Saint Guy d'Anderlecht
Pèlerin d'Anderlecht (+ 1012)
Paysan pieux et bon, né vers 950 dans le Brabant, il est choisi comme sacristain de sa paroisse Notre-Dame de Laeken. Mais un marchand de Bruxelles le persuade de s'associer à lui pour gagner de quoi faire davantage d'aumônes. Guy met tout ce qu'il a dans cette affaire. Les catastrophes s'accumulent jusqu'au jour où Guy s'en repent. Comme pénitence, il part en pèlerinage à Rome et à Jérusalem. Rentré sept ans plus tard, vers 1012, il meurt épuisé à Anderlecht. Sa tombe devint un lieu de pèlerinage très fréquenté.
À Anderlecht dans le Brabant, vers 1012, saint Guy, qui fut d’abord gardien de
l’église de Sainte-Marie de Laeken, puis pèlerina sept ans dans les lieux
saints en se montrant d’une grande générosité envers les pauvres, enfin, revenu
dans son pays, il y mourut pieusement.
Martyrologe romain
Dieu n’a besoin de rien mais l’homme a besoin de la
communion de Dieu. Car la gloire de l’homme, c’est de persévérer dans le
service de Dieu.
Saint Irénée
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1842/Saint-Guy-d-Anderlecht.html
Saint Guy d'Anderlecht
Sacristain
(1050-1112)
Guy, surnommé le Pauvre d'Anderlecht, vint au
monde vers 1050, dans les environs de Bruxelles. Ses parents étaient de simples
ouvriers, qui lui répétaient souvent les paroles de Tobie: « Si nous craignons
Dieu nous sommes assez riches.» Dès sa jeunesse, Guy passait chaque jour
plusieurs heures en prières, partageait son pain noir avec les indigents, et se
mettait au service des malades. On l'appelait déjà et il était bien l'ange
du village.
Un jour qu'il se trouvait à Læken, il entra dans
l'église et resta plus d'une heure à genoux devant l'autel. Le curé, qui s'en
aperçut, l'appela, s'entretint avec lui, admira sa piété précoce et lui offrit
de le prendre pour sacristain. Balayer l'église, parer les autels, prendre soin
des ornements sacrés, servir les messes, mais rien au monde ne convenait mieux
au cœur du saint jeune homme: il accepta d'emblée. Le pasteur de Læken ne tarda
pas à se réjouir de son choix. Guy était ordonné, propre et ponctuel; la prière
le suivait partout dans ses emplois; et son bonheur était de faire à l'église
de longues oraisons: parfois il passait la nuit. Ses gages étaient fort
modiques; mais il se contentait de si peu pour vivre, il se mortifiait, il
jeûnait si souvent ! C'était les pauvres, en définitive, qui émargeaient à sa
place. La délicatesse de sa conscience lui découvrait les plus minces
imperfections, et il les expiait dans les macérations et les larmes. Avec cela,
il charmait par ses manières douces et polies.
Un marchand de Bruxelles, que les qualités
aimables de Guy avaient gagné, parvint à lui persuader qu'en s'associant à son
commerce, il pourrait faire de plus grandes charités. Le sacristain quitta donc
son emploi et suivit le négociant; mais Dieu ne bénit pas son trafic. Il revint
sans tarder à sa chère église de Læken, et l'expérience qu'il venait de faire
des embarras du monde le rendit plus pieux encore.
Dix ans après, il entreprit le pèlerinage des
sanctuaires de l'Italie et de la Palestine. Son but était de faire pénitence et
de se soustraire à des marques de vénération qui alarmait sa modestie. Il partit
pour Rome à pied et mendia son pain dans tout le voyage. En terre sainte, il
visita tous les lieux célèbres, sans interrompre jamais son jeune ni ses
grandes austérités. Il mit sept ans pour accomplir ses dévotions. Au retour, il
rencontra dans la ville éternelle le doyen de l'église d'Anderlecht et quelques
autres compatriotes partant pour Jérusalem. Le bienheureux s'offrit à leur
servir de guide. Là, malgré ses soins, ils succombèrent à une maladie
contagieuse. Épuisé de fatigues il rentra dans Brabant et alla porter aux
chanoines d'Anderlecht la triste nouvelle de la mort de leur doyen. Ces
religieux le retinrent au service de leur église; il les édifia quelque temps
par ses vertus et sa pénitence, et mourut bientôt en odeur de sainteté.
L'abbé Pradier, La Vie des Saints pour tous les
jours de l'année
SOURCE : http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_guy_d_anderlecht.html
Histoire de St-Guidon
Garçon de ferme très pieux, fils d'un couple âgé et
pauvre, Guidon est né à Anderlecht dans la seconde partie du X ième.
siècle. Un jour, après avoir interrompu son labourage pour offrir sa ration de
pain à ses parents, il revient et constate qu'un ange a labouré le champs à sa
place. Il met une motte de terre dans sa musette afin de faire croire à la
présence du pain.
Lorsque le fermier veut voir sa ration de pain, Guidon
trouve dans sa musette la motte de terre qui est devenue du pain.
Quelques années plus tard, Guidon chavire sur le Senne
avec une barque et manque de se noyer.
