Every May 24, a dark wood statue leaves the crypt of a fortified church in the south of France. It descends to the Mediterranean carried on shoulders, escorted by knights. It is the feast of Saint Sarah Kali, the patron saint of the Romani people, and the scene has repeated for almost a century in the small Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
This article tells her story: the legend in its versions, the sanctuary in Camargue, the reason why the Church never canonized her, and the path that devotion took to Brazil.
Who was Saint Sarah Kali
Sara is a figure of the Provençal popular tradition, linked to the legend of the Three Marys. It is told that Maria Jacobé, Maria Salomé, and a group of followers were expelled from Palestine after the crucifixion and cast into the sea in a boat without oars. The boat supposedly reached the coast of Camargue.
The epithet Kali means "black" in the Romani language, and comes from the dark complexion of the statue venerated in the crypt. You also find the forms Sara la Kali, Sara a Negra, and Sara la Noire.
The statue stays under the choir of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer church, surrounded by candles. It appears covered by dozens of colorful cloaks, left by devotees as ex-votos, in the same logic of gratitude that moves any vow to a saint.
Popular devotion invokes her as the protector of the Romani people, of women who wish to become pregnant, of those who are far from home, and of those who see themselves without a way out.
The three versions of the legend
The story of Sara is not in the canonical gospels, and there is no single version. Three readings coexist, and it is worth knowing all of them.
- Catholic Provençal version: Sara was the Egyptian servant who accompanied the Marys on the crossing and disembarked with them.
- Romani version: Sara was not a servant. She was a woman of the place itself, a leader of her people, who recognized the Marias and welcomed them on the beach.
- Syncretic hypothesis: some researchers suggest that Sara a Negra would be a Christianization of Kali, a deity from the Hindu pantheon, brought in the cultural memory of the migration from northern India.
This third reading is a disputed hypothesis, not an established fact. The coincidence between the Romani epithet and the name of the goddess fuels the debate, but the two explanations are not confused.
It is worth noting what the documentation shows. The first known written mention of Sara appears in 1521, and there is no firm trace of the worship as we know it before the 19th century.
Did the Church canonize Saint Sarah Kali?
No. Sara is not canonized, she is not in the Roman Martyrology and she does not appear in the liturgical calendar. Local Catholic tradition presents her as a companion or servant of the Marias, and nothing more.
This does not mean that the Church prohibits devotion. Popular veneration continues freely, and the relationship improved in stages:
In 1934, Archbishop Emmanuel Coste prohibited the Romani from carrying the statue of Sara in the procession. Permission came later, under Archbishop Clément Roques, and on May 24, 1935, the statue went to the sea carried by them.
Behind this turnaround appears the name of Marquis Folco de Baroncelli-Javon. He orchestrated the inclusion of the Romani in the pilgrimage between the end of the 19th century and the 1930s.
Thousands of popular devotions live exactly in this space, between the faith of the people and the official record. It is the same ground for so many Brazilian devotions to black saints, as seen in the profile of Saint Benedict.
The pilgrimage of May 24 and 25
The festival takes place in the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in Camargue, a region of marshes and horses in the Rhône River delta. The pilgrims arrive over several days, and the official calendar of the sanctuary town opens the programming well before the central date.
The itinerary for the two main days is as follows:
- May 24: morning mass, departure of the statue of Sara from the crypt in the afternoon and procession to the beach.
- By the seaside: the statue enters partially into the water, escorted by the gardians, the knights of Camargue.
- May 25: the procession is repeated, this time with the statues of Maria Jacobé and Maria Salomé.
The sanctuary was consolidated well before that. The relics attributed to the two Marias were elevated on December 4, 1448, and it is this older devotion that gives origin to the name of the town.
From the south of France to Brazil: National Romani Day
In Brazil, Sara's date gained civil weight. A presidential decree signed on May 25, 2006, instituted the National Romani Day, celebrated every May 24 precisely because it is the day dedicated to her. The first official celebration took place in 2007.
