Saint Sarah

This article is about the Romani saint. For other saints of that name, see Saint Sarah (disambiguation).
Saint

Sarah
The shrine of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
BornBerenice Troglodytica
Venerated inFolk Catholicism
Major shrineChurch of the Saintes Maries de la Mer
Feast24 May
PatronageRomani people

Saint Sarah, also known as Sara-la-Kâli ("Sara the Black"; Romani: Sara e Kali), is the patron saint of the Romani people in Folk Catholicism. The center of her veneration is Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a place of pilgrimage for Roma in the Camargue, in Southern France. Legend identifies her as the servant of one of the Three Marys, with whom she is supposed to have arrived in the Camargue.[1] Saint Sarah also shares her name with the Hindu goddess Kali who is a popular deity in northern India from where the Romani people originate. The name "Sara" itself is seen in the appellation of Durga as Kali in the famed text Durgasaptashati.[2] Despite her popular veneration amongst Romani Catholics, she is not considered a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church.[3]

  1. ^ Bart McDowell, Gypsies: Wanderers of the World, pp. 38–57.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "24th May". Catholic Saints Info. Catholic Saints Info. Retrieved 21 September 2024.