Master of Messkirch (fl. 1520–1540),
Der Heiliger Gottfried von Amiens als Bischof (Pieces of
the side altars of St. Martin in Messkirch) / Godfrey of Amiens, circa 1535, 60 x 28
Saint Geoffroy d'Amiens
Évêque d'Amiens (+ 1115)
Son monastère dépérissait
avec six moines quand ceux-ci le choisirent comme abbé. En peu d'années, le
monastère de Nogent dans la Marne devient l'un des plus florissants. En réponse
à l'insistance de l'évêque de Reims, il accepte de devenir évêque d'Amiens ce
qui lui causa bien des soucis. La plupart des membres du clergé était à la
solde des grands seigneurs qui eux-mêmes menaient une vie impossible aux
marchands et aux braves gens de la "Commune d'Amiens". Saint
Geoffroy, privé d'amis pour le soutenir, gagne la Grande Chartreuse pour vivre
en paix. Mais forcé de revenir, il reprend ses fonctions un an après et il
meurt au bout de quelques mois à l'abbaye de Saint Crépin de Soissons. Aucun
membre du clergé d'Amiens ne se dérangera pour venir rechercher son corps.
Formé à la vie monastique
dès l’âge de cinq ans, abbé de Nogent-sous-Coucy, devenu évêque d’Amiens, il
eut beaucoup à souffrir pour établir la paix dans les luttes entre les
seigneurs et le peuple de la cité, ainsi que pour réformer les mœurs du clergé
et du peuple. Il mourut à Soissons, au retour d’un voyage à Reims.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10/Saint-Geoffroy-d-Amiens.htmlSaint Geoffroy ou
Godefroy
Évêque d'Amiens
(1066-1115)
Saint Geoffroy naquit à
Moulincourt, au diocèse de Soissons, d'une famille encore plus distinguée par
ses vertus et sa charité que par sa haute noblesse. Ses parents secouraient les
églises et leur bonté rayonnait sur toutes les misères. Ces bons chrétiens
n'étaient plus jeunes lorsqu'un troisième fils leur naquit. Ils consacrèrent
leur benjamin à Dieu et le présentèrent à son oncle, évêque de Soissons.
Celui-ci donna son propre nom au nouveau-né, Geoffroy, qui signifie: paix de
Dieu. Lorsqu'il eut cinq ans, il conduisit l'enfant dans son monastère près de
Péronne et se chargea de son éducation. Le nouveau Samuel grandit en âge et en
sagesse à l'ombre des autels. A l'âge de vingt-cinq ans, Nathaud, évêque de
Noyon, l'ordonna prêtre malgré les humbles protestations de l'élu qui se
considérait indigne de ce trop grand honneur.
Bientôt un concile le
nomma évêque d'Amiens. Désolé et effrayé de l'honneur, Geoffroy s'enfuit
secrètement. Découvert au sein de sa retraite, il fut ramené à Amiens et
investi de l'autorité épiscopale par l'archevêque de Reims. Le nouveau pasteur
revêtit une robe de bure, entra pieds nus dans la cité et tint un langage tout
surnaturel à la foule émue et émerveillée. Chaque jour, treize pauvres étaient
admis à manger à la table du Saint qui leur lavait lui-même les pieds. Il
secourait les veuves et les enfants abandonnés, portait de la nourriture aux
lépreux qu'il comblait de soins particuliers.
Saint Geoffroy défendait
les opprimés, sermonait ceux qui abusaient de leur pouvoir et qui vivaient dans
la dépravation. Décidant d'en finir avec les gênantes admonitions de leur
évêque, des seigneurs lui envoyèrent du vin empoisonné, mais Dieu avertit
intérieurement saint Geoffroy du danger qui le menaçait. Guerre, pillage,
débauche régnaient en maîtres dans la ville d'Amiens, navrant le coeur de saint
Geoffroy qui se jugeait responsable des péchés de son peuple. Il résolut donc
d'aller s'ensevelir à la Grande Chartreuse de Grenoble pour tâcher d'obtenir la
conversion de ses ouailles par sa vie de pénitence.
Il quitta son diocèse
après le concile national des évêques de France tenu à Vienne, pendant lequel
il soutint brillamment les droits du souverain pontife. Sur la réclamation des
habitants d'Amiens, les évêques réunis en concile à Soissons en 1115 intimèrent
à saint Geoffroy l'ordre de réintégrer sa bergerie. Les exhortations, les
réprimandes, les invectives, les supplications et les promesses s'avérèrent
inutiles pour ramener son peuple dans les sentiers du bien. Le saint pasteur
transmit les menaces du Ciel à ses brebis rebelles qui taxèrent ses prédictions
de visions chimériques. Hélas! ces âmes sourdes aux avertissements de Dieu
apprécièrent trop tard les discours prophétiques de leur évêque.
