Hello Monaco #13 Winter 2021–2022 | Page 34

DID YOU KNOW ?
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The arrival of the Saint Devote ’ s relics to the ceremony on January 26 , 2021 Процессия с мощами Святой Девоты , 26 января 2021 года
Portrait of Pope Pius VI by Pompeo Batoni ( circa 1775 ) Портрет Папы Пия VI кисти Помпео Батони ( ок . 1775 )
The Chapel of Saint Devote , first mentioned in archives in 1070 , was rebuilt and expanded several times over the centuries . In January 1998 , a monument to Saint Devote with a dove in the palms of her hands , commissioned by Prince Rainier III , was built in front of the chapel .
Saint Devote ’ s Day is celebrated annually for two days . On the morning of January 26 , there is a Solemn Mass in Monegasque in her chapel . In the evening , a procession is crowned with a boat burning and fireworks in Port Hercule . On January 27 , in the morning , another solemn Mass is held in the Principality ’ s main church , the Cathedral of St . Nicholas . In the afternoon , a procession with the Saint ’ s relics goes through the city streets .
POPE PIUS VI TAKEN PRISONER BY FRENCH REPUBLICANS

But did you know that the storm that initially brought Saint Devote to Monaco was not the only bearer of the holy spirit on the winds ..? In 1802 it also brought the embalmed body of Pope Pius VI who similar to Sainte Devote had been persecuted , in his case , taken prisoner by the French Republicans . Pius VI had taken a bold stance against the French Revolution seeing it as a threat to Religious Authority . The Pope had condemned both the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in France and supported a league against the revolution . He issued two briefs — “ Quod aliquantum ” ( 1791 ) and “ Caritas ” ( 1791 ) — to condemn the ecclesiastical reforms that were proposed . It culminated in an official breach with France , particularly after the seizure by the revolutionaries of the Comtat Venaissin , ending 516 years of Papal rule in Avignon .

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