Happy St Devote Day!

Today is the feast day of St Devote, patron saint of Monaco and the House of Grimaldi. The celebrations are already underway and TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene participated in the traditional boat burning which is done in commemoration of the historic tradition that a thief had his boat burned after trying to steal the relics of St Devote.

St Devote, pray for us, pray for Monaco and pray for the House of Grimaldi

Ancestral History and a Pilgrimage

Recently, HSH Prince Albert II was in France visiting one of the former estates of the Grimaldi; the former Duchy of Valentinois (Duke of Valentinois still being one of the titles of the prince). In Chabeuil the Sovereign Prince visited the old Hotel des Princes and opened the Place "Marie-Pelline Grimaldi of Monaco, maid of Chabeuil". Marie-Pelline was the daughter of Prince Antoine I of Monaco and gained lasting fame thanks to the harpsichord piece written for her by Francois Couperin. Prince Albert II visited some other historic villages and landmarks in the area, met with local officials and even took the "Promenade des Princes de Monaco" in Buis-les-Baronnies as well as attending the medieval festival in Crest (bet that was fun). The Duchy of Valentinois was ceded to the House of Grimaldi a year after the Treaty of Peronne in 1641 between King Louis XIII of France and Prince Honore II of Monaco which ended the Spanish protectorate over Monaco and by which the Kingdom of France recognized and guaranteed the independence of the Principality. Although the title is still retained, the actual Duchy of Valentinois was lost to the Prince of Monaco during the French Revolution and the abolition of the Bourbon monarchy.

On Tuesday TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene visited the French island of Corsica on a pilgrimage to Bastia honoring St Devote, the patron saint of Monaco and the House of Grimaldi. St Devote is also patron saint of Corsica and Monegasque survival of a French-Corsican attack on the tiny country is attributed to the miraculous intervention of St Devote who is said to have appeared over the Monegasque battlements to reprimand the attackers, particularly the Corsicans who so revere her.

St Devote Celebrations

Thursday was St Devote Day in Monaco and the Grimaldis were out in force:

Princess Charlene was in fine form for her first St Devote Day as Princess

The Prince and Princess of Monaco cross themselves as the procession passes before the palace, bearing the relics of St Devote, the patron saint of Monaco and the Grimaldis. The faithful family dog "Mila" can just be seen peeking through the balcony.

Archbishop Bernard Barsi of Monaco greets the Princely Couple after the St Devote mass

Princess Alexandra and Princess Caroline of Hanover join Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II for the final festivities of the day at the seaside.



Finally, like every St Devote Day, it all ends with a good ol' Monegasque boat burning! This tradition goes back hundreds of years when an attempt was made to steal the relics of St Devote, but it didn't work and the perpetrator ended up having his boat burned. For more information about the patron saint of Monaco and the House of Grimaldi read about Saint Devote.



Honoring Saint Devote

HSH Prince Albert II, joined by fiance Charlene Wittstock, sets fire to a boat to be cast out to sea in the traditional ceremony closing the days festivities honoring St Devote, patron of Monaco and the House of Grimaldi. This particular tradition dates back to 1924 when first performed by Prince Louis II (Albert's great-grandfather). The event commemorates the theft of the relics of St Devote with the robber trying to escape by boat only to be captured by local fishermen and brought back to shore. His boat was then burned as an offering. HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover was also present for the festivities, making it a much more 'family affair' than was the case last year.

Charlene Celebrates St Devote

Showing again how Charlene is becoming more and more an official member of the family in the lead-up to their wedding, today Charlene joined in the official celebrations marking the feast of St Devote, patron saint of Monaco and special protector of the Princely Family. Dressing very traditionally (good to see) Charlene joined her Prince at St Nicholas Cathedral for mass. It was expected the couple would marry in this cathedral as Rainier III and Grace did but it was announced they would instead have an outdoor wedding at the palace. Armani has also said he will be designing the wedding gown. In any event, it is good to see Charlene taking part in the traditional life of Monaco and becoming more involved with Monegasque culture as she prepares to become Princess of this jewel on the Mediterranean.

A mantilla at church always looks good to me.
Charlene and Prince Albert II at mass

The Prince and future Princess of Monaco greet the crowds at the palace gathered to honor their patron Saint Devote.