A l'aide d'une rame, il gagne la berge. Sans pouvoir
se détacher de celle-ci il aperçoit la petite église de Laeken. Lorsque Il
s'agenouille devant la vierge, la rame se détache et Guidon décide de servir
cette église.
Après des années, il entreprend le pèlerinage vers
Jérusalem à travers la Chrétienté? Au retour de Jérusalem, Guidon fait halte à
Rome et rencontre des pèlerins Anderlechtois emmenés par leur doyen Wonedulphe (l'existence
du chapitre remonterait à l' an 800).
Celui-ci convainc Guidon de les emmener à Jérusalem
puisque il connaît le chemin. Au retour, leurs compagnons meurent
successivement et Wonedulphe confie à Guidon, avant d'expirer, la mission de
ramener son anneau et d'annoncer sa mort.
Le 12 septembre 1012, Guidon décède en la maison du
Vice Doyen du chapitre après avoir accompli les dernières volontés de
Wonedulphe.
Guidon a été canonisé le 24 juin 1112, sous Odart
évêque de Cambrai, ceci explique que l'on fête longtemps la Saint Guidon
également le 24 juin
© Tous droits réservés 2006
SOURCE : http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.st-guidon.be%2Fhistoire.htm
Stadtwappen von Anderlecht mit dem Bildnis des hl.
Guido
Also known as
Guido of
Anderlecht
Guidon of
Anderlecht
Poor Man of
Anderlecht
Wye of Láken
formerly 2 September
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
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
peasant praying while
an angel plows
a nearby field
pilgrim with
hat, staff, rosary,
and an ox at
his feet
Additional Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
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Xavier Weninger
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books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other sites in english
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Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
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MLA Citation
“Saint Guy of Anderlecht“. CatholicSaints.Info.
26 July 2020. Web. 12 September 2021.
<http://catholicsaints.info/saint-guy-of-anderlecht/>
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-guy-of-anderlecht/
Painted panel of Saint Guido of Anderlecht on a wooden reliquary dated 1595
St Guy of
Anderlecht
Celebrated
on September 12th
Layman. Guy
was a farm labourer born in Brabant around 950 who was made sacristan of the
church at Laeken near Brussels. According to legend, he invested his small
savings in a business which failed. After losing his home and his job he went
on a seven-year long pilgrimage, wandering from shrine to shrine as far as
Jerusalem.
In 1020 he returned home exhausted and sick and died shortly afterwards at the
public hospital in Anderlecht.
Through the years a cult formed around his grave and his shrine became a
popular pilgrim site, particularly associated with horses.
An annual pilgrimage to Anderlecht by Brussels cab drivers continued until the
start of the First World War.
SOURCE : https://www.indcatholicnews.com/saint/268
Painted panel of Saint Guido of Anderlecht on a wooden reliquary dated 1595
ST. GUY, OF ANDERLECHT.
FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 12.
As a child Guy had two loves, the Church and the poor. The love of prayer
growing more and more, he left his poor home at Brussels to seek greater
poverty and closer union with God. He arrived at Laeken, near Brussels, and
there showed such devotion before our Lady's shrine that the priest besought
him to stay and serve the Church. Thenceforth, his great joy was to be always
in the church, sweeping the floor and ceiling, polishing the altars, and
cleansing the sacred vessels. By day he still found time and means to befriend
the poor, so that his alms-giving became famous in all those parts. A merchant
of Brussels, hearing of the generosity of this poor sacristan, came to Laeken,
and offered him a share in his business. Guy could not bear to leave the
church; but the offer seemed providential, and he at last closed with it. Their
ship, however, was lost on the first voyage, and on returning to Laeken, Guy
found his place filled. The rest of his life was one long penance for his
inconstancy. About the year 1033, finding his end at hand, he returned to
Anderlecht, in his own country. As he died, a light shone round him, and a
voice was heard proclaiming his eternal reward.
REFLECTION.—Jesus was only nine months in the womb of
Mary, three hours on the Cross, three days in the sepulchre, but He is
always in the tabernacle. Does our reverence before Him bear witness to
this most blessed truth?
SOURCE : http://www.jesus-passion.com/saint_guy.htm
_(39).JPG)
Collégiale Saints-Pierre-et-Guidon (Anderlecht)
_(39)_(cropped).JPG)
Collégiale Saints-Pierre-et-Guidon (Anderlecht)
Guy of Anderlecht (RM)
(also known as Guido(n) or Wye of Láken)
Born near Brabant; died at Brussels, Belgium; c.
950-1012; feast day formerly on September 2.
Saint Guy, commonly called The Poor Man of Anderlecht,
was the son of poor, but pious, parents who were richly blessed by their faith.
They were not able to give their son a formal education, but were diligent in
instructing him in the faith. They taught him the counsels of Saint Augustine
that Christians should be detached from earthly possessions. Guy prayed
throughout his life to be preserved from greed, to love poverty, and to bear
all its hardships with joy. This detachment from the need to own, endowed the
saint with love for his neighbor; he gladly fed the poor while he himself
fasted and divided the little he had among them.
Legend says that when Guy grew to manhood, he was a
farm laborer, who prayed as he plowed the fields, sometimes replaced at the
plow by his guardian angel. He then wandered for a time until he arrived at the
church of Our Lady at Laeken, near Brussels, whose priest was struck with his
piety and hired Guy as sacristan. Guy gladly accepted the offer; and the
cleanliness and good order that appeared in everything under his direction
struck all who entered the church.
