(Sanctus Ægidius Abbas — Feast: 1 September)
Saint Giles, a Greek by birth, lived in the 7th century. From his youth he was distinguished for his sanctity, giving away his inheritance to the poor and choosing a life of solitude and prayer. Sailing to Gaul, he withdrew into the wilderness near Nîmes. There, for many years, he lived as a hermit in a deep forest, nourished by the milk of a hind (deer) which came daily to him.
King Wamba (or, in some traditions, Flavius of the Visigoths) discovered him while hunting: the royal hounds, pursuing the hind, were stopped before Giles, and an arrow, shot at the animal, wounded the saint instead. The king, struck with reverence, begged his pardon and built for him a monastery at the site, later known as Saint-Gilles (in Languedoc).
As abbot, Giles gathered many disciples, lived in great austerity, and became renowned for his miracles and intercession. He was especially invoked throughout the Middle Ages as a patron for the sick, the poor, and those seeking pardon for sins. He passed to heaven around the year 712.
Liturgical Note
- In the Roman Martyrology for September 1:
“Sancti Ægidii Abbatis, cujus nomen illustrat Monasterium ejus in Gallia positum, quod ab ipso constructum est et Ordinis sui religione nobilitavit.”
(“The feast of Saint Giles, Abbot, whose name is honored by the monastery in Gaul which he built, and which he ennobled by the holiness of his Rule.”) - His cult spread widely through Europe; he is one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers.”