St Giles or Aegidius (640-710) hermit
Saint Giles or Aegidius (640-710) was a Christian hermit, originally
from Athens, but associated with Provence and the area around Marseilles
in the south of France.
Many churches throughout Europe are dedicated
to him and he is a patron for works of charity. He is also, partly at
least, an inspiration behind the lay movement of prayer, inter-religious
dialogue and charity called the Community of Sant'Egidio.
From Athens to Marseilles
It is said Giles was
born in Athens, but became so famous for giving alms and working
miracles healing that he sailed to Marseilles in pursuit of peace and
a hermitage. While living as a hermit in the woods near Arles, a deer
chased by a hunting party of the King of the Visigoths ran to him for
refuge. A huntsman shot an arrow at the deer as it escaped into the
bushes, but the arrow hit and wounded the holy man in the foot. In
compensation the king offered Giles land for a monastery. This later
became the famous Benedictine abbey of St-Gilles-du-Gard and a famous
stop on the pilgrim road from Arles to Santiago de Compostela, thus
spreading the saint's reputation.
Patron of difficult confessions
Another story
about St Giles is that Charles Martel had committed the sin of incest
with his sister and was stricken with remorse before his battle with the
Moors at Poitiers. Fearing to confess his sin, he presented himself
before St Giles while the latter was saying Mass. During the Mass an
angel placed on the altar a scroll on which the sin was written and as
the Mass progressed the writing on the scroll gradually faded until it
completly disappeared and Charles Martel felt himself completely
absolved. This has led to St Giles being invoked for help with difficult
confessions.
Reputation and influence
In medieval art he is
depicted with his symbol, the deer. His emblem is also an arrow, and he
is the patron saint of cripples. His feast day is September 1.
Giles also became a patron of beggars, blacksmiths, cripples, lepers
and woods. He is also invoked against cancer, epilepsy, sterility in
women and night terrors and is numbered among the Fourteen Holy Helpers
initially invoked as protection against the Black Death. His cult spread
rapidly throughout Europe. Many churches and monasteries are dedicated
to him in France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Great
Britain. Giles is also the patron saint of the city of Edinburgh,
Scotland, where St. Giles' Cathedral is a prominent landmark.
The
Benedictine monastery in St-Gilles-du-Gard is a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Its west portal is considered one of the finest examples of
Provençal Romanesque.
The Community of Sant'Egidio
In Rome in 1968 a
young 18-year old, Andrea Riccardi, gathered a group of high-school
students like himself, to listen to and practise the Gospel. They
began provide to provide an afternoon school for children in the slums
on the outskirts of Rome. Today it has become a movement of more than
50,000 mostly lay members dedicated to evangelisation, inter-religious
dialogue and charity in more than 70 countries throughout the world.
It has as its centre the Roman Church of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere,
from which it takes its name. Here it maintains a continuous presence of
prayer and welcome for the poor and for pilgrims. In Dublin a small
group of the Sant'Egidio is linked with St Paul’s Church, Smithfield,
Arran Quay, Dublin 7, where they have an 8 pm Sunday evening liturgy and
an outreach to the elderly in the area.
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