Saint Gilbert de
Moravia ,
vitrail (1989, Crear McCartney), Cathédrale de Dornoch,
Dornoch (Highland,
Scotland)
Saint Gilbert de Caithness
Évêque de
Caithness (✝ 1245)
Évêque de Caithness
en Écosse, il y construisit sa cathédrale à Dornoch, ainsi que plusieurs
hospices pour les pauvres. En mourant, recommanda ce qu’il avait observé
lui-même toute sa vie, ne faire tort à personne, supporter avec patience les
châtiments divins et n’être cause de scandale pour personne. Serviteur fidèle
du roi d'Écosse, il défendit avec courage l'indépendance de son pays, contre
les prétentions de l'archevêque d'York.
À Caithness en Écosse, vers 1245, saint Gilbert, évêque, qui construisit sa cathédrale à Dornoch, ainsi que plusieurs hospices pour les pauvres; et, en mourant, recommanda ce qu’il avait observé lui-même toute sa vie, c’est-à-dire: ne faire tort à personne, supporter avec patience les châtiments divins et n’être cause de scandale pour personne.
Martyrologe
romain
Gilbert of Caithness B (AC)
Died April 1, 1245. Saint Gilbert was the son of William de Moravia, lord of
Duffus and Strabrok, who owned enormous tracts of land in northern Scotland.
King Alexander II appointed him archdeacon of Moray, which gave him secular and
religious power during a turbulent period. Enemies set his accounting ledgers
ablaze, but miraculously, they survived. In 1223, Gilbert was appointed bishop
of Caithness to succeed Saint Adam, who had been burned alive. He held that
position for 20 years during which he built the cathedral of the diocese. The
statues of this cathedral of Dornoch were modelled on those of Moray and
Lincoln. He also established several homes for the poor. Gilbert was a valued
servant of the Scottish kings, a zealous upholder of Scottish independence
against the archbishop of York (though this is disputed), and a great preacher
and administrator. As patron of Caithness, his name is in the Aberdeen
Breviary. Until the Reformation (1545) , Gilbert's relics were venerated and
used for the swearing of oaths (Attwater2, Benedictines, Farmer, Husenbeth).