Like many other simple folk of every age, Guy was
enticed by a merchant of Brussels to invest his small savings in a commercial
venture, with the unusual motive of having more at his disposal to relieve the
poor and leisure for contemplation. Unfortunately, the ship carrying their
goods was lost leaving the harbor, and Guy, who had resigned his position as
sacristan and been replaced, was left destitute. He recognized his mistake in
following his own ideas and in forsaking secure and humble employment to
embark, though with good intention, on the affairs of the world, and he blamed
himself for the loss.
In reparation, Guy made a pilgrimage on foot to Rome
and Jerusalem, wandering from shrine to shrine for seven years. Finally, he
made his way back to Belgium and Anderlecht, where he was received almost
immediately into the public hospital of Anderlecht and he died from exhaustion
and illness.
His cultus did not arise immediately. In fact, his
grave was forgotten until a horse uncovered it. The horse's owner hired two
local boys to enclose the site in a high, solid hedge to ensure that others
would not unwittingly trample on Guy's grave. The boys ridiculed the benefactor's
act of reverence for the dead and were seized by strange stomach aches.
Writhing in agony, they died. For some reason, this moved the local people to
make pilgrimages to his grave and to build an oratory over it.
In 1076, a church was constructed and Guy's relics
translated therein. Guy's sanctity was confirmed almost immediately thereafter
by miracles wrought at his intercession. On June 24, 1112, a bishop
acknowledged the relics with a grand ceremony and Guy's vita was composed. In
1595, the relics were enshrined in a new reliquary. During the 17th century,
they were moved from place to place to escape pillage during wars. It seems
that they were captured by the Protestants in the 18th century, although there
is a "last acknowledgement of the venerable treasure" that occurred
on September 11, 1851.
Over time his cultus increased locally, until now much
folklore has accrued around his name and shrine, particularly associated with
horses. Cabdrivers of Brabant lead an annual pilgrimage to Anderlecht until the
beginning of World War I in 1914. They and their horses headed the procession
followed by farmers, grooms, and stable boys leading their animals to be
blessed. The description of the village fair that ended the religious
procession sounds like fun. There would be various games, music, and feasting,
followed by a competition to ride the carthorses bareback. The winner entered
the church on bareback to receive a hat made of roses from the parish pastor
(Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Walsh).
In art, Saint Guy is depicted as a pilgrim with hat,
staff, rosary, and ox at his feet. He might also be shown as a peasant or a
pilgrim with a book (Roeder). Guy is venerated at Anderlecht, where he is
considered the patron of laborers and sacristans, and protector of sheds and
stables. He is invoked to calm infantile convulsions (Encyclopedia).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0912.shtml
Maurice Brocas (1892–1948), Saint Guidon, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België
St. Guy, Confessor
From his life in Surius: also Miræus, in his Fasti,
and Annales, Gramaye in Bruxellâ, p. 10, and particularly in Sanderus, in
Chron. Brabant, et Lacâ Partheniâ, sect. 41, 42. The Bollandists, t. 3, Sept.
p. 36.
About 1012, or rather 1033.
ST. GUY, in Latin Guido, commonly called the Poor Man
of Anderlecht, was born in the country near Brussels, of mean parents, but both
very virtuous, consequently content and happy in their station. They were not
able to give their son a school education, nor did they on that account repine,
but redoubled their diligence in instructing him early in the rudiments of the
Christian doctrine, and in all the maxims of our holy religion, often repeating
to him the lesson which old Toby gave his son: “We shall be rich enough if we
fear God.” But their own example was the most powerful constant instruction,
and inspired him more strongly than words could do with the Christian spirit of
humility, meekness, and piety, and with a fear of God, animated by charity,
which is fruitful in all manner of good works. Guy was from his cradle serious,
obedient, mild, patient, docile, and an enemy to the least sloth. He conceived
the highest sense of all religious duties, and was inured, both by his parents’
care and by his own fervour, to the practice of them. The meanness of his
condition much delighted him as soon as he was of an age to know its value. He
rejoiced to see himself placed in a state which Christ had chosen for himself.
This conformity to his divine Master, who lived and died in extreme poverty,
and the humiliation inseparable from his condition, were very pleasing to him,
and it was his chief care to make use of the advantages it afforded him for the
exercise of all heroic virtues. He showed to the rich and the great ones of the
world all possible respect, but never envied or coveted their fortunes, and
sighed sincerely to see men in all states so eagerly wedded to the goods of the
earth, which they so much over-rate. When he met with poor persons who grieved
to see themselves such, he exhorted them not to lose by murmuring, impatience,
and unprofitable inordinate desires the treasure which God put into their
hands. The painful labour, hardships, inconveniences, and humiliations to which
his condition exposed him, he looked upon as its most precious advantages,
being sensible that the poverty which our Redeemer chose was not such a one as
even worldlings would desire, abounding with all the necessaries and comforts
of life, but a poverty which is accompanied with continual privations,
sufferings, and denials of the gratifications of the senses. The great curse
which Christ denounces against riches regards the inordinate pleasure that is
sought in the abundance of earthly goods, and in the delights of sense.
