Saint Ghislain

Whatever the truth of this circumstance of his life, upon which hagiographers do not agree, Saint Ghi slain did not saint Ghislain Monk of Greek origin, founder of the monastery of Saint-Ghislain in Hainaut. govern this church for long. One day, while he was at prayer, a vision made it known to him that he must go to Rome to pay his Rome Birthplace of Maximian. respects to the holy Apostles and to their successor. It does not appear that this revelation had indicated to him at that time the cou ntry of Hainaut Region where Pacifique exercised his ministry and founded convents. Hainaut, where he came later. Full of confidence in God and submission to His will, he hastened to obey this order from heaven; and having taken with him a certain number of his disciples, he headed toward Rome with the sentiments of a worthy pilgrim. Arriving in the capital of the Christian world, Saint Ghislain visited all the churches, oratories, and places sanctified by the sufferings of the martyrs. Prostrate at the foot of the tomb of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, he rendered to them all the testimonies of the most filial attachment. It was there that the Lord manifested His will to him again, telling him to cross the Alps and the other countries to the north of those mountains, until he encountered a province called Hainaut, where he would fix his dwelling. Submissive to the designs of God, the holy Apostle then sent back to their country all the disciples who had accompanied him, with the exception of two, Lambert and Bellère, with whom he headed toward the places that the Lord had indicated to him. Upon arriving in the regions neighboring Hainaut, Saint Ghislain heard the name of a servant of God pronounced, whose prais e was on ev saint Amand Spiritual advisor to Gertrude. eryone's lips. It was Saint Amand, then bishop of Maastricht, a man admirable for the works he had already accomplished and the numerous monasteries he was founding everywhere. Struck by all that was said of him, Saint Ghislain headed with his disciples toward this holy Pontiff, whom he found in his episcopal city. After having conversed together and having edified and encouraged one another, Saint Ghislain withdrew and went into Hainaut to begin a monastery at the place where one sees today the city that bears his name. This place was then called Ursidongus, Ursidongue (retreat of the bear or the she-bear). His virtues soon attracted to him inhabitants of the country, to whom he taught the principles of the Christian life. One could not sufficiently admire his profound humility, his unalterable gentleness, his almost continual prayer, and his indefatigable ardor for work. Already several people, touched by his holiness, wished to attach themselves to him and live under his guidance: all rejoiced to see rising in the region a monastery that would be directed by this man of God. His reputation did not take long to rea ch the ears saint Aubert Bishop of Cambrai and Arras who called Kilian to mission. of Saint Aubert, bishop of Cambrai, upon whom this place depended. The prelate wished to know the pious stranger who was instructing and edifying his flock in this way. He had him requested to come to him. Saint Ghislain, whose desires were anticipated by this request, was in a hurry to go to the venerable bishop. Having set out on his way, he arrived in the ev Roisin Village where Ghislain performed a miracle of birth. ening at a village called Roisin, between the current cities of Saint-Ghislain and Le Quesnoy. There, after having searched for some time, he found a good man who hastened to give him hospitality. In the morning, at the moment when he was preparing to continue his journey, his host said to him: "My Father, I recognize that your works are pleasing to God; I therefore beg you to be willing to return to my home when you have finished your visit to the bishop." This request, in which the piety of this simple and upright man was revealed, was welcomed by Saint Ghislain with joy. God would later reward it with an unexpected healing. Arriving in Cambrai, Saint Ghislain was presented to Saint Aubert, who addressed these words to him: "My brother, tell me who you are and what is your dignity?" — "I am Greek by nation," replied Saint Ghislain, "and Christian by character: I was born, baptized, and raised in Athens. It is from this city that, by the order of God, I came first to Rome, then toward this country. In a place located on the river Haine and which is called Ursidongus, I have undertaken to build, in honor of God, an oratory dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and your kindness has anticipated the intention I had of coming to you, to ask you for the permission to finish this work that I had begun." These wise words made an impression on the heart of the holy bishop of Cambrai, who immediately felt penetrated with respect and affection for the virtuous stranger. He encouraged him greatly in his enterprise, and promised him that he would go to visit him and bless his oratory as soon as it was finished. Filled with joy by this promise, Saint Ghislain set out on the road to return to Ursidongus. According to the word he had given, he stopped at Roisin at the home of the charitable host who had received him on his passage; but this man, whose wife was beginning to feel the pains of childbirth, searched in the neighborhood and procured for the man of God a more suitable dwelling to spend the night. Scarcely had he returned to his home when he ran, distraught, to Saint Ghislain: "Servant of God," he cried, "come to the aid of my wife who is going to die; deign to pray to God for her." Touched to the depths of his soul by this suppliant voice, the Saint replied to him with kindness: "Cease to give yourself over to sadness, for when you return home, you will find your wife in full health, and she will have given you a son." The word of the man of God had its fulfillment on the spot; which caused an inexpressible joy in the whole family and the village. The Saint baptized the child himself, and the father, in order to show his gratitude, gave a portion of his goods for the completion of the church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the new monastery.

