Goldrofe of Arganil

Goldrofe of Arganil ( or Goldofre, alternatively, Golfredo or Guelindrofe; ) was a Portuguese Augustinian prior in what is today central Portugal. He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church as well as by some in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Life Very little is known about the life of Goldrofe. He served as the first prior of the Monastery of Saint Peter, in Arganil; the earliest documental evidence of both the monastery and Goldrofe dates to 1086, when nobleman Vermudo Pais (Vermudus Paes) and his wife Elvira Draíz left their properties in Folques in their will to Goldrofe and his religious community ("Sancto viro Goldrofo priori de Arganil, et Clericis ejus Religiosis"). The Monastery of Saint Peter would be transferred in 1190, after Goldrofe's death, to these lands, where it remains to this day.

Legacy

Goldrofe died around 1098, with a reputation for sanctity; after miraculous cures soon after started to be attributed to his intercession, he began to be invoked against malignant fevers and other ailments. Goldrofe was canonised in 1170 by Miguel Pais Salomão, Bishop of Coimbra, when Salomão himself was instantly healed from a grave malady that had afflicted him after praying with great devotion over Goldrofe's grave; at the time, bishops had the authority to canonise faithful people in their dioceses.