BLESSED GILES OF ASSISI, RELIGIOUS - 23 APRIL

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN APRIL

Saints celebrated on the 23rd of April

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BLESSED GILES OF ASSISI, RELIGIOUS

Blessed Giles (Aegidius), the third companion of St Francis, was born in Assisi, where he also lived in the greatest simplicity of heart and godliness. He soon (according to Bernard von Quintavalle and Peter Cathani) most humbly asked St Francis of Assisi to be included among the number of his disciples. On the same day they met a poor woman who was begging for help. St Francis  then said to Giles: "Give your coat to this poor lady," and the disciple happily obeyed his master's command. The next day Giles received the religious habit. This happened in the year 1209. 

Later he travelled to Compostella and, on his return to Rome, plied his trade. From there he made a journey to the Holy Land and sought to convert the Saracens. When he returned to Italy, he stayed first at Fabriano in the Marche of Ancona, and then at Rieti  Cardinal Tusculano. He was often in ecstasy, especially in the presence of Pope Gregory IX. He had the gift of divination and possessed an extraordinary mind, but was also frequently tempted by the devil. He died at Perugia (Perosa) in Umbria in 1272 (not 1262, as the Bollandist Papebroch* claims), and was buried there.

Immediately after his death his tomb became very famous by the public devotion of the people, and for some time Giles was venerated as a saint in the church of his Order; but this devotion gradually decreased with time, which may perhaps be due to the fact that his veneration had not yet been confirmed by the Holy See. His grave is still visited, however, and there is an altar on it, on which a solemn office is held on April 23. Papebroch* assigns to him the title "blessed" as the antiquity of public veneration of Giles is beyond all doubt.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1858)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of the blessed Giles may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.