishments on her skeptical admirers. Stories that over time became part of local folklore, and became known as “Saint Foy’s pranks.” For example, when a knight arrived and asked in his prayers for a cure for the terrible hernia pains he suffered (an abortion), the saint appeared, and out of a genuine desire to help, suggested that he find a blacksmith who would agree to crush his testicles with a white-hot iron. The knight, who felt obligated to follow her command, followed her instructions precisely, until that moment… when he stepped back and fell, as he saw in his imagination the blows of the iron on his testicles. Amazingly, from the force of the fall, the hernia pain disappeared as if it had never existed…

Another story tells of a castle owner who refused to give up a ring that his late wife had promised to the saint before she passed away. That widower, named Ostren, did not hesitate to use the same ring when he married a second wife. The saint's reaction was not long in coming, as the woman's skin began to swell, and unbearable pain gripped her. Ostren and his new wife visited the saint's residence, asking for forgiveness for their actions, and on the third night, while the weeping woman was blowing her nose, the ring flew off her finger, without leaving a scratch, as if it had been fired from the muzzle of a cannon. And not far from where she stood, a deep crack opened in the wall. In the 10th century, the monks of Konk cut the saint's body in two, and placed her skull for safekeeping in the statue of the holy relics.

The magnificent statue of Sainte-Foy

A statue of the saint, made of gold-plated wood, with four large crystal balls adorning the corners of the chair on which she sits. Spectacular earrings dangle from her ears, a huge crown adorns her head, and a golden robe wraps her from neck to ankle. The statue is studded with amulets and countless gemstones, many of which were donated over the years by pilgrims who visited the site, hoping for miracles in return. The slightly masculine face of the holy girl, staring bravely at the onlookers, has led to a sharp debate. Reconstructions have suggested that the figure's head was actually made up of parts of a Roman soldier's helmet. Several researchers have even gone so far as to claim that it is a portrait of one of the Roman emperors, while Thomas Hobbing (former director of the Metropolitan Museum) believes that it is probably the death mask of Charlemagne.

One way or another, it is generally agreed that the statue of Saint Foy is probably one of the few of its kind to have survived from those statues that were common in the Middle Ages. The statue of the holy relic not only emphasizes the high level of art of the Middle Ages, but also the importance of the relics of saints and their cult. In addition to the statue of Saint Foy, the church contains many other rare and valuable treasures from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Keep in mind that the statue itself is no longer displayed in the church, but in the museum next to the cloister, and every year on October 6, the feast day of Foy, it is presented to visitors in an impressive procession.

It is worth adding that the Church of Sainte-Foy itself is an excellent example of Romanesque art and architecture. The church is worth seeing for its beautiful stained glass windows, depicting scenes from the life of the saint, but the highlight and one of the pinnacles of medieval sculpture is the tympanum depicting the Last Judgment. (It is definitely worthy of a separate post.)