Saint Felix the Hermit ( pt, São Félix o Eremita) was a 9th-century fisherman and

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

, who is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Legend

Felix was from Villa Mendo, an actual ancient

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

that existed until the early years of the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kno ...

and rediscovered in the 20th century, having been buried under sand dunes in

Póvoa de Varzim Póvoa de Varzim (, ) is a Portugal, Portuguese city in Norte Region, Portugal, Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho River, Minho ...

. Felix could catch no fish, says the local legend, which infuriated his parents. Therefore, he left home and settled on the biggest hill of the area, which is today known as Mount São Félix. During the Middle Ages, the hill was known as ''Monte Lanudos''. With some frequency, Felix observed a light in the darkness of the night from the hill. One day, curious, he went to investigate and discovered the body of

Saint Peter of Rates Peter of Rates ( pt, Pedro de Rates), also known in English as Peter of Braga, is traditionally considered to be the first bishop of Braga between the years AD 45 and 60. Tradition says he was ordered to preach the Christian faith by James th ...

. He took the body, and in that place, the Romanesque church of Saint Peter of Rates was built. The relics of Saint Peter were kept there up until 1552; in that year the body was transferred to

Braga Cathedral The Cathedral of Braga ( pt, Sé de Braga) is a Roman Catholic church in the northern city of Braga, Portugal. Due to its long history and artistic significance, it is also one of the most important buildings in the country. It is the seat of the ...

, where it is still kept. According to research, the actual body is of a 9th-century child.

Veneration

Saint Felix has a church on the top of São Félix Hill, and his feast is celebrated on the first Sunday of September in the parish of

Laundos Laundos or Laúndos is one of the seven civil parishes of Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,055,

, where the mountain is located in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felix People from Póvoa de Varzim Portuguese Roman Catholic saints Portuguese hermits 9th-century Christian saints