ST GOERICUS, BISHOP OF METZ - 19 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 19th of September

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST GOERICUS, BISHOP OF METZ

Saint Goericus (Abbo), Bishop of Metz, was born from one of the most distinguished families in Aquitaine.

He initially held a high office and had two daughters, named Pretia and Victorina, from a happy and pious marriage. 

As time went on, he gradually went blind. In his distress he went with his daughters on a pilgrimage to the relics of St Stephen in Metz. There he miraculously regained his sight. 

Soon after, St Arnulphus of Metz [his uncle] retired from his episcopal office (in the year 625 or 629), and the prevailing choice was for St Goericus to become his successor. 

St Goericus founded a nunnery at Epinal, to which he placed his daughter Pretia as abbess. 

His life was very strict; often he ate no food for two or three days. He led his flock for eighteen years and died in 647, or (according to the Bollandists) 643. 

According to Migne, he is also called Gury. He is usually depicted praying; an angel hovers in front of him, wearing a veil with two eyes in his hands. The explanation of the picture is evident from his life.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858 - 🎨 St Goericus with his two daughters)