Statua
di San Gerardo di Brogne (XX secolo)
Statue
moderne de Saint Gérard de Brogne, fondateur de l'abbaye de Saint-Gérard (se
trouvant sur la place de Saint-Gérard, Belgique)
Statue
of Saint Gerard, behind which stands the church of Saint-Gérard.
Estatua de San Gerardo, detrás de la iglesia de Saint-Gérard.
Statua
di San Gerardo di Brogne (XX secolo)
Statue
moderne de Saint Gérard de Brogne, fondateur de l'abbaye de Saint-Gérard (se
trouvant sur la place de Saint-Gérard, Belgique)
Statue
of Saint Gerard, behind which stands the church of Saint-Gérard.
Estatua
de San Gerardo, detrás de la iglesia de Saint-Gérard.
Statue de Saint Gérard de Brogne, fondateur de l'abbaye de Saint-Gérard,
place de Saint-Gérard, Belgique
Saint Gérard de Brogne
Fondateur de l'Abbaye de
Brogne (+ 959)
Il commença d'abord par
la carrière des armes, mais quand son père mourut, il décida de se faire
bénédictin, s'initia à la vie monastique à Saint Denis près de Paris et fonda
une abbaye sur son domaine familial. Pendant vingt ans, à la demande du comte
de Flandre, il réforma de nombreuses abbayes qui étaient sous la juridiction du
duc de Lotharingie ou Lorraine. On ne sait s'il y parvint, mais du moins
s'endormit-il en paix en l'abbaye de Brogne dans la province de Namur à
quelques kms au nord-est de Maredsous. C'est au XVIIe siècle que la localité de
Brogne prend le nom de Saint-Gérard: ce moine doux et conciliant avait été
canonisé en 1131, lors du concile de Reims.
Voir aussi le site
de l'Abbaye
saint Gérard de Brogne.
Au pays de Namur, en 959,
saint Gérard, premier abbé du monastère de Brogne, qu’il avait construit. Il
travailla à restaurer la discipline monastique en Flandre et en Lotharingie, et
ramena plusieurs monastères à l’observance primitive de la Règle.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1957/Saint-Gerard-de-Brogne.html
Saint Gérard de
Brogne (+959)
Fêté le 03 octobre
Il commença d’abord par
la carrière des armes, mais quand son père mourut, il décida de se faire
bénédictin, s’initia à la vie monastique à Saint-Denis, près de Paris, et fonda
une abbaye sur son domaine familial. Pendant vingt ans, à la demande du comte
de Flandre, il réforma de nombreuses abbayes qui étaient sous la juridiction du
duc de Lotharingie ou Lorraine. On ne sait s’il y parvint, mais du moins
s’endormit-il en paix en l’abbaye de Brogne, dans la province de Namur, à
quelques kilomètres au nord-est de Maredsous. C’est au XVIIème siècle que la
localité de Brogne prend le nom de Saint-Gérard : ce moine doux et conciliant
avait été canonisé en 1131, lors du concile de Reims.
Ne soyez ni trop riches
ni trop nombreux, mes fils. Souciez-vous de la qualité plus que du nombre !
Croyez-moi, la richesse et la prospérité attirent infailliblement la convoitise
des princes.
(Saint Gérard à ses
frères)
SOURCE : https://eglise.catholique.fr/saint-du-jour/03/10/saint-gerard-de-brogne/
Abbaye Saint-Gérard de Brogne en
1604. Albums de Croÿ, Paris, Bibliothèque
nationale.
GÉRARD DE BROGNE
Nous sommes le 3 octobre.
Nos calendriers indiquent que c'est le jour de la saint Gérard. Pour préparer
cette émission, nous sommes allés consulter Internet qui, le plus souvent, nous
donne de bonnes indications pour, au moins, commencer correctement la vie du
saint dont on rappelle ce jour-là la mémoire, et la replacer dans l'Histoire.
Las! Aujourd'hui, nous sommes bien embarrassés. Il y a de nombreux Gérard...
Lequel choisir? Oui, lequel choisir, d'autant plus que, pour plusieurs d'entre
eux, beaucoup de contradictions se manifestent. Quant aux dates, mieux vaut
n'en pas parler… Que faire? Abandonner Gérard? Nos amis Gérard seraient bien
déçus.
Que faire? Après avoir lu
et relu de nombreux textes, je me suis dit que le mieux serait d'abord de
présenter, rapidement car il est impossible de faire autrement, le saint
Gérard dont l'œuvre et la date de la mort sont à peu près sûrs: Gérard de
Brogne, fondateur de l'abbaye de Brogne, décédé un 3 octobre. Saint Gérard de Brogne
serait né vers 890. Il serait décédé vers 959. Il était le neveu de l'évêque de
Liège. Ses parents possédaient la terre de Brogne, dans la province de Namur à quelques kms au nord-est
de Maredsous. Ce grand domaine agricole, enclavé dans la forêt de Marlagne, était très étendu à cette époque.