Avant de rendre son âme à
Dieu, saint Geoffroy devait être témoin du désastre qui transforma la cité
d'Amiens en un monceau de cendres et de ruines. Peu de temps après ces
sinistres événements, il tomba gravement malade. À l'abbaye de St-Crépin, le
vénéré pasteur reçut la communion des mains de Lisiard, évêque de Soissons, et
rendit son âme à Dieu le 8 novembre 1115.
Résumé O.D.M.
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_geoffroy_ou_godefroy.htmlGeoffroy ou Godefroy naquit
dans l'Aisne vers 1065. Son nom, d'origine germanique, signifie "paix de
Dieu". Il fut placé à l'âge de 5 ans dans l'abbaye de Mont-Saint-Quentin,
où il fit profession et reçut la prêtrise On rapporte que, mystique et
réaliste, il fit preuve d'habileté dans les affaires et d'adresse pour échapper
aux seigneurs qui convoitaient et pillaient les biens de l'Église.
Devenu, par obéissance au
Pape, Évêque d'Amiens, le moine Godefroy s'intéressa à l'important Mouvement
communal, courant déterminant dans l'évolution de cette époque pour se libérer
des féodaux. Il prend ainsi le parti de la Commune d'Amiens, dans le souci de
défendre et de protéger les humbles et les pauvres. Calomnié et persécuté,
l'évêque sera obligé de s'exiler au désert de la Chartreuse. Il en reviendra
pour reprendre vaillamment le fardeau pastoral mais mourra d'épuisement sur la
route à Soissons le 8 novembre 1115, à peine âgé de 50 ans.
Rédacteur : Frère Bernard Pineau, OP
SOURCE : http://www.lejourduseigneur.com/Web-TV/Saints/Geoffroy
Godefroi, né dans le
territoire de Soissons, sortait d'une famille noble et vertueuse. Foulques son
père, étant devenu veuf, prit l'habit monastique. Notre Saint n'avait encore
que cinq ans lorsqu'on le mit sous la conduite de Godefroi, abbé du
Mont-Saint-Quentin , qui l'avait tenu sur les fonts de baptême. Ce Godefroi
était oncle de la B. Itte, comtesse de Boulogne et de Namur, mère de Godefroy
et de Baudouin qui furent rois de Jérusalem.
Dès sa plus tendre
jeunesse, le Saint se privait d'une grande partie de ce qu'on lui donnait pour
sa nourriture, et le distribuait aux pauvres ; souvent même il ne paraissait
point au réfectoire, et se renfermait dans quelque oratoire , pendant le temps
qu'on y passait, pour s'entretenir avec Dieu. Il consacrait quelquefois la plus
grande partie de la nuit à ce saint exercice. Les larmes abondantes qui
coulaient de ses yeux, dans la prière , annonçaient sa tendre piété et la
vivacité de sa componction. A l'âge de 25 ans, l'évêque de Noyon l'ordonna
prêtre. Il parut digne de cet honneur , non seulement à cause de ses vertus,
mais encore à cause des progrès qu'il faisait tous les jours dans l'étude de la
religion. On n'écouta point son humilité, qui lui inspirait de l'éloignement
pour le sacerdoce. Peu de temps après, on lui confia le gouvernement de
l'abbaye de Nogent, en Champagne. Cette maison, sous sa conduite, devint
bientôt célèbre par sa régularité. Deux abbés, touchés des merveilles qu'on en
publiait, s'y retirèrent pour y vivre en simples religieux dans une plus grande
perfection.
Godefroi avait tellement
acquis l'habitude de veiller sur lui-même, qu'il était absolument maître de
tous ses sens. Jamais il ne prononçait une parole inutile ; jamais ses yeux ne
s'arrêtaient sur aucun objet sans nécessité. Son silence et sa modestie étaient
des preuves sensibles de la continuité de son recueillement. Un jour qu'on lui
servait à table quelque chose qui paraissait mieux assaisonné qu'à l'ordinaire,
il en fit des plaintes. « Est-ce que vous ne savez pas, dit-il, que la chair se
révolte si on la flatte ? » Un concile entier le pressant de prendre le
gouvernement de l'abbaye de Saint-Remi, de Reims, il s'avança au milieu de
l'assemblée, et, après avoir cité les canons en sa faveur, il s'écria : « A
Dieu ne plaise que je méprise une épouse pauvre, et que je lui en préfère une
riche. » En 1103, on l'élut évêque d'Amiens ; mais il fallut lui faire violence
pour qu'il acquiesçât à son élection. Il entra nu-pieds dans la ville.
