Santo São Gonçalo: meet the holy violist and matchmaker!

São Gonçalo was born in the middle of the 17th century, in Tagilde, Portugal. Coming from a noble family, Gonçalo was always a Christian, and from a very young age he was able to start his studies to become a priest.

His day is celebrated on January 10th. He is considered the holy protector of bones, and although not everyone knows it, he is also a matchmaker saint, as there is a tradition that says that everyone who touches his tomb receives a blessing to have a happy marriage.

Gonçalo was always a very happy man, he was very fond of music and viola circles, which is why he is also considered the protector of guitar players. He even played the Portuguese guitar, and used it to explain the word of God. Like all saints, São Gonçalo also went through difficulties and trials. Check out the details of her beautiful story below.

São Gonçalo came from a noble lineage, and decided very early to start studying to be a priest. After he completed his studies, he went on pilgrimage to different holy places such as Rome and Jerusalem.

His pilgrimage lasted 14 years, and on his return he had a sad disappointment with his nephew, who did not accept him and therefore spread false news about his death. To know the details of this story of faith and devotion, keep reading.

São Gonçalo de Amarante is a saint originally from Portugal, who was born around the year 1200. It takes that name, as it carried out a good part of its mission in the city of Amarante. The young Christian began his studies as a priest at a very young age, at the cathedral school of the Archdiocese of Braga.

After his ordination, Gonçalo became parish priest of São Pio de Vizela. There he stayed for a few good years, when he decided to leave on a pilgrimage towards the Holy Land, where he stayed for another 14 years. Not even remotely could Gonçalo imagine the negative surprises that would await him on his return home, coming from his nephew.

However, before finding out about that, you will need to understand more deeply how this mission trip was, by dear São Gonçalo. This you will see next.

One of the greatest desires of São Gonçalo in going on a mission was also to be able to visit the tombs of the apostles São Pedro and São Paulo. As he was a parish priest, he obtained a permit to leave. So he left the parishioners in the care of his nephew, who until then he thought was someone to be trusted.

São Gonçalo then left for Rome, and soon after went to Jerusalem. His trip/mission lasted 14 years. However, what he could not imagine was that his own nephew did not accept him, much less recognize him as a parish priest. So, during the time that Gonçalo was away, the nephew spread false rumors about his death, all of it out of pure envy.

The nephew even used false documents to convince others. These lies did not reach Gonçalo’s ears during his trip, and therefore, he continued his trip preaching the Gospel.

After 14 years on a mission, Gonçalo finally returned to Portugal, and when he got there he had bad news. The nephew, whom he had temporarily left as parish priest, refused to give back the position, and convinced the Bishop that Gonçalo would be a great imposter, falsely stating that his real uncle had already passed away.

In addition to having his position usurped by his nephew’s envy, the boy also got all the assets that belonged to Gonçalo. The saint even tried to convince the Bishop of his identity, however, there were numerous unsuccessful attempts.

Wanting to avoid fights, even though he was a victim, Gonçalo left and resumed his pilgrimage. He stopped in the region of the Tâmega River, called today Amarante. There he made his story and left his name marked.

After the disappointments caused by his nephew, Gonçalo withdrew from the region to avoid fights and live the life of a hermit in Aramante, in a small and simple hermitage, built on the edge of the Tâmega river.

This region was located in the District of Porto, and it was there that Gonçalo started building a chapel. In addition, he also made it possible to build a bridge over the river, which brought many benefits to the population of the region.

With the bridge, the people could begin to safely cross the river, and this also solved the flooding problems. Because of this, until today, São Gonçalo is invoked to protect against floods and storms.

Prostitution was also a major concern for São Gonçalo in that region. Because of this, he began to occupy the prostitutes’ time so that they would get tired and no longer able to practice their trade.

So, every Saturday, Gonçalo wore women’s clothing and nails inside his shoe, as a form of penance. And so, he played the guitar all night long, so that the girls would dance and convert. Once they got tired of dancing so much on Saturdays, they wouldn’t whore on Sundays.

