[1] He joined the order as a hermit after his return from a long pilgrimage that took him to both Rome and Jerusalem.

The Archbishop of Braga ordained Gundisalvus and the latter distributed his great wealth to his nephews.

[1][3] Gundisalvus worked in the parish of Saint Paio de Vizela and obtained leave so as to go to visit Rome and Jerusalem while leaving his nephew, also a priest, in charge of the parish.

He returned to find that austere measures he now upheld in his life were something that his nephew did not welcome and who set a dog upon him while viewing him as nothing more than a vagrant.

Discernment led Gundisalvus to the Dominicans to which order he was admitted into and he was allowed to live as a hermit who was in the service of his local people.