Mary Hudson, Dionysus and St. Denis

Mary Hudson was born on Oct 9, which is also St. Denis and Companions’ Day in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.  We’re not Catholic, but since I do study religion (particularly ancient religion), I thought this was interesting:

This martyr and patron of France is traditionally held to have been the first bishop of Paris. His popularity is due to a series of legends, especially those connecting him with the great abbey church of St. Denis in Paris. He was for a time confused with the writer now called Pseudo-Dionysius.

The best hypothesis contends that Denis was sent to Gaul from Rome in the third century and beheaded in the persecution under Valerius in 258.

According to one of the legends, after he was martyred on Montmartre (literally, "mountain of martyrs") in Paris, he carried his head to a village northeast of the city. St. Genevieve built a basilica over his tomb at the beginning of the sixth century.

St. Denis and Companions – Saint of the Day – American Catholic

And here’s more about St. Denis from Wikipedia (he seemed to be quit head strong):

Saint Denis of Paris (also called Dionysius, Dennis, or Denys) is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was bishop of Paris. He was martyred in approximately 250, and is venerated especially in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France and one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The modern name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius, "servant of Dionysus"

According to the Golden Legend, after his head was chopped off, Denis picked it up and walked several miles, preaching a sermon the entire way.[5] The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was made into a small shrine that developed into the Saint Denis Basilica, which became the burial place for the kings of France. Another account has his corpse being thrown in the Seine, but recovered and buried later that night by his converts.[2]

Specifically, Denis is invoked against diabolical possession and headaches.[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis

OK, back to changing diapers!

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