France claims Our Lady, Notre Dame, for its principal patroness, together with several other patron saints, including St. Denis, a third-century bishop and martyr. St. Ignatius Loyola and the first Jesuits also had a great devotion to St. Denis. In 1534 they made their first vows together at the place of his martyrdom: Montmartre. So many of the French people were converted by St. Denis that his pagan enemies seized him, brought him to Montmartre, and tortured him at great length, but there was a problem: he wouldn’t die. He was beaten by a band of twelve knights, roasted over coals, starved in a dungeon under chains, thrown to wild beasts and even crucified, but, miraculously, he survived it all. When his enemies had run out of fresh cruelties to inflict, they simply lopped off his head. This last act did not impress St. Denis. He stood himself up, picked up his own head, and walked away. After several miles, he came to a cemetery where he laid himself down and was buried. Shortly after, French Christians built a Church on that site.
That original church was destroyed, but now there stands the great Basilica of St. Denis. Recent excavations confirm the existence of an ancient cemetery underneath. There is also a crypt where the kings and queens of France were buried for many centuries. Their majesties desired to be with St. Denis in the next life. From that same basilica crypt, according to legend, came the royal battle standard, the oriflamme, colored red from the blood of the martyred bishop. As they followed the oriflamme into battle, French soldiers would shout Montjoie Saint Denis! the battle-cry and the motto of the Kingdom of France. So much do the French love their patron.