Catholic Blesseds, Saints, Solemnities & Holy Days

St. Honorina is from France, and is the oldest, most revered virgin martyr in the Normandy area of France.  Not much is really known about her.   Tradition from that area tells us that in the Diocese of Rouen, Honorina was a member of the Calates, who was martyred during the persecutions of Diocletian.  The spot of her martyrdom is said to have been Melamare, France.  Her body was thrown into the Seine and would have drifted to Graville-Sainte-Honorine, where it was collected by Christians and buried in a tomb. 

Another tradition holds that she was martyred at Coulonces.  Other traditions place Honorina’s martydom in the Pays d’ Auge, where several villages bear her name.  In 876 with the coast threatened by the Normans, the monks guarding her relics moved them closer to the interior, at the Confluence of the Seine and the Oise, placing them in the Chapel associated with a fortress.  In 1082, the castle of Conflans was destroyed during a siege.  The Monks therefore decided to build a Church outside of the town walls, dedicated to Honorina.  Her relics were transported solemnly in the presence of the Bishop of Paris.  The town to this day is called Conflans-Sante-Honorine.  

A Confraternity was founded in her honor in years later, and special indulgences were approved for those that venerate her.  St. Honorina is the Patron Saint of Boatmen, Sailors, and Ships, since Conflans-Sainte-Honorine became a port of arrival for the tugs that travel on the rivers and canals of northern France.  Prisoners who were liberated thanks to the intercession of St. Honorina brought their chains in thanksgiving.  There are several French towns that are named Sainte-Honorine to this day.