Gundisalvus of Lagos,
O.E.S.A.
The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...
( pt, Gonçalo de Lagos; – 15 October 1422) was a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
and
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
friar.
Gundisalvus was the
prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
of several Augustinian houses, among them the important
Convent of Our Lady of Grace in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
(the seat of the Province of Portugal of the Augustinians). He was a theologian and preacher of some repute, who concentrated his catechetical work on children, as well as the illiterate and the uneducated. A gifted
scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
and artist, he was also known to have illuminated liturgical books and to have composed
plainsong
Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgy, liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in La ...
pieces.
Life
![Shrine to São Gonçalo of Lagos, 14 April 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Shrine_to_S%C3%A3o_Gon%C3%A7alo_of_Lagos%2C_14_April_2016.JPG)
Gundisalvus was of humble origin, born in the city of
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
, in the
Algarve
The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese).
The region has it ...
, in an uncertain date around 1360. Having shown a vocation for religious life from an early age, he joined the
Order of Hermits of Saint Augustine
The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...
at the
Convent of Our Lady of Grace in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
c. 1380, at around age 20.
By 1394, he was the
prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
of the Convent of Saint Lawrence in
Miragaia
Miragaia () is a former Freguesia, civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória. The population in 2011 was 2,067, in an area ...
,
Lourinhã
Lourinhã () is a municipality in the District of Lisbon, in the Oeste Subregion of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 25,735, in an area of 147.17 km². The seat of the municipality is the town of Lourinhã, with a population of 8,800 inhab ...
; by 1404 he was the superior of the important
Convent of Our Lady of Grace in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, and by 1408 he was governing the
Convent of Our Lady of Grace in
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém () is a city and municipality located in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 58 671,excluding the parish Pombalinho, that changed from the municipality of Santarém to Golegã in 2013 in an area of 552.54&nb ...
. From 1412 and until his death in 1422, he was the prior of the
Convent of Our Lady of Grace in
Torres Vedras
Torres Vedras () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon in the Oeste region, in the Centro of Portugal. The population was 83,075, in an area of .
History
In 1148, Afonso I took th ...
.
As a superior, he was known to perform menial jobs in a conscious effort to humble himself in
imitation of Christ
In Christian theology, the imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus.''A concise dictionary of theology'' by Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia 2004 page 115''Imitating Jesus: an inclusive approach to New Testament ...
.
His relics remain interred in the church of the former Augustinian convent in Torres Vedras.
Legacy
The earliest
hagiographic
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
works about Gundisalvus of Lagos are a set of three texts written between the late 15th century and the 17th century, by João de França de Brito, Frei
Aleixo de Menezes
Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes or Alexeu de Jesu de Meneses (25 January 1559 – 3 May 1617) was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Goa, Archbishop of Braga, Portugal, and Viceroy of Portugal during the Philippine Dynasty.
Biographical sketch
Aleixo was ...
(1559–1617), and Frei António da Purificação (1601–1658).
His reputation for sanctity shortly after his death is evidenced by the fact that the city of
Torres Vedras
Torres Vedras () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon in the Oeste region, in the Centro of Portugal. The population was 83,075, in an area of .
History
In 1148, Afonso I took th ...
named him as its "Defender and Patron" as early as 1495, and the same was done by the city of
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
a couple of years later.
In the 18th century, after a period of some decadence within the Portuguese Augustinian province, there was a renewed interest in the figure of Gundisalvus of Lagos and efforts began for his
''cultus'' to achieve pontifical recognition. On 2 August 1759, Frei Francisco Xavier Vasques, the Augustinian provincial, formally requested the
Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon,
Francisco de Saldanha da Gama, to open the cause for his
canonisation
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
: he was
beatified
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
on 27 May 1778 by
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799.
Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...
.
Despite his common epithet of "saint" (''São Gonçalo de Lagos''), he was never formally canonised.
![O Beato Gonçalo salva um sobrinho, naufragado no mar de Lagos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/O_Beato_Gon%C3%A7alo_salva_um_sobrinho%2C_naufragado_no_mar_de_Lagos.png)
Gundisalvus is often invoked as a protector of mariners. He is credited with having, 15 years after his death, miraculously appeared to a nephew of his, saving him from a shipwreck while en route to Lisbon.
For this reason, he is often represented holding a book on one hand and blessing the sea with the crucifix he holds on the other.
A bronze statue of Gundisalvus by sculptor
Tolentino Abegoaria was erected by
public subscription
Subscription refers to the process of investors signing up and committing to invest in a financial instrument, before the actual closing of the purchase. The term comes from the Latin word ''subscribere''.
Historical Praenumeration
An early form ...
in 2001 in his birthplace of Lagos, on a viewpoint overlooking ''Praia da Batata''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundisalvus of Lagos
1360 births
1422 deaths
14th-century Portuguese people
14th-century Roman Catholic priests
14th-century venerated Christians
15th-century Portuguese Roman Catholic priests
15th-century venerated Christians
People from Lagos, Portugal
Portuguese beatified people
Portuguese Christian monks