October 9
In the third century, Saint Denis was the first bishop of Paris. He was sent from Italy to convert Gaul, which we know now as France. At that time, Gaul was part of the Roman Empire. Shortly after the year 250, Emperor Decius of Rome began a persecution of Christians, and Denis was decapitated during this persecution. Denis was martyred on the highest hill in Paris, which is now known as Montmartre (meaning “the martyrs’ mountain”).
A chapel was later built over his burial site, which later became the Abbey of Saint-Denis and the Basilica of Saint-Denis. This basilica became the burial place for the kings of France. This basilica was constructed with the support of Saint Genevieve (another patron saint of Paris) and the people of Paris. Around this complex grew the French city of Saint-Denis, which is now a suburb of Paris.
Montmartre continued to be a sacred place for the city of Paris. In 1134, King Louis VI built the church of Saint Pierre as part of the Royal Abbey of Montmartre, a monastery of the Benedictine order. The church of Saint Pierre was the church chosen by Saint Ignatius Loyola and five companions, on August 15, 1534, as the place in which to begin the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). They took their vows in the Martyrium of Saint Denis, a small chapel within this church. And so the martyrdom of Saint Denis blessed a new community in the Church, many centuries later. The Royal Abbey of Montmartre was destroyed in 1790, during the French Revolution. The church of Saint Pierre, with its chapel honoring Saint Denis, was spared. It still exists today. In the twenty-first century, the name of Saint Denis, who was martyred in the third century, is still remembered and honored there.
(Image © public domain, Getty Museum, via rawpixel)