Lorsqu'il fut arrivé à l'église de Saint-Firmin, il adressa au peuple, qui
était présent, un discours fort pathétique. On retrouvait dans son palais la
maison d'un vrai disciple de Jésus-Christ. Chaque jour il lavait les pieds à
treize pauvres, et les servait à table. Il s'opposait avec un zèle inflexible
aux entreprises des grands, opiniâtrement attachés à leurs désordres. Il
attaquait avec vigueur les abus qui régnaient dans son clergé ; et, après avoir
éprouvé bien des difficultés, il rétablit la réforme dans le monastère de
Saint-Valery. Célébrant les saints mystères le jour de Noël, en présence de
Robert, comte d'Artois, qui tenait sa cour à Saint-Omer, il ne voulut point
recevoir les offrandes, même des princes, parce que leur extérieur était trop
mondain. Plusieurs sortirent de l'église, el y rentrèrent avec plus de
simplicité, pour n'être pas privés de la bénédiction du saint évêque. Il fut
arrêté par une fièvre violente, dans un voyage qu'il faisait à Reims, pour
conférer avec son métropolitain sur des matières importantes. Il reçut les
sacrements de l'Église avec beaucoup de ferveur, et mourut le 8 Novembre 1118,
dans l'abbaye de Saint-Crépin de Soissons, où il fut enterré. Il est nommé dans
le martyrologe romain.
Source : Alban Butler. Vie des Pères, Martyrs et autres principaux Saints. Traduction : Jean-François Godescard.
SOURCE : http://alexandrina.balasar.free.fr/geoffroid_damiens_butler.htmAlso
known as
Gaufrid
Geoffrey
Geoffroy
Geofroi
Gioffredo
Godefrid
Godefridus
Godfried
Goffredo
Goffrey
Gofrido
Gotfrid
Gottfried
Jeffrey
Profile
Son of Frodon, a solid
citizen in a small town. Raised from age 5 in the Benedictine abbey of
Mont-Saint-Quentin where his godfather was abbot Godefroid,
and where he immediately donned a Benedictine habit and
lived as a tiny monk.
He became a Benedictine monk when
he came of age. Priest, ordained by bishop Radbod
II of Noyon, France.
Abbot of
Nogent-sous-Coucy, archdiocese of Rheims,
Champagne province (in modern France)
in 1096.
When he arrived, the place was overrun by weeds and housed only six nuns and
two children.
He rebuilt, restored, and revitalized the abbey,
bringing people to the Order,
and Order to
the people. Offered the abbacy of
Saint-Remi, but refused. Offered the archbishopric of Rheims in 1097,
but refused, claiming he was unworthy. Offered the bishopric of Amiens, France in 1104,
and still considered himself unworthy of the trust; King Philip
and the Council of Troyes each ordered him to take it, and so he did.
Noted for his rigid
austerity – with himself, those around him, and in his approach to his mission
as bishop.
Enforced clerical celibacy.
Fierce lifelong opponent of drunkeness and simony,
which led to an attempt on his life. For most of his time as bishop,
he wished to resign and retire as a Carthusian monk.
In 1114 he
moved to a monastery,
but a few months later his people demanded his return, and he agreed. Took part
in the Council of Chálons.
Though popular in life
and death,
his name did not appear on the calendars until the 16th
century.
Born
c.1115
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Godfrey of
Amiens“. CatholicSaints.Info. 6 December 2023. Web. 6 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-godfrey-of-amiens/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-godfrey-of-amiens/
Godfrey of Amiens, OSB B
(RM)
(also known as Geoffrey,
Gottfried)
Born near Soissons,
France, c. 1066; died near Soissons, 1115. When he was 5 years old, Godfrey was
placed in the care of the abbot of Mont-Saint-Quentin. He became a monk and was
eventually ordained a priest.
In 1096 he became the
abbot of the decayed Nogent-sous-Coucy in Champagne, where the brethren had
dwindled to six and the buildings and discipline were similarly dilapidated.
Under his rule the monastery prospered, and as a result, he came to the notice
of the archbishop of Rheims who asked him to take over the famous Abbey of
Saint-Remi at Rheims. Godfrey refused. He made a disturbance and vehemently
added during an assembly, "God forbid I should ever desert a poor bride by
preferring a rich one!"
Despite his strong
feelings, he was appointed bishop of Amiens in 1104, but he insisted upon
continuing to live very simply. When he thought the cook was treating him too
well, he took the best food from the kitchen and gave it away to the poor and
the sick.
He was a zealous
reformer, unrelentingly fought simony enforcing celibacy, and supported the
organization of communes. But, because he was an excessively stern ruler, his
life was threatened more than once, including by a disgruntled woman.
His scrupulousness caused
great resentment among the laxer clergy. He became disheartened by their
behavior and withdrew to the Carthusian monastery at Grande-Chartreuse. A
council ordered him to return to his diocese--his people refused to allow him
to retire. But on his way to visit his metropolitan, he died the following year
at Saint Crispin's abbey in Soissons, where he was buried. His name was not
found in calendars before the 16th century (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney,
Encyclopedia, Walsh, White).
