Page 55 - Foy

ten years and so gained the confidence of his superiors with his piety
and zeal they made him the guardian of their most prized treasure, the
tomb of Saint FIDES.

By that time Saint FIDES' name had been Gallicized. It was changed
to FOY or FOI. The young saint had become known as Saint FOY.

One night when all the others were asleep or at prayer, so the story

goes, ARVISCUS broke open the tomb, scooped up the bones of the
Saint FOY, and fled over the hills back to Conques.

The monks of
Conques were
proud of their plan
to steal Saint FOY.

They wrote many
accounts of it in
both verse and
prose which they
called THE FURTIVE
TRANSLATION OF

THE HOLY RELICS.

They reasoned in
their hardheaded,
medieval way that their plan was an act of piety. They claimed that
if Saint FOY did not want her bones removed from Agen, she could
have stopped ARIVISCUS in his tracks.

With Saint FOY’s bones on display miracles began to happen at
Conques. Thousands of pilgrims journeyed to the monastery, many of
them bringing rich gifts for the Saint. The monks decided Saint FOY's
bones needed to be properly housed, so they crafted a 33 inch statue

called the MAJESTY OF SAINT FOY.

Saint Foy 9