La vie de Gérard commença
d'abord par la carrière des armes, auprès du comte de Namur, Béranger. Après la
mort de son père, suite à une vision, il décida de se faire bénédictin. Il
s'initia d'abord à la vie monastique à Saint Denis près de Paris, puis fonda
une abbaye sur son domaine familial: l'abbaye de Brogne, dont il devint l'abbé
en 923. À la demande du comte de Flandre, Gérard fut conduit à réformer de
nombreuses abbayes de la région. Les princes de l'époque, en effet, sans
être des saints, veillaient à la bonne tenue des monastères dans leurs états.
Nous sommes presque certains que Gérard réforma l'abbaye de Saint-Ghislain ainsi que
les deux abbayes de Gand, Saint-Bavon et Saint-Pierre, et celles de Saint-Bertin et de Saint-Amand.
C'est sur la réforme de
Saint-Bertin, en 949, que nous sommes le mieux informés, grâce à
une chronique de Folcuin, moine de cette abbaye,
écrite en 961-962. Selon lui, Gérard, premier abbé du monastère qu'il avait
construit à Brogne, "travailla à restaurer la discipline monastique
en Flandre et en Lotharingie, et ramena plusieurs monastères à l’observance
primitive de la Règle."
On peut ajouter que
Gérard sut rétablir la discipline religieuse dans les monastères qui lui
étaient confiés, en expulsant parfois des moines récalcitrants. Par ailleurs,
l'œuvre de Gérard comporta également des aspects pratiques: renouvellement de
la vie intellectuelle et liturgique notamment, à quoi il faut ajouter la
prospérité matérielle des monastères. Gérard travailla aussi pour que
monastères recouvrent leur indépendance vis-à-vis des seigneurs locaux. En
effet Gérard prévenait ses moines: "Ne soyez ni trop riches ni trop
nombreux, mes fils. Souciez-vous de la qualité plus que du nombre! Croyez-moi,
la richesse et la prospérité attirent infailliblement la convoitise des
princes."
Gérard de Brogne, qui
malgré toutes ses responsabilités avait su rester un moine doux et conciliant,
s'endormit dans la paix dans son abbaye de Brogne. Il fut canonisé en 1131. Au
XIIème siècle, la localité de Brogne, prit le nom de saint-Gérard. Voilà pour
Gérard de Brogne, notre saint d'aujourd'hui. Mais comme nous ne voulons pas
faire de jaloux, nous allons citer quelques autres saints ou bienheureux
Gérard.
***
Tout d'abord,
voici Saint Gérard de Clairvaux. Gérard de Clairvaux, frère aîné de
saint Bernard, aurait longtemps hésité à suivre son frère, chez les
cisterciens. Il serait mort en 1138, en Italie, alors qu'il accompagnait son
frère, saint Bernard, dans l'un de ses voyages.
Voici
maintenant Frère Gérard ou Pierre-Gérard de Martigues qui aurait
fondé, à Jérusalem, vers 1113, un hôpital destiné à accueillir les pèlerins et
à soigner les malades. Il fut aussi le fondateur de l'Ordre souverain
militaire, hospitalier de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem, de Rhodes et de Malte, au
début du 12ème siècle. Aujourd'hui, nous connaissons cet ordre sous le nom
d'Ordre de Malte. Nous ne savons presque rien de Frère Gérard, sinon qu'il
faisait l'admiration de tous ses aides et de ses confrères, en raison de sa foi
et de sa bonté. Il serait décédé le 3 septembre 1120. Le Frère Gérard est
considéré comme bienheureux par l’Église catholique.
Attention! En raison
d'une erreur de traduction, Frère Gérard de Martigues est souvent appelé Gérard
Tenque ou Tum, ou Tune, ou encore Thom. Cette erreur ne fut relevée qu'en 1885,
par Ferdinand de Hellwald.
Maintenant nous vous
devons quelques petites remarques:
1°Les restes de Frère
Gérard, probablement transférés, dès 1283, de Terre Sainte en Provence par les
Hospitaliers, ont été conservés à Manosque pendant tout le moyen-âge jusqu'à la
Révolution qui les détruisit; deux parcelles seulement furent sauvées et
restèrent à Manosque.
2°C'est une tradition
universelle qui a béatifié Frère Gérard, et c'est avec l'auréole de la sainteté
que son souvenir nous est parvenu. Les preuves absolues de la canonisation de
Gérard manquent; mais le culte séculaire dont il fut l'objet pendant tout le
moyen-âge est l'indice de la récompense céleste que la voix populaire attribua
à ses vertus. Pour Gérard, l'épithète persistante de bienheureux (beatus), sous
laquelle sa mémoire traversa les siècles, milite en faveur de sa canonisation.
