Roman Catholics commemorate Saturday, Oct. 9, the memory of San Dionisio (Saint Denis), the first bishop of Paris, France and a martyr of the Christian faith.
A thanksgiving mass will be celebrated at 8 a.m. and will be streamed live through the Facebook page of San Dionisio Sub Parish, popularly known as the Tata Dune Chapel, in San Dionisio, Paranaque City, where the headless image of the miraculous Italian saint serves as an attraction to pilgrims.
Novena masses were held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 8.
The devotion to San Dionisio de Parañaque is widely observed by the residents of Barangay San Dionisio and its neighboring barangays due to the numerous miracles attributed to his intercession.
The venerable image of San Dionisio is a centuries old wooden statue that shows the headless saint holding its decapitated head. Before the pandemic, the traditional ‘comedia’ and the ‘sunduan’ were held on his feast day in Barangay San Dionisio.
St. Dennis was martyred during the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Decius in 251 or Valerian in 258. According to stories, St. Denis was able to pick up his head after his beheading and continued to preach the Gospel until he died upon reaching his diocese.
Considered as the patron saint of Paris, France, San Dionisio was one of the 14 Holy Helpers, a group of saints invoked together to intercede against various diseases. He was martyred and beheaded around the year 275 for his refusal to renounce his faith and for his many conversions. His burial site, the Abbey of St. Denis, has become the burial place for the kings of France.
The feast of San Dionisio was added to the Roman calendar in 1568 by Pope Pius V.