3 January 429

Bishop Violates Saint

In 1788 the French atheist Sylvain Maréchal wrote an almanac in which he proposed to replace the saint's days with days named after benefactors of humanity. Two years later Maréchal once again ridiculed the saints in his Nouvelle Légende dorée ou dictionnaire des saintes. Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris' day, is on 3 January. Maréchal suggests in a roundabout way that young Geneviève was violated by a bishop shortly before or after he had her swear to remain a virgin forever. This would explain why she went to stay with her aunt in Paris some nine months later. During her stay in Paris a 'mysterious disease' befell her and she totally disappeared for three days.
The IISH holds one of the largest collections of Maréchal's writings.

See also:

•  Search IISH collections and databases for 'Sylvain Maréchal'
•  Sylvain Maréchal - brief biography and texts

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