GERARD, St. — Bishop of Toul, b. at Cologne in 935, d. at Toul on 23 Apr. 994. He was a young cleric of the Chapter of St. Peter when Archbishop Bruno, brother of Emperor Otto I, designated him for the see of Toul. He was consecrated at Trier in 963. He distinguished himself by his charity toward the poor and pilgrims, building the hospital of Toul. A defender of the Church against lay encroachments and of the poor against the rapacity of the lords, he narrowly escaped assassination by the latter at Manoncourt-en-Vermois. He composed regulations regarding the administration of justice and commerce. He rebuilt the cathedral in 981, founded the monastery of St. Gengoult, and enriched his city with notable relics. He was canonized by Leo IX (2 May 1050). Feast: 23 Apr. (at Toul, 24 Apr.).
GERARDO, SANTO
Bibl.: The Life written by Widric at the request of Pope Leo IX in Acta SS. Aprilis, III, Antwerp 1675, pp. 207-12; MGH. Scriptores, IV, pp. 490 ff.; B. Picart, La vie de S. Gérard de T., Toul 1700; E. Martin, Hist. des dioc. de Toul, Nancy et de St. Dié, I, ibid. 1900, pp. 159-79; W. Wattenbach-Holtsmann, Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter, I, II, Berlin 1939, pp. 188-89; A. Schütte, Handbuch d. deutsch. Heiligen, Cologne 1941, p. 139.