Page 56 - Foy

RELIQUARY STATUE OF

SAINTE FOY

ABBEY TREASURY- CONQUES
983-1013
This relic was an important religious element and a reliquary statue
might be the most valuable or sacred object in a church. This gold
and jeweled statue of Sainte Foy, thirty-three and a half inches high,
attests to the saint’s value to the congregation. The level of
craftsmanship is very high.

This extraordinary object still exists. It is made of
wood, encased in gold, sparkling with a profusion
of jewels. Stiff, oddly shaped and oddly
proportioned, it has great staring eyes of blue-

black enamel which are totally hypnotic to the
pilgrims who come to contemplate it.

The MAJESTY OF SAINT FOY and many other treasures collected over
the centuries by the monastery are now kept in glass with electronic
burglar alarms.

Today, a deep sleep has fallen on the ancient shrine. Conques is a
lovely little village suspended in time, a genuine relic of ancient days.
Like most remote villages in France, it is inhabited by a handful of
elderly and retired people. The monastic community which once
numbered more than a thousand has shrunk to three brothers of the

Order of the Premontres. These monks guide bus loads of tourist
through the dark underground room where Saint FOY resides.

The record of Saint FOY is one of the very first references in recorded
history where the name FOY appears. It is the story of a twelve-year-
old girl called faith who was martyred by Roman soldiers in 286AD and
because of that became a Saint; SAINT FOY.

Saint Foy 10