September
12
Saint Guy of Anderlecht
(Hermit and Pilgrim)
(950-1012)
Saint Guy was born at Anderlecht, a village near Brussels, in the tenth
century. As a child he had two loves, the Church and the poor, and he wished
to be himself among that special little flock of Christ, the poor. While
still very young he visited and cared for the sick, and he was regarded by
the villagers as a young Saint.
As he grew older, love of prayer increased in him in a prodigious manner.
One day when he was praying in the church of Our Lady at Laeken, a short
distance from Brussels, he manifested such devotion before Our Lady's shrine
that the priest, drawing him into conversation, prayed him to stay and serve
the Church. Thenceforth his great joy was to be constantly in the church,
sweeping the floor, polishing the altars, and cleansing the sacred vessels.
He spent entire nights in the church in prayer. By day he still found time
and means to befriend the poor, so that his almsgiving became famous
throughout the entire region.
A merchant of Brussels, hearing of the generosity of this humble sacristan,
was prompted by a demon to go to Laeken and offer him a share of his
business, telling him he would have the means thereby to give more to the
poor. Guy had no desire to leave the church, but the offer seemed
providential and he accepted it. The first ship bearing a cargo in which Guy
had an interest, however, was lost, and he realized he had made a mistake.
When he returned to Laeken, he found his place at the church filled. The
rest of his life was one long penance for his inconstancy. For seven years
he made pilgrimages of penance, visiting Rome and the Holy Land and other
famous shrines. About the year 1012 he returned to Anderlecht in his native
land. When he died in that same year, a light shone round him, and a voice
was heard proclaiming his eternal reward. He was buried in the cemetery of
the canons of Anderlecht.
Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et
Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 11; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a
compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John
Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); The Catholic Encyclopedia,
edited by C. G. Herbermann with numerous collaborators (Appleton Company:
New York, 1908).
Saint
Guy of Anderlecht
(Also known as):
-Guido of Anderlecht
-Guidon of Anderlecht
-Poor Man of Anderlecht
-Wye of Láken
(Feast Day:
September 12)
(Patronage:
Anderlecht, Belgium, against epilepsy, against hydrophobia, against
infantile convulsions, against mad dogs, against rabies, animals with horns,
bachelors, convulsive children, epileptics, farmers, horned animals,
laborers, protection of outbuildings, protection of sheds, protection of
stables, sacristans, sextons, work horses)
Profile:
Born in poverty, he was trained in religion by pious parents. For many years
he embraced poverty as God’s will for him, and spent his time caring for the
poor and sick. When he worked the fields, an angel would sometimes man the
plow so that Guy could pray without distraction. He hung around the local
church so much the priest made him the parish sacristan; Guy then lived in
the church, and often spent all night in prayer.
A merchant from Brussels, Belgium either decided to give the boy a leg up in
the world, or figured that Guy was a bumpkin who could be defrauded;
versions vary. Either way, he offered Guy a part share in a new project that
could make him rich. In the first ocean-going expedition in the project, the
ship involved sank; Guy took it as a sign that he was right to begin with,
and returned to his old life of poverty.
As penance for his bout of greed, Guy made a pilgrimage on foot to Rome,
Italy then to Jerusalem where he worked for a while as a guide to pilgrims,
then back to Brussels. Though he never joined any order or house, he vowed
chastity, and devoted most of his time to prayer, and work as a sacristan.
Many post-mortem miracles attributed to him. An annual festival grew up in
the area around his grave, with most of the activities involving horses and
the people who work with them because his grave, which was lost for years,
was uncovered by a horse.
Born:
c.950 at Anderlecht, Belgium
Died:
1012 at Anderlecht, Belgium of exhaustion and related natural causes
his grave was forgotten for years until uncovered by a horse
relics translated to a nearby church in 1076
due to wars, his relics were moved and hidden in several places over the
years
relics destroyed by Protestants in the 18th century
Patronage:
-Anderlecht, Belgium
-against epilepsy
-against hydrophobia
-against infantile convulsions
-against mad dogs
-against rabies
-animals with horns
-bachelors
-convulsive children
-epileptics
-farmers
-horned animals
-laborers
-protection of outbuildings
-protection of sheds
-protection of stables
-sacristans
-sextons
work horses
Representation:
-peasant praying while an angel plows a nearby field
-peasant with a book
-pilgrim with a book
-pilgrim with hat, staff, rosary, and an ox at his feet
Additional Information:
-Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
-Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
-Pictorial Lives of the Saints