Saint Gilles de Santarem
prêtre dominicain (✝ 1265)
Jeune abbé d'une
abbaye de Coïmbra au Portugal, il ne priait plus, n'allait plus au chœur, sans
cesse plongé dans des livres d'alchimie pour y trouver le secret de la nature.
Il partit à Paris, espérant que là au moins les savants le lui révèleraient,
puisqu'il s'y trouvait une des plus célèbres facultés de médecine. Il n'en fut
rien et il se consola dans la débauche qui le conduisit à la tristesse et même
au désespoir. Il découvrit que seule la Vierge Marie pouvait le sauver, et il
partit rejoindre son monastère. Sur la route, il rencontra un dominicain qui
l'agrégea à son Ordre dans le couvent de Valence. Il vécut heureux sans
néanmoins connaître le secret de la nature, mais ayant découvert que Dieu est
le secret de la paix. Son culte fut reconnu en 1748 par le pape Benoît XIV.
À Santarem au Portugal, en 1265, le bienheureux Gilles de Vouzela, prêtre.
Enseignant la médecine à Paris, il abandonna une vie dissolue pour entrer dans
l’Ordre des Prêcheurs; il y passa le reste de ses jours dans les larmes, la
prière et la pénitence, repoussant toutes les tentations.
Martyrologe romain
Bx Gilles de Santarém (P),
prêtre o.p. (v. 1190-1265)
Gilles de Santarém (Gil Rodrigues de Valadares), en latin Aegidius
Scallabitanus, naît à Vouzela (province de Viseu, Portugal) vers 1190.
Troisième fils de Rui Pais de Valadares - gouverneur de Coimbra (alors capitale
du Portugal) et conseiller de Sancho 1er -, il fut destiné dès l’enfance à
l’Église et étudia à Coimbra la philosophie et la médecine.
Le roi
lui donne de gros bénéfices, mais il ne veut pas être ecclésiastique, il veut
être médecin. Il partit continuer les études à Paris, la meilleure faculté
d’Europe. La légende dit qu’en cours de route, il rencontra un étranger
courtois (plus tard, il pensait que c’était le diable), qui proposa de lui
enseigner la magie à Tolède, en échange il devait donner son âme au diable.
Ensuite, il alla à Paris, y obtint son diplôme de médecin, et pratiqua et
enseigna la médecine avec grand succès. Mais au milieu de la richesse et des
honneurs, il n’est pas heureux.
N’ayant
pas trouvé le secret de la nature, il se consola dans la débauche, qui le
conduisit à la tristesse et au désespoir. Il a perdu la foi, mais il a gardé la
dévotion à Marie, il pressent qu’elle le délivrera. Une nuit, un rêve lui
montre dans quel danger mortel il est, il appelle Marie à l’aide, et au réveil
il est délivré. Il brûla ses livres de magie, cassa ses flacons d’onguents,
distribua ses biens à ses serviteurs et aux pauvres, et entreprit de rentrer à
pied au Portugal. De passage au couvent de Palencia où les dominicains lui
donnèrent l’hospitalité, Gil profita de l’occasion pour se confesser, et prit
l’habit vers 1221/1224.
Sous le Bx Jourdain de Saxe, maître de l’Ordre, il fit sa profession.
Autre
version : c’est à Paris
qu’il fit connaissance de l’Ordre dominicain récemment créé, et où il fut, au
noviciat, le compagnon de cellule du Bx Humbert de Romans. En 1229, il est
envoyé au couvent de Scallabis (actuel Santarém), au Portugal, où il se
consacre à l’enseignement, à la prédication, à la prière et à la pénitence.
Dans les tentations de désespoir, il continue à prier Marie et finalement il est entièrement libéré. Il vécut heureux sans connaître le secret de la nature, mais ayant découvert que Dieu est le secret de la paix. Il est très doué pour toucher par ses prédications les pécheurs endurcis.
Il est élu provincial d’Espagne (Province incluant le Portugal) en 1234, participe au chapitre général de Burgos, où il défend la création d’un couvent à Porto. Au chapitre général de Bologne, en 1238, il vote l’élection de (saint) Raymond de Peñafort (1175-1275)comme Maître général. En 1245 il participa à la déposition de Sancho II par le pape Innocent IV (Sinibaldo Fieschi, 1243-1254). Il fut réélu provincial en 1257, mais son âge avancé l’obligea à renoncer bientôt à cette charge. Il passa ses dernières années à Santarém.
Extases,
prophéties. Dès son vivant il était considéré comme un saint.
Il mourut à Santarém le 14 mai 1265, octogénaire et sans agonie, consumé par l’amour divin. Sa tombe devint un lieu de pèlerinage. Beaucoup de miracles et de guérisons lui sont attribués.
Gil de Santarém a été béatifié le 09 mars 1748 par le pape Benoît XIV (Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, 1740-1758).