In art Saint Gottfried is
a bishop with a dead hound at his feet. Sometimes he is shown serving the sick
or embracing a leper (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1108.shtml
November 8
St. Godfrey, Bishop of
Amiens, Confessor
GODFREY was born in the
territory of Soissons, of noble and pious parents: his father, Fulco, was no
sooner a widower than he consecrated himself to God in the monastic habit. Our
saint was educated from five years of age, when he was weaned, in the monastery
of Mount St. Quintin’s, under the care of the holy abbot, Godfrey, who was his
godfather, and uncle to B. Ida, countess of Boulogne and Namur, and mother to
Godfrey and Baldwin, the kings and conquerors of Jerusalem. The saint, in his
youth always gave the better part of his meals to the poor, and sometimes did
not make his appearance at all in the refectory, spending his time in some
private oratory; and he often watched great part of the night in prayer. The
streams of tears which frequently watered his cheeks at his prayers were proofs
of the tender compunction and devotion of his soul. At twenty-five years of
age, having made good proficiency in the sacred studies, he was ordained priest
by the bishop of Noyon, though only obedience could overcome his fears of
approaching the holy altar. Soon after he was chosen abbot of Nogent, in
Champagne. Under his direction this house flourished in such regularity of
discipline, that two abbots resigned their dignities to learn to serve God
there more perfectly.
The saint, by long habits
of watchfulness over himself and mortification, was so perfectly master of his
senses that no superfluous word or glance of an eye seemed ever to escape him,
and his modesty and silence were the visible marks of his continual interior
recollection. The cook having one day mixed a few crumbs of white bread with
the herbs which he usually ate with only salt and water, he would by no means
suffer that delicacy, saying: “Do not you know that the flesh rebels if it be
not tamed?” When the Archbishop of Rheims and a whole council pressed the saint
to take upon him the government of the great abbey of St. Remigius at Rheims,
he started into the midst of the assembly, alleged the canons with great
vehemence, and said: “God forbid I should ever contemn a poor spouse by
preferring a rich one.” Some time after, in 1103, he was not able by his
importunities to resist the violence with which he was installed bishop of
Amiens. He entered that city barefoot, and, arriving at the church of St. Firminus,
he first opened his mouth to his flock by a most pathetic sermon. His palace
was truly the house of a disciple of Christ. Every day he served at his own
table thirteen poor people, and washed their feet. To attend the most loathsome
lepers seemed his greatest pleasure. He exerted an episcopal vigour and
firmness in reproving obstinate and powerful sinners, and in reforming his
clergy, and especially the monastery of St. Valery, though this work cost him a
journey to Rheims, and another to Rome. When he celebrated the divine office at
the court of Robert, count of Artois, held at St. Omers at Christmas, he
refused to receive the offerings of all persons, though sovereign princes, who
presented themselves with their hair effeminately curled; so that many were
obliged to step out of the church to cut off their curled locks with a knife or
sword, that they might not be deprived of the holy prelate’s blessing. As he
was going to Rheims to confer with his metropolitan upon certain matters of
importance, he was taken ill of a fever on the road; and, having received the
holy sacraments, joyfully departed to our Lord on the 8th of November, in 1118,
in the abbey of St. Crispin at Soissons, and was there interred. His name is
honoured in the Roman Martyrology. See his life, written by Nicholas, a monk of
Soissons, in the same century.
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume XI: November. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/11/083.html
Saint Godfrey or Geoffroy
Bishop of Amiens
(ca. 1066-1115)
Saint Godfrey was born
about 1066 at Molincourt in France of a distinguished Christian family. He
arrived late in the lives of his parents, who had begged the prayers of the
holy abbot of Mount Saint Quentin, desiring to have a child they could
consecrate to God. Their prayers and those of the religious of the monastery of
Mount Saint Quentin were answered in the same year. The child was baptized by
the Abbot and later confided to him to be educated. Eventually Godfrey's father
entered a monastery of Our Lady which he had enriched by his alms; and his
mother spent her declining years in various good works.
Godfrey was given the
charge of taking care of the sick, and exercised it with such great charity
that he was also named hospitaller, to receive the poor at the gate.
For assistance in that second duty he had his older brother Odon, who after
many years in the military career had come to join him in the religious life.
His brother would later die a holy death in the same abbey of Mount Saint
Quentin.
When Saint Godfrey was 25
years old his abbot told him to prepare for the priesthood. He received the
Sacrament of Holy Orders from the bishop of Noyon, in which diocese the abbey
of Mount Saint Quentin is situated. Not long afterwards, the abbey of Our Lady
of Nogent, whose abbot was incapacitated by illness, voted to obtain Godfrey in
that office, and the abbot of Mount Saint Quentin consented to the sacrifice of
his dear spiritual son for that purpose. The pleas of the disciple based on his
youth and inexperience were not heeded, and in 1095 he became Abbot of Nogent,
where the buildings were crumbling and only six monks and two young novices
remained. He renovated the edifices and built a hostelry for pilgrims and the
sick poor; and in this hostelry he himself continued to labor on their behalf.
