Feast Day: October 9

Patron of:

• Against frenzy
• Against headaches
• Against hydrophobia
• Against rabies
• Against strife
• France
• Paris, France
• Possessed people

A missionary to Paris, France, Denis was named the first Bishop of Paris. During the persecution of Valerie's he was arrested and imprisoned by the local Roman governor. He was beheaded in A.D. 258 at Montmartre (the Mount of Martyrs.) According to legend, his decapitated body carried his head, which continued to preach, to an area northeast of Paris where the Benedictine Abbey of St. Denis was founded. Martyred with him were Saint Rusticus and Saint Eleutherius. Saint Denis is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.