St. Austin says, that God ranks among the reprobate, not
only those who shall have received their comfort on earth, but also those who
shall have grieved to be deprived of it. This was the misfortune which Guy
dreaded. In order to preserve himself from it, he never ceased to beg of God
the grace to love the happy state of poverty, in which divine providence had
placed him, and to bear all its hardships with joy and perfect resignation, in
a spirit of penance, without which all the tribulations of this world are of no
advantage for heaven. The charity which Guy had for his neighbour was not less
active than his love of mortification and penance. He divided his morsel with
the poor, and often fed them whilst he fasted himself. He stole from himself
some hours every day to visit the sick, and carried to them all that he was
able. At his labour he was faithful and diligent; and a spirit of prayer
sanctified all his actions. Such was his life even in his youth. As virtue is
infinitely the most precious inheritance that parents can leave to their
children, his father and mother entertained, as much as was in their power,
this rich stock of pious inclinations which grace had planted in their son, and
daily begged of God to preserve and increase in that innocent heart the holy
fire which he himself had kindled. Their prayers were heard. Guy’s early
virtues, by diligent culture and exercise, grew up with him to greater strength
and maturity, and advanced more and more towards perfection.
As Guy was one day praying in the church of our Lady,
at Laken, a mile from Brussels, the curate of the place was charmed to see his
recollection and devotion, and, taking an opportunity afterwards to discourse
with him, was much more struck with the piety and unction of his conversation,
and retained him in the service of his church in quality of beadle. This church
is the most ancient of all the famous places of devotion to the Blessed Virgin
in those parts. The name of Laken signifies a convent or house in a moist or
marshy ground, as Sanderus shows. The saint, who rejoiced to have an opportunity
of being always employed in the most humble offices of religion, embraced the
offer with pleasure. His business was to sweep the church, dress the altars,
fold up the vestments, take care of the linen and other moveables used in the
service of God, ring the bell for mass and vespers, and provide flowers and
other decorations which were used in that church: all which he performed with
the utmost exactness and veneration which the most profound sense of religion
can inspire. The neatness and good order that appeared in everything under his
direction edified all that came to that church; for, out of a true spirit of
religion, the servant of God looked upon nothing as small which belonged to the
service of God, or to the decency of his house. His religious silence, modesty,
and recollection in the church seemed to say to others: “This is the house of
the Lord; tremble you that approach his sanctuary.” During his employments, he
walked always in the divine presence, praying in his heart. When they were done,
he refreshed his soul at the foot of the altar in fervent exercises of
devotion; and often passed whole nights in prayer. He chastised his body by
rigorous fists, and endeavoured, by constant compunction and the severity of
his penance, to prevent the anger of his Judge at the last day. Had it been
reasonable to form a judgment of the enormity of his sins by the humble
sentiments he entertained of himself, and by the penitential tears he shed, he
would have passed for the most grievous sinner on the face of the earth;
whereas the sins he so grievously bewailed were only the lightest faults of
inadvertence, such as the just fall into, and which only his great purity of
heart could have discerned, and which it magnified in his eyes. To wipe away
these daily stains (through the merits of Christ’s passion applied to his soul)
he lived in constant compunction, learning every day to become more watchful
over himself in all his words and actions, and in all the motions of his heart.
By humility and meekness he was sweet and courteous to all, showing that true
virtue is amiable to men, and that nothing so much civilizes the human soul.
Out of his small salary he found a great deal for the poor; and, for their
sake, he always lived himself in the greatest poverty, and often begged to
procure them relief. For his humiliation God permitted the following trial to
befal him.
A certain merchant of Brussels persuaded him to
endeavour, by a little commerce, to gain something for the succour of the poor,
and offered to put him in a way of thus making a more plentiful provision for
them, by admitting him into a partnership in trade with himself. Guy’s
compassion for the necessitous wrought more powerfully with him than any other
regard could have done; nor was it easy for him to throw off the importunities
of his tenderness for them. The bait was specious, and he was taken by it; but
God did not suffer him long to remain in that illusion. The vessel, which was
chiefly freighted by his partner, perished in going out of the harbour, and
Guy, whose place in the church of Laken, upon his quitting, had been given to
another, was on a sudden left destitute. He saw his mistake in following his
own prudence, and in forsaking a secure and humble employment in which
Providence had fixed him, to embark, though with a good intention, in the
affairs of the world, in which, by dissipation, his virtue would perhaps have
been much impaired, and worldly attachments secretly have taken root in his
heart. For, though this employment was good in itself, yet he considered that
God had justly punished his rashness in forsaking a station so suitable to the
practice of piety, and had, in mercy, turned another way that affluence which
might more probably have produced in him an affection to avarice or luxury,
than have enlarged this charity. For plenty, riches, and worldly prosperity do
not always, like soft distilling rains and dew, cherish, refresh, and increase
the tender plant of virtue; but much more frequently, like a flood, wash away
the earth from its roots, and either utterly extirpate it, or leave it
oppressed and buried in rubbish, according to the maxims of eternal truth,
condemning the spirit of the world, which the experience as well as reason of
mankind confirms. This St. Guy clearly saw under his disappointment, and he
condemned himself for the false step he had taken.