On sait que pendant le haut moyen-âge le terme beatus équivalait à celui de
sanctus.
Nous avons trouvé un
autre Gérard: Gérard, moine bénédictin.
Le monastère de Seyr,
près de La charité sur Loire, fondé en l'an 700, avait été détruit à plusieurs
reprises par les Arabes et par les Barbares. Saint Hugues, abbé de Cluny,
envoya à Seyr, vers 1052-1056, le moine Gérard pour y fonder un nouveau
monastère. Les pères de ce monastère dont Gérard fut le premier prieur,
dispensèrent aux pauvres tant d'amour, que Seyr changea de nom pour s'appeler
La charité sur Loire. Si grande était la réputation de sainteté de ce moine
Gérard, qu'il fut appelé pour fonder de nouveaux monastères à Auxerre, Nevers,
Bourges, Meaux, Paris, etc. ... Lorsqu'il sentit sa fin approcher, il demanda à
redevenir simple religieux à la Charité-sur-Loire où il s'endormit dans la paix
du Seigneur.
Et nous avons encore un
autre bienheureux Gérard, contemporain, celui-là. Il s'agit du Bienheureux
Gerhard Hirschfelder, (1907-1942), victime du nazisme. Prêtre, il résista
au nazisme et mourut dans le camp de concentration de Dachau. Gerhard
Hirschfelder fut béatifié à Münster le 19 septembre 2010 par le cardinal
Meisner au nom du Pape Benoît XVI. Le 13 septembre 2010, le pape Benoît XVI,
dit de lui: ""En contemplant ces figures de martyrs, il apparaît de
façon toujours plus claire et exemplaire que certains hommes, en vertu de leur
conviction chrétienne, sont disposés à donner leur vie pour la foi, pour le
droit d’exercer librement leur croyance, pour la liberté d’expression, pour la
paix et pour la dignité humaine..."
Paulette Leblanc
SOURCE : http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/leblanc_gerard_de_brogne.htm
Gérard De Brogne
Stave ca 880, Brogne 03/10/959
Fondateur et abbé de Brogne, réformateur, Gérard est issu d’une famille de
grands propriétaires terriens, grâce à laquelle il a pu fonder son abbaye.
Formé au métier des armes auprès de Bérenger, comte de Namur, c’est lors d’un
voyage en France, dans le monastère de Saint-Denis, près de Paris, que Gérard
se résolut à devenir moine, sous la règle de saint Benoit.
Encouragé par Bérenger, il quitte son service pour rejoindre les cloîtres de
Saint-Denis, fait donation, en 919, d’une partie de son patrimoine à l’église
de Brogne et déclare vouloir y construire un monastère, ce qui sera fait en
923.
Fait bénédictin vers 919 à Saint-Denis, il fonde, avec douze religieux de cette
abbaye, le monastère saint Pierre et saint Eugène – il avait amené les reliques
de saint Eugène avec lui – à Brogne, répondant à la règle de Saint-Benoît, et
en devient le premier abbé, en 923.
Appelé par les seigneurs de Flandre et de Hainaut à rétablir la discipline dans
divers monastères décadents de la région – notamment ceux de Saint-Ghislain,
dans le Hainaut, de Saint-Bavon et de Saint-Pierre à Gand –, Gérard de Brogne
sera canonisé, en 1131, par le pape Innocent II.
Sources
Stanislas BORMANS, Biographie nationale, t. 7, col. 619-623
Léopold GENICOT (dir), Histoire de la Wallonie, Toulouse, Privat, 1973, p. 160 ; 174
Léopold GENICOT, Racines d’espérance. Vingt siècles en Wallonie, par les
textes, les images et les cartes, Bruxelles, Didier Hatier, 1986, p. 88
SOURCE : https://connaitrelawallonie.wallonie.be/wallons-marquants/dictionnaire-des-wallons/gerard-de-brogne
Pierre
commémorative dans son village natal de Stave.
Plake
al memwere do skepiaedje di Sint
Djuråd a Ståve
Also
known as
Gerhard
Gerardo
Gerardus
Djuråd
Profile
Born to the Belgian nobility;
son of Stance and Plectrude. Raised in a military atmosphere. Courtier to
the Count of
Namur. Disappointed by court life,
and ashamed of the many privileges he received from his family and military post,
Gerard realized that he was called to the monastic life.
He found Belgian monasteries too
lax in their discipline. While visiting France in 917 on
a mission from the Count,
Gerard decided the life of the monks of Saint Denis
was right for him. He settled his worldly affairs, and took vows at the monastery.
There Gerard became an example to other monks in
following the Rule,
and in his devotion to prayer.
His life, and his encouragement of the brothers, helped Saint Denis
becoming an example for monasteries throughout Europe.
