Gerald of Braga

Benedictine monk and archbishop

Saint Gerald of Braga

Bishop of Braga
Born	Cahors, Gascony
Died	December 5, 1109 Bornes, Vila Pouca de Aguiar, Portugal
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Feast	December 5

Gerald of Braga was a bishop of Braga.

Gerald was born in Cahors, Gascony, and became a Benedictine monk at Moissac, France.^[1]

Archbishop Bernhard of Toledo, also a Cluniac monk, admired the liturgical singing in the monastery and asked Gerald to renew the liturgical music in Toledo. He served as cathedral choir director.

In 1100 Gerald became Bishop of Braga, Portugal and stopped ecclesiastical investiture by laymen in his diocese. He baptised Afonso I of Portugal.

Gerald died on December 5, 1109, and was buried in Braga Cathedral.

The Vita Sancti Geraldi was written by one Bernard, a companion and fellow Cluniac monk from France.^[2]

References

^ Odden Per Einar. "Den hellige Gerald av Braga ( -1109)", Den katolske kirke
^ Lay, Stephen. "Sanctity and Social Alienation in Twelfth-Century Braga as Portrayed in the Vita Sancti Geraldi." Portuguese Studies vol. 31, no. 2, Modern Humanities Research Association, 2015, pp. 153–68