Sainte Hune
Religieuse (✝ v. 600)
Née au VIème siècle de notre ère, décédée presque
centenaire vers l'an 600. Nous avons à notre disposition peu d'éléments
vérifiés de la vie de sainte Hune. Nous savons qu'apparentée à un roi de
Bourgogne de l'époque mérovingienne, elle fut sans doute l'épouse contrainte et
malheureuse d'un seigneur franc.
La Légende dorée, par contre, fourmille de récits fabuleux à son sujet.
Enfant mal aimée d'une famille désunie, Hune fut reléguée aux cuisines avec les
domestiques du château de la Hunière, tandis que son père guerroyait au loin
aux côtés de son roi et que sa mère se livrait aux caresses de ses nombreux
amants. L'amour sincère et l'affection que lui portaient les servantes,
l'amitié des lavandières qu'elle accompagnait dans leur travail, permirent à la
fillette de vivre une enfance simple mais heureuse.
Cette vie au contact de gens pauvres, sans culture, illettrés aux manières
frustes restés païens, n'empêcha pas la jeune Hune d'acquérir un caractère
fort, une vive foi chrétienne que ses dons innés mirent très tôt en valeur.
Elle jouissait, en plus de ses autres qualités, d'une très grande beauté, qu'un
mémorialiste du temps qualifiait de "surnaturelle".
Mariée de force à un vieux noble brutal, Hune refusa farouchement de partager
la couche du soudard et, ayant résolument préservé sa virginité, trouva refuge
dans un couvent où elle consacra sa vie au service de Dieu, secondant
humblement les sœurs dans leurs travaux ménagers les plus pénibles.
Source archidiocèse d'Alsace.
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10121/Sainte-Hune.html
Sainte Hune (+ 679)
Femme d'un seigneur alsacien, elle est souvent associée à des fontaines ou à
des lavoirs et parfois surnommée la sainte blanchisseuse parce qu'elle aurait
participé à la lessive avec les villageoises en dépit de son rang. Le village
de Hunawihr lui devrait son nom.
SOURCE : http://als.vosges-rando.net/Eglise/Femmes.htm
Saint Hunna
Saint Hunna (born, unknown; died 679) is
called “The Holy Washerwoman”. Saint Hunna was born into a privileged
life, the daughter of a duke in Alsace. She matured and married Huno of
Hunnaweyer, a nobleman, and together they settled in the diocese of Strasbourg
(now France). Together, they produced one son, Saint Deodatus, who eventually
became a monk (and then a saint!). Saint Hunna was devoted to the Lord, raising
her son with constant teaching, and living the virtues of the faith. She spent
her days caring for her home and estate, and in prayer, while her husband
traveled on diplomatic and political missions.
But this didn’t seem to be enough for Saint Hunna.
In her prayer, she felt called to do more, to serve others. By the Lord, her
eyes were opened to the poverty and general squalor that the peasants and
servants lived in… and she felt moved to assist. Hunna began making daily trips
from the estate into the local villages and fields, visiting her poor
neighbors, offering them religious instruction, and working for them. At first,
she simply offered to do their laundry, earning her the title, “holy
washerwoman.” Hunna would travel from home to home, collecting soiled clothing,
and then spend the better part of each day washing and scrubbing the clothing
clean. When the clothing was too dirty, or too threadbare to mend, she would
replace it with a new article.
As time went on, her washing service expanded to
any task that her neighbors needed help with—cooking, cleaning, childcare, even
more demanding physical labor. She also instructed in ways of cleanliness,
assisting with hygiene. Saint Hunna regularly performed the greatest act of
service, bathing those who were unable to bathe themselves.
She was canonized in 1520 by Pope Leo X and her
feast is April 15.
Saint Hunna
St. Hunna, or Huva, came of
the reigning ducal family of Alsace and was married to a nobleman, Huno of
Hunnaweyer, a village in the diocese of Strasbourg. Because she undertook to do
the washing for her needy neighbors, she was nicknamed by her contemporaries
"The Holy Washerwoman". Her family seems to have been influenced by
St. Deodatus (Dié), Bishop of Nevers, for St. Hunna's son, who was his
namesake, was baptized by him and subsequently entered the monastery which he
founded at Ebersheim. St. Hunna died in 679 and was canonized in 1520 by Leo X
at the instance of Duke Ulric of Würtemberg.
