Veneration
Bavo is the patron saint of Ghent and Lauwe, Belgium and Haarlem, the Netherlands. He is most often shown in Christian art as a knight with a sword and falcon. The most popular scene is the moment of his conversion, which has many stories attached to it. Because he is so often show with a falcon, he came to be considered the patron saint of falconry. In Ghent, in medieval times, taxes were paid on October 1, and for this reason Bavo is often shown holding a purse or money bag.
According to Rodulfus Glaber, the city of Bamberg is named after him, with Bamberg meaning 'Mount of Bavo'.
His feast day in the Orthodox Church is October 1.
Several churches are dedicated to him, including:
- Saint Bavo Cathedral, in Ghent
- Sint-Bavokerk and Cathedral of Saint Bavo, both in Haarlem
- Sint-Bavokerk in Heemstede and Lauwe
- Saint Bavo Church and School, in Mishawaka, Indiana
- Sint-Bavokerk in Wilrijk
His picture is also part of the Coat of Arms of the Antwerp suburb Wilrijk.
Read more about this topic: Saint Bavo
Famous quotes containing the word veneration:
“Erasmus was the light of his century; others were its strength: he lighted the way; others knew how to walk on it while he himself remained in the shadow as the source of light always does. But he who points the way into a new era is no less worthy of veneration than he who is the first to enter it; those who work invisibly have also accomplished a feat.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“It is evident, from their method of propagation, that a couple of cats, in fifty years, would stock a whole kingdom; and if that religious veneration were still paid them, it would, in twenty more, not only be easier in Egypt to find a god than a man, which Petronius says was the case in some parts of Italy; but the gods must at last entirely starve the men, and leave themselves neither priests nor votaries remaining.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)