Liège,
Église Saint-Jacques, (Belgique): Statue d'Hubert de Liège en bois de tilleul
peint par le sculpteur Jean Del Cour (1689)
Liège
(Bèlgica): Església Sant Jaume, estàtua d'Hubert
de Lieja de 1689 de l'escultor Jean
Delcour, en til·la
Liège
(Belgium), Saint Jaques's Church: Statue from Hubert de Lieja (1689) by Jean
Del Cour
Liège (België),
Sint-Jacobskerk: Beeld in geschilder lindenhout (1689) van Hubertus van Luik
door de beeldhouwer Jean Del Cour
Saint Hubert
Évêque de
Tongres-Maastricht-Liège (+ 727)
On le dit apparenté à
Charles Martel. Il est vrai qu'on le trouve à la cour de Pépin d'Héristal,
maire du Palais. Il épouse Floribanne, la fille du roi Dagobert, et les
chroniqueurs nous disent qu'il était connu par "les folles joies de sa vie
mondaine" peu édifiante, jusqu'au jour où la grâce de Dieu et les conseils
de saint Lambert, évêque de Maestricht, l'entraînèrent vers la sainteté. La
tradition légendaire raconte cette belle histoire du cerf qu'il vit durant une
chasse, un jour de Vendredi-saint, et qui lui apparut avec une croix entre ses
bois "Chasser un jour pareil ? pourquoi ne vas-tu pas prier?" Dès le
XIe siècle, il était le patron des chasseurs. Ce qui est historique, c'est
qu'en 688, il abandonne le duché d'Aquitaine à son frère pour se consacrer
totalement à Dieu. Après une vie monastique exemplaire, il est élu évêque de
Liège-Maestricht et Tongres, puisque saint Lambert venait d'être martyrisé.
Saint Hubert fut un grand évêque, proche de ses fidèles qu'il rejoignait là où
ils vivaient, dans les clairières, sur les rivières, dans les villages.
Attentif à toute misère, il aidait les malheureux et les prisonniers. Il mourut
des suites d'une blessure occasionnée par un ouvrier maladroit qui lui écrasa
la main gauche.
À Tervuren, dans le
Brabant, en 727, le trépas de saint Hubert, évêque de Tongres et Mästricht.
Disciple et successeur de saint Lambert, il déploya son activité à répandre
l’Évangile à travers le Brabant et les Ardennes et à y combattre les mœurs
païennes, et il bâtit à Liège une église où il transféra les restes de son
prédécesseur. (au 30 mai au martyrologe romain)
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saints/6/Saint-Hubert.html
Jean
Bourdichon (1503-1508), Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne, Fol. 191v
- Saint-Hubert
Évêque de
Tongres-Maastricht-Liège (+ 727)
Saint Hubert
On le dit apparenté à
Charles Martel. Il est vrai qu'on le trouve à la cour de Pépin d'Hérstal, maire
du Palais. Il épouse Floribanne, la fille du roi Dagobert, et les chroniqueurs
nous disent qu'il était connu par "les folles joies de sa vie
mondaine" peu édifiante, jusqu'au jour où la grâce de Dieu et les conseils
de saint Lambert, évêque de Maestricht, l'entraînèrent vers la sainteté. La
tradition légendaire raconte cette belle histoire du cerf qu'il vit durant une
chasse, un jour de Vendredi-saint, et qui lui apparut avec une croix entre ses
bois "Chasser un jour pareil ? pourquoi ne vas-tu pas prier?" Dès le
XIe siècle, il était le patron des chasseurs. Ce qui est historique, c'est
qu'en 688, il abandonne le duché d'Aquitaine à son frère pour se consacrer
totalement à Dieu. Après une vie monastique exemplaire, il est élu évêque de
Liège-Maestricht et Tongres, puisque saint Lambert venait d'être martyrisé.
Saint Hubert fut un grand évêque, proche de ses fidèles qu'il rejoignait là où
ils vivaient, dans les clairières, sur les rivières, dans les villages.
Attentif à toute misère, il aidait les malheureux et les prisonniers. Il mourut
des suites d'une blessure occasionnée par un ouvrier maladroit qui lui écrasa
la main gauche.
SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/coin-priere/
Bekehrung
des Hubertus von Lüttich in einer
spätmittelalterlichen Buchmalerei
Saint Hubert
Évêque
(657-727)
Saint Hubert était un
prince de la lignée de Clovis, roi de France. Il avait douze ans quand, au
milieu d'une chasse, il vit un ours furieux se jeter sur son père et
l'étreindre de ses griffes redoutables. À ce spectacle, il poussa un cri vers
le Ciel: "Mon Dieu, faites que je sauve mon père!" Aussitôt, se
jetant sur l'animal féroce, il lui donne le coup de la mort. C'est là, sans
doute, le premier titre de saint Hubert à sa réputation de patron des
chasseurs.
Plus tard, Hubert
chassait, un Vendredi saint, dans la forêt des Ardennes, ce qui était une chose
peu convenable pour un chrétien. Soudain, un beau cerf, qu'il poursuit avec
ardeur, s'arrête et lui fait face. Entre les cornes de l'animal brille une
Croix éclatante, et une voix prononce ces paroles:
"Hubert! Hubert! Si
tu ne te convertis pas et ne mènes pas une vie sainte, tu descendras bientôt en
enfer.
— Seigneur, s'écrie le
jeune prince, que voulez-Vous que je fasse?
— Va vers l'évêque
Lambert, il t'instruira."
Bientôt Hubert renonce à
tous ses droits sur la couronne d'Aquitaine, se revêt d'un costume de pèlerin
et s'achemine vers Rome. Comme il arrivait au tombeau des saints Apôtres, le
Pape Sergius, dans une vision, apprenait le meurtre de l'évêque Lambert,
victime de son zèle pour la défense de la sainteté conjugale, et il recevait
l'ordre d'envoyer à sa place le pèlerin qui arrivait en ce moment, pour prier,
à la basilique de Saint-Pierre. Le Pontife trouva en effet l'humble pèlerin,
lui fit connaître les ordres du Ciel, et Hubert, malgré sa frayeur et ses
larmes, dut se soumettre à la Volonté de Dieu.
De retour en sa patrie,
il fonda l'évêché de Liège, où il fit briller toutes les vertus des Apôtres. Sa
douce et persuasive éloquence captivait les foules; il parlait quelquefois
pendant trois heures consécutives, sans qu'on se lassât de l'entendre. A la
puissance de la parole il joignait celle des miracles. A sa prière, les démons
abandonnaient le corps des possédés, les flammes de l'incendie s'éteignaient,
la sécheresse désastreuse cessait tout à coup pour céder la place à une pluie
féconde: "Le Dieu d'Élie est le nôtre, disait-il, implorons-Le dans la
prière et le jeûne; la miséricorde fera le reste."
Une voix céleste lui dit
un jour: "Hubert, dans un mois tes liens seront brisés." Il se
prépara pieusement à la mort, et, après avoir chanté le Credo et entonné le
Pater, il rendit son âme à Dieu. On l'invoque spécialement contre la rage et
contre la peur.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie
des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_hubert.html
Saint
Hubert évêque et le cerf, église Notre-Dame.Villedieu-les-Poêles (Normandie,
France).
3 novembre
Saint Hubert
Saint Hubert qui occupa
le siège de saint Servais de 705 à 727, était apparenté, selon une hypothèse
assez plausible, à Plectrude, femme du maire du palais Pépin II. Il semble
qu’il se maria et que son fils distingué, Florbert (évêque de Liège de 727
à 746), signalé par son biographe, était plus qu'un fils spirituel.
Une Vie, écrite vers
745, dit qu’Il arrachait bien des gens à l'erreur des gentils : il la fit
cesser. Des pays éloignés on accourait vers lui, et il confirmait par la grâce
septiforme ceux qui étaient lavés par l'eau du baptême... Plusieurs idoles et
sculptures qu'on allait adorant en Ardenne furent détruites et livrées au feu.
Comme par la suite des fanatiques vénéraient d'une manière sacrilège cette
poussière et ces cendres, il leur infligea trois ans de pénitence. De même en
Taxandrie et en Brabant, il détruisit plusieurs images et beaucoup de
sculptures, et il construisit en divers lieux, à la sueur de son front, des
sanctuaires en l'honneur des saints martyrs. La treizième année de son
épiscopat, la veille de Noël, il fit transporter à Liège les restes de saint
Lambert, qui reposaient dans l'église Saint-Pierre de Maestricht.