Source principale : docteurangelique.forumactif.com/(« Rév. x gpm »).
©Evangelizo.org 2001-2015
.jpg)
A Portuguese Dominican: b. at Vaozela, diocese
of Viseu, about 1185; d. at Santarem,
14 May, 1265. His father, Rodrigo
Pelayo Valladaris, was governor of Coimbra
and councillor of Sancho I. It was the wish of his parents that Gil should enter
the ecclesiastical state, and the king was very lavish in
best caving ecclesiastical benefices upon him. When he was still a boy, he already
held prebends at Braga, Coimbra, Idanha,
and Santarem. Gil,
however, held no desire to be an ecclesiastic;
his ambition was to become a famous physician. After devoting
some time to the study of philosophy and medicine
at Coimbra he set out for Paris, with the intention of
perfecting himself in the science of medicine and
obtaining the doctor's degree.
If we may give credence to his
unknown contemporaneous biographer, he was accosted on his journey by a
courteous stranger who promised to teach the art of magic
at Toledo. As payment, so the legend
runs, the stranger required that Gil
should make over his soul to the devil and sign the compact with his blood. Gil
obeyed and after devoting
himself seven years to the study of magic
under the direction of Satan, went to Paris, easily obtained the degree of doctor
of medicine, and performed many
wonderful cures. One night while he was locked up in his library a gigantic knight, armed head to foot, appeared to him and, with
his sword drawn, demanded that Gil
should change his wicked life.
The same spectre appeared a second time, and threatened to kill
Gil if he would not reform. Gil
now repented of his evil ways, burnt his books of magic
and returned to Portugal, where he took the habit of St. Dominic in the newly-erected monastery at Palencia, about 1221. Shortly after, his superiors sent
him to the Dominican house at Scallabis, the present Santarem.
Here he led a life of prayer and penance, and for
seven years his mind was
tormented by the thought of the compact which was still in the hands of Satan. Finally, his biographer narrates, the devil was compelled to surrender the compact and place it before the altar
of the Blessed Virgin. Gil
returned to Paris to study theology and on his return to Portugal became famous for his piety and learning. He was twice elected
provincial of his order in Spain. Benedict XIV ratified his cult on 9 March, 1748.
Ott, Michael. "Blessed Gil of Santarem." The
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909.
14 May 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06561b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for
New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New
York.
Blessed Giles of Portugal,
C.O.P.
Memorial Day: May 14th
So many romantic legends intertwine themselves with
the story of Blessed Giles that it is difficult to see the man himself. His
life, even stripped of its legend, however, is the story of the triumph of
grace in the human soul.
He was the son of Rodrigues de Vagliaditos, governor
of Coimbra under King Sancho the Great. From his childhood, Giles was destined
for the priesthood for which he studied at Coimbra. He was ordained at an early
age, but with no good intention, for he saw in the priesthood only a chance to
wield power. His father's influence gained for him a number of rich benefices,
which he used sinfully for power and pleasure.
Being a brilliant student, he advanced rapidly in his
chosen field of medicine, an art that was at the time often linked with
necromancy or black magic. He neglected his priestly duties and seemed bent
only on the pleasures of life.
Thoroughly irreligious and pleasure-seeking young man, set
out for Paris to work for higher degrees in medicine. On the advice of a
stranger he met on the way, he went to Toledo instead and became a student of
the black arts. According to one story, he met the devil and signed a contract
with him, in which he promised his soul in return for a universal knowledge of
medicine. Thereupon he spent seven years in bondage to his evil master,
learning all his arts.
Having gained the highest degrees in medicine, Giles
went to Paris and became a successful physician. At the peak of worldly
success, he began to have horrible visions. He saw himself in a cemetery of a
monastery of which he enjoyed the revenues. There he saw a specter who carried
a skull and an hourglass. The specter knocked at one and then another of the
tombs, calling out, "Arise, faithful monk!" At each summons another
fearful specter appeared, until at one tomb there was no answer.
"Giles," he called. "What--not
there?" He poised the hourglass and murmured, "There are yet a few
sands to run!" After this fearful vision, says the legend, Giles repented
of his misspent life, destroyed his magic books and potions, and set out in
haste for Coimbra on foot.
At Palencia he met the friars of the newly founded
Order of Preachers. He was still troubled by diabolical attacks, but they
helped him to make his peace with God. Joining them, he spent seven years in
terrible penance, after which Our Lady returned to him the fateful scroll he
had signed with Satan.
It is known that Giles had spent his youth badly, and
that after entering the Dominicans he did fervent penance. By nature he was
witty and charming, and he found the silence hard to keep. Actual violence to
his natural disposition was necessary to make him into the humble and reserved
religious he later became.
Blessed Giles occupied several positions of authority
in the order, including provincial of Portugal, and his medical skill proved to
be a blessing in the care of his sick brethren. He made a practice of going
about the dormitories, cleaning up the students' rooms while they were at
class. His heroic penance did much to undo the scandal he had caused in his
early years.
