ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY Saints celebrated on the 5th of January WELCOME! SAINT GERLACH OF HOUTHEM, HERMIT Saint Gerlach (Gerlacus), a hermit and penitent from Belgium, born of noble parents, was trained for military service from an early age. He was suitable for this because of his strong body, his height and his personal courage. Unfortunately, he gave himself over to an exuberant life. His military zeal degenerated into brutality, so that he even mistreated his mother. Excitedly he once watched a knightly tournament, when a messenger interrupted his entertainment by informing Gerlach of the sudden death of his wife at Jülich. This trauma became the reason for his conversion through God's providence. He had arrived at the tournament as a fun-loving knight and departed from it with overwhelming thoughts of penance. From Strahlburg (in what is now the Duchy of Limburg) he set off not long after for a pilgrimage to Rome. Upon arrival in the eternal city he confessed...