Dans l'église Saint-Lambert, on construisit un mausolée magnifique. Mais
il n'y eut pas, semble-t-il, de transfert officiel du siège épiscopal de
Maestricht à Liège, pas plus que jadis de Tongres à Maestricht.
Hubert pêchant à
Nivelle-sur-Meuse, dans une barque, s'appuyait d'une main sur un piquet à
enfoncer, lorsqu'un serviteur, involontairement, lui assena un coup de maillet
sur la main et lui broya les doigts. Le lendemain, comme il était retourné à la
pêche avec ses gens, un coup de vent chavira la barque. De la berge Hubert
pria. Un homme est sous l'eau, roulé, un pan de sa tunique enroulé à un
piquet. Je le secouais trois fois, impossible de me dégager. Assiégé par
l'eau, je m'écriais : “Par ses mérites, au secours, toi qui as créé mer et
terres !” Aussitôt délié, je glissais entre deux poteaux et, en quelques
brasses à peine, je m'évadais jusqu'à la berge. Et tous les serviteurs s'en
sortirent sains et saufs. L'évêque dut s'aliter à cause de sa blessure. La
douleur l'empêchait de dormir. Il répétait sans cesse le
psaume Miserere. Dieu éprouvait son athlète : pendant trois
mois, les doigts suppurèrent. Enfin, une nuit qu'il somnolait, un ange lui
montra une basilique neuve en disant : Il y a beaucoup de demeures
dans la maison de mon Père (Jean XIV 2) ; et celle-ci que tu vois, je
te la donnerai pour que tu la possèdes devant Dieu pour l'éternité. Et il
lui prédit la fin de sa tribulations au bout d'un an.
Saint Hubert augmenta son
ascèse, ses aumônes et, l'année se terminant, il vint prier longuement au
tombeau de saint Lambert, puis se rendit aux Saints-Apôtres, à Liège, et
désigna l'endroit où il voulait reposer. Il consentit d’aller en Brabant pour
la dédicace d'une église et comme on lui insinuait qu'il pourrait abréger la
longue cérémonie, il répondit : Faisons les choses amplement, de
notre mieux : voilà pour aujourd'hui le programme !
Il fit non seulement la
fonction liturgique, mais prêcha encore à tierce (9 heures) et à sexte (midi)
sur la mort, sur sa mort. Faites pénitence, il va venir, il est proche, le
jour du jugement. La mort est voisine, elle ne tarde pas à venir, comme dit
l'Écriture. Oui, de ce sommeil nous serons tous pris. Si quelqu'un de vous se
sent empêtré dans une faute ou tombé dans les péchés, vite qu'il recoure aux
médecines salutaires, tant qu'une porte est encore ouverte, afin que l'âme ne
meure pas avec le corps. Les méfaits qu'il a commis, qu'il s'en repente de tout
cœur. Et vous, frères, pesez et soupesez bien ce que vous avez fait, et maintenant
faites attention à ce que vous faites. Moi, pauvre pêcheur, quand je parle pour
vous, c'est pour moi que je crains. Sinon autant que je le dois, du moins
autant que je le puis, j'avertis. Celui qui méprise le héraut, qu'il craigne le
juge ! Voilà que mon juge est là tout près qui va me dire : Où sont
ceux que tu as instruits, où sont ceux que tu as prêchés, où sont-ils ? Je
t'ai constitué pour être à la tête de mon troupeau. Rends compte de ta
gestion (Luc XVI 2) : combien as-tu exigé, combien as-tu travaillé,
combien me rapportes-tu d'argent ? Et moi, misérable, que répondrai-je,
inutile serviteur, quand il apparaîtra dans toute sa majesté, glorieux, avec
les saints anges et archanges, les trônes et les dominations ? Le juge
sévère viendra exiger son dû et rendre ce qu'il a promis. Alors, si je peux
sortir quelques biens de vous, je dirai : Ceux-là, ils ont gardé tes
commandements et tes préceptes (Jean XVII 6) ; ta loi, grâce à
mon enseignement, ils ne l'ont pas oubliée. Et vous, contents, vous porterez
vos gerbes devant le Seigneur, dans une liesse éternelle. Ah ! pas de
cette redoutable sentence que le serviteur mauvais et paresseux mérita
d'entendre ! mais plutôt celle que le fidèle serviteur a méritée
Dans le détail tu as été fidèle, je vais te donner une belle situation. Entre
dans la joie de ton maître. Et aussi : Venez, bénis de mon Père, recevez
le royaume (Matthieu XXV 21 34). Puissiez-vous mériter de venir
heureusement dans ce royaume par la grâce de celui qui vous a appelés à la
gloire, et qui m'a donné le pouvoir de vous conduire jusqu'ici. Aujourd'hui,
vous, tous, je vous recommande à Jésus-Christ pour que dans ses préceptes, par
mes paroles, vous persévériez toujours !