A Solitary Prince on St Devote Day

Another year's Feast of St Devote has come and gone and much of the talk has been focused on who was not to be seen rather than who was. It was a very solitary Sovereign Prince Albert II attending the high mass and other of the day's festivities. Of course, few could question the absence of HRH the Princess of Hanover given all that she has been going through recently but it was rather disappointing not to see the Casiraghi trio -the young faces of Monaco's future or the smiling face of HSH Princess Stephanie. Their presence was not essential or required of course, but it would have been much more satisfying to see more of a family occasion made of the event. Aside from being patroness of Monaco, St Devote is also, after all, the special spiritual protector of the Princely Family. It is, perhaps, on such occasions as this that Prince Albert's lack of a family of his own is so especially evident. Events such as this seemed to have a different sort of feeling in the old days when Prince Rainier III, Princess Grace and the children were all on hand. One cannot criticize the lack of such a presence these days but it is noticed and felt nonetheless. Again, Princess Caroline's absence can be well understood, but given that in the absence of any heirs from Albert it is Andrea Casiraghi who will one day be Sovereign Prince of Monaco, his presence at least would have been a good sign that he is taking care to prepare for that eventuality. In any event, at least everything went off without a hitch and all can join in a prayer to St Devote for the continued protection and prosperity of the Principality of Monaco and the Princely Family. Vive l'Monaco!

Feast of Saint Devote

Today is the official feast of St Devote, patron saint of Monaco, and the festivities are well under way. Last night HSH Prince Albert II participated in the traditional ceremony which starts with a torch-lit procession ending with a small religious ceremony and blessing by the Catholic prelate of Monaco with the Sovereign Prince and others setting fire to a boat resting on a stake adorned with olive, pine and laurel branches at Port Hercules. This commemorates the events of 2,000 years ago when a boat carrying the body of St Devote was guided by the Holy Spirit to the port of Monaco and more particularly a latter attempt to steal the relics of St Devote which was miraculously stopped and the boat of the robbers burned. This morning the relics of St Devote will be brought out for veneration and the Princely Family will attend a Pontifical High Mass in honor of St Devote followed by a religious procession. To wrap it all up the usual fireworks display will be held tonight. Despite all the changes of the modern world the Catholic roots and traditions of Monaco are maintained. The boat burning ceremony is a slightly more recent touch being started in 1924 by HSH Prince Louis II. For more information on the life of St Devote and her history of veneration in Monaco read her post here.

Grimaldi Goings-On

Festivities get underway today in the Principality of Monaco for the Feast of St Devote, patron saint of Monaco and the Princely Family, which will last for two days, most of the 'main events' coming tomorrow on the official feast day. St Devote was from Corsica, a young Christian girl, martyred about 304 and her remains were put on a boat which drifted into the harbor of Monaco. Over time St Devote became recognized as the patron saint of both Corsica and Monaco with great devotion to her in the principality. As with many of the early Christian writers, some are now questioning whether the story of St Devote is true or if it was invented to simply provide some Christian roots to an area lacking them. Such speculations would not be so odd were not some of them coming from the Church itself. In any event, there is probably no more anticipated event other than National Day than the Feast of St Devote in Monaco.

The United Nations has declared 2010 International Biodiversity Year and Monaco's Uber-Green Prince has charged into the year taking the UN campaign very seriously. Monaco, the Princely Government, the Prince Albert II Foundation, the Oceanographic Institute and the Prince Albert I Foundation have all been charged with taking part in the campaign to preserve all forms of life which include the creation of new artificial reefs off the coast of Monaco to preserve fragile marine life in these areas.
Charlotte Casiraghi is still the subject of rumors, one being an old favorite recently kicked around again, that she and current boyfriend Alex Dellal, grandson of the London-based billionaire "Black Jack" Dellal. These rumors first surfaced in the usual places last year, of course with nothing to back them up. There has been no evidence that Charlotte is engaged and now would certainly seem like an odd time for her to take the plunge considering all that her mother is going through. I've never been a big fan of Alex (I always think Char could do better) but Charlotte has a good head on her shoulders and so far has given us nothing to worry about when it comes to her private life.

