Bl. Gil of Santrem or Vouzela, priest
(1190-1265)
Dom Gil Rodrigues de Valadares (Idzi, Aegidius) was born around 1190 in the castle of Vouzela in the diocese of Viseu, Portugal. His father, Rui Pais de Valadares, or Dom Rodrigo Pais de Valadares, was the mayor of Coimbra (then the Kingdom's capital), a nobleman of the Council el-Rei Sancho I and his chief butler. His parents wanted him to join the clergy, but he decided to become a doctor. He is believed to have received his education at the school at the Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra, which was the first institution of higher learning in Portugal. Legend has it that while traveling he was accosted by a kindly stranger who promised to teach him the art of magic. The payment for learning was to be the soul of Giles. After seven years of studying magic under the guidance of Satan, Giles went to Paris, where he easily obtained a doctorate in medicine and performed many miraculous healings. One night a giant knight appeared before him and, with his sword drawn, and demanded that Giles change his wicked life. The same phantom appeared a second time and threatened to kill Giles if he did not repent. Giles converted and set out for Portugal. This is the legend. It is known, however, that around 1221 he actually began his novitiate in the newly erected monastery in Palencia and received the Dominican habit from the then master general of the order, Bl. Jordan of Saxony. He served his novitiate together with Bl. Humbert of Romans, who later served as general of the order. Soon after, his superiors sent him to Santarem, where he led a life of prayer and penance.
After the novitiate, Giles returned to Paris to study theology. And after returning to Portugal, he settled in a monastery in Santarema. He quickly became famous for his piety and wisdom. He was twice elected to the office of Dominican provincial of Castile: the first time in 1233 and the second in 1257. He died on May 14, 1265, in Santarem, aged 67. His body was buried in the monastery's tomb. In the mid-16th century, or three centuries after his death, Dominican historians questioned his existence, and this belief lasted until the 19th century, when they began writing about him again. The sources of knowledge were popular accounts of the lives of saints of the Order of St. Dominic. In 1748, Pope Benedict XIV approved his cult. The memorial of this blessed is on October 23.
Bibliography:
- Braga T., Frei Gil de Santarém, lenda faustiana da primeira Renascença, Porto 1905.
- Gumbley W., Blessed Giles Of Santarem, Confessor (Died 1765. Feast 14 May), „Life of the Spirit”, 13 (1959), nr 155, p. 513–515.
- Oliveira J. de, Frei Gil de Portugal, Vouzela 1965.
- Custódio J., S. Frei Gil de Santarém, da Ordem dos Pregadores. Uma personalidade entre a Lenda, a Hagiografia e a História, [in:] S. Frei Gil de Santarém e a sua época, ed. J. Custódio, Santarém 1997, pp. 20-48.
