**EGIDIO** of Assisi, Blessed. — The third companion of St. Francis of Assisi, whom he joined around 1208. He undertook great pilgrimages, earning his bread through labor, to Rome, to Santiago de Compostela, and to the Holy Land. Afterward, he retired to the hermitages of Umbria, especially Montepiedi outside Perugia, where he died on 23 April 1262 (1261). A great contemplative and ecstatic. His cult was confirmed by Pius VI in 1777. Feast day: 23 April.
The companions collected his **Sayings** and spiritual teachings, sometimes marked by wit and simple wisdom. *Dica B. Aegidii Assisiensis* (Bibliotheca Franciscana sacerdotale, vol. 3, Quaracchi 1905), Italian version, with good studies, edited by N. Vian: *Beato E. di Assisi, I Detti* (Brescia 1923).
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