It is difficult to find satisfactory authority for
what is recounted above. There is mention of Hunus and of "his holy
wife" in the eleventh-century life of St. Deodatus of Nevers, and
Henschenius in his note on the passage quotes a French work of John Ruyms upon
the saints of the Vosges. See the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. iv (3rd
ed.), p. 731; and Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lxvi, pp. 343-345. There
seems, however, to be a local cultus of St. Hunna, and the Abbé Hunckler
in his Saints d'Alsace writes on the subject at some length.
Nihil Obstat: PATRICIVS MORRIS, S.T.D., L.S.S., CENSOR DEPVTATVS
Butler's Lives of The Saints, Herbert J. Thurston, S.J. and
Donald Attwater
Nihil Obstat: PATRICIVS MORRIS, S.T.D., L.S.S., CENSOR DEPVTATVS
.
Imprimatur: E. MORROGH BERNARD, VICARIVS GENERALIS WESTMONASTERII: DIE XXIII FEBRVARII MCMLIII
Imprimatur: E. MORROGH BERNARD, VICARIVS GENERALIS WESTMONASTERII: DIE XXIII FEBRVARII MCMLIII
Saint Hunna of Stasbourg
Today, April 15 marks the feast day of a lesser known
saint, but one no less important. (She is so "lesser known" that
no definitive portraits or pictures were able to be found of her-- therefore,
the posted pictures are simple images representing her holy life, but do not
necessarily depict the saint herself). Saint Hunna (born, unknown; died 679) is
remembered for her love of and service to those less fortunate than herself,
despite prevailing prejudice. Hunna’s actions, at a time when the class system
was firmly entrenched, created difficulties for herself in her daily life, and
embarrassment for her noble husband. Yet, she did not shy away from her service
to the poor, as she understood it to be her duty as a Christian.
Saint Hunna was born into a privileged life, the
daughter of a duke in Alsace. She matured and married Huno of Hunnaweyer, a
nobleman, and together they settled in the diocese of Strasbourg (now France).
Together, they produced one son, Saint Deodatus, who eventually became a monk
(and then a saint!). Saint Hunna was devoted to the Lord, raising her son with
constant teaching, and living the virtues of the faith. She spent her days
caring for her home and estate, and in prayer, while her husband traveled on
diplomatic and political missions.
But this didn’t seem to be enough for Saint Hunna. In
her prayer, she felt called to do more, to serve others. By the Lord, her eyes
were opened to the poverty and general squalor that the peasants and servants
lived in… and she felt moved to assist. Hunna began making daily trips from the
estate into the local villages and fields, visiting her poor neighbors,
offering them religious instruction, and working for them. At first, she simply
offered to do their laundry, earning her the title, “holy washerwoman.” Hunna
would travel from home to home, collecting soiled clothing, and then spend the
better part of each day washing and scrubbing the clothing clean. When the
clothing was too dirty, or too threadbare to mend, she would replace it with a
new article.
As time went on,
her washing service expanded to any task that her neighbors needed help
with—cooking, cleaning, childcare, even more demanding physical labor. She also
instructed in ways of cleanliness, assisting with hygiene. Saint Hunna
regularly performed the greatest act of service, bathing those who were unable
to bathe themselves.
Saint Hunna demonstrates to us great selflessness, borne out of love for the
Lord. She willingly left her life of privilege on a daily basis, eventually
being shunned by those of her class and station, to intercede in the lives of
those who had no one to care for them. She treated the poor, the sick, the
forgotten as equals to herself, offering them basic human respect, love, and
charity. Saint Hunna welcomed all into her life as the family of God. The life
of Saint Hunna provides a gentle reminder of our own hesitancy to venture
beyond our comfortable lives, to actively engage in community service to those
in need. We are mindful of the fact that we are called to service and social
justice, and that embarking on that mission may be difficult or even painful.
We look to Saint Hunna as inspiration—inspiration to embody the love of Christ,
and to share that love with others in service.