Soon the monastery filled up with vocations, drawing even two illustrious
abbots from elsewhere, who desired to serve under this master.
When a severe drought was
devastating the fields and flocks of the region, the bishop of Soissons, Hugh
de Pierrefonds, went to Godfrey to ask his counsel; the holy abbot prescribed a
fast in the manner of Ninevah — even the animals were to participate. On the
first day of the fast, when the abbot rose to preach in the vast Church of
Saint Steven, before the assembled people, the sky suddenly darkened, and so
heavy a rain fell that the people were not a little inconvenienced on returning
home.
When the aged bishop of
Amiens died soon afterwards, its residents chose Godfrey to be their bishop,
and went to a legate of the Holy See to ask him to intercede with the abbot to
obtain his consent. When this decision was related to Godfrey he would have
fled, but the order of the legate prevented his flight. Moreover, he had
already had a vision of Saint Firmin, first Bishop of Amiens and martyr,
advising him of this forthcoming new responsibility. He therefore submitted to
the clear designs of Providence. After Saint Godfrey obtained a beautiful new
reliquary for the relics of Amiens' first bishop, the confidence of the people
in their patron Saint, Saint Firmin, redoubled. A prayer to him by Saint
Godfrey, asking for sunshine on the day of the translation of the relics, was
the occasion; a fog so heavy one could scarcely see, lifted, and the sun at
once shone brilliantly in the sanctuary.
As bishop he did not
cease to take care of the poor and the sick. When some lepers came to him he
commanded his cook to prepare food for them; four hours later nothing had yet
been done, and he himself went to the kitchen and found a large, prepared
salmon which he took to the famished lepers. The cook remonstrated with him,
and the Saint told him that it was injustice to allow the poor to die of hunger
while unworthy bishops enjoyed food that was too succulent.
When troubles occasioned
by the contemporary quarrel over investitures devastated the city of Amiens,
the holy bishop thought it well to resign his office and retire to the Grand
Chartreuse, and did so. The archbishop of Rheims, however, could not approve
such an action, and reproached the residents of Amiens when they brought up the
question of a successor. The affair was referred to a Council to be held at
Soissons in January of 1115. A letter was sent by the Council to the religious
of Saint Bruno, begging them not to retain the bishop of Amiens, but to send
him back to his see; and Godfrey with tears resigned himself to obeying the
orders of the king and the Council. His declining years were not exempt from
sufferings; the city of Amiens was decimated by a fire which spared only the
church of Saint Firmin, the episcopal palace and a few houses of the poor. The
people had not listened to the exhortations of their bishop when their
prevarications enkindled the wrath of God. He died on November 8, 1115, in
perfect serenity, having given his farewell blessing to the religious of the
monastery of Soissons, where he had been taken, after falling ill during a
journey there. His tomb was illustrated by many miracles.
Les Petits Bollandistes:
Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol.
13
SOURCE : https://magnificat.ca/cal/en/saints/saint_godfrey_or_geoffroy.html
(Geoffrey) (Saint) Bishop
(November 8) (12th century) Born A.D. 1066, he was offered by his parents, when
yet only five years old, to the monastery of Saint Quentin. He became a model
monk, and as such was elected Abbot of Nogent, and later, much against his
will, Bishop of Amiens. Comforter and helper of all in distress, he was
distinguished throughout his life for his meekness and patience. His wish to
retire among the Carthusians was frustrated by the entreaties of his
Archbishop, clergy and people. He fell asleep in Christ at Soissons, A.D. 1115,
in the fiftieth year of his age and the thirteenth of his Episcopate.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Godfrey”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
16 July 2013. Web. 6 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-godfrey/>
SOURCE : https://radiogalilee.com/ecoute-en-direct/
ST. GODFREY OF AMIENS
St. Godfrey was the son
of Frodon, a prominent citizen in a small town. He was raised from the age
of 5 in the Benedictine abbey of Mont-Saint-Quentin where his godfather
Godefroid was abbot. He immediately donned a Benedictine habit and lived as
a tiny monk, and took his vows when he came of age. He was
ordained a priest by bishop Radbod II of Noyon.
In 1096, he was made Abbot of Nogent-sous-Coucy, in the diocese of Rheims, in
the province of Champagne. When he arrived, the place was overrun by weeds, and
housed only six nuns and two children. He rebuilt, restored, and revitalized
the abbey, bringing people to the Order of St. Benedict, and order to the
people. He was offered the abbacy of Saint-Remi, but he refused. He was also
offered the bishopric of Reims in 1097, but again he refused, claiming he was
unworthy. When he was offered the bishopric of Amiens in 1104, he still
considered himself unworthy of the trust. However, King Philip and the Council
of Troyes each ordered him to take it, which he did.