He was ordained,
but wrestled with feelings of inadequacy as a priest.
After 11 years, the abbot asked
Gerard to return home to form a monastery there. Abbot of
the new monastery,
he soon gained renown for his strict observance of the Benedictine
Rule. This led many religious and political leaders to request that he
reform monasteries throughout Flanders,
Lorraine, and Champagne. Near the end of his life Gerard returned to the monastery he
built, and spent the rest of his life there in solitude and prayer.
Born
c.895 at
Staves, Namur, Belgium
3
October 959 at
Brogne, Belgium of
natural causes
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
books
Our
Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
images
webseiten
auf deutsch
sitios
en español
Martirologio
Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
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in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Gérard of
Brogne“. CatholicSaints.Info. 18 December 2023. Web. 26 April 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gerard-of-brogne/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gerard-of-brogne/
Book of Saints –
Gerard of Namur
Article
(Saint) Abbot (October
3) (10th
century) An Official of noble birth at the Court of
the Prince-Counts of Namur, who relinquished prospects of high advancement in
the world to become a simple monk at
Saint Denis near Paris.
Sent back after five years to Namur, he spent the rest of his life in reforming
the discipline of the Flemish monasteries, eighteen of which received his Rule.
Having obtained the Papal approbation of his Reform, he passed to his reward
A.D. 959.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Gerard of Namur”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
3 October 2016. Web. 3 October 2020.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-gerard-of-namur/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-gerard-of-namur/
St. Gerard of Brogne
Feastday: October 3
Patron: of Saint-Gérard, Namur
Birth: 895
Death: 959
Benedictine monastic
reformer. Born in Namur, Belgium, and trained at the French court, Gerard
joined the Benedictines at Saint-Denis, France. Ordained, Gerard founded a
monastery on his own estate in Brogne, Belgium. He reformed monasteries
in Lorraine and
Champagne, France, and Flanders, Belgium, and died in Brogne on October 3.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3547
New Catholic
Dictionary – Saint Gerard
Article
Confessor, Abbot of
Brogne, born Staves, Belgium, 890; died Brogne, Belgium, 959.
Of a noble family, he adopted the career of arms, but later, entering religion,
became Abbot of
Brogne, and established numerous Benedictine houses
in Belgium.
Relics at Brogne. Feast, 3
October.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Gerard”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
22 May 2013. Web. 26 April 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-gerard/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-gerard/
St. Gérard, Abbot of
Brogne
Born at Staves in the
county of Namur,
towards the end of the ninth century; died at Brogne or St-Gérard, 3 Oct. 959.
The son of Stance, of the family of
dukes of Lower Austrasia, and of Plectrude, sister of Stephen, Bishop of Liège,
the young Gérard, like most omen of his rank, followed at first the career of
arms. His piety,
however, was admirable amid the distractions of camp. He transformed into a
large church a modest chapel situated
on the estate of Brogne which belonged to his family.
About 917, the Count of Namur charged
him with a mission to Robert, younger brother of Eudes, King of France.
He permitted his followers to reside at Paris,
but himself went to live at the Abbey of St-Denis, where he was so struck by
the deifying lives of the monks that,
at the conclusion of his embassy, with the consent of the Count of Namur and
Bishop Stephen, his maternal uncle, he returned to St-Denis, took the religious
habit, and after eleven years was ordained priest.
He then requested to be allowed to return to Brogne, where he replaced the
lax clerics with monks animated
by a true religious
spirit. Thereupon he himself retired to a cell near the monastery for
more austere mortification.
From this retreat he was summoned by the Archbishop of Cambrai who
confided to him the direction of the community of St-Ghislain in Hainault. Here
also he established monks instead
of the canons, whose conduct had ceased to be exemplary, and he enforced the
strictest monastic discipline. Gradually he became superior of eighteen
other abbeys situated
in the region between the Meuse, the Somme, and the sea, and through his
efforts the Order of St. Benedict was soon completely restored throughout this
region. Weighed down by age and infirmities, he placed vicars or abbots in
his stead, in the various abbeys with
which he was charged, and retired to that of Brogne. He still had courage to
take a journey to Rome in
order to obtain a Bull confirming
the privileges of that abbey.
On his return he paid a final visit to all the communities which he had
reorganized, and then awaited death at Brogne. His body is still preserved at
Brogne, now commonly called St-Gérard.
Clugnet,
Léon. "St. Gérard, Abbot of Brogne." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1909. 3 Oct.
