Saint Honorina (french: Sainte Honorine) is venerated as a saint by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. She is the oldest, most revered virgin martyr in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

area of France but little is known of her. According to a tradition that exists in the

diocese of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Ar ...

, Honorina, a member of the Calates, was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed during the persecutions of Diocletian.Borelli, 2002. The spot of her martyrdom is said to have been

Mélamare Mélamare () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming town in the Pays de Caux, situated some east of Le Havre, near the junction of the D34 and D312 roads. History Tradition ...

between

Lillebonne Lillebonne () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in Northern France. It lies north of the Seine and east of Le Havre. In 2019, it had a population of 8,797. History Before the Roman conquest of Gaul, Iuliobon ...

and

Harfleur Harfleur () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It was the principal seaport in north-western France for six centuries, until Le Havre was built about five kilometres (three miles) downstrea ...

. Her body was thrown into the Seine and would have drifted to Graville-Sainte-Honorine, where it was collected by

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

and buried in a

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

.Borelli, 2002. Another tradition holds that she was martyred at Coulonces. Other traditions place Honorina's martyrdom in the

Pays d'Auge The Pays d'Auge (, literally ''Land of Auge'') is an area in Normandy, straddling the ''départements'' of Calvados and Orne (plus a small part of the territory of Eure). The chief town is Lisieux. Geography Generally it consists of the basin o ...

, where several villages bear her name.

Relics

In 876, with the coast threatened by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

, the monks guarding her

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

moved them closer to the interior, at the confluence of the Seine and the

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,41 ...

, placing them in the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

associated with a fortress. On 21 June 1082 the castle of Conflans was destroyed during a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

. The monks therefore decided to build a church outside of the town walls, dedicated to Honorina. Her relics were transported solemnly in the presence of the bishop of Paris. The town to this day is called

Conflans-Sainte-Honorine Conflans-Sainte-Honorine () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. The commune was originally named for its ge ...

Veneration

A confraternity was founded in her honor in later years, and special

indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...

associated with her cult were also approved. Saint Honorina is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of boatmen, since Conflans-Sainte-Honorine became a port of arrival for the tugs that travel on the rivers and canals of northern France.Borelli, 2002. Prisoners who were liberated thanks to the divine intercession of Saint Honorina brought their chains as an

ex-voto An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or to a divinity; the term is usually restricted to Christian examples. It is given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ''ex voto suscepto'', "from the vow made") or in gratitude o ...

. A regional pilgrimage, on Ascension Day, developed thanks to the monks of the priory of Conflans, who were associated with Bec Abbey. There are several French towns that are named Sainte-Honorine.

Notes

References

External links

* Honorine de Graville at the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has articl ...

Patron Saints: HonorinaCarholic Online entry on Saint Honorina
(copied from Wikipedia) {{authority control People from Normandy 3rd-century births 303 deaths 3rd-century Roman women 4th-century Roman women 4th-century Christian saints 4th-century Christian martyrs Gallo-Roman saints Late Ancient Christian female saints