Places associated with Saint Genevieve (or Genovefa), patroness of Paris, whose feast day is January 3. She isregarded, alongside Brigit of Kildare as the most important female saint of medieval times. Historian Lisa M. Bitel argues that Genovefa of Paris and Brigit of Kildare “built Christianity in barbarian Europe” contending that the “histories of these two saints tell us about historical connections between landscape, gender, and religious change. Conversion did not occur merely as a result of missionary preaching, but because many women and men chose to go to new kinds of religious places, use new kinds of symbolic goods, and reinterpret their daily habits in religious context.”
- Mount Saint Genevieve – Paris, France: This hill in Paris overlooking the left bank of the Seine is the historic site where Saint Genevieve is said to have prayed for the salvation of Paris from invasion by Attila the Hun.
- Panthéon – Paris, France in the Latin Quarter, atop the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève: Her relics were transferred to the Panthéon built between 1758 and 1790 at the behest of King Louis XV, but were publicly burnt after the revolution and thrown into the Seine in 1793. A portion of Genevieve’s stone tomb currently resides in a large casket in the church; a smaller reliquary contains the bones of one finger. In 1851, Léon Foucault demonstrated diurnal motion at the Panthéon by suspending a pendulum from the ceiling. Since 1885, the year of Victor Hugo’s death and burial in the Pantheon, it was turned into a mausoleum for the remains of distinguished French citizens, of which 81 have been laid to rest here, including Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile Zola, Alexandre Dumas, Pierre and Marie Curie, Simone Veil and, since 1 November 2020, Maurice Genevoix. Following a major restoration programme, access to the colonnade has now reopened.
- Sainte-Geneviève Abbey site – Paris, France: The Abbey of Saint Genevieve was a centre of religious scholarship in the Middle Ages. The Tour Clovis is all that remains of the site, although a secondary school, the Lycée Henri-IV, was built in part with elements of the abbey buildings.
- Sainte-Geneviève Library – Paris, France: Named after the patron saint of Paris, it is one of the oldest public libraries in France. The former abbey’s library, which had the third-largest collection of books in Europe was transferred here. James Joyce described it as “sheltered from the sin of Paris.”
- Saint Genevieve High School – California, USA: A Catholic high school named in her honour.
- St. Genevieve Church – Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA: A beautiful church that was named after Saint Genevieve.
- National Gallery, London – One of Lucas Cranach’s first commissions for the Saxony electors depicts Saint Genevieve holding the candle that miraculously relit after the devil blew it out while she was praying alone one night. The candle was kept at Notre Dame in Paris and was reputed to have healing powers.
- Nanterre – a small village 7km west of Paris, where Genevieve was born in c. 419 or 422 in to her father, Severus, and her mother, Gerontia, who were of German or possibly Frankish origins.
- Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois Russian Cemetery – Essonne, France: Although not directly associated with the saint, it receives her name because it is located in the town of Sainte Genevieve des Bois.
- St. Genevieve Catholic Church – Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA: This church was named in honour of Saint Genevieve due to her virtuous life and her impact on the Christian faith.
- Saint Genevieve Parish – East Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia, Canada: This Canadian parish was named after the saint and houses a church in her honor.
- St. Genevieve Catholic Church – Florissant, Missouri, USA: A Catholic parish and school named after the saint and serving the local community.
- St. Genevieve Church – Panorama City, California, USA: A Catholic church named in honour of Saint Genevieve, serving the spiritual needs of the Panorama City community.