2020 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06465b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Gerard Loiselle.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06465b.htm
St. Gerard, Abbot
THE COUNTY of Namur gave
birth to this saint, who, being nearly related to Haganon, duke of Lower
Austrasia, and educated in the military service, was preferred young to one of
the most honourable posts in the household or palace of Berenger, the sovereign
count of Namur, whose court was one of the most splendid in Christendom. An
engaging sweetness of temper, and a strong inclination to piety and devotion,
gained him from the cradle the esteem and affection of every one, and his
courtesy and universal beneficence gave the greatest charms to virtue, and made
it shine forth by his whole conduct in the most amiable light. He proportioned
his profuse alms to the utmost extent of his large revenues and estates, and
knew no imaginary necessities which serve so often for pretences to withhold
charities, being sensible that a man gains nothing by putting a cheat upon his
own soul; for it is the truth that will judge us, which can neither be altered
nor weakened by the illusions of the passions, or by the false prejudices of
men. God blessed his fidelity by pouring forth abundantly his choicest graces
upon him. Gerard was enriched by him with an extraordinary gift of prayer, and
by this he obtained all other graces. Such was his ardour and affection for
this heavenly exercise, that he seemed to pray everywhere, and at all times.
One day, as he returned from hunting, in which diversion he had accompanied his
sovereign, whilst the rest went to take some refreshment, he privately stole
into a retired chapel at Brogne, which was part of his own estate, and remained
there a long time in devout prayer. He found so much interior sweetness in that
heavenly exercise, that he rose from it with extreme regret, and said to
himself: “How happy are they who have no other employment but to praise the
Lord night and day, to live always in his sweet presence, and to consecrate
their hearts to him without interruption!” To procure this happiness for
others, and this incessant tribute and honour to the supreme majesty of God, he
founded in that place several canonries and prebends, and built there a fair
church in 918. The earl, his sovereign, who, from the experience which he had
of his prudence and virtue, placed in him an entire confidence, sent him to the
court of France upon an important commission. At Paris, leaving his attendants
in the city, he retired to the abbey of St. Denis, where he was exceedingly
edified with the fervour and solitude of the holy monks, and earnestly desired
to dedicate himself to God in that place. For the execution of this design the
consent of his sovereign was necessary; which, upon his return to Namur, he
extorted from him, though with great difficulty. His uncle Stephen being bishop
of Tongres, he went thither to receive his blessing and advice, and having
settled his temporal affairs, went back with great joy to St. Denis’s, to make
the sacrifice of himself at the foot of God’s altar. During his novitiate he
spared no mortification and self-denials that he might begin more perfectly to
die to himself: without which condition our virtues themselves are often false
or imperfect, being tainted with self-love; for, in the most holy functions,
men often seek to please themselves rather than God, and gratify some subtle
inordinate passion. When we seem to propose no other aim but God’s glory, the
deceitfulness of self-love is even more dangerous, because less capable of
discovery. So long as this principle of self-love resides and is cherished in
the heart, it prompts us to conceive a secret opinion of our labours, and to
seek an unwarranted delight in our endeavours. This shows itself by our want of
perfect humility and meekness, both towards others, and towards ourselves; by a
secret fretfulness, sourness, or discouragements into which we sometimes fall.
This source must be cut off, otherwise it will easily creep into and debase the
purity of our affections, and intention in our religious exercises themselves,
and will be an insuperable bar to our progress in divine love, and in the
perfect union of our affections to God in holy prayer
Gerard, after his
religious profession, laboured every day with greater fervour to carry on all
Christian virtues to their noblest heights, and especially those of humility,
meekness, penance, obedience, and devout prayer, the main helps by which divine
charity is to be made daily more pure and perfect in a soul. Gerard began his
studies from the first elements, and went through them with incredible patience
and assiduity. Five years after his profession he received priestly orders, though
his humility was not to be overcome in this promotion without great difficulty.