Having returned to his disciples, Saint Ghislain joyfully completed the works so happily begun. Then, when everything was prepared for the consecration, he sent a message to the venerable Bishop of Cambrai. "Father," he said to him, "the time approaches when, as you have promised your servant, you will deign to come and give your blessing to his work." Saint Aubert, accompanied by Saint Amand, who had resumed his apostolic life, went with him to Ursidongus. This place took from then on the name of Cella or La Celle. Both were received with the deepest respect by Saint Ghislain and the disciples gathered around him. In the midst of an immense crowd of people who had flocked to attend the ceremony, they consecrated to God, under the auspices of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, this new house of prayer, around which the town of Saint-Ghislain later arose. Among the many assistants present at this solemnity, one noted above all Count Mauger, husband of Saint Vaudru, who then took the resoluti on to separat sainte Vaudru Daughter of Walbert and Bertille. e himself from the world to attach himself solely to the service of God. The Blessed Ghislain, witness to this brilliant conversion, encouraged him in every way. He was also, some time later, of great help to Saint Vaudru for the execution of a similar design. This holy woman, who nourished in her heart the desire to live in silence and prayer, and who had not been a stranger to her husband's determination, took advantage of the ease offered by his retreat to take refuge herself in some solitude. Saint Ghislain gave her the means to accomplish this resolution, and his wise counsels, while they made Saint Vaudru advance in the practice of the most sublime virtues, increased even more in the heart of Aldegonde, her sister, the desire to imitate her. This happiness was indeed granted to this Aldegonde Daughter of Walbert and Bertille. Saint some time later, when she went to build the monastery of Maubeuge, where she enclosed herself with the two daughters of Saint Vaudru.

The details of the relationship these holy souls had with one another until the end of their lives are unknown, except for a few isolated facts that show how much God delighted in showering His favors upon them. The authors who cite the revelation in which Saint Aldegonde perceived the soul of the blessed Amand flying to heaven in the form of a beautiful old man surrounded by a joyful and triumphant multitude, add that she reported this vision to her sister Saint Vaudru and to Saint Ghislain. The latter then said to her: "If you have deserved to see the God of heaven crown His servant Amand, it is for your own good; for know that the end of your life is approaching. Ask the Lord to send you some infirmity that will finish purifying you and prepare you to receive the reward that the blessed Amand already enjoys." Even in extreme old age, Saint Ghislain would go from time to time to converse about spiritual matters with the venerable Saint Vaudru; and when the infirmities of age no longer allowed either of them to make the entire journey that separated the two monasteries of Celle and Mons, they built, by mutual agreement, a small oratory in honor of the holy martyr Quentin, in a place called Quaregnon. It is there that they would sometimes go, following the example of Saint Benedict and his sister Saint Scholastica, whose conduct and holiness they perfectly reproduced.

Such was the life of Saint Ghislain, adorned with all kinds of virtues. He spread the sweet fragrance of Jesus Christ throughout the region and showed himself to be His true disciple through his charity toward the poor, his love for God, and the faithful fulfillment of all the duties of religious life. He died in peace at an advanced age and was buried by his disciples in the church of his monastery.

A bear with her cub is frequently painted near him: we have indicated the reason for this characteristic.