Giles was sent back to Portugal after his early
training, and his preaching was noteworthy, even in that age of renowned
preachers. He founded a number of monasteries and did much to establish the
Dominicans in Portugal. His last years were filled with visions and ecstasies.
He lived to be very old, regarded by all but himself as a very great saint
(Benedictines, Dorcy).
Born: Born 1185 at Vaozela
Died: 1265 of natural causes
Beatified: May 9, 1748 by Pope
Benedict XIV (cultus confirmed)
Commemorations
First Vespers:
Ant. Come, O daughters of Jerusalem, and behold a Martyr with a
crown wherewith the Lord crowned him on the day of solemnity and rejoicing,
alleluia, alleluia
V. Pray for us, Blessed Giles alleluia
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ, alleluia.
Lauds:
Ant. Perpetual light will shine upon Thy Saints, O Lord, alleluia, and
an eternity of ages, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
V. The just man shall blossom like the lily, alleluia.
R. And shall flourish forever before the Lord, alleluia
Second Vespers:
Ant. In the city of the Lord the music of the Saints incessantly
resounds: there the angels and archangels sing a canticle before the throne of
God, alleluia.
V. Pray for us, Blessed Giles, alleluia
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. alleluia
Prayer:
Let us Pray: We humbly implore Thy
mercy, O God, that as through its promptings Thou didst cause Blessed Giles to
return to the way of holiness and justice, so Thou wouldst transfer us from the
slavery and death of sin into life and perfect liberty. Through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
SOURCE :
http://www.willingshepherds.org/Dominican%20Saints%20May.html#Giles of Portugal
Blessed Giles of
Santarem, OP (AC)
Born at Vaozela near Coimbra, Portugal, c. 1185-1190; died at Santarem,
Portugal, 1265; cultus approved in 1748.
So many romantic legends
intertwine themselves with the story of Blessed Giles that it is difficult to
see the man himself. His life, even stripped of its legend, however, is the
story of the triumph of grace in the human soul.
He was the son of Rodrigues
de Vagliaditos, governor of Coimbra under King Sancho the Great. From his
childhood, Giles was destined for the priesthood for which he studied at
Coimbra. He was ordained at an early age, but with no good intention, for he
saw in the priesthood only a chance to wield power. His father's influence
gained for him a number of rich benefices, which he used sinfully for power and
pleasure.
Being a brilliant student,
he advanced rapidly in his chosen field of medicine, an art that was at the
time often linked with necromancy or black magic. He neglected his priestly
duties and seemed bent only on the pleasures of life.
Legend takes up the story
from here and relates that Giles, a thoroughly irreligious and pleasure-seeking
young man, set out for Paris to work for higher degrees in medicine. On the
advice of a stranger he met on the way, he went to Toledo instead and became a
student of the black arts. According to one legend, he met the devil and signed
a contract with him, in which he promised his soul in return for a universal
knowledge of medicine. Thereupon he spent seven years in bondage to his evil
master, learning all his arts.
Having gained the highest
degrees in medicine, Giles went to Paris and became a successful physician. At
the peak of worldly success, he began to have horrible visions. He saw himself
in a cemetery of a monastery of which he enjoyed the revenues. There he saw a
specter who carried a skull and an hourglass. The specter knocked at one and
then another of the tombs, calling out, "Arise, faithful monk!" At
each summons another fearful specter appeared, until at one tomb there was no
answer.
"Giles," he
called. "What--not there?" He poised the hourglass and murmured,
"There are yet a few sands to run!" After this fearful vision, says
the legend, Giles repented of his misspent life, destroyed his magic books and
potions, and set out in haste for Coimbra on foot.
At Palencia he met the
friars of the newly founded Order of Preachers. He was still troubled by
diabolical attacks, but they helped him to make his peace with God. Joining
them, he spent seven years in terrible penance, after which Our Lady returned
to him the fateful scroll he had signed with Satan.
Such a legend adds color to
the calendar of saints, but it would be hard to tell how much of it is true. It
is known that Giles had spent his youth badly, and that after entering the
Dominicans he did fervent penance. By nature he was witty and charming, and he
found the silence hard to keep. Actual violence to his natural disposition was
necessary to make him into the humble and reserved religious he later became.
Blessed Giles occupied
several positions of authority in the order, including provincial of Portugal,
and his medical skill proved to be a blessing in the care of his sick brethren.
He made a practice of going about the dormitories, cleaning up the students'
rooms while they were at class. His heroic penance did much to undo the scandal
he had caused in his early years.
Giles was sent back to
Portugal after his early training, and his preaching was noteworthy, even in
that age of renowned preachers. He founded a number of monasteries and did much
to establish the Dominicans in Portugal. His last years were filled with
visions and ecstasies. He lived to be very old, regarded by all but himself as
a very great saint (Benedictines, Dorcy).