When he had lived ten years with great fervour in this monastery, in 931 he was
sent by his abbot to found an abbey upon his estate at Brogne, three leagues
from Namur. He had no sooner settled this new abbey, but finding the
dissipation of receiving visitants, and of the charge of a numerous community,
to break in too much upon his retirement, and to interrupt his prayer, he built
himself a little cell near the church, and lived in it a recluse. God, some
time after, called him again to the active life for the greater advancement of
his glory, and Gerard was obliged to take upon himself the reformation of the
regular canons at St. Guilhain, six miles from Mons, in which house he
established the holy order of St. Bennet, of which he became one of the
greatest ornaments and propagators. At the request of Earl Arnold I., surnamed
the Great, whom the saint had miraculously cured of the stone, and whom he had
engaged to take up a penitential course of life, which he held to his death,
the general inspection and reformation of all the abbeys in Flanders was
committed to him; and he introduced a new and most exact discipline in eighteen
monasteries, namely, St. Peter’s at Ghent, St. Bavo’s, St. Martin’s at Tournay,
Marciennes, Hanon, Rhonay, St. Vaast’s at Arras, Turhoult, Wormhoult at Berg,
St. Riquier’s, St. Bertin’s, St. Silvin’s, St. Samer’s, St. Amand’s, St. Ame’s,
and St. Berta’s; all which houses honour him as their abbot and second
patriarch. The monasteries of Champagne, Lorrain, and Picardy also chose him
for their general master and reformer; those especially of St. Remigius of
Rheims, of Mouson, and of Thin le Moutier call him to this day the restorer of
their discipline, and of the Order of St. Bennet. No fatigues made the saint
abate anything of his ordinary austerities, nor did his employs seem to
interrupt the continual sweet communication of his soul with God. When he had
spent almost twenty years in these zealous labours, and was broken with old
age, he travelled to Rome, and obtained of the pope the confirmation of all the
reforms which he had made. 1 After
his return he made a general visitation of all the monasteries that were under
his direction; which when he had finished, he shut himself up in his cell, to
prepare his soul, by the most fervent exercises of the pure love of God, to go
to receive the recompense of his labours, to which he was called on the 3rd of
October in 959. The abbey of Brogne is now united to the bishopric of Namur,
erected by Paul IV.; but the church of Brogne still possesses the treasure of
his relics, and retains his name, which is mentioned on this day in the Roman
Martyrology, and others. See his exact life in Mabillon, Act. Bened. t. 7.;
also Gramaye in Historia et Antiquitatibus comitatus Namurcensis, p. 72; Bie,
the Bollandist, t. 2, Oct. p. 220, 320.
Note 1. His example
inspired many others with the like zeal. In 1079, two noblemen, named Sicher
and Walther, founded the rich abbey of Anchin, near Douay, in a place where St.
Gordon, a holy hermit, had served God with great edification. [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume X: October. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/10/032.html
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saint Gerard, Abbot
Saint Gerard was of a noble
family of the county of Namur, France. An engaging sweetness of temper, and a
strong inclination to piety and devotion, gained him from the cradle the esteem
and affection of every one. Having been sent on an important mission to the
Court of France, he was greatly edified at the fervor of the monks of Saint
Denis, at Paris, and earnestly desired to consecrate himself to God with them.
Returning home he settled his temporal affairs, and went back with great joy to
Saint Denis’s. He had lived ten years with great fervor in this monastery, when
in 931 he was sent by his_abbot to found an abbey upon his estate at Brogne,
three leagues from Namur. He settled this new abbey, and then built himself a
little cell near the church, and lived in it a recluse until God called him to
undertake the reformation of many monasteries, which he did successfully. When
he had spent almost twenty years in these zealous labors, he shut himself up in
his cell, to prepare his soul to receive the recompense of his labors to which
he was called on the 3rd of October in 959.
Reflection – Though
we are in the world, let us strive to separate ourselves from it and consecrate
ourselves to God, remembering that “the world passeth away, but he that doth
the will of God abideth forever.”
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-gerard-abbot/
St. Gerard of Brogne
St. Gerard entered this world blessed with the advantages of noble birth and a
naturally pleasing disposition which made him universally liked, yet he saw
through the emptiness of a worldly life. Upon returning from a hunting trip one
day, he retreated to a chapel, where he sighed, "How happy are they who
have no other obligation but to praise the Lord night and day, and who live
always in His presence." St. Gerard had a vision in which St. Peter asked
him to bring the relics of St. Eugenius to Brogne, Belgium. Upon completing
this task, St. Gerard entered into religious life at the monastery of
Saint-Denis, where he was later elevated to the priesthood. After founding an
abbey of monks on his own estate at Brogne, the Saint set up a cell for himself
near the church so he could live a life of reclusion. He was not allowed to
remain a recluse for long though. God soon called him to reform the abbey of
St. Ghislain, where the monks would expose the relics of their founder in
exchange for money. Due to his success there St. Gerard was later given the
commission to reform all the abbeys in Flanders. For nearly twenty years, he
labored for their reformation by the Rule of St. Benedict. Toward the end of
his life, St. Gerard made one last general visit to each of the monasteries
under his direction, then retired to his cell at Brogne to prepare for his
death.
Highlights and Things to
Do:
Read more about St.
Gerard:
St. Gerard's relics are
preserved at Saint-Gérard, the abbey of Maredsous, Aubange. Visit the
site online.
SOURCE : https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-10-03
St. Gerard of Brogne
Benedictine abbot. The gentle saint was born to a wealthy family in 895 near
Fosse, in France. From his youth, he had a reputation for being friendly and
kind. For a time he was a soldier and courtier of the Count of Namur. One day
after a hunting trip with friends the group returned to his family estate tired
and hungry. After he had invited everyone in to rest and eat Gerard slipped
away to a little chapel that on his property and prayed for a long time.
He found that his tired body seemed rested and he forgot all about his hunger.
The idea occurred to Gerard that if people only realised the joy of praying,
they would want to pray all the time. He soon gave up life at court and joined
the monastery of Saint-Denis. He loved the life there and eventually became a
priest.