St. Godfrey was noted for his rigid austerity with himself, those around him,
and in his approach to his mission as bishop. He was an enforcer of clerical
celibacy. He was also a fierce lifelong opponent of drunkenness and simony,
which led to an attempt on his life. For most of his time as bishop, he wished
to resign and retire as a Carthusian monk. In 1114 he moved to a monastery, but
a few months later his people demanded his return, and he agreed. He also took
part in the Council of Chálons.
SOURCE : https://web.archive.org/web/20150201141736/http://m.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=47
Saint Godfrey of Amiens
Jul 23, 2015 /
Written by: America
Needs Fatima
Feast November 8
Godfrey was born about
the year 1065 in Soissons, France. When he was only five years old, he was
placed in the care of his godfather, the abbot of the Abbey of
Mont-Saint-Quentin. Here he grew up and, in due course, became a monk and was
ordained to the priesthood.
In 1096 he was made the
abbot of Nogent-sous-Coucy, a dilapidated abbey in the province of Champagne,
where the community numbered a mere half a dozen monks who had become very lax
in their discipline.
He rebuilt, restored and
revitalized the abbey. Under Godfrey’s direction, monastic discipline and order
were restored and the community began to flourish. News of his success spread
and Godfrey was urged to accept the position of superior of the renowned Abbey
of Saint-Remi. This he refused, saying “God forbid I should ever desert a poor
bride by preferring a rich one!”
In 1097, Godfrey was
offered the archbishopric of Rheims. This he likewise refused, counting himself
as unworthy of this new honor as the previously-offered one.
When, in 1104, he was
offered the bishopric of Amiens and once more refused the ecclesiastical
dignity, he was ordered by the papal prelate to accept it.
A zealous reformer, as
Bishop of Amiens, his strict discipline and rigid austerity – first with
himself and then with those under his charge – his insistence upon clerical
celibacy and his unrelenting struggle against drunkenness and simony, aroused
bitter opposition among the lax clergy and even caused attempts upon his life.
Godfrey ardently desired to resign and retire as a Carthusian monk during this
time, nevertheless, he persevered.
Finally, in 1114, he
withdrew to the Grand-Chartreuse but, within a few months, the demands of his
people won out and he was ordered by a Council held at Soissons and by King
Philip himself to return to his diocese. Resigned to the will of God, Godfrey
returned to his episcopal see.
While on his way to visit
his metropolitan in 1115, Godfrey died at the Abbey of Saint-Crépin near
Soissons. He was buried at the abbey and his tomb became renowned for the many
miracles wrought there.
SOURCE : https://americaneedsfatima.org/articles/saint-godfrey-of-amiens
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Godfried, Bishop of Amiens
The parents of Saint
Godfried lived for many years a very sad life, because they had not a child to
inherit their noble name and great riches. At length, after long prayers, God
gave them a son, whom they called Godfried. When he was five years old, they sent
their only and beloved child into a monastery, that he might be instructed and
piously reared by a most learned and virtuous abbot. It was soon perceptible
that the Almighty watched over the little Godfried, and had chosen him for the
religious state. A crane one day gave him so violent a blow between the eyes,
that he was in danger of losing his sight, perhaps his life. The boy, calling
on the name of Jesus, made the sign of the cross over the wound, and
immediately all danger vanished, the wound was healed, and nothing remained but
a small scar as a sign of the miracle which had taken place. This was justly
looked upon as a manifestation of divine protection which watched over
Godfried. A presage of his vocation to the religious state was seen in the fact
that he endeavored to model his life, in his young years, after the example of
the clergy. He was zealous in his prayers, industrious in his studies, and
always ready for any kind of labor. The older he grew, the greater became his
zeal in the discharge of all his duties, in which he took so much delight, that
he no longer thought of returning to his home, but determined, in his own mind,
to serve God in the religious state. As soon, therefore, as he arrived at the
requisite age, he began his novitiate, and finished it by solemnly pronouncing
the sacred vows. His superiors charged him with the duty of attending to the
sick, which he fulfilled with the greatest joy, as a welcome opportunity to
show his love to God and men. Words fail to describe how kind he was to the
sick and how unweariedly he served them day and night. His care however, was
not confined to their bodies, but extended also to their souls, as he proved by
most zealously exhorting them, encouraging them to patience, reading to them
from devout books, or praying with them. If he saw that their illness was
dangerous, he persuaded them to receive the holy Sacraments, and to prepare
themselves in time for a happy death. When he had attained his twenty-fifth
year, he was ordained priest, and as he had gained a great reputation on
account of his virtue, wisdom and talents, he received from the Archbishop of
Rheims the order to take on himself the administration of a half-ruined abbey,
and restore it to its former prosperity. Difficult as was this undertaking, yet
the untiring energy of the holy Abbot succeeded. He was an example to all his
religious, exhorted them most kindly and earnestly, and before long, had all
his affairs in such excellent order, that his abbey became celebrated far and
near. Soon after, when the bishop of Amiens died, or as others say, had
resigned his See, the clergy and the people resolved to elect Godfried as his
successor. The election was unanimous; but the humble servant of God would not
accept the dignity, until the papal Nuncio had most earnestly admonished him to
obey the call of Heaven.