Saint Hubert, après la
cérémonie, se rendit à un banquet où il accepta un peu d’une coupe de vin, fit
une prière sur la table, donna à tous des pains bénits (eulogies) et mangea
peu, les yeux au ciel. Comme il se levait de table, un anachorète qui comptait
douze ans de vie solitaire l'invita à boire un peu plus. Il répondit : Au
revoir dans le royaume de Dieu ! mais ici, je ne boirai pas
plus. Puis il gagna sa barque, probablement sur le Dyle.
Quand il en sortit, il
avait grand soif et grand froid. Il alla se reposer, mais fut tiré de son
sommeil par des serviteurs qui se battaient au couteau. Alors on le mit sur un
cheval et, soutenu par des mains amies, il rentra chez lui (à Tervueren)
pendant la nuit. La fièvre grandit du lundi au vendredi. Il psalmodiait sans
pouvoir dormir. Une nuit, le démon le tourmenta spécialement. Hubert appela un
disciple, demanda l'heure. Le coq n'avait pas encore chanté. Il voulut de l'eau
bénite, de l'huile sainte. Avant l'aube, il avait déjà récité son office
jusqu'à vêpres. Au matin, après avoir récité le Credo et
le Pater en présence de son fils distingué, Florbert, Hubert
mourut (30 mai 727). Son corps fut porté aux Saints-Apôtres de
Liège où, seize ans après sa mort, il fut retrouvé intact. Le 3 novembre 743,
le maire du palais Carloman aida à porter ses reliques devant l'autel. En 825,
Liège les céda partiellement au monastère d'Andage qui
devint Saint-Hubert, et prétendit posséder le corps dans son intégralité.
SOURCE : http://missel.free.fr/Sanctoral/11/03.php
Master of the Life of the Virgin, The
Conversion of Saint Hubert: Left Hand Shutter, oil on oak wood, circa 1485, 123 x 83.2, National Gallery, Central London
Pintura
del Mestre de la Vida de Maria de Werden, 1460 ca., National Gallery de Londres
Also
known as
Apostle of the Ardennes
Hubert the Hunter
Hubertus…
30
May (translation of relics)
Profile
Grandson of
Charibert, King of Toulouse.
Eldest son of Bertrand, Duke of
Aquitaine. Worldly, popular and dissolute layman courtier at
Nuestria in northwest France in
his youth.
For political reasons he emigrated,
to Austrasia in the border area between modern France and Germany. Married in 682 to
Floribanne, daughter of Dagobert, Count of
Louvain. Father of
one son, Saint Floribert
of Liege.
Hubert was passionately
devoted to hunting.
While chasing a
stag on a Good
Friday morning, he received a vision of a crucifix between
the animal’s antlers. A voice warned him, “Hubert, unless you turn to the
Lord, and lead a holy life, you shall quickly go down to hell.” It was
a conversion experience
for Hubert.
Spiritual student
of Saint Lambert
of Maastricht. When his wife died,
Hubert renounced all his worldy positions, titles and wealth, handed his
patrimony, and the care of his son, to his brother, and studied for
the priesthood.
After ordination,
he served as assistant to Saint Lambert. Pilgrim to Rome,
where he was when Lambert was murdered.
Chosen bishop of Maastricht.
