Prayer to Saint Rumbold

On July 1st, we celebrate my patron’s feast: Saint Rumbold (Sint Rombout). A cathedral was built in his honour at Mechelen (Malines), Belgium, dating back to the 13th Century AD. His name means: rom= “wide, spacious, reknown, famous’ + bold = “bold, brave”

Therefore, I say a special prayer for all of us:

Today I come to Thee,
Saint Rumbold,
I offer You my Love,
grant me Your Blessing,
make me worthy
to live up to Your Name,
that I may equally be:
righteous, bold and brave,
especially in my darkest hours.
I pray to you to intercede
before The Almighty,
to protect and guide
me, my loved ones,
and everyone in need of
Love, strength and courage.
Blessed are You,
Saint Rumbold,
I honor Thee and kneel
before You, You,
Wise, Brave and Bold
Prophet Of The Soul,
grant me Your Vista.

PAX TIBI. AMEN.

Saint-Rumbold’s Cathedral, Mechelen (Malines), Belgium, detail from a painting my father, Ferdinand Vercnocke, made at my request (see more here)

Vandaag kom ik tot U,
Heilige Rombout,
Ik bied U mijn Liefde,
verleen mij Uw Zegen,
maak dat ik waardig ben
te leven naar Uw Naam,
en dat ik ook moge zijn:
rechtschapen,
moedig en dapper,
en zeker in ’t donkerst
mijner uren.
Ik bid om Uw Voorspraak
bij de Allerhoogste,
tot bescherming en leiding
voor mij, mijn dierbaren,
en allen die nood hebben
aan Liefde, Kracht en Moed.
Gezegend zijt Gij,
Heilige Rombout,
ik eer U, kniel voor U,
Gij, de Wijze, de Dappere,
de Stoutmoedige
Profeet van de Ziel,
schenk mij Uw Vergezicht.

PAX TIBI. AMEN

Legend

The legend tells us how Saint Rombout built a little church in Mechelen, and paid the workers more than their due. This aroused the rumour that he was very rich. When the Saint found out that one of his parishioners was cheating on his wife, he confronted him with the truth. The man was not pleased, and together with a ‘fellow in crime’ he forged a plan to murder the Saint and steal his money. After they killed him, they found out he was not so rich after all, and threw his body in the river. Instantly a bright light, as a spear from heaven, marked the spot where the Saint’s body was afloat. The killers fled, never to be apprehended.
The parishioners, overwhelmed with this sign, treated the body as if it were Jesus himself, and buried it in a prominent place in the church that the beloved Saint had build. Soon afterwards miracles and instant healings started, and to this day the cathedral to believers and pilgrims is a local Lourdes, praying to Saint Rombout to grant them a favour.

Scientific research

The remains of Saint Rombout are kept in a shrine at his Cathedral, and just recently it was opened and investiged by scientists using the C14 method to date the evidence.
The scientist forensic work links the evidence to a man between 30/40 years of age and approx 6 feet tall, suffering rachitis, but cured. His death is almost certainly to be situated between 580 AD and 655 AD. Other evidence points out that the man must have lived in a monastery, and taking into consideration the remarkable state of the remains and other findings, one can conclude that this would be a very close match to the Saint in question.

My Patron Saint

In Belgium we commemorate Saint Rombout on July 1st. The coincidence here is that I was born exactly a month earlier, on June 1st. So, each year on July 1st I pray to my patron Saint @ 1pm (13:00h) –I was born 1am ;-) ) for his blessing and I invite all my beloved ones and friends to pray with me, wherever they are. If I can, I pray at the site of Our Lady Of Lourdes, in Humbeek, Belgium, since it is a beautiful and inspiring place, next to the river, and Humbeek has Saint Rombout as patron Saint too! There I can combine both my Father’s and my Mother’s calling :-)
Sometimes, I pray at Saint-Rombout’s Cathedral, or just at any suitable place when I’m ”on the road”.