Sainte Pélagie

Saint Pelagia, known as Pelagia of Jerusalem, was a courtesan who lived in Antioch at the time of John Chrysostom. I remember," he says in his 60th homily on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, "that when I was young, she used to appear in the theatre with great fanfare and that she was the talk of the town ... We know how many families she ruined and how many young men she surprised ... Even the empress's brother let himself be surprised ... ". And then, one day, she converted and trampled underfoot all these enchantments of the devil. She did penance, was baptised and lived among pious and austere virgins, refusing to see her former lovers again, even if they wanted to learn holy things from her. Her relics are said to have been brought to Jouarre in the Seine and Marne. She is the patron saint of actors!