Godfrey was born in 1065 in Sossians, France. When he was only five years old, he was placed in the care of the abbot of Mont-Saint-Quentin Abbey where he grew up and became a monk. Later he was ordained and became abbot of run-down Nogent Abbey in Champagne. Gregory restored discipline and rebuilt it into a flourishing community. He refused the abbacy of Saint-Remi, but in 1104 was appointed bishop of Amiens. There his strict discipline, insistence on clerical celibacy, and struggle against simony aroused much bitter opposition and even caused an attempt on his life. He died on the way to Soissons to visit his metropolitan see.
Lessons
St. Godfrey is a good example to us that our surroundings and those with whom we associate powerfully influence how we live our lives. St. Godfrey, having been raised in an abbey and thus surrounded by holy men, grew up to be a monk and an abbot who remained true to his faith and the disciplines of his vocation, and expected the same of others.
Prayer
St. Godfrey, help us to see the importance of having relationships with those who have centered their lives on God and are not only good examples to us, but supportive of us in our daily walk with Him. Amen.
Other Saints We Remember Today
Four Crowned Martyrs – Severus, Severian, Carpophorus, and Victorinus (306), Patrons of stonemasons, sculptors, and marble workers.
image: Master of Messkirch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
