Saint Sabina of Troyes

Finally, she arrived at a distance of one mile from the city of Troyes, and, tired from her long journey, she rested; having seen a local man pass by, named Lucerius, she asked him where she might find Savinia n, her b Savinien Brother of Saint Sabina, martyr at Troyes. rother, who had been absent for so long. This man informed her that he had suffered martyrdom during the persecut ion of A Aurélien Gallo-Roman nobleman and ambassador of Clovis. urelian, then he pointed out to her the place of his burial. Saint Savine went to this place, and there, exhausted by the fatigue of the road and desirous of joining her beloved brother in the bosom of God, she began to pray and rendered her soul to God in the midst of the fervor of her orison, at the age of forty-eight, on January 29. Lucerius, having retraced his steps, found her lifeless; he summoned the clergy and had her buried in a suburb of the city, located to the west. A few years later, Maximiniole was buried beside her.

An iron cross placed on the side of the road to Sens indicates, according to tradition, the precise spot where Savine expired. It is called t he Croix-la-Mo Croix-la-Motte Cross marking the place of Saint Savina's death. tte.

The cult of Saint Savine grew in new proportions every day. Towards the middle of the 7th century, Ragnégisil e, the seve Ragnégisile Seventeenth bishop of Troyes, founder of a church for Sabina. nteenth bishop of Troyes, had a church built in her honor in the western suburb of the city, on land that belonged to him. This church no longer exists; the one admired today belongs to the final era of ogival construction. He even wished to rest after his death in the shadow of Savine's protection, and his tomb can still be seen there near the pillar of the pulpit. Saint Frobert, founder of Montier -la-Celle, ob Saint Frobert Founder of Montier-la-Celle. tained the virg in's body for th Montier-la-Celle Monastery that possessed the body of Saint Savina. is monastery, and the church built by Ragnégisile was deprived of its patroness, until, in 1655 and 1657, the monks of Montier-la-Celle and the Carthusians of the Croncels suburb gave a portion of her relics to the parish church of Sainte-Savine, which still celebrates their translation on August 29th of each year.

The church of Troyes observes the office of Saint Savine on January 28th, but the Roman Martyrology mentions her on the following day.

The piety of the faithful has multiplied images of the patron saint in the parish church of Sainte-Savine in Troyes. Sometimes, on a medallion that was once a keystone ornament and is now fixed to the wall on the right side of the altar of the Blessed Virgin, one sees the Saint standing in a glory, holding the child Jesus in her arms; at other times, on another medallion placed to the left of the same altar, one sees her on a journey, searching for her brother Savinian. She holds a long pilgrim's staff in her right hand and a closed book, probably the Gospel, in the other. Her head is covered by a kind of hood, the lower edge of which descends over her shoulders, over her cloak. Maximi niole is ne Maximiniole Foster sister and traveling companion of Saint Savina. ar her and seems to be following her; but she is of smaller stature and wears an apron to mark the difference in their stations. Maximiniole also carries a long travel staff, and her left hand rests on a large purse suspended from her belt.

The cathedral church also wished to preserve for future generations the memory of Saint Savinian's sister, and in the third window, near the choir, one can see Saint Savine, with a staff in one hand and the Gospel in the other. Her cloak is red, and she wears a flowing orange tunic over her white dress.

In the third chapel located to the north of the Sainte-Savine church, a stained-glass window recounts the conver sion of Sabinus Father of Saint Savina and Saint Savinian. Sabinus, the father of the Saint. According to the legend, the pagan, deprived of his two children by the God of the Christians, addressed this prayer to Him:

"If it is You, Almighty God, who reign in heaven and on earth; if there is no other God but You; if You alone have the power to save us, destroy these idols that my hands have fashioned, that until now I have adored, and that have been unable to save me, nor me nor my children."

Suddenly, a sound similar to that of thunder is heard from heaven, and the idols are reduced to dust. Sabinus then turned back from his error, and several witnesses to this prodigy were undeceived and believed in the true God.

Drawn from an ancient Proper of Troyes, printed in 1649, and from the Hagiology of M. Defer.

LIVES OF THE SAINTS. — VOLUME II.