Gerard of Lunel

Infobox Saint
name= Saint Gerard of Lunel
birth_date=~1275
death_date=1298
feast_day= May 6; May 25
venerated_in= Roman Catholic Church


imagesize= 250px
caption=
birth_place= Lunel, France
death_place=Monte Santo, Italy
titles=
beatified_date= August 1, 1742
beatified_place=
beatified_by=Benedict XIV
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=Pius VI
attributes=
patronage=Potenza Picena (formerly called Monte Santo); invoked against epilepsy [ [http://www.2heartsnetwork.org/patronsfortheill.htm Patron Saints for Chronic and Incurable Illness ] ] and headaches [ [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintg27.htm Patron Saints Index: Blessed Gerard of Lunel ] ]
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
issues= Saint Gerard of Lunel ( _fr. Gérard de Lunel) ( _it. San Gerio, Girio) (ca. 1275—1298), also known as "Roger of Lunel" and as Saint Géri ("Gerius"), [Not to be confused with Gaugericus, who is also known as Saint Géry.] was a French saint. Born to the French nobility, he became a Franciscan tertiary at the age of five.

From his maternal grandfather, Raymond Guasselin, Gerard received half of the Barony of Lunel, which consisted of 15 villages. When his grandfather died in 1294, Gerard received other assets that were administered by his father, since the future saint was underage at the time. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90739 San Gerio (Girio) ] ] In 1295, when Philip the Fair wished to possess a Mediterranean port, he offered to assume control over Lunel in exchange for the county of Roquefort, also situated in Languedoc, but in the diocese of Avignon rather than Montpellier. Gerard thus became a count rather than a baron. When he was 18, however, Gerard wished to live in solitude as a hermit. He and his brother Effrenaud (Effrendo) decided to live as hermit in two caves for two years. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90739 San Gerio (Girio) ] ]

According to his legend, when continuous rains swelled the river so much that the two brothers remained trapped in their cave and thus in danger of starving, two snakes carried bread to them. The rain then stopped, and Gerard and his brother traveled to a distant castle to receive communion. The miracle became known, and many people visited Gerard in his cave. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90739 San Gerio (Girio) ] ]

Wishing to escape the fame that they were earning as a result of their apparent holiness, they decided to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They spent two years in Rome, visiting its shrines and churches. In Rome, Gerard learned that there lived a holy man named Liberius at Ancona, who had visited the Holy Land. Wishing to visit him, the two brothers began to travel in the direction of Ancona, but Gerard suddenly suffered a pain in his head. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90739 San Gerio (Girio) ] ]

Gerard suffered a collapse at Monte Santo (present-day Potenza Picena), [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90739 San Gerio (Girio) ] ] near Ancona. Effrenaud, leaving Gerard in a cottage, went to get help but by the time he came back Gerard had died.

Veneration

A communal council at Monte Santo in 1371 approved a day of festivity for Saint Gerard as May 25. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90739 San Gerio (Girio) ] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3545 St. Gerard de Lunel]
* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintg27.htm GERARD of Lunel]
* [http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.asp?id=1375 Blessed Gerard of Lunel]
*fr icon [http://nimausensis.com/rochefort/RocGeraud.htm St Gérard de Lunel, Seigneur de Rochefort]
*it icon [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90739 San Gerio (Girio)]
*it icon [http://www.chiesainrete.it/fermovicarie/civitanovamarche/parrocchie/sangirio/index.htm Church of San Girio]