Denis, St

First bishop of Paris and one of the patron saints of France, who was martyred by the Romans. His feast day is 9 October.

St Denis is often confused with Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as with the original martyr of the 1st century AD. According to legend, he was sent as a missionary to Gaul in 250, and was beheaded several years later at what is today Montmartre in Paris, during the reign of Emperor Valerian. He is often represented as carrying his head in his hands.