His body rested in the church of his monastery until the time when Ch arlemagne c Charlemagne Emperor of the Franks and uncle of Saint Folquin. ommissioned Abbot Elefant to build another, more spacious and magnificent one. Halligaire, Bishop of Cambrai, consecrated it in the year 818, during the reign of Louis the Pious. The holy body was then carried there and soon after forgotten due to the Norman invasions and the general discouragement that weighed upon all spirits. The monastery itself remained in ruins until 929, when a blind man, warned in his sleep, went to these ruins to pray and recovered his sight there. He immediately had searches made to find the relics of the Saint, whose cult then experienced a new expansion. In 933, the monastery was rebuilt, but five years later a fire reduced it to ruins once again: fortunately, the relics were spared.

These relics were carried on September 22, 1023, to the consecration of the church of Saint-André, in Le Cateau, performed by Bishop Gérard of Florines; in 1030, to the consecration of the cathedral of Cambrai; in 1064, to that of the church of the monastery of the Holy Sepulchre, under the blessed Lebert; and in 1070, to that of the church of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, in Hasson. All these facts prove in a striking manner the respect and devotion held in the 14th century for this great servant of God. Other testimonies are found in the following centuries: on June 6, 1161, the relics of Saint Ghislain were carried to Maubeuge to attend the solemn translation of those of Saint Aldegonde; in 1180, they were placed in a new reliquary by Reger, Bishop of Cambrai; on January 15, 1491, the Bishop of Cambrai, Henri de Berghes, visited them and separated an arm to be presented for public veneration. This arm having disappeared during the wars of the 16th century, the Archbishop of Cambrai, Louis de Berlaymont, replaced it in 1588 with the other arm, which was exposed to the piety of the faithful. In 1626, on the feast of Saint Luke, François Vander-Burgh, also Archbishop of Cambrai, placed a large portion of the relics of Saint Ghislain into a new reliquary prepared for this purpose, and in 1628, on the feast of Saint John the Evangelist, the Abbot of Crespin placed the head of the Saint into a separate shrine.

Finally, a confraternity, called the Confraternity of Charity, was erected in honor of Saint Ghislain, confirmed in 1120 by Burchard, Bishop of Cambrai, and in 1123, by the Sovereign Pon tiff Callix Callixte II Pope before whom Hugh and Norbert appear in Reims. tus II. It was later called the Confraternity of Saint-Ghislain. Many lords and noble persons wished to be part of it, among others Philip IV, King of Spain, and his wife. Pope Urban VIII, by a bull in t Urbain VIII Pope who beatified Josaphat. he year 1625, enriched this confraternity with many spiritual favors. The students of the College of the Lily, at the University of Louvain, had adopted Saint Ghislain as their patron and celebrated his feast each year with solemnity. Even today, in the metropolitan church of Cambrai, there exists a Confraternity of Saint-Ghislain which the piety of the faithful has made famous. Perhaps some authentic documents would allow it to be linked to the one that was confirmed in 1120 by Bishop Burchard. Before the revolution of 1783, it belonged to the parish of Saint-Nicolas; but this church having been destroyed, the relics of the Saint as well as the association were transported to the metropolis. This confraternity is twofold; one is particularly intended for young children, the other for adults. These children, some time after their birth, are brought into the church by their parents and recommended to the protection of the Saint, so that he may deliver them from the diseases and dangers to which they are exposed at that age. If some of them die in the first years of childhood, the association has a mass said for the angels. As for the adults, who also join this confraternity in order to be delivered from accidents and especially from certain diseases, such as the falling sickness and others similar, their number is also very considerable. At the death of each associate, a mass is celebrated for the repose of his soul. Furthermore, on Wednesday of each week, a benediction is sung in honor of the patron saint, and on the second Sunday of October, his feast is celebrated with solemnity. During the octave that follows, a crowd of pilgrims from the city and neighboring villages come to pay their respects to their worthy protector and to recommend themselves to his powerful intercession.

The village of Roisin has become a place of pilgrimage to Saint Ghislain for women whose labor is approaching. They even go there sometimes afterwards, when they have been happily delivered. The city of Saint-Ghislain is also a very frequented place of pilgrimage. Poor mothers who fear for the lives of their dear infants carry them to Saint-Ghislain. The priest recites the Gospel over them, has them touch the relics of the Saint, and often, after this pious journey, the violent convulsions and fears natural to young children, especially at the time of the first teething, are calmed: a touching benefit of divine clemency which rewards the naive faith of mothers with the salvation of their children!

Excerpt from The Saints of Cambrai and Arras, by Abbé Dechambes.