Saints and Holy People

Find out about their lives and how they changed the world

Saint Guy of Anderlecht (950–1012)

Saint Guy of Anderlecht (950–1012)

Patron saint of bachelors, laborers, sacristans, and workhorses

Feast day: September 12




Saint Guy of Anderlecht was born into a poor family in Belgium. Even though the family had little materially, they had great spiritual wealth. Guy’s parents were very pious and taught him their faith.

Saint Guy believed that God's call for him was to be poor, and he often took time to minister to the poor and sick. It is said that when Guy worked tilling the fields, an angel would take over for him so that he could spend time in prayer.

Saint Guy spent a lot of time at his local church and eventually was made parish sacristan. Guy’s acceptance of God’s call to poverty was shaken when a merchant partnered with him in a get-rich-quick scheme. When their business venture failed, Guy took it as a sign that God wanted him to continue living his life of humble poverty.

As a penance for his greed in the business venture, he made a pilgrimage on foot to Rome and then to Jerusalem. He died on the way back from this journey.

(Image Maurice Brocas, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)