Known for his excellent preaching and
his generosity to the poor,
stripping the diocese of
all excesses to help them. Following another vision, and to defend of the
memory of Lambert,
he moved his mentor’s body from
Maastricht to Liege,
and built a church for it on the site of Lambert‘s martyrdom.
First bishop of Liege.
Hubert evangelized the
Ardenne region, converting pagans and
strengthening Christians.
He tracked down some of the old idolatrous places
of worship, but generally permitted the new converts to
decide for themselves to destroy the old idols. They all, naturally, did so.
Hubert predicted the date
of his own death,
and died while
reciting the Our Father. He became highly revered in the Middle Ages, and
there were several military orders named in his honor. His association with
the hunt led
to his patronage of furriers and trappers,
and against rabies and
bad behavior in dogs,
primarily hunting dogs.
The breed commonly known as bloodhounds are also called Saint
Hubert’s hounds.
Born
c.656 at
Maastricht, Netherlands
30
May 727 at
Fura (modern Tervueren), Brabant, Belgium of
natural causes
interred at Saint Peter’s
collegiate church in Liege, Belgium
relics translated
in 825 to
the abbey which
has since been renamed Saint Hubert’s
in Belgium
bishop celebrating Mass as
an angel brings
him a scroll
bishop with
a hound and
hunting horn
bishop with
a stag with
a crucifix
huntsman adoring
a stag with
a crucifix in
its antlers
kneeling before a stag as
an angel brings
him a stole
kneeling in prayer,
a hound before
him and often with hunting gear
nearby
knight with
a banner showing
the stag‘s
head and crucifix
stag with
a crucifix over
its head
young courtier with
two hounds
Additional
Information
A
Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encyclopedia, by C F Wemyss Brown
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Short
Lives of the Saints, by Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly
books
Our
Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Sacred
and Legendary Art, by Anna Jameson
other
sites in english
Honoring
the Patron Saints of Hunters
What
Does Jägermeister Have to Do with Saint Hubert?
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio
Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
Abbé
Christian-Philippe Chanut
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Hubert of
Liège“. CatholicSaints.Info. 29 May 2021. Web. 3 November 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hubert-of-liege/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hubert-of-liege/
Hochkönigsburg
(Elsass). Saal der Jagdtrophäen: Wandmalerei mit der Bekehrung des heiligen
Hubertus.
Haut-Koenigsbourg
castle (Alsace). Hunting room: Mural showing the conversion of saint Hubertus.
Book of Saints –
Hubert of Tongres
(Saint) Bishop (November
3) (8th century) Said to have been a nobleman of Aquitaine, employed at the
Court of Pepin of Heristal. While hunting, a sport of which he was extremely
fond, he received the grace of conversion. He then placed himself under the
care of Saint Lambert, the Martyr-Bishop of Maestricht, who ordained him
priest, and whose successor he became. He translated Saint Lambert’s relics and
See to Liege (A.D. 727). Having converted many idolaters to the Faith and
wrought several miracles, Saint Hubert died in that same year. His relics were
enshrined in the ninth century in the Abbey called after him in the Ardennes.
Saint Hubert is venerated as Patron Saint of hunters.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Hubert of Tongres”. Book of Saints, 1921.
CatholicSaints.Info. 4 September 2013. Web. 3 November 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-hubert-of-tongres/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-hubert-of-tongres/
St. Hubert
Feast Day: November 3
Patron: of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers
Death: 727
Bishop of Maastricht,
Netherlands, and disciple of
St. Lambert. Hubert was a married courtier serving Pepin of Heristal, France.
He reportedly had a vision of a crucifix between the horns of a stag while
hunting. Widowed, he is believed to have entered Stavelot Monastery, Belgium,
and was ordained by St. Lambert at Maastricht. He succeeded St. Lambert about
705 as bishop. Hubert erected a shrine for St. Lambert’s relics at
Liege, France. He was noted for his miracles and for converting hundreds.
