Gerald of Braga was a bishop of

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

. Gerald was born in Cahors,

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

, and became a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk at Moissac,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Archbishop Bernhard of Toledo, also a Cluniac monk, admired the liturgical singing in the monastery and asked Gerald to renew the liturgical music in Toledo. He served as cathedral choir director. In 1100 Gerald became Bishop of Braga,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and stopped ecclesiastical investiture by laymen in his diocese. He baptised

Afonso I of Portugal Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on th ...

. Gerald died on December 5, 1109, and was buried in Braga Cathedral. The ''Vita Sancti Geraldi'' was written by one Bernard, a companion and fellow Cluniac monk from France.Vita Sancti Geraldi." ''Portuguese Studies''">Lay, Stephen. "Sanctity and Social Alienation in Twelfth-Century Braga as Portrayed in the Vita Sancti Geraldi." ''Portuguese Studies''
vol. 31, no. 2, Modern Humanities Research Association, 2015, pp. 153–68

References

12th-century Christian saints 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Portugal 1109 deaths Burials at Braga Cathedral Portuguese Roman Catholic saints Benedictine saints Benedictine bishops Portuguese Benedictines Year of birth unknown Bishops of Braga People from Cahors {{saint-stub Roman Catholic archbishops of Braga