The Romani peoples in Brazil do not form a single block. It is common to speak of three groups:
- Calon: majority in the country, with an Iberian trajectory. Families were deported from Portugal to Brazil starting in 1574.
- Rom: majority group in central and eastern Europe, also present here.
- Sinti: concentrated mainly in Germany, Italy, and France.
There is no reliable census of this population, and the estimates cited by researchers and the press vary between 500,000 and 1 million people.
The technical term for racism directed at these peoples is antiziganism (anti-Romani racism), and it is not a thing of the past. Romani researchers point to the persistence of prejudice in access to public services, in addition to the weight of the fictional imaginary that reduces entire families to caravan, tent, and divination.
Saint Sarah and the Romani spirits (entidades ciganas) of Umbanda
This is where the most common confusion lies, and the boundary needs to be clear.
Saint Sarah Kali is a figure of popular French Catholic devotion. In Brazilian Umbanda, she was welcomed as a symbolic protector of the Oriente Line. This is an encounter of faiths, not an equivalence.
No one incorporates Saint Sarah. She is not a spirit guide, she is not a spirit of ritual work, and she is not an orixá (orisha). The Romani women and men who descend in the giras are spirits of Umbanda, with their own names, pontos, and forms of action, a subject treated in Romani in Umbanda. In houses studied by researchers, the statue of Saint Sarah appears on the altar of the Romani festival, along with the Romani table (mesa cigana).
Also, do not confuse the devotion with the action of pombagira cigana, who belongs to another line and another ritual logic.
Syncretism, here as in any case, works as a historical strategy of encounter between peoples, and not as a sign of equality between distinct traditions.
Frequently asked questions
Is Saint Sarah Kali recognized by the Catholic Church?
She is not canonized and does not appear in the Roman Martyrology or the liturgical calendar. Popular veneration, however, was never prohibited. Since 1935, the local clergy has officially participated in the procession in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, after a period of prohibition in the previous year.
What is the day of Saint Sarah Kali?
The day of May 24, when the statue leaves the crypt and is taken to the sea. On the 25th, the procession is repeated with the statues of Maria Jacobé and Maria Salomé. In Brazil, May 24 also marks the National Romani Day (Dia Nacional do Cigano), by decree of 2006.
Why is Saint Sarah called Kali?
Kali means "black" in the Romani language, and the epithet comes from the dark complexion of the wooden statue venerated in the French crypt. The similarity with the name of the Hindu goddess Kali fuels a hypothesis by researchers about Indian origin, which remains under dispute.
Where is the sanctuary of Saint Sarah Kali?
In the crypt under the choir of the fortified church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer, in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in the Camargue region, southern France. The statue is surrounded by candles and covered by cloaks left by devotees as a thank you.
Is there an official prayer for Saint Sarah Kali?
There is no official text approved by the Church. The prayers that circulate on the internet usually come from commercial portals, without authorship or date. The devotion is expressed in other ways: the greeting "Hail Saint Sarah Kali", the lit candle, and the gesture of leaving a cloak next to the statue.
Where to buy devotion items for Saint Sarah Kali
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find what strengthens devotion at home:
- Resin statues of Saint Sarah Kali: in various sizes, for a home altar
- Colored candles: white, red, gold, and orange, in seven-day and votive sizes
- Incense and burners: myrrh, jasmine, rosemary, clove, and cinnamon
- Fabrics and robes: for the gesture of covering the statue, in the spirit of the crypt rite
- Rosaries and medals: for those who accompany the devotion with the rosary
Visit our shop in Extrema, Minas Gerais or contact us on WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil.
References
- Wikipedia: Sara Kali entry, with the legend of the Marias and her status outside the Roman Martyrology
- French Wikipedia: entry about the pilgrimage of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, with the 1934 prohibition and the 1935 authorization
- INA, Institut National de l’Audiovisuel: French public audiovisual collection about the procession of the Romani people to the sea
- PROAFE, Universidade Federal do Paraná: institutional page about the National Day of Romani Peoples, the 2006 decree and anti-Romani racism