Another danger to which he had lived long exposed, was
the persecution, if we may so call it, of the applause and praises of the
world, which his virtue drew upon him in his low station. He had always
carefully studied to arm himself against this temptation by the most sincere
humility and constant watchfulness; but now, upon a review of his heart and
whole conduct, he resolved to avoid this flattering enemy, by seeking out some
foreign retirement. In this disposition, and in a spirit of penance for his
reputed fault, he made an austere pilgrimage, first to Rome, and then to
Jerusalem, and visited all the most celebrated places of devotion in the
Christian world. Being returned as far as Rome, he there met Wondulf, dean of
the church of Anderlech (a little town about two miles from Brussels), who,
with some others, was ready to set out for the Holy Land. Guy was prevailed
upon by them to be their guide, and to take another penitential journey
thither. The dean and his companions were all carried off by a pestilential
distemper, just as they were going to set sail from Palestine to return to
Europe. Guy attended them in the time of their sickness, took care of their
funerals, and, after seven years’ absence, returned to Anderlecht. The subdean
of the chapter gave him an apartment in his house, not suffering him to return
to Laken. The fatigues of his journeys, and other great hardships he had
undergone, brought upon him a complication of distempers, of which he died soon
after, on the 12th of September, about the year 1012, or rather 1033. 1 The
canons buried him honourably in the ground belonging to their church. Many
miracles that were performed by his intercession gave occasion to Gerard II.,
bishop of Arras and Cambray, about the year 1090, to order his sacred bones to
be taken up, and a chapel to be built over the spot where they had been buried
in the churchyard; for Anderlecht and Brussels were then in the diocess of
Cambray, though they are now in that of Mechlin. In place of this chapel a
magnificent collegiate church, under the patronage of St. Guy, was erected, and
his relics translated into it in 1112. This church is endowed with very rich
canonries, and is famous over the whole country.
Note 1. Baronius and Molanus, by mistake, place
the death of St. Guy in 1112; it is more surprising that Baillet fell into the
same error, since it has been demonstrated from the original life of the saint,
and the deeds of several donations made to his church, that his death happened
one hundred years before. See Miræus, both in his Fasti Belgici and his Annales
Belgici, ad an. 1012; also Gramaye, professors of laws at Louvain, afterwards
public historian of Brabant and Flanders, and provost of Arnheim, Antiquitates
Brabantiæ, ann. 1708, p. 10, from memoirs furnished by Dr. Clement, a
celebrated English theologian, dean of Anderlecht. This point, and other
difficulties relating to the life of St. Guy, are fully cleared up by Sanderus,
canon of Ipres, in Chorographia Brabantiæ, in the account of Laca Parthenia, or
the Virgin’s Laken, § 41, 42, where he corrects the mistakes of Miræus
concerning the first translation of St. Guy’s relics, and proves, against the
same author, that he was not a native of Anderlecht, since his life informs us
that he was a stranger there. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
IX: September. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/9/122.html
Today, September 12, we celebrate the feast day
of Saint Guy of Anderlecht (also Saint Guido, 950-1012), a Belgian
Christian known as the “Poor Man of Anderlecht.” Saint Guy was poor in material
possessions throughout his life, but rich in the love, generosity, and grace of
God. He worked tirelessly at the most menial of tasks, and gained a reputation
for almsgiving, despite his own lack of the most basic needs. Although he never
joined a particular religious order, Saint Guy was visited for spiritual
direction by many, and through his model, brought many closer to Christ.
Born in Anderlecht, Belgian, a small village outside
of Brussels, Guy was raised and instructed by poor, but pious parents. From an
early age, he demonstrated great devotion to the Lord, and to Our Blessed
Mother Mary. He proclaimed while still a child his wish to count himself among
the special flock of Christ—the poor—for his entire life, and dedicated himself
to a life of poverty and service to those who had nothing. Throughout his
childhood, he gave away all he had, and spent his days visiting the sick and
elderly of the town. It is said that when he worked the fields of his parents,
an angel came and pushed the plow so that he might better pray undisturbed. Guy
came to be recognized as a saint by many!
As Guy matured, his devotion only multiplied. He spent
hours in prayer each day, rarely sleeping but instead contemplating the Lord.
He traveled frequently to the church of Our Lady at Laeken, outside Brussels,
and demonstrated such devotion to Mary that the priest approached him, and
asked him to stay and serve the Church. It was with tremendous joy that Saint
Guy remained in the church, constantly cleaning, sweeping, polishing the
altars, and attending to the most menial needs during the day—stopping only to
befriend and serve those who were poor and came on foot to the church looking
for assistance. Each night he spent in prayer, rarely sleeping, but instead
could be found kneeling at the foot of the cross, praying for the poor.
After many years of service, a savvy merchant from
Brussels sought to take advantage of Guy, and offering him a share of his
business, convinced him that through making more money, he could help more
people. Guy wished nothing more than to remain in the church, but he saw the
benefit in helping others and left his post. Almost immediately the business
failed, and Guy, realizing his mistake, returned to the church only to find his
position filled. Guy engaged in severe acts of penance for the remainder of his
life, offering all he had to the Lord for his inconstancy. He traveled on
pilgrimage—on foot—for seven years, visiting Rome and then the Holy Land,
returning to Belgium and serving as a guide at the holy shrines.
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.
