Notre-Dame Cathedral is no stranger to disease, plagues and the myriad other challenges humanity has faced during her more than 850-year-existence.

Notre-Dame Cathderal

Over the centuries, Notre-Dame Cathedral has provided people with solace and relief, and even at times she provided a place in which to be cured.

During the Middle Ages, the cathedral served as a hospital for the sick affected by various plagues, sometimes housing as many as 600 patients.

As an important religious center, Notre-Dame de Paris has also been associated with healing miracles, perhaps most powerfully with the miracle attributed to Saint Genevieve in the 12th century.

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Saint Genevieve is the patron saint of Paris. Genevieve (419 – 512 AD) is best known for having saved Paris from Attila the Hun in 451 AD. She was also venerated as a healer, and, in Paris specifically, she was invoked for deliverance from floods and excessive rain.

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As an important figure for Paris, Saint Genevieve is immortalized in many artistic representations. One of the most iconic statues of Saint Genevieve stands above the entry of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

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OUR LADY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT MORE THAN EVER. If you are able, please consider making a donation to the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, to help bring this monument of hope and light back to us.