St. Giles

St. Giles (Latin Aegidius; died c. 710) was, according to tradition, a hermit and abbot who lived in the seventh and early eighth centuries. Later legend held that he was of Greek origin from Athens who fled fame and settled in the wilderness of Provence in southern France, living in solitude near the mouth of the Rhône, sustained — in the most famous episode of his story — by the milk of a hind, which one day led a royal hunting party to his hidden cave, where an arrow meant for the deer wounded the saint instead.

Honored by the king, he was persuaded to found a monastery, which grew into the great abbey of Saint-Gilles, a major stop on the pilgrimage road to Compostela. Because he was believed to have been lamed by that arrow and to have refused to be healed, he became a patron of the disabled, cripples, and the sick, as well as of lepers, beggars, and blacksmiths. He is counted among the Fourteen Holy Helpers and was one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages, with churches dedicated to him across Europe.