Godfried, as bishop,
changed not in the least his former austere and holy conduct, but used his
dignity as an opportunity to labor still more for the honor of God, the benefit
of the church and the comfort of the poor. To the last, his episcopal palace
was always open. He received them most kindly, served them personally at table,
washed their feet, and allowed none to go away without alms. One day, a leper
came to him at table and asked for some food. The Saint gave him a fish which
was on the table. His steward murmured at this: but the bishop said: “Would it
be right that I should have superfluity on my table, whilst Christ is suffering
hunger in His poor?” At another time he met a half-naked beggar, and having no
money with him he took off his coat and gave it. The vices and abuses, which
were prevalent in the city, he sought to eradicate by continual preaching,
admonition and exhortation, and, finally, also by earnest menaces, without
allowing himself to be checked by the power of the great. But this apostolic
zeal offended some wicked men, whom he had reproved, and who to revenge
themselves, determined to take his life. They sent him, under a pretense of
politeness and friendship, some poisoned wine. But God revealed the deceit to
His faithful servant, and thus saved him from death. When, at last, the holy
bishop perceived that, with all his endeavors, he could do but little good, he
wished to divest himself of his functions, rather than longer administer them
with such doubtful success. Hence, he secretly went into the monastery of the
Grande Chartreuse, to attend to his own salvation during the years that were
still left to him. He wrote, however, to the bishops assembled in Council at
Beauvais, humbly requesting them to give the church at Amiens to some one else.
The Council did not accept his resignation, but sent two deputies to take him
back to his forsaken flock, who received him with great rejoicing. Godfried
began again to punish all vices with great severity and admonish all to alter
their conduct, but with no greater success than before. Hence with prophetic
spirit he denounced to the impenitent city, the divine punishment which was
hanging over it. His words soon became true; for, fire fell on Amiens, as, in
ancient times, it had fallen upon Sodom, and consumed the entire city, except
the church, the palace of the bishop and a few houses. This changed the conduct
of those who survived the catastrophe, but only fora short time. Deeply grieved
the Bishop set out for Rheims, but was overtaken by sickness on the way. Odo,
the Abbot of Saint Crispin, brought nim to his monastery, where, after
receiving the Sacraments, the holy bishop raised his eyes towards heaven, and
gave his soul to God. His purity and innocence, he carried with him inviolate
to the grave, in 1118.
Practical Considerations
• Did you observe how
Saint Godfried attended not only to the body, but also to the souls of the
sick? To nurse the sick is a noble work of charity, and if you have an
opportunity to do it, do not neglect it, because you can gain great merits.
Your charity, however, must not be only for the body, but also, or rather,
especially for the soul. Hence encourage them to bear their suffering patiently;
read to them from some devout book; pray with them, and exhort them to draw
spiritual benefit from their sickness. Should you observe that the sickness is
mortal, inform the patient of it in a prudent manner, or speak to a priest that
he may make it known, and prepare the sick person for the long eternity
awaiting him. We do very wrong in not announcing in time to the sick the danger
in which they are, or deceiving them with false hopes. For want of this timely
notice and exhortation, many souls have gone to destruction. Had they been
admonished in time, this would not have happened. How great then is the guilt
of those who have neglected this! And why did they neglect it? Out of kindness,
they say; for they did not wish to frighten the sick by announcing that death
was near. Oh, how false, how cruel a charity! True charity seeks the welfare of
its neighbor: but is this done by not informing him of his danger, and thus
letting him die without due preparation? Should the patient be really somewhat
startled, when he becomes acquainted with the true state of his health, what
harm is done? It is better to be frightened and prepare for a happy death, than
to live without any fear and die unprepared. Take heed that you be not the
cause of the eternal damnation of a sick person. When you are sick yourself,
beg to be plainly told of your danger, and do all that is necessary for a happy
death, before it is too late.
