**EGIDIUS**, Saint. – Abbot, d. c. 725. The information concerning him is uncertain and obscure. His cult was already known in the 9th century, especially in the monastery of St-Gilles, which preserved his tomb.
A highly legendary **Life** was written between the 9th and 10th centuries. According to this account, E. was born in Athens around 640 into a noble family; to escape the praise and honors that his miraculous powers attracted, he fled to Provence, where he lived as a hermit. Discovered by chance, he founded a monastery that gave rise to the city of St-Gilles. Urban IV included his Office in the Roman Breviary. St. E. is numbered among the Holy Helpers. Feast: Sept. 1. – *See* pl. X.
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BIBL.:** **Acta SS. Septembris**, I, ed. Paris 1868, pp. 284 sq.; F. Britani, **St-Gilles**, Cambridge 1928; F. Boulard, **St-Gilles**, Rambouillet 1933; **Martyr. Romanum**, p. 373.