Gervin of Oudenburg, St.

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GERVIN OF OUDENBURG, ST.

Abbot; b. Flanders, 11th century; d. Forest of Cosfort, Flanders, April 17, 1117. He had traveled to Rome and had also made two pilgrimages to jerusalem, before he became a benedictine monk and priest at Bergues-Saint-Winoc. He left the monastery to lead the life of a hermit; but while he was in the vicinity of the abbey of Oudenburg (Aldenburg) in 1095, he was elected abbot by the monks. About 1105 he resigned his office to spend his last years living alone in the forest near the abbey. The holiness of his life soon won him a reputation for sanctity.

Feast: Apr. 17.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum April 2:492. Patrologia Latina 174: 1480. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedicinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige 2:6162. g. marsot, Catholicisme 4:189899. s. hilpisch, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 195765) 4:765.

[e. j. kealey]