Saint Gildard, also known as Saint Gildardus and Saint Godard, was the Bishop of Rouen from 488 to 525. He is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, and the missal

Missal

A missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.-History:Before the compilation of such books, several books were used when celebrating Mass...

 of the Sarum Rite

Sarum Rite

The Sarum Rite was a variant of the Roman Rite widely used for the ordering of Christian public worship, including the Mass and the Divine Office...

 refers to him as a confessor

Confessor

-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...

.

Life

Earlier versions of the Roman Martyrology

Roman Martyrology

The Roman Martyrology is the official martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...

 contend that he was the twin brother of Saint Medard

Medardus

Saint Medardus was the Bishop of Vermandois who removed the seat of the diocese to Noyon....

—that they were born on the same day, were consecrated bishop on the same day, and died on the same day. However, in 511 Gildard attended the First Council of Orléans

First Council of Orléans

The First Council of Orléans was convoked by Clovis I in 511. Shortly before his death, Clovis called a synod of Gallic bishops to meet at Orléans to reform the church and create a strong link between the crown and the Catholic episcopate. 33 bishops assisted and passed thirty-one decrees on the...

, convoked by Clovis I

Clovis I

Clovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...

; only in 530 was Medard consecrated. He is commemorated in Rouen

Rouen

Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

, with his supposed brother. Alban Butler

Alban Butler

Alban Butler , English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer, was born at Appletree, Northamptonshire.He was educated at the English College, Douai, where on his ordination to the priesthood in 1735 he held successively the chairs of philosophy and divinity...

 adds that he "governed the see of Rouen with great zeal during the space of fifteen years."

His body was buried at St. Mary's Church in Rouen, which later was named after him. According to Butler, his body was removed during Norman incursions and moved to the Abbey of St. Medard in Soissons

Soissons

Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...

, where it remains.

Cult

That Gildard is venerated in the first place is due to the association with Medard, according to Felice Lifshitz. No cult was promoted and his relics, kept in Notre Dame (St. Mary) in suburban Rouen, languished. They were removed to the Abbey of St. Medard in Soissons precisely because of the supposed sibling connection; when the monks of St. Medard discovered this link, they argued successfully with Charles the Bald

Charles the Bald

Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...

 that the brothers be reunited in death. Apparently the people of Rouen were not happy to see their saint go, and made the offer that the monks of St. Medard leave them the head of Gildard, for which they would give them the head of Saint Romanus of Rouen

Romanus of Rouen

Saint Romain or Romanus of Rouen was a bishop of Rouen. He would have lived under Dagobert I , though his date of birth is unknown. His life is known in legend and tradition and is shown in the stained glass windows and south gate of Rouen Cathedral and the stained glass windows of the église...

, one of their bishops, or the entire body of Remigius of Rouen

Remigius of Rouen

Remigius was the illegitimate son of Charles Martel and probably Ruodhaid. He was also the third archbishop of Rouen from 755 to 762. Along with his brothers, he was denied any claim to the legacy of his father. He became archbishop during the reign of his half brother Pippin the Younger.Remigius...

, their third archbishop. In Soissons, Gildard "was provided for the first time with literary traditions and [here] his cult was promoted."

Churches named for Medard and Gildard

• Church of Saint-Médard-et-Saint-Gildard, in Crépon
  Crépon
  Crépon is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-Architecture:Historic architecture :* Parish church, Saint-Médard-et-Saint-Gildard, 12th-14th century...
  
  , Calvados
  Calvados
  The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
  
  , France; 12th-14th century
• Church of St Medard and St Gildard, parish church in Little Bytham
  Little Bytham
  Little Bytham is a small village in South Kesteven in south Lincolnshire, situated between Corby Glen and Stamford on the B1176, which is straddled by brick railway viaducts of the East Coast Main Line as the road passes through the village.On the edge of the village to the east is the West Glen...
  
  , Lincolnshire
  Lincolnshire
  Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
  
  , England
  England
  England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
  
  ; dating back to Anglo-Saxon period
  Anglo-Saxon architecture
  Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...