ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY Saints celebrated on the 13th of May WELCOME! BLESSED GERARD OF VILLAMAGNA, HERMIT Blessed Gerard (Gerardus) was a hermit in Villamagna near Florence, where he enjoys a strong cult even today. Born around the year 1147 of poor country folks, the plague robbed him of his parents and a rich patrician family from Florence took him into their house. When he grew up, he accompanied his guardian on his trip to Jerusalem, was taken prisoner by the Saracens, and after both had suffered much, they were finally ransomed and returned home. Afterwards, Gerard undertook further pilgrimages to the Holy Land and finally entered the Third Order of St Francis. From then on until his death, he served God continually, nursing the sick and supporting the poor with the alms he received. He followed a daily prayer schedule and never cut corners, so that he often prayed through the night because he had not been able to get through all the prayers during the day due t...