10 JANUARY

. . . in the Dominican calendar is the feast of Blessed Gonsalvo of Amaranthe. As a young priest he obtained a rich benefice from the Archbishop of Braga and proceeded to go on pilgrimage, leaving the benefice in the care of a nephew. The pilgrimage lasted 14 years. Not surprisingly, they weren't expecting him back. When he did return, he left the benefice to the nephew and retired to Amaranthe as a hermit, eventually joining the Dominicans. Rather unusually for a Friar Preacher, he sought and received permission to continue his life as a hermit.

In one of the stories about him it is told that he organized the building of a bridge at a dangerous river crossing. When supplies for the workers were exhausted, he coaxed the fish out of the river for the men to eat and brought wine from a rock for them to drink.