Saint Bavo of Ghent (also known as Bavon, Allowin, Bavonius, Baaf; AD 622–659) is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

. He exchanged a dissolute lifestyle for that of a missionary under the guidance of Saint Amand.

Vita

Bavo was born near

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, to a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

noble family that gave him the name Allowin. A wild young aristocrat of the Brabant area, he contracted a beneficial marriage, and had a daughter. As a soldier he led an undisciplined and disorderly life. Shortly after the death of his wife, Bavo decided to reform after hearing a sermon preached by

Saint Amand Amandus ( 584 – 679), commonly called Saint Amand, was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht and one of the catholic missionaries of Flanders. He is venerated as a saint, particularly in France and Belgium. Life The chief source of details of his ...

( 584 – 679) on the emptiness of material things. On returning to his house he distributed his wealth to the poor, and then received the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

from Amand. For some time thereafter, Bavo joined Amand in the latter's missionary travels throughout

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 ...

and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. On one occasion, Bavo met a man whom he had sold into slavery years before. Wishing to atone for his earlier deed, Bavo had the man lead him by a chain to the town jail. Bavo built an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

on his grounds and became a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

. He distributed his belongings to the poor and lived as a recluse, first in a hollow tree and later in a cell in the forest by the abbey. His relics were housed at the abbey in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

(in present-day

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Veneration

Bavo is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

Zellik Zellik is an urbanised town with over 8,000 inhabitants in the municipality of Asse, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. As a suburb on the northwest edge of Brussels, it is separated from the rest of the agglomeration by the R0 ring roa ...

, and Lauwe in

, and

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

Monks of Ramsgate. “Bavo”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 24 August 2012
/ref > in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. His feast in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

October 1 Events Pre-1600 * 331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. * 366 – Pope Damasus I is consecrated. * 959 – Edgar the Peaceful becomes king of all England, in succession to E ...

. He is most often shown in Christian art as a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

with a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

and

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

. The most popular scene is the moment of his conversion, which has many stories attached to it. Because he is so often shown with a falcon, he came to be considered the patron saint of

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

. In medieval Ghent, taxes were paid on Bavo's feast day, and it is for this reason he is often shown holding a purse or

money bag A money bag (or money sack) is a bag normally used to hold and transport coins and banknotes, often closed with a drawstring.

. According to

Rodulfus Glaber Rodulfus (or Radulfus or Raoul Glaber; 985–1047), was an 11th-century Benedictine chronicler. Life Glaber was born in 985 in Burgundy. At the behest of his uncle, a monk at Saint-Léger-de-Champeaux (now Saint-Léger-Triey, Glaber was sent to ...

, the city of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

is named after him, with Bamberg meaning "Mount of Bavo".

Legacy

Several churches are dedicated to him, including: *

Saint Bavo Cathedral Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. The Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of Ghent. It contains the well-known ''Ghent A ...

, in

Saint-Bavo's Cathedral - Ghent
*

Sint-Bavokerk The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed Protestant church located on the central market square ( Grote Markt) in the Dutch city of Haarlem. The church was built in 1307. Prior to the Reformation, Grote Kerk was a Catholic cathedral after wh ...

and

Cathedral of Saint Bavo The Cathedral of Saint Bavo is a cathedral in Haarlem, the Netherlands, built by Joseph Cuypers from 1895 to 1930 to replace the former '' waterstaatskerk'' in the Jansstraat called the St. Joseph. That church was itself a replacement for the Sin ...

, both in

* Sint-Bavokerk in

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2021, it had a population of 27,545. Located just south of the city of Haarlem on the border with South Holland, it is one of the richest ...

, Lauwe, and

* Saint Bavo Church and School, in

Mishawaka, Indiana Mishawaka () is a city on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Misha ...

* in

Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...

Additionally, the football club

VVSB VVSB (Voetbal Vereniging Sint Bavo) is an amateur association football club from Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands. It currently plays in the Derde Divisie. History The club was founded on October 26, 1931, and has played exclusively at the amateur l ...

is named after him. His picture is also part of the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

suburb

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

painted a ''Saint Bavo'', dated between 1662 and 1665.

Images

File:BoschTheLastJudgementTriptychRightOuterWing.jpg, Saint Bavo by

Hieronymous Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...

, with both attributes, the purse and

, ca.1498-1504, detail from

The Last Judgment (Bosch triptych) ''The Last Judgment'' is a triptych by the Early Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch, created after 1482. The triptych is now in the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Austria. The outside of the shutters panel are painted in grisaille on panel, ...

Image:Saint Bavo.jpg, ''Saint Bavo'', ca. 1460. North Netherlandish. Limestone with traces of polychromy.

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Image:St.Bavo saves Haarlem 1673.jpg, Saint Bavo saves

from the

Kennemer Kennemerland () is a coastal region in the northwestern Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It includes the sand dunes north of the North Sea Canal, as well as the dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. History Kennemerland gets ...

s. Dated 1673 but showing legend from 1274.

References

* Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. .

External links

*
San Bavone di Gand

Acta S. Bavonis alias Alloini confessoris, Gandavensium patroni

at th
Christian Iconography website

(Life of Bavo, Confessor of Ghent, in Latin) in Monumenta Germaniae Historica {{DEFAULTSORT:Bavo 589 births 654 deaths Frankish warriors Pippinids Clergy from Liège Belgian hermits Belgian Roman Catholic saints 7th-century Frankish saints