Eventually, in his early 60s, Guy returned to
Anderlecht, and died soon thereafter. In death, a golden light shone around
him, and a heavenly voice was heard my many, proclaiming his eternal reward in
heaven. He was buried in Anderlecht, and many miracles were attributed to his
intercession at his grave. Saint Guy is the patron saint of Anderlecht, animals
with horns, bachelors, convulsive children, epileptics, laborers, protection of
outbuildings, protection of sheds, protection of stables, sacristans, sextons,
work horses; and is invoked against epilepsy, against rabies, against infantile
convulsions, and against mad dogs.
SOURCE : http://365rosaries.blogspot.ca/2011/09/september-12-saint-guy-of-anderlecht.html
Anderlecht, Sint-Pieter-en-Sint-Guidokerk
Anderlecht, Collegiata dei Santi Pietro e Guido,
1350-1527
Anderlecht, Collégiale Saints-Pierre-et-Guidon,
1350-1527
Anderlecht, Collégiale Saints-Pierre-et-Guidon, 1350-1527.
Vue de la Place de la Vaillance,
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Guido, Confessor
Article
Saint Guido or Guy, surnamed the Poor Man, was born
and educated in a small village in Belgium, of poor but very devout parents. As
they were unable to send their son to school, or to let him learn a profession,
they took the utmost care to bring him up piously, and impressed on him love to
God, fear of the divine judgment and horror of sin. Guido, obedient to his
parents, followed their instructions, and fearing and loving the Almighty,
avoided the least sin, and shunned every temptation to evil. He was so much
devoted to prayers that he often went secretly into the church, where his
conduct was such that he was called the Angel of the village. He was content
with his poverty, and never murmured against any privation which he suffered.
He had a most compassionate heart for the poor, whom he even assisted with what
he himself had begged. One day, he had to go to a village called Laken, about
four miles from Brussels. There, before attending to his business, he went into
a church, and prayed long and fervently before an image of the Blessed Virgin.
The curate of the place, observing him and edified by his devotion, asked him
whence he came, who he was, how he maintained himself, and other similar
questions. The manner in which the boy answered convinced the curate that he
possessed much more mind and piety than might have been supposed from his
youthful appearance: he therefore asked him if he would remain and serve in the
church. Greatly rejoiced, Guido said that such had been his desire for a long
time. At that time he was fourteen years old, yet, when he was appointed
assistant to the sexton, he was so untiringly industrious in his work, so
reverential to the clergy, so modest and devout, that he made himself beloved
by every one. The cleanliness of the church was his greatest care, as he
regarded it as the dwelling of that Lord to whom he was so fervently devoted.
The time left to him from his work he employed in prayers, and even spent
several hours in the church before the altar every night. When he became fatigued
at such times, he lay down upon the pavement of the church and closed his eyes
for a little while. Often was he found praying with tearful eyes before an
image of the Blessed Virgin, calling on her with a loud voice to obtain for him
pardon for his sins. He had always led a blameless life and wept more over the
slightest fault of which he had become guilty than others over their vices and
crimes. The remuneration he received was very small, yet the greater portion of
it he gave to the poor.
A merchant of Brussels, observing Guido’s great
charity to the poor, persuaded him, to go with him to Brussels, where he would
employ him in his business, which would enable him to gain more money and hence
give more to the poor. Guido captivated by the promise, went secretly away with
the merchant and engaged in commerce. One misfortune, however, after another
assailed him, the last of which happened as follows. A vessel, richly
freighted, on board of which he was, was in the utmost danger. Every one tried
to save himself. Guido seized a spar, but it broke in his hands, leaving a
splinter so deep in his arm that it could not be extracted. He, however, safely
reached the shore. This accident opened his eyes to the fault he had committed
in leaving the service of the church. Repenting of his error, he returned to
Laken, begged the curate’s pardon, and returned to his former occupation. As
the splinter in his arm occasioned him great pain, and impeded his work, he
sought and found help from the Divine Mother of Mercy; while he was praying
before her image the splinter came out, and his arm was immediately healed.
From that time he redoubled his zeal in the performance of his duties and in
the practice of self-abnegation.
Some time afterwards he requested of the curate the
permission to go to Rome, and thence to the Holy Land. Seven years he spent
visiting the holy places, living during this period of time upon alms. When on
his return he again came to Rome, he found Wondulf, dean of the church of
Anderlecht, who, with some canons, intended visiting the Holy Land. He
requested Guido, as being acquainted with the places they were setting out for,
to accompany them. The Saint, although enfeebled in health, would not refuse an
act of kindness, and for the second time he undertook the fatigues of the
journey. They had scarcely visited the Holy Places, when the dean and his
companions were seized with a most malignant fever from which none of them
recovered. Guido nursed them with the most tender care, and having closed their
eyes, he returned to Belgium and brought to Anderlecht the news of the death of
the Dean and his companions. Soon after, Guido, enfeebled by his long journeys,
became sick, and as God had revealed to him the hour of his death, he prepared
himself for it most devoutly. Having received the holy sacraments, he was
during the night occupied in prayer, when the room was suddenly filled with a
heavenly brightness, and at the same time a voice was heard, saying: “Come, you
good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of thy Lord.” At the same moment
the holy man breathed his last, in the year of our Lord, 1012. His holy body
was buried with great honors, and the glory of which he began to partake in
heaven, was revealed to the world by the miracles wrought through his
intercession. Some years later, a beautiful church was built in his honor, and
his holy relics were transferred to it with great solemnity.
