Saint Reparata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saint Reparata | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Caesarea Maritima, Palestine |
| Died | 3rd century |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Major shrine | Claimed by Nice Cathedral, to which relics were translated in 1690 |
| Feast | 8 October |
| Attributes | Standing alone or near the Madonna, bearing the crown and palm as martyr; dove; banner with red cross on white ground; sometimes with Saint Ansanus[1] |
| Patronage | Nice; Florence |
 Saints Portal |
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Saint Reparata (Italian: Santa Reparata, French: Sainte Réparate) was a third century Christian virgin and martyr, possibly mythical, of Caesarea in Palestine. Her legend states that she was an eleven year-old girl[2] who was arrested for her faith and tortured during the persecution of Decius.[3]
She was tossed into a furnace but emerged unharmed. When she again refused to apostatize, she was beheaded.[4] Her legend states that as she fell dead, her spirit emerged from her body in the form a dove.[5] Later elaborations of her legend state that her body was laid in a boat and blown by the breath of angels to the bay now known as the Baie des Anges in Nice. A similar tale is associated with the legends of Saint Restituta; Saint Devota, patroness of Monaco and Corsica; and Saint Torpes, patron of Nice.
[edit] Veneration
Evidence of her cult does not exist before the ninth century, when her name appears in the martyrology of Bede.[6] She is not mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea, who recorded the martyrdoms that took place in the Holy Land during the 3rd century.[7]
Her cult became widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages, as evidenced by the multiple Passiones found in various parts of the continent -especially Italy, where her cult was particularly popular in Florence, Atri, Naples, and Chieti.[8] Numerous painters created depictions of her, including Fra Bartolomeo, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Pisano, Domenico Passignano, and Bernardo Daddi.[9][10]
She remained chief patroness of Florence until the High Middle Ages; Anna Jameson writes that “about 1298 she appears to have been deposed from her dignity as sole patroness; the city was placed under the immediate tutelage of the Virgin and St. John the Baptist.”[11]
She is the patron saint of Nice and a co-patron saint of Florence (with Saint Zenobius). The former cathedral of Santa Reparata in Florence was dedicated to her. Sainte-Réparate Cathedral, in Nice, is also dedicated to her.
[edit] References
- ^ Anna Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art (Longman, Brown, Green, 1857), 648.
- ^ Some sources say she was twelve, or twenty years-old. See http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4586
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Reparata
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Reparata
- ^ Anna Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art (Longman, Brown, Green, 1857), 648.
- ^ Santa Reparata di Cesarea di Palestina
- ^ Santa Reparata di Cesarea di Palestina
- ^ Santa Reparata di Cesarea di Palestina
- ^ The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- ^ Santa Reparata di Cesarea di Palestina
- ^ Anna Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art (Longman, Brown, Green, 1857), 648.
