Culture

Saint Devota, patron saint of Monaco

Saint Devota — Santa Devota in Monegasque — is the patron saint of Monaco. The martyr is celebrated on January 27 in the Principality.

The legend of Saint Devota dates back to the early 4th century when the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered the persecution of Christians. In Corsica, a Roman province at the time, a young Christian named Devote was tormented and died without renouncing her faith. After her death and to prevent the girl’s body from being burned, Christians took her and placed her on a boat bound for Africa, where they thought she would be buried in a Christian tomb.