Saint Gerebern (or Gerebernus, Genebern, Genebrard, Gereborn, Gerebran, Gerebrand, Herbern; died 7th century) was an Irish priest who baptized Saint
Dymphna
Dymphna is a Christian saint honoured in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. According to tradition, she lived in the 7th century and was martyred by her father.
The story of Dymphna was first recorded in the 13th century by a canon of ...
when she was a child.
He was her companion when she fled to Belgium, where he was murdered beside her. His relics were taken to
Sonsbeck
Sonsbeck is a municipality in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km west of Wesel, and 25 km south-east of Cleves as well as 8 km from the historic city of Xanten.
It is one ...
in Germany, where they were an object of pilgrimage until they were destroyed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
His feast day is 15 May.
Life
According to the biography ''Vitae Dymphnae et S. Gereberni presbiteri'' (English: Life Dymphna and St. Gerebern priest), which Peter of Cambrai, a canon of the Abbey of St-Géry-et-Aubert in Cambrai, recorded in the 13th century, Gerebernus was an Irish priest who lived in the 6th or 7th centuries.
He was the tutor of Dymphna, the daughter of an Irish tribal king.
After her mother's death, the king wanted Dymphna to marry.
She then fled with Gerebern to
Geel
Geel () is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the ce ...
in what is now Belgium, where they were discovered and beheaded by the king.
According to legend, both Dymphnas and Gerebernus' bones were stolen from Geel in their coffins by "robbers from Xanten".
According to popular belief, the stealing of the bones of saints was not considered theft, as they could only be stolen if the saint agreed.
However, Dymphna's bones could no longer be moved on the way to Xanten, and some citizens of Geel are said to have pursued the "robbers", so that they took some of Gerebernus' bones from the coffin and fled.
Only a few kilometers before Xanten, in the area of today's Sonsbeck, Gerebernus' bones could no longer be moved, so they were buried there and a chapel was built for him.
Legacy
Reports about miracles that happened at the grave of St. Gerebernus triggered pilgrimages there.
The pilgrimage to St. Gerebern continued in the 18th century.
The pilgrimage ended with the destruction of Sonsbeck by bombing in 1945 during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Gerebernus is usually depicted as a bearded priest.
His iconographic saints' attributes are palm and lance.
St. Gerebernus is considered the patron saint against chiragra (gout-related pain in the wrist), paralysis and epilepsy.
His Catholic feast day is May 15.
Sometimes July 13 is also mentioned as a day of remembrance.
Monks of Ramsgate account
The monks of
St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate
St Augustine's Abbey or Ramsgate Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Ramsgate. It was built in 1860 by Augustus Pugin and is a Grade II listed building. It was the first Benedictine monastery to be built in England since the Reformation. In ...
wrote in their ''Book of Saints'' (1921),
Butler's account
The hagiographer
Alban Butler
Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer.
Biography
Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...
(1710–1773) wrote in his ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints'' under May 15,
Baring-Gould's account
Sabine Baring-Gould
Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,2 ...
(1834–1924) in his ''Lives Of The Saints'' wrote under April 11,
Baring-Gould writes under May 15 of St. Gerebern, or Genebrand, Priest, Martyr and Patron of Sonsbeck after an extensive account of Saint Dympna for the same day.
He notes that most of the information is given in sources that described Dympna. He goes on,
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerebern
Medieval Irish saints on the Continent
7th-century deaths