Saint Parascheva of Iași

Born in Epibatai near Constantinople in the 11th century to a devout noble family, Parascheva felt called from childhood to give everything away for Christ and the destitute. Following the death of her parents, she distributed her entire inheritance to the poor and retreated to the wilderness of Judea and the Holy Land to devote herself to unceasing prayer and fasting. At twenty-five, an angel revealed that she should return to her homeland to give her soul to God in humble obscurity. She was laid to rest as an unknown ascetic, yet centuries later her incorrupt body was discovered radiating heavenly fragrance and performing countless healings. In 1641, her holy relics were translated to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Iași (Romania), where they remain enshrined. Every October 14, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gather from all across Europe to venerate her shrine with oceans of votive candles illuminating the sacred night.