Saint Reparata

Who is Saint Reparata?

Saint Reparata was a third-century Christian virgin and martyr, possibly mythical, of Caesarea in Palestine. Sources vary as to her age - from 11 to 20-years old - though the Sainte-Réparte cathedral in Nice gives it as 15. She was arrested for her faith and tortured during the persecution of Decius.

Her persecutors tried to burn her alive, but she was saved by a shower of rain. She was then made to drink boiling pitch. When she again refused to apostatize, she was beheaded. Her legend states that as she fell dead, her spirit emerged from her body in the form a dove. 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.