Despite the fact that much about St. Giles is shrouded in mystery, we can
say that he was one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages.
Likely, he was born in the first half of the 7th century in southeastern
France. That is where he built a monastery that became a popular
stopping-off point for pilgrims making their way to Compostela in Spain and
the Holy Land.
In England, many ancient churches and hospitals were dedicated to Giles.
One of the sections of the city of Brussels is named after him. In Germany,
Giles was included among the so-called 14 Holy Helpers, a popular group of
saints to whom people prayed, especially for recovery from disease and for
strength at the hour of death. Also among the 14 were Sts. Christopher,
Barbara and Blase. Interestingly, Giles was the only non-martyr among them.
Devotion to the "Holy Helpers" was especially strong in parts of Germany and
in Hungary and Sweden. Such devotion made his popularity spread. Giles was
soon invoked as the patron of the poor and the disabled.
The pilgrimage center that once drew so many fell into disrepair some
centuries after Giles' death.
Subscribe to the “Saint of the Day” feeds
from our sister site, FranciscanRadio.org:
Subscribe with:
iTunes or
something else.
How?
Subscribe to this
RSS feed.
How?
Subscribe to "Saint of the Day" at
Twitter.com.
Help others discover “Saint of the Day” podcast. Vote for us at Podcast Alley!