During his life as a hermit in Amarante, São Gonçalo prayed to Our Lady for a light on what would be the right path for him to follow, towards his sanctity. Our Lady then replied that she should begin in an order in which she began the office with the angel’s greeting, which was the prayer of the Hail Mary.

Gonçalo, in turn, understood the message and started in the Dominican order, where some time later, he was admitted to the solemn vows. Thus, he received from a Dominican confrere, a leave of absence from his life in the convent, a fact that allowed him, in his last years of life, to return to live as a hermit, in the Tâmega region.

There are many reports of miracles that surround the stories of São Gonçalo. One of them is just related to his death. There are those who say that the day of his death was revealed to him, a fact that would have allowed São Gonçalo to prepare for it, through the reception of the Sacraments.

The actual date of his death is not known for sure. However, it is known that it was between 1259 and 1262, in the region of Amarante, where he made a difference in the lives of many people, and left his name in history.

Like all saints, the life of São Gonçalo was marked by countless miracles. From the bridge over the Tâmega river, already mentioned briefly in this article, to the miracle of rocks, fish, bulls, among others.

As can be seen, the history of São Gonçalo is very rich, and it is worth knowing more about it, and discovering all its details. Check out.

As soon as he arrived in this region to live the life of a hermit, São Gonçalo observed that the passage between the banks of the Tâmega River was extremely dangerous for anyone who ventured there. At the same time he felt extremely touched by that situation and decided to build a bridge.

However, this was not a simple work, and despite receiving help from residents of the region, this was hard work, full of obstacles. However, despite this, it was also from this construction that countless miracles of São Gonçalo came out, showing everyone that faith really does move mountains, and literally.

Keep your attention on reading, because in the sequence, you will follow more specifically the details of all these miracles, which occur from the idea of ​​​​building this bridge, which came to improve the life of that village a lot.

Before proceeding with the miracles, it is worth remembering that the population also suffered a lot from the floods in that region, before the bridge. The waters did real damage there. More than a bridge that helped with the crossing, this construction made a real difference in the lives of many people there.

During the construction of the Tâmega River bridge, one of the main difficulties was the absurd weight of the rocks, which made it difficult to move. Even with the help of the villagers, it was impossible to move them.

It was then that São Gonçalo had a divine sign. Moved by the efforts of the population, he came close to a rock and said that for that rock, only one old man was enough. At the same moment he began to push her easily, counting on divine help.

Even during the construction of the bridge over the Tâmega River, which came to change the lives of the population of that village, something was missing that would renew the energy of the workers who were engaged in its construction. Therefore, some water at that moment would be very welcome, and would facilitate the work.

It was then that São Gonçalo touched a stone, and at the same moment a source of crystalline and abundant water came out of it. However, it is worth noting that water, although essential, did not make the workers happy. São Gonçalo then sensitized himself to the workers once more, and touched another stone again, which this time spilled a fountain of wine.

Earlier, you saw that through miracles, São Gonçalo was able to quench the thirst of the men who worked on the construction of the bridge. However, this alone was not enough, it was also necessary to feed the workers.

In this way, São Gonçalo, always in prayer, approached the river and asked God to help them, and always made the sign of the cross over the waters. As if by magic, then a shoal of fish appeared, and that was enough to feed and quench all those workers.

After finding out about the miracle of fish, you must have realized that São Gonçalo had a great relationship with animals. However, this good relationship was not just with the water bugs.

One day, some extremely angry and ferocious bulls were given to the saint. However, with his serene voice, he tamed the bulls with a single word. Thus, they soon calmed down, and continued to follow those who guided them.

Once, São Gonçalo asked a rich man for a donation, so that he could help with his works. However, the man did not give much importance to Gonçalo, and said that he would give his wife a piece of paper to deliver to the saint. This one should be weighed, to see what the value of the paper would be.

Both the man and the woman knew that it wouldn’t do much. When delivering the paper to São Gonçalo, the woman laughed and said that that “credit” would be worthless, because her husband had written on it that when the paper was heavy, it was to give him alms.

São Gonçalo then weighed the paper, and when he placed only a part of the objective, when it seemed that only a few grains of wheat were missing to put the scale in balance, the paper began to weigh and…