St Gerard of Csanad

Gerard of Csanad was a Venetian monk whose path opened unexpectedly into mission, government, and martyrdom. He came to Hungary in the age when St Stephen's young Christian kingdom was still being built and still remained fragile. Gerard first served as tutor to the holy prince Emeric, but his real field of labor became much wider when he was made the first bishop of Csanad. There he had to preach, organize, teach, and strengthen a church surrounded by rough customs and only partial conversion.

The life is attractive because contemplation and action never break apart. Gerard loved prayer and ascetic discipline, yet he did not withdraw from the labor of building Christian life in a difficult land. His martyrdom during the pagan reaction after the old order collapsed was not an accident added only at the close of his life. It was the final cost of years spent standing with a still-fragile church.