Gerard remained at St Denis for 11 years, when he was given permission to start
a monastery on his own property at Brogne. His community flourished, but,
longing for more peace and solitude, Gerard built himself a little hermitage
next to the church.
He was not allowed to stay there for very long. His superiors asked him to
visit the monasteries in Flanders and Normandy to assist them in their
organisation and prayer life. For the next 20 years Gerard travelled around the
country visiting monasteries in Flanders and Normandy, including Mont
Saint-Michel.
When he realised his life on earth was nearly over, Gerard asked for permission
to return to his hermitage back in Brogne. He died there peacefully on this day
in 959.
SOURCE : https://www.indcatholicnews.com/saint/286
Icona con San Gerardo di Brogne
San Gerardo di Brogne Abate
Nobile del Lomacensis,
Gerardo, ancora giovanissimo, era stato preso da un grande ideale religioso.
Dopo un'iniziazione alla vita monastica a Saint-Denis, presso Parigi, aveva
fondato nelle proprie terre un'abbazia benedettina. Uomo virtuoso e monaco esemplare,
conosciutissimo dalle famiglie potenti delle regioni vicine al suo monastero,
attirò prestissimo l'attenzione dei principi, specialmente di Gisleberto di
Lotaringia e di Arnaldo di Fiandra che lo chiamarono per risollevare i loro
monasteri decaduti. Apostolo infaticabile, Gerardo percorse per
venticinque anni la Lotaringia e la Fiandra riformando una dozzina di abbazie.
Morí a Brogne nel 959. Il culto a Gerardo risale al 1131 e Brogne, oggi
Saint-Gérard, divenne rapidamente un luogo di pellegrinaggio. La festa del
santo è celebrata nelle diocesi di Namur, Gand e Liegi. Reliquie, considerate
come autentiche, si conservano a Saint-Gérard (casa parrocchiale e convento dei
Padri Assunzionisti), a Maredsous (abbazia), Aubange (casa parrocchiale) e Gand
(chiesa di Notre-Dame).
Etimologia: Gerardo
= valoroso con la lancia, dal tedesco
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio
Romano: Nel territorio di Namur, nell’odierno Belgio, san Gerardo, primo
abate del monastero di Brogne da lui fondato, che si adoperò per il
rinnovamento della disciplina monastica nelle Fiandre e nella Lotaringia e
riportò molti cenobi alla originaria osservanza della regola.
Diverse fonti ci informano sulla sua vita ed attività. Prima di tutto la Vita Gerardi, la cui versione attualmente conosciuta, come ha recentemente dimostrato il canonico J. M. De Smet non è stata redatta, come s'è fin qui pensato, allo scopo di correggere i difetti di un testo anteriore; essa non è che una "opera d'edificazione e di polemica, spesso fantastica e talvolta francamente fraudolenta, redatta nel 1074-75; non ci insegna niente di valido su Gerardo.
Il nucleo su cui si è basato l'autore della Vita Gerardi è costituito dalla Translatio S. Eugenli, redatta probabilmente nel sec. X, forse tra il 935 e il 937. L'Inventio S. Gisleni, scritta da un monaco che assistette all'incendio del monastero di Saint-Ghislain nel 936 e fu testimonio di molti miracoli e i Miracula Ranieri S. Gisleni, redatti verso la metà dell'XI sec. da un altro monaco di Saint-Ghislain, ci informano sull'opera riformatrice di Gerardo nel monastero stesso. L'Historia monasterii Mosomensis, composta verso il 1033 da un monaco di Mouzon, e un atto ricopiato nel Libertraditionum di Saint-Pierre di Gand testimoniano dell'attività del santo rispettivamente a Saint-Rémy e nel contado di Fiandra.
Nobile del Lomacensis, Gerardo, ancora giovanissimo, era stato preso da un grande ideale religioso. Dopo un'iniziazione alla vita monastica a Saint-Denis, presso Parigi, aveva fondato nelle proprie terre un'abbazia benedettina. Uomo virtuoso e monaco esemplare, conosciutissimo dalle famiglie potenti delle regioni vicine al suo monastero, attirò prestissimo l'attenzione dei principi, specialmente di Gisleberto di Lotaringia e di Arnaldo di Fiandra che lo chiamarono per risollevare i loro monasteri decaduti. Apostolo infaticabile, Gerardo percorse per venticinque anni la Lotaringia e la Fiandra, restaurando e riformando una dozzina di abbazie. Morí a Brogne il 3 ottobre 959.