• When Saint Godfried saw
that after all his admonitions, the inhabitants of the city reformed not their conduct,
he threatened them with divine punishment, which soon after befell them. The
Almighty does not always punish sinners immediately after they have become
guilty of evil deeds; not because He does not see their wickedness, or because
He esteems it as trifling; but because He is long-suffering and merciful, and
gives them time to repent and do penance If they continue in their godless
course, He admonishes and menaces them by the sermons they hear at church, by
their confessors, and by their own conscience. He threatens them with a sudden
death, with the last judgment, with hell; not as if He had resolved to take
them away by a sudden death, but that He may not be forced to cast them into
hell. He seeks by threats to bring them to repentance, that they may not be
lost for ever. This is taught by Saint Chrysostom when he says: “God threatens
us with hell, that he may not be forced to cast us into its flames.” And Saint
Augustine writes: “If He wished to condemn us, He would be silent. No one that
wishes to beat another, first cries to him: Take care!” And again he says: “If
our Lord desired to punish us, He would not exhort us so often; against His
will does He punish us; for, long before He has shown us how we may escape
punishment; for whoever desires to beat you does not call to you: Take care and
save yourself!” In this, God manifests a special mercy; for. He exhorts sinners
and menaces them with His wrath. But when the sinner heeds neither exhortations
nor menaces, but, continuing in his evil ways, does no true penance; then the
Almighty suddenly overtakes him, and punishes the more severely as He has
waited longer. Listen to the words of Saint Augustine: “It is a manifestation
of God’s patience, when He does not immediately punish the sinner; but it is
not a sign of negligence, nor of His esteeming our wickedness as trifling. He
has not lost His might, but restrains it, that we may do penance. Hence it is
to be feared, that the longer He waits for our reformation, the more severely
will He punish us if we do not repent.” Saint Chrysostom says the same when he
writes: “Those who sin much, have more reason to fear when they are not
punished; for, their punishment will be greater, the longer God in His mercy
delays it!” What then is to be done? Let him who has sinned, not abuse, to his
greater punishment, the long-suffering mercy of the Almighty, but be converted
and do penance.
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Godfried, Bishop of Amiens”. Lives
of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
23 May 2018. Web. 6 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-godfried-bishop-of-amiens/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-godfried-bishop-of-amiens/
San Goffredo di
Amiens Vescovo
Etimologia: Goffredo
= protetto da Dio, dall'antico tedesco
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio
Romano: A Soissons in Francia, deposizione di san Goffredo, vescovo di
Amiens, che, formatosi per un quinquennio alla vita monastica, patì molto nel
ricomporre i dissidi tra i signori e gli abitanti della città e riformare i
costumi del clero e del popolo.
Abbiamo parlato della prima Crociata, portata al successo dal più celebre Goffredo dell'età di mezzo: Goffredo conte di Buglione, conquistatore di Gerusalemme. Egli ebbe il titolo di " Difensore del Santo Sepolcro ", e più tardi venne reso particolarmente celebre da Torquato Tasso, che nella sua Gerusalemme Liberata (ma il nome originario del poema fu proprio Goffredo!) lo cantò quale " Capitano - che 'l gran Sepolcro liberò di Christo ". Goffredo di Buglione era francese, e francese fu il San Goffredo oggi festeggiato, uno dei rari Santi di questo nome pur celebre.
Egli era giovinetto al tempo della prima Crociata, e più tardi divenne monaco dell'abbazia di Monte San Quintino, dove fu ordinato sacerdote.
Divenne Abate di un altro monastero, a Nogent, e si distinse non soltanto per la sua preparazione dottrinale e spirituale, ma soprattutto per la sua integrità morale, rara in tempi in cui gran parte dell'alto clero era contaminata dalla simonia.
Per i suoi meriti e non - una volta tanto -per tornaconto politico, i feudatari e il Re lo elessero Vescovo di Amiens, dove entrò a piedi nudi, in abito da pellegrino, evitando ogni fasto.
Il nome di Goffredo proviene da una forma più antica, Gottifredo, ed è di origine germanica, composto da due parole che significano, l'una Dio, l'altra pace. Si può dunque tradurre come " pace di Dio ", ed è un nome di significato spirituale, insolito tra i personali germanici, quasi sempre di origine guerresca.
Il Vescovo San Goffredo fu veramente degno del suo nome, perché cercò senza riposo di ristabilire nella diocesi quella pace di Dio a cui il suo nome accennava. E poiché erano molti i nemici della pace di Dio - tra i potenti e tra il popolo, tra i feudatari e tra gli stessi religiosi - la sua vita fu difficile e la sua attività di riformatore pacifico ostacolata e denigrata. Si tentò perfino di avvelenarlo, ma il veleno fece morire, al suo posto, un povero cane!
In quel tempo la città di Amiens cercava di organizzarsi in libero Comune, scrollando il giogo dei feudatari. In molte città, i Vescovi, eletti dai feudatari e gelosi dei propri privilegi temporali, contrastavano le tendenze comunali del popolo, appoggiando invece chi aveva in mano il denaro e le armi. San Goffredo, al contrario, fu con i propri cittadini, alleato dell'iniziativa comunale, che però fallì. Quando i feudatari ripresero il controllo della città, la vita del Vescovo amante della giustizia divenne ancor più difficile.
Era ancora giovane quando si ammalò, fuori di Amiens, durante un pellegrinaggio
alla chiesa dei Santi Crispino e Crispiniano, di cui era devoto. Morì l'8
novembre del 1115, in una abbazia dedicata ai due Santi calzolai. E lì fu
sepolto, lontano dalla sua bella cattedrale, presso la quale si era consumata
la sua vicenda di pastore giusto e Vescovo contrastato.
Fonte : Archivio
Parrocchia
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/76750
