Godric of finchale biography for kids pdf

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Among this great cloud of witnesses is St. Godric of Finchale, a hermit who lived for sixty years beside the River Wear. Godric was born in Norfolk, in , to humble beginnings. He spent his youth as a merchant mariner and very much lived the life of a sailor. During one voyage he visited the Island of Lindisfarne and while there he encountered St.

Cuthbert — St. Cuthbert who by this time was long dead and interred in Durham Cathedral. This experience led him to renounce his former life and commit himself to God. After making pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, Rome and Jerusalem, he returned to England where he lived as a Hermit outside Durham.

Godric was born poor in in Norfolk, England but became a successful merchant and trader, owning ships and trading across Europe.

Godric was said to have supernatural visions and an ability to know about events hundreds or thousands of miles away. Godric was a noted hymn writer and wrote the oldest songs in English for which the original musical settings survive — music, he claimed, that was taught to him by the Virgin Mary. Godric is perhaps best remembered for his kindness toward animals.

It is said that his hut was a place of shelter for animals seeking refuge from hunters and the weather. After a long illness, Godric died on May 11, His tomb became a shrine where many miracles were performed. Like many medieval saints, Godric was never formally canonised.