Gundisalvus of Amarante, OP (; 1187 – 10 January 1259) was a Portuguese Catholic priest in the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...

. He joined the order as a hermit after his return from a long pilgrimage that took him to both Rome and Jerusalem.

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

beatified him in 1561.

Life

Gundisalvus was born in 1187 in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

to nobles. It was said at his

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

he fixed his intense gaze upon the

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

as he was being carried to the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

. He was devoted to

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in his childhood and decided to become 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. The Archbishop of Braga ordained Gundisalvus and the latter distributed his great wealth to his nephews. Gundisalvus worked in the parish of Saint Paio de Vizela and obtained leave so as to go to visit Rome and Jerusalem while leaving his nephew, also a priest, in charge of the parish. It was held that he returned from the pilgrimage after just over a decade. Gundisalvus visited the tombs of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

before going to Jerusalem via ship. He returned to find that austere measures he now upheld in his life were something that his nephew did not welcome and who set a dog upon him while viewing him as nothing more than a vagrant. Discernment led Gundisalvus to the Dominicans to which order he was admitted into and he was allowed to live as a hermit who was in the service of his local people. He built a bridge himself over the

Tâmega River Tâmega may refer to: * Tâmega River, in Spain and Portugal * Tâmega Subregion, Portugal * Guilherme Tâmega, six time world bodyboarding champion * List of ships of the Portuguese Navy#Destroyers, ''Tamega'', a Portuguese Navy destroyer {{dab, ...

. According to legend, the workers who helped build the bridge once ran out of wine leading him to smack a rock with his stick causing it to split open with wine pouring out of it. On another occasion the workers ran out of food and he went to the water and called out promoting fish to jump onto the river bank providing the workers with food.

Beatification

Gundisalvus died in 1259. Pius IV beatified him on 16 September 1561, his feast day being celebrated on 10 January, the day of his death.

References

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundisalvus of Amarante 1187 births 1259 deaths 12th-century Portuguese people 12th-century Roman Catholic priests 12th-century venerated Christians 13th-century Portuguese people 13th-century Roman Catholic priests 13th-century venerated Christians Portuguese beatified people Dominican beatified people Portuguese hermits People from Vizela Portuguese Dominicans Venerated Dominicans