On this occasion, as tradition dictates, the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, presented an offering of local products, a token of the loyalty of the people of Nice, during the Holy Mass celebrated by Monsignor André Marceau, Bishop of Nice.
A bit of history…
Saint Reparata is a young Christian, virgin, and martyr, the patron saint of Nice and Florence. Originally from Caesarea in Palestine, she is believed to have died in 250, under the reign of Emperor Decius (249-251), during his brief but violent persecution against new religions.
According to tradition, Reparata’s ordeal began with fire, but she was saved by a providential rainstorm.
Her executioners tried to make her swallow boiling pitch, but having miraculously survived this ordeal, she was decapitated. Her body, placed in a boat, drifted on the Mediterranean.
Angels are said to have guided the boat to the shores of Nice, thereby giving, it is said, their name to the Bay of Nice.
The remains of the Saint were buried in a chapel in the old town before being placed in 1690 in the cathedral, consecrated in 1699 and placed under Reparata’s protection.
