In Provence, St. Giles, Abbot and Confessor. After him is named the town that later grew up in the area where he established a monastery and ended the course of his mortal life. – Roman Martyrology for September 1
St. Giles was born in Athens but traveled to Provence and lived as a hermit near Arles. According to the legends St. Giles had a doe that Christ sent to provide milk. One day Flavius, the king who ruled in that area, went hunting with his knights. When they spotted Giles's doe they pursued her and she fled to Giles's hermitage.
![]() ![]() The doe should not be confused with St. Eustace's deer, which has antlers and a crucifix. In another episode a "King Charles" tells the saint he has committed a sin so terrible that he could never confess it. Later, an angel gives Giles a scroll revealing the sin and Giles gets the king to confess and be absolved (image). Because of this legend people would pray to St. Giles for a good confession, the Catholic ritual of confessing sins and repenting in the presence of a priest, who can then assure the penitent of absolution and he came to be included among the Fourteen Holy Helpers. This St. Giles is sometimes confused with St. Giles of Casaio, a Spanish abbot (1170-1250). According to Spanish Wikipedia, his death date is unknown so his feast is celebrated on the same day as the French Giles. Prepared in 2013 by Richard Stracke, Emeritus Professor of English, Augusta University. Revised 2018-08-26. |
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