Gerard of Lunel (french: 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 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 ...

. 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.San Gerio (Girio)
/ref> In 1295, when

Philip the Fair Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 1 ...

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 Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

. 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. 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. 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 The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

. 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. Gerard suffered a collapse at Monte Santo (present-day Potenza Picena), 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 in honor of Gerard as May 25.

Notes

External links

St. Gerard de LunelBlessed Gerard of Lunel

San Gerio (Girio)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard Of Lunel Medieval Italian saints Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis 1275 births 1298 deaths French hermits Italian hermits 13th-century Christian saints Medieval French saints Beatifications by Pope Benedict XIV