Saint Bavo

Saint Bavo, born near Liège around AD 622 to a Frankish noble family and first known as Allowin, began life as a spirited young aristocrat in the region of Brabant. Though he married and had a daughter, he lived as a soldier with little discipline, drawn to the pleasures and pride of wealth. After his wife’s death, God’s mercy reached him through a sermon by Saint Amand on the emptiness of earthly riches. Struck to the heart, Bavo returned home, gave his possessions to the poor, and received the tonsure from Amand. He then followed Saint Amand as a missionary through France and Flanders, learning to serve Christ with humility. In a moving act of penance, he sought out a man he had once sold into slavery and allowed himself to be led in chains, choosing shame as a path to healing. Later he founded an abbey on his own lands and embraced monastic life, living as a recluse in great simplicity. Venerated especially in Ghent, Haarlem, Wilrijk, and Zingem, Saint Bavo is honored on October 1.