Pharaildis

St. Pharaildis, wall painting, 19th century

Pharaoh statue on Sint-Veerleplein in Ghent

Pharaildis or Pharailde ( Dutch Veerle ; * in the 7th century; † in the 8th century) is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church who is particularly venerated in Belgium . She is the patron saint of Ghent . The Sint-Veerlekerk on Sint-Veerleplein, dedicated to her, was demolished in 1581. Their life dates are not exactly passed down. We do know, however, that she died on January 5th at the age of 90.

She was married to a nobleman at a very young age , although she had previously taken a vow of virginity . Her husband insisted on performing her " marital duties " and insisting that she be sexually faithful to him and not to God . Because she refused to obey him and he mistreated her for her nightly church visits . When her husband died, she was still a virgin and henceforth devoted her life to charitable causes.

In the Vita Gudilae it is reported that she is a sister of Gudula of Brussels , Reineldis and St. Emebert. There is no information about this in her own biography, the Vita Pharaildis .

Adoration

Pharaildis was venerated as early as the 9th century . Its iconographic saint is the goose.

In the saints calendar , January 5th is their feast day . Fru Verelde was an important festival day in Ghent in the late 19th century (described in Acte de Pharailde 1882).

Some miracles are ascribed to her. Tradition has it that Pharaildis created a spring whose water healed sick children. She turned hidden bread to stone for a stingy woman.

Web links

Eckenstein, Lina , d. 1931 / Woman under monasticism: chapters on saint-lore and convent life between AD 500 and AD 1500 (1896) The Tribal Goddess as a Christian Saint and Further Peculiarities of this Type of Saint

Individual evidence

↑ Engelbert, Omer. The Lives of the Saints. Christopher and Anne Fremantle, trans. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998. Nihil obstat 1954.
↑ Vita Gudilae Vita_Gudilae
↑ GR Jones: Pharaildis, virgin (c. 740) . In: Saints at a Glance . University of Leicester . June 22, 2005. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Retrieved on February 17, 2007.

personal data
SURNAME	Pharaildis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Pharaohs
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Roman Catholic saint and patron saint of Ghent
DATE OF BIRTH	7th century
DATE OF DEATH	8th century

[Engelbert-1] Engelbert, Omer. The Lives of the Saints. Christopher and Anne Fremantle, trans. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998. Nihil obstat 1954.

[2] Vita Gudilae Vita_Gudilae

[glance-3] GR Jones: Pharaildis, virgin (c. 740) . In: Saints at a Glance . University of Leicester . June 22, 2005. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Retrieved on February 17, 2007.