Saint Fara

Fara, also called Burgundofara, was born around 595 into a noble family near Meaux, east of Paris. As a girl she was blessed by the Irish missionary Saint Columbanus and set her heart on religious life, but her father wanted her to marry, and she had to stand firm, even taking refuge in a church, before he gave his consent. Around 620 she founded a monastery on family land at a place later called Faremoutiers, and governed it as abbess for nearly forty years. Under her guidance it became one of the most important monasteries in France, and she died there around 657.

Her relics are kept at Faremoutiers, and she has long been invoked for the healing of eye diseases. She is also the patron of Cinisi, in Sicily.