Saint of the Day: St. Gladys

Wife, Mother, and Hermit (d. ca 500)

Her life

+ The life of Saint Gladys (or Gwladys)—who is said to have been born in Wales and was the daughter of Brychan of Brecknock—is shrouded in legend and mystery.

+ When the chieftain Gwynllyw (who was later honored as a saint) asked for her hand in marriage, Gladys’ father refused and Gwynllyw and Gladys ran away together and lived as bandits.

+ Later, at Glady’s urging, Gwynllyw chose to stop running and to embrace the Christian Faith. The couple later had a child, who has come to be honored as Saint Cadoc of Llancarfan.

+ Gladys later became a hermit in rural Wales and became the object of great devotion after her death sometime after the year 500.

Spiritual bonus

Saint Gwynllyw is also honored on this day and, so tradition tells us, he later became a monk at Newport, Wales, and, later, a hermit. An Anglican cathedral in Newport, Wales, is dedicated to his memory.

For reflection

“May all your works thank you, O Lord, and all your Holy ones bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your reign, and declare your mighty deeds.”—Entrance Antiphon for Mass of the Common of Holy Men and Women, For Several Saints

Prayer

May the prayer and integrity of the Saints, O Lord, we pray, obtain help for your faithful, that they may gain a share in the eternal inheritance of those whom they celebrate with devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For Several Saints)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.