Practical Considerations
• Saint Guido was called the angel of the village, on
account of the reverence which he manifested in church. Can you be called an
angel for the same reason? If you are one of those who look about, talk and
laugh, to the disturbance and scandal of others, you surely cannot be called
so; for, the angels manifest the greatest devotion in the church on account of
the infinite Majesty of Him who dwells there. He who would, for such conduct,
call you a devil instead of an angel, would not be far from the truth; as only
those incited by the Evil One act in so irreverent a manner. “Some,” says Saint
Augustine, “come into the Church by the instigation of Satan; for, they do not
pray, but talk, laugh, jest, and commit other iniquities, and, therefore, will
soon follow their leader into eternal torments.” One might, however, almost
think that such persons are worse than the devils; for these, according to the
testimony of Saint James, believe and tremble: but such people do not tremble
before God, their Judge, but dare to be impudent and audacious. Take care; the
day will come when He will be your Judge, whom you, while He is concealed under
the form of bread, so wickedly offend. How will you feel then, when you have
not shown him due honor in Church, but have only caused Him displeasure? Surely
you will tremble before Him more than the devils themselves.
• Saint Guido was satisfied with his poverty, neither
complaining nor murmuring against God or men. The Almighty gives to some an
abundance of earthly goods, while others suffer for the want of them. “The Lord
makes poor and makes rich.” (1st Kings 2) Those who are rich have no cause to
boast of it, to be proud, to elevate themselves above others, nor to despise
others; for, riches are gifts of God, alms of the Lord of heaven and earth.
Those who are poor have no reason to murmur against God, nor to envy the rich;
for, God has done no wrong to them by refusing them riches. He was not obliged
to give it to them. The rich ought to guard themselves against placing their
heart on their possessions, according to the admonition of the Psalmist: “If
riches abound, set not your heart upon them,” (Psalm 61) They ought not to love
them too much; for, it is written: “There is not a more wicked thing than to
love money; for, such a one sets his own soul for sale.” (Eccl. 10) The poor
ought not to be too sad on account of his poverty, but console himself with the
words of Tobias: “Fear not, my son; we lead indeed a poor life, but we shall
have many good things, if we fear God and depart from all sin, and do that
which is good.” (Tobit 4) He ought to be sure that it is for his good that God
has refused him riches, because they were not beneficial towards his salvation.
If the poor Lazarus had possessed the wealth of the rich man, who knows if he
would not have been condemned? The poor should therefore make a virtue of necessity,
and bear the burden of poverty patiently, as Saint Guido did, after the example
of Christ. The same example should also animate him in times of despondency. He
must not try to help himself in his poverty by unlawful means, nor by offending
God, but must lead a Christian life, work diligently, and trust in God, who
surely will not forsake him. But should he languish and die of want, let him
think that it is better to perish in poverty, like Lazarus, and ascend with him
into heaven, than to live for a time, like the rich man, in affluence, and
afterwards to be buried in hell. The rich ought to take care not to misuse
their wealth, but to employ it according to the will of the Almighty, who will
demand a strict account of it. He ought to be compassionate and generous to the
poor, that he may not have the fate of the rich man of the Gospel. Saint Basil
says that God gives to some riches, and to others poverty, that the former may
gain salvation by bestowing alms, the latter by exercising patience. If the rich
act not in accordance with the intentions of the Almighty, they will experience
the truth of the words of Saint James, who writes: “Go now, ye rich men, weep
and howl in your miseries which shall come upon you. You have stored up to
yourselves wrath against the last days.” (James 5) Listen also to the terrible
menace of Christ: “But woe to you that are rich, for you have your
consolation.” (Luke 6) Woe in life! Woe in death! Woe after death in eternity!
“Where are the princes of the nations,” says the Prophet Baruch, “and they that
rule over the beasts that are upon the earth? that take their pastime with the
birds of the air? that hoard up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and there
is no end of getting? that work in silver and are solicitous and their works
are unsearchable?” Answering this question, he says: “They are cut off and are
gone down to hell, and others are risen up in their places.” (Baruch 3)
MLA Citation
Father Francis Xavier Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Guido,
Confessor”. Lives of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
4 May 2018. Web. 12 September 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-guido-confessor/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-guido-confessor/
San Guido di Anderlecht Pellegrino
m. 1012 circa
È uno dei santi più venerati del Belgio. Nato da una
famiglia di contadini nella regione del Brabante fu dapprima sagrestano in una
chiesa di Laken, nei pressi di Bruxelles. Divenne quindi commerciante,
peraltro con l'obiettivo di aiutare i poveri, ma la prima nave che armò affondò
nella Senna. Decise allora di indossare gli abiti del pellegrino. Per sette
anni si mise in cammino lungo le tormentate strade d'Europa e non solo. Si recò
a Roma e a Gerusalemme. Di ritorno dal lungo pellegrinaggio fu ospitato da un
sacerdote di Anderlecht, dove poco dopo morì. Era il 12 settembre 1012. Sulla
sua tomba si verificarono numerosi miracoli e il culto di Guido crebbe
rapidamente. Le sue spoglie si trovano nella Collegiata di Anderlecht.