St Devote, Patron of Monaco

St Devote or Devota is the patron saint of Monaco and a very dear figure to the Monegasque throughout the history of the country. She was a beautiful and extremely pious 16 year old girl from Corsica who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperors Diocletian and Maximian for refusing to worship the pagan gods. Her body was to be burnt but other Christians placed her remains in a boat and put out to sea bound for Africa. On the way, as she predicted, a dove flew out of her mouth and guided the boat to the port of Hercules in Monaco. The boat was dashed against the rocks and the crew drowned but the body of the saint was recovered by some local fishermen and placed in a Christian chapel that was already there devoted to St George. Later a chapel dedicated to her was built and it still stands in Monaco to this day where flowers planted in her honor bloom out of season on her feast day of January 27.

It was in 1536 that Lord Honore I of Monaco purchased the expanded and rebuilt chapel of St Devote. Over the years many miracles vital to Monaco and the House of Grimaldi have been attributed to St Devote. When the area was threatened by a Muslim invasion the relics of St Devote were taken to Cimiez monastery but were returned to Monaco in grand style by Prince Antonio I. In 1070 a violent storm at sea foiled a plot to steal the relics, the would-be thief was captured, had his ears and nose cut off and his vessel was burned on the beach. The Monegasque prayed for the intercession of St Devote in 1506 when the Genoese attacked Monaco and she appeared wrapped in a cloud which terrified the Genoese and forced their retreat. The ultimate success of the Monegasque in fighting off these efforts and maintaining their independence was attributed to St Devote. In 1581 when Monaco was attacked by the French and Corsicans, St Devote appeared over the walls and reprimanded the attackers, especially the Corsicans for whom she is also the patron saint, for making war on those who had cared for her relics for so long. The attack failed and St Devote was again hailed as the deliverer of Monaco.

St Devote was also credited with ending a plague that broke out in Monaco in 1631 and with ending the Spanish occupation in 1641 after which a captured Spanish galley was renamed in her honor. Prince Honore II had some of the first Monegasque coins minted bear the image of St Devote. In 1924 Prince Louis II began the tradition of setting fire to a boat the night before the feast of St Devote in memory of the thwarting of the effort to steal the relics and a dove is released in honor of the miracle which brought St Devote to the shores of Monaco. The Princely Family and national dignitaries always attend formal services the following day dedicated to St Devote at St Nicholas Cathedral. Every year this service included a formal procession with the relics of St Devote, a blessing of the Princely Palace and all of Monaco and the nearbye sea. Fireworks displays are held in the evening and a formal reception is usually held at the Monte Carlo Opera House. Prince Albert II has carried on this tradition as his father and great-grandfather did before him. St Devote has also been featured on various coins of Monaco as well as on Monaco postage stamps in 1944 and 1992.

Pope Sixtus IV was the first pontiff to issue a papal bull granting certain indulgences for the celebration of St Devote's feast and who contribute to the keep of her chapel.

Lord Charles II of Monaco

Lord Charles II was the son and heir of Lord Honore I of Monaco and his wife Isabella Grimaldi who had four sons and five daughters. Born in 1555 he came to the Monegasque throne upon the death of his father on October 7, 1581. He was 27-years-old and Monaco was still in the midst of being caught between the contesting spheres of influence of France and Spain. Shortly after coming to the throne Monaco was attacked by 500 French and Corsican troops who attempted to storm the Grimaldi stronghold. It was then, in the midst of the attack, that one of the most famous miracles of Monaco occurred. As the story goes, St Devote appeared over the walls of the fortress and began giving the attacking troops a strongly worded lecture, particularly the Corsicans as St Devote is the patron saint of both Corsica and Monaco. The saint shamed the Corsicans for daring to attack the Monegasque who had taken such care of her mortal remains ever since her body arrived on the shores of Monaco. The Corsicans were terrified and withdrew from the attack and the assault soon fell apart, ending in total defeat for the attackers. Charles II gave thanks to the patron saint of Monaco for this intervention but his rule was not to last for very long. Unmarried and childless he died at age 34 after a short reign on May 17, 1589 after which the throne passed to his youngest brother Hercules I.