Saint Avoye of Sicily, also known as Saint Auré or Saint Ewe, was a

Christian martyr In Christianity, a martyr is a person who was killed for their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In the years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake, or ...

from the 3rd century, who was originally from Sicily, Italy. She died in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France around

234 __NOTOC__ Year 234 (Roman numerals, CCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pupienus and Sulla (or, less frequently, year 987 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

, according to tradition. She is recognized as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Biography

The most common interpretation of her life is that Saint Avoye was born in Sicily, to her father, Quintien, who was a Sicilian

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

, and to her mother, Gérasine, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, who was originally from the province of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. Avoye had eight siblings, both brothers and sisters. After praying for her beauty to be taken away so that she could remain a virgin, Avoye became a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

so as to avoid temptation and potential suitors. During the year of her death, Avoye went to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

to assist her aunt

Saint Ursula Ursula (Latin for 'little she-bear') was a Romano-British virgin and martyr possibly of royal origin. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. Her feast day in the pre-1970 G ...

at her wedding. There, Avoye discovered that Ursula had also consecrated herself to God and intended to remain a virgin. The two fled to

Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...

, where Ursula and her companions were martyred by a band of barbarians. Avoye was spared from death by a barbarian who intended to marry her; however, Avoye refused, and was then imprisoned and deprived of food. She began to see weekly apparitions of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, who brought her food which was "kneaded by the angels themselves." Avoye was liberated from prison in an unknown manner, where she went to Boulogne-sur-Mer and was rediscovered by the barbarians, tortured, and martyred via decapitation. There exist numerous other versions of the tradition of Saint Avoye, one of which alleges she was from England and escaped to Pluneret to become a hermit, whilst fleeing a Saxon whom her father wanted her to marry. Her father pursued her across the ocean, but she arrived in France safely.

Cult

Saint Avoye's cult can be found in the church of Chapelle Sainte-Avoye de Plumeret which is in

Morbihan The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...

, and also in St. Ewe, Cornwall, a village which is named after her. At the chapel in Plumeret, parents frequently bring toddlers and children with developmental delays in motor skills such as speaking and walking, so that their children can be seated in the stone boat of Avoye and blessed. This stone boat is a relic which is relayed in tradition to have carried Avoye across the ocean from France to Cornwall. Her feast day is celebrated on 6 May, however, some sources state that Avoye's feast day is on 2 May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avoye, Saint 3rd-century Christian saints 234 deaths Sicilian saints