ST GEROLD, MARTYR - 7 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER 

Saints celebrated on the 7th of October

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 GEROLD, MARTYR 

Saint Gerold (Giroaldus) was born in Cologne in 1201. His parents were of noble descent, but as a result of a string of misfortunes, they got into extremely poor circumstances. Besides, he received a very pious upbringing from them. 

After he had reached maturity, he decided to live life completely dead to this world, hidden in God. 

His devotion and penance drove him to visit the most famous pilgrimage sites on earth. He had already been to Rome and Compostella and was about to prepare for a pilgrimage to Palestine when he was killed by robbers near the village of Mamica on the river Po, not far from Cremona. 

As his grave shone with miracles, he soon became an object of public veneration. The city of Cologne received relics of the saint from Pope Innocent X in 1652, which rest in the Jesuit church there. 

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)