L'iconografia ritrae solitamente Guido come pellegrino o con gli abiti del
contadino. Frequentemente accanto a lui c'è un bue. Il culto popolare lo vuole
protettore di contadini, sagrestani, cocchieri, stalle, scuderie e
cavalli. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Guido = istruito, dall'antico tedesco
Martirologio Romano: Ad Anderlecht in Brabante,
nell’odierno Belgio, san Guido, che fu dapprima custode della chiesa di
Mariensee; noto per la sua generosità verso i poveri, si fece pellegrino per
sette anni ai luoghi santi e, tornato infine nella sua terra, vi morì piamente.
Due secoli prima che il Poverello di Assisi celebrasse
con tanto candore le sue nozze con Madonna Povertà, un altro santo, meno
conosciuto, aveva avvertito il pericolo che il denaro fa correre alle anime,
anche quando lo si riveste di nobili intenzioni, come il desiderio di
soccorrere con l'elemosina gli indigenti. E’ Guido di Anderlecht, che una
incerta cronologia colloca negli anni 950-1012. Il suo primo biografo, che
scrive nel 1112, al tempo della esumazione delle sue reliquie, lo dice figlio
di contadini della regione belga del Brabante. Mite e generoso, Guido mostrò
fin da giovane il suo distacco dai beni terreni, donando quanto possedeva ai
poveri. Desideroso di condurre vita ascetica, lasciò anche la casa paterna e a
Laken, presso Bruxelles, scelse di fare il sacrestano al parroco, per rendersi
utile al prossimo e al tempo stesso dedicarsi alla preghiera e alle pie
pratiche dell'ascesi cristiana. A un certo punto della sua vita, non per
desiderio di guadagno, ma per costituire un fondo a favore dei poveri, si mise
nel commercio. Non fu una scelta felice e se ne accorse quasi subito, poiché la
prima nave che riuscì ad armare affondò nella Senna con tutto il carico.
Per Guido fu un avvertimento del Cielo, non perchè la
professione del commerciante sia contraria alle leggi del Signore - si
affrettava a soggiungere il biografo - ma perché egli aveva preferito la via
più comune a quella più ardua nel cammino verso la perfezione. Guido indossò
allora l'abito del pellegrino e per sette anni percorse le lunghe e insicure
strade dell'Europa per recarsi in visita ai più grandi santuari della
cristianità. Fu a Roma e poi proseguì per la Terrasanta. Di ritorno dal lungo
pellegrinaggio, stanco e malato, venne ospitato da un sacerdote di Anderlecht,
una cittadina presso Bruxelles, dalla quale prese l'appellativo e dove poco
dopo morì, senza lasciare un ricordo particolare. Infatti anche la sua tomba
venne per molto tempo trascurata, finché il ripetersi di alcuni prodigi
rinverdì la memoria del santo, al quale fu dedicata una grande chiesa che ne
accolse le reliquie.
Nel corso dei secoli la devozione a S. Guido si
allargò. Così sotto la protezione dell'umile sacrestano, figlio di contadini,
si sono posti i lavoratori dei campi, i campanari, i sacrestani, i cocchieri.
S. Guido protegge le stalle, le scuderie e in particolare i cavalli, che
durante la festa annuale ad Anderlecht vengono benedetti al termine di una
folcloristica processione. Poichè sembra sia morto di dissenteria, il suo nome
è invocato da quanti sono afflitti da questo male.
Autore: Piero Bargellini
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/70000
Charles de Groux (1825–1870), The
Pilgrimage of Saint Guido in Anderlecht, 1856 (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of
Belgium, Inv. 2259 : https://www.fine-arts-museum.be/nl/de-collectie/charles-de-groux-de-bedevaart-van-sint-guido-te-anderlecht?artist=de-groux-charles-1)
Guido von Anderlecht
eigentlich: Wido
flämisch: Gewijde, Wije
französisch: Guy
Gedenktag katholisch: 12. September
Erhebung der Gebeine: 24. Juni
Name bedeutet: der Waldmann (althochdt.
- romanisch)
Küster (Mesner), Pilger
* um 950 in Brabant in Belgien
† 12. September 1012 in Anderlecht in
Belgien
Guido war Bauernknecht, dann Küster in Laeken
/ Laken im heutigen Brüssel, später als Kaufmann tätig. Er unternahm
Pilgerfahrten nach Rom und Jerusalem und
fand den Tod durch die Pest in Anderlecht.
1112 wurden Guidos Gebeine von
Bischof Odo von
Cambrai erhoben. Sein Grab - heute in der nach ihm benannten
Stiftskirche in Anderlecht -
wurde ein Wallfahrtsort,
an dem sich viele Wunderheilungen ereigneten. Dort gibt es eine regelmäßige
Reiterprozession.
Attribute: als Pilger, als Bauer mit Ochse
Patron von Anderlecht;
der Küster, Glöckner, Pilger, Bauern, Knechte, Fuhrleute und Kaufleute; der
Kuh- und Pferdeställe; des Viehs; gegen Viehseuchen, gegen Krämpfe bei Kindern,
gegen Koliken und Ruhr
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienG/Guido_Wido_von_Anderlecht.htm
Les Environs de Bruxelles. Nombreuses
illustrations-compositions inédites de Henry Cassiers et Alfred Ronner
Voir aussi : http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/guy_anderlecht_2.htm
http://orthodoxievco.net/ecrits/vies/synaxair/septembr/guy.pdf
