Life
Bavo was born near Liège, Belgium, to a Frankish noble family that gave him the name Allowin. His father was Pippin of Landen, the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia.
Wild as a youth and selfish, he was known to have sold servants to local nobles as slaves. He contracted a beneficial marriage, and had a daughter through it. He was a soldier; however, he led an undisciplined and disorderly life. Shortly after the death of his wife, Bavo decided to reform himself upon hearing a sermon preached by a monk, Saint Amand. Bavo was struck after the sermon at the emptiness of material objects and donated his wealth to the poor after he converted to Christianity at Amand's convent. Bavo traveled with Amand for some time in his missionary work through France and Flanders. On one occasion, Bavo met a man whom he had sold years before. Wishing to atone for this earlier conduct, Bavo had the man lead him by chain to the town jail.
He built an abbey on his grounds and became a monk. He distributed his belongings to the poor and lived as a recluse, first in a hollow tree, later in a cell in the forest near the Abbey. He died at St. Bavo's Abbey in Ghent, in today's Belgium.
Read more about this topic: Saint Bavo
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“Dragging out life to the last possible second is not living to the best effect. The nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat. The best of life, Passworthy, lies nearest to the edge of death.”
—H.G. (Herbert George)
“What life have you if you have not life together?
There is no life that is not in community,”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“The most powerful lessons about ethics and morality do not come from school discussions or classes in character building. They come from family life where people treat one another with respect, consideration, and love.”
—Neil Kurshan (20th century)