Saint GÉLASE d'ARMAGH, abbé et évêque

Armagh Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Patrick South Portal (liturgically west) of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Patrick in Armagh. The statues left and right of the arch depict St. Patrick (left) and St. Malachy (right). Above are statues of the eleven faithful apostles which were created by Pietro Lazzerini. Inscription: “SOLI DEO OMNIPOTENTI TRINO IN PERSONIS SUB INVOCATIONE ST PATRITII HIBERNORUM APOSTOLI AD MDCCCLVI”. (See Kevin V. Mulligan, The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster, p. 111.)

Saint Gélase

Abbé de Derry, évêque d'Armagh (✝ 1174)

Abbé de Derry en Irlande, il devint archevêque d'Armagh à la suite de saint Malachie et aurait été le premier évêque à recevoir le pallium. Primat d'Irlande jusqu'en 1174, il consacra saint Laurent O'Toole archevêque de Dublin. 

Prélat infatigable, il parcourut l'Irlande, réorganisa les monastères et organisa des synodes.

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/871/Saint-Gelase.html

Gelasius of Armagh B (AC)

(also known as Giolla Iosa, Gioua-Mac-Liag)

Died March 27, 1174. Son of the Irish poet Diarmaid, Saint Gelasius (meaning `servant of Jesus') was the learned abbot of Derry for 16 years. He was consecrated bishop of Armagh c. 1138, when Saint Malachy resigned and served as primate of Ireland until 1174.

During his long episcopacy Gelasius had to deal with the events before and after the Norman invasion, including the alleged Donation of Ireland by Pope Adrian IV to Henry II of England, Henry's arrival in Ireland in 1171, and Pope Alexander III's confirmation of everything granted by Adrian IV.

He reconstructed the Cathedral of Armagh, and, in 1162, consecrated Saint Laurence O'Toole archbishop of Dublin, although the invasion and settlement of Dublin by Norsemen meant that the Christians of that see were looking more to Canterbury than Armagh. That same year, during the Synod of Clane in County Kildare, a uniform liturgy was ensured throughout Ireland by requiring that only Armagh-trained or Armagh-accredited teachers of divinity may teach in any school attached to the Irish Church.

Gelasius was an indefatigable prelate. He made constant visitations throughout Ireland, reorganized old monasteries, and convened synods. He is said to have been the first Irish bishop to whom the pallium was sent; Eugenius III's papal legate, Cardinal Paparo, brought four pallia with him to the Synod of Kells in 1152 for the archbishops of Armagh, Cashel, Dublin, and Tuam. The records of this synod include the firsts mention of tithes in Irish annals, which Cardinal Paparo proposed but none of the participants supported. The matter of tithes and the Peter's Pence was an important consideration in subsequent negotiations between Pope Adrian IV and Henry II of England.

Gelasius convened another synod at Armagh in 1170 in the hope of finding some means to expel the Anglo-Norman, who had invaded the country the previous year, before they became too entrenched. In 1171, Henry II arrived, lavishly entertained the civic and ecclesiastic Irish leaders, and requested the convening of the Synod of Cashel, during which he presented a plan for improving the Church of Ireland. At this time there was no mention of any claim of Canterbury or the Donation; however, the eighth canon of the synod decreed that the Irish Church would celebrate the Divine Office according to the usage of the Church of England (which was still Catholic).

The bishop of Armagh did not attend the Synod of Cashel. At that time he was occupied in a visitation of Connacht and Ulster in an attempt (in concert with the high king) to organize a defense of Ireland. He realized that Henry had duped many of Irish princes by masking his true intentions.

The following year Henry fell under interdict for his murder of Saint Thomas Becket. When news of Henry's penitential, bare-foot walk to the shrine of Saint Thomas and his plans for the `uplift' of the Irish Church reached Rome, Alexander III confirmed the Donation of Ireland made by Adrian IV. Shortly thereafter the Church of Ireland became English: the School of Armagh was closed (c. 1188) and the last native bishop of Armagh until the Reformation died in 1313 (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Encyclopedia, Healy, Husenbeth, Kenney, MacNeill, O'Hanlon, Stokes). 

SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0327.shtml

Saint Gelasius of Armagh

Also known as

• Giolla Iosa
• Gioua-Mac-Liag
• Gilla Meic Liac mac Diarmata

Memorial

• 27 March

Profile

Son of the Irish poet Diarmaid. Abbot in Derry, Ireland for 16 years. Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland in 1138; he served for 36 years. First Irish bishop to receive the pallium. Rebuilt the cathedral of Armagh. As the primate bishop of Ireland, Gelasius travelled widely, preaching to the faithful, re-building old monasteries, convening synods, encouraging teachers. Ordained Saint Lawrence O’Toole as archbishop of Dublin in 1162. Convened a synod in Armagh in 1170 to look for a way to defend against invading Anglo-Normans.

Died

• 27 March 1174 of natural causes

SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-gelasius-of-armagh/

ST. GELASIUS OF ARMAGH

Authored By: Rev. Clifford Stevens

Feast: March 27

In 1169, the English pope, Adrian IV, by the bull <Laudabiliter>, granted sovereignty over Ireland to King Henry II of England, who wreaked havoc in the Irish Church by pillaging monasteries and replacing Irish bishops with Norman bishops. The archbishop of Armagh at the time was St. Gelasius who tried desperately to undo the damage done by the Normans and work for the upbuilding of the Irish Church.

Before the Norman takeover, Ireland was undergoing something of a religious renaissance: literary, artistic, and architectural activity flourished throughout Ireland; the art of illumination was recovered; monastic centers, like Clonmacnoise, were flourishing; Clonfert was rebuilt; Mellifont had been founded; and Irish monks were staffing the remarkable monastery founded by Marianus Scotus in Regensburg.

No one really knows the reason for Adrian IV's "donation of Ireland" to Henry II, but it spelled the end of a uniquely Irish Church.

Gelasius had been abbot of Derry, St. Columba's famous monastery. His father was a bard, an honored profession among the Irish and most probably a teacher at Derry, where Gelasius was educated.

Gelasius called a synod at Armagh in 1170 to try to deal with the Anglo-Norman takeover, but a synod at Cashel in the following year called by the papal legate who supported the Normans made any effort of the Irish useless. Norman usages and customs were imposed on the Irish, many Irish princes submitted to Henry II, and the English king's religious decrees became the law of the land. In 1172, Pope Alexander II confirmed Adrian's "donation" to Henry, with Gelasius trying to undo the harm until his death in 1174. It was a sad time in the history of the Irish Church, and Gelasius died a broken man with a broken heart.

Gerald of Wales thus describes what happened in the time of Gelasius: "The clergy of Ireland are reduced to beggary, the cathedral churches have been stripped of their possessions." It would take almost seven hundred years for Ireland to recover.

Thought for the Day: Sometimes we have to face complete failure, and there is often a mystery of Divine Providence in the work of the Church. God does not always ask us to succeed, only to give our best. When that best is not enough, we have to leave the rest in His hands.

From 'The Catholic One Year Bible': "You must obey all the commandments I give you today. If you do, you will not only live, you will multiply and go in and take over the land promised to your fathers by the Lord.... Obey the laws of your God. Walk in his ways and fear him."—Deuteronomy 8:1, 6

Taken from "The One Year Book of Saints" by Rev. Clifford Stevens published by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., Huntington, IN 46750.

SOURCE : https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/st-gelasius-of-armagh-5503