Il millenario della morte del santo fu occasione di un congresso storico che tenne la sue assise a Maredsous nell'ottobre 1959, e a grandi manifestazioni religiose a Saint-Gérard (prov. di Namur), sede dell'antica abbazia fondata dal riformatore. Il culto a s. Gerardo risale al 1131 e Brogne, oggi Saint-Gérard, divenne rapidamente un luogo di pellegrinaggio. La festa del santo è celebrata nelle diocesi di Namur, Gand e Liegi al 3 ottobre, data nella quale è inserito nel Martirologio Romano. Reliquie, consi derate come autentiche, si conservano a Saint-Gérard (casa parrocchiale e convento dei Padri Assunzionisti), a Maredsous (abbazia), Aubange (casa parrocchiale) e Gand (chiesa di Notre-Dame).
Autore: Albert D'Haenens
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/72650
San Gerardo di Brogne
San Gerardo di Brogne (Stave, 890 ca.; † Saint-Gérard, 3 ottobre 959) è stato un abate e monaco belga benedettino.
Biografia
Nacque a Stave verso
l'890, piccolo villaggio della contea delle Fiandre, figlio di Sancius parente
dei duchi di Austrasia, mentre per parte di
madre era parente del vescovo di Liegi Stefano di Tongern. La
famiglia lo aveva avviato molto giovane alla carriera militare e fu ammesso
come paggio presso la corte del signore di Namur Berengario, qui le sue doti
intellettuale e morali furono presto notate e in poco tempo ottenne incarichi importanti
nella gestione della contea di Namur.
Ma dopo la morte del
padre prese l'abito benedettino, dopo un'iniziazione alla vita monastica a
Saint-Denis, presso Parigi, dove fu anche ordinato sacerdote, fondò nelle
proprie terre un'abbazia. Uomo virtuoso e monacoesemplare, conosciutissimo dalle famiglie potenti delle
regioni vicine al suo monastero, attirò prestissimo l'attenzione dei principi,
specialmente di Gisleberto di Lotaringia e di Arnaldo di Fiandra che lo
chiamarono per riformare i loro monasteri decaduti. Apostolo infaticabile, Gerardo
percorse per venticinque anni la Lotaringia e la Fiandra, restaurando e
riformando una dozzina di abbazie.
Morí a Brogne il 3
ottobre 959.
Culto
Il culto a san Gerardo risale al 1131 e l'antica
Brogne cambiò il nome in Saint-Gérard e divenne rapidamente un luogo di pellegrinaggio sulla tomba del santo abate. La
festa del santo è celebrata nelle diocesi di Namur, Gand e Liegi al 3 ottobre,
data nella quale è inserito nel Martirologio Romano.
SOURCE : http://it.cathopedia.org/wiki/San_Gerardo_di_Brogne
Abbaye Saint-Gérard de Brogne, à
Saint-Gérard (Belgique)
Gerhard von Brogne
Gedenktag katholisch: 3. Oktober
mit anderen aus St-Bertin: 26. Oktober
Name bedeutet: der
Speerstarke (althochdt.)
Klostergründer, erster Abt in Brogne
* um 885 in Stave bei Namur in Belgien
† 3. Oktober 959 in Brogne, heute St-Gérard bei
Namur in Belgien
Gerhard stand im Dienst
des Grafen Berengar von Namur.
Auf seinem Grundbesitz in Brogne - dem heutigen St-Gérard erbaute
er 914 eine Kirche und ein Kanonikerstift.
Um 918 trat er in die Benediktinerabtei St-Denis bei
Paris ein. Dort lernte er alle Psalmen auswendig, wurde zum Doktor der
heiligen Schrift ernannt und zum Priester geweiht. 923 kehrte er nach
Brogne zurück und wandelte sein Stift in ein Benediktinerkloster um, dessen
erster Abt er wurde. In sein Kloster brachte er aus St-Denis Reliquien von Eugen
von Toledo mit. Das Kloster wurde Mittelpunkt der Reformen
von Gorze; Gerhard reformierte insgesamt 18 Klöster in Lothringen und Flandern.
Kanonisation: Die
Heiligsprechung von Gerhard erfolgte 1131.Catholic
Encyclopedia
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Autor: Joachim
Schäfer - zuletzt aktualisiert am 05.03.2026
Quellen:
• P. Ezechiel Britschgi: Name verpflichtet. Christiana, Stein am Rhein, 1985
• Friedrich-Wilhelm Bautz. In: Friedrich-Wilhelm Bautz (Hg.):
Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Bd. II, Hamm 1990
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel Gerhard von Brogne, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienG/Gerhard_von_Brogne.html, abgerufen am 26. 4. 2026
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
Heiligenlexikon in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte
bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://d-nb.info/1175439177 und https://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienG/Gerhard_von_Brogne.html
Steven Vanderputten et Brigitte Meijns. « Gérard de Brogne en Flandre. État de la question sur les réformes monastiques du Xe siècle », Revue du Nord, 2010/2 (n° 385) : https://shs.cairn.info/revue-du-nord-2010-2-page-271?lang=fr
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