Hubert died at Tervueren, near Brussels, Belgium, on May 30. He is a patron
saint of hunters.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3802
New Catholic
Dictionary – Saint Hubert
Article
Confessor (c. 656-728),
apostle of the Ardennes, and first Bishop
of Liege, died
Tervueren, Brabant. Son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, he was educated at the
Neustrian court, and married the daughter of Dagobert, Count of Louvain. While
hunting one Good Friday he was converted from his worldly life on beholding a
miraculous crucifix bet,veen the antlers of a stag. Placing himself under the
direction of Saint Lambert, Bishop of Maastricht, after the death of his wife,
he distributed his wealth to the poor and became a priest. Succeeding Saint
Lambert he transferred his see to Liege and spent his life in extirpating
idolatry. He wall widely venerated in the Middle Ages and many military orders
were named after him. Patron of hunters, and healer of hydrophobia. Relics
elevated at Liege, transferred to Amdain monastery,
dispersed by the Huguenots,
1568. Feast,
3
November.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Hubert”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 15
August 2018. Web. 3 November 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-hubert/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-hubert/
Hubert of Liège B (RM)
Died at Tervueren (near
Brussels), Belgium, May 30, 727. Nothing reliable is known about Saint Hubert
before he became a cleric under Saint Lambert, whom he succeeded as bishop of
Tongres-Maestricht.
In medieval times many
saints derived both the pleasure of sport and some of their food from hunting.
According to legend both Saint Eustace and Saint Hubert came upon a stag with a
crucifix between its antlers. The stag's warning to Hubert was sterner than
that to Saint Eustace, since Hubert had been hunting on Good Friday. Stopped in
his tracks by the sight of the stag and crucifix, Hubert heard a voice warning
him that unless he turned to Christ he was destined for hell.
This was in the forest of
Ardenne. Hubert had been a courtier whose wife died giving birth to their son
in the year 685. He retired from the service of Pepin of Heristal and became a
priestly servant of Bishop Lambert. For 10 years Saint Lambert taught the
future Saint Hubert self-discipline by making him live alone as a hermit in the
forest.
Around 705 Lambert
publicly criticized King Pepin for his adultery with the sister of his wife.
The woman called on her brother and some other men to murder Lambert in the
tiny village of Liège. Hubert was elected Lambert's successor.
Hubert courageously
cherished the memory of Saint Lambert. Since the saint had been murdered at
Liège, Hubert decided that his bones should not lie in the cathedral at Maestricht.
He transferred them to Liège and also made that village the seat of his
diocese. In consequence Liège grew to be a great city. There today Saint
Lambert is regarded as patron of the diocese and Saint Hubert as patron and
founder of the city.
In the 8th century, the
forest of Ardenne was filled with men and women to whom the Gospel had never
been preached. They worshipped idols. The saint assiduously worked to convert
these people and destroy their pagan gods. He loved to go in procession through
the fields, chanting Christian prayers and blessing the crops.
In 726, while fishing
from a boat in the Meuse, he met with an accident that caused him much
suffering, and he died fifteen months later, murmuring the Lord's Prayer on May
30, 727, while on a trip to consecrate a new church. His son succeeded him as
bishop of Liège (Attwater, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
In art Hubert is
represented as a huntsman adoring a stag with a crucifix in its horns.
Variously, he may be shown (1) as a knight with a banner showing the stag's
head and crucifix; (2) as a young courtier with two hounds; (3) kneeling in
prayer, a hound before him; (4) kneeling before a stag as an angel brings him
his stole; (5) as a bishop holding a stag with the crucifix on his book; (6) as
a bishop with a hound, hunting horn, and stag with a crucifix (not to be
confused with Germanus of Auxerre); (7) celebrating Mass as an angel brings him
a scroll (very similar to the Mass of Saint Giles) (Roeder).
Hubert is the patron of
hunters and trappers, metal-workers, and mathematicians (Roeder). It is
believed that the 15th century legend of his conversion developed because he
was regarded as a patron of hunters in Ardenne (Attwater).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1103.shtml
St. Hubert
Confessor,
thirty-first Bishop of
Maastricht, first Bishop of Liège,
and Apostle of the Ardennes, born about 656; died at Fura (the modern
Tervueren), Brabant, 30 May, 727 or 728. He was honored in the Middle
Ages as the patron of huntsmen, and the healer of hydrophobia
(rabies). He was the eldest son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and grandson of
Charibert, King of Toulouse,
a descendant of the great Pharamond. Bertrand's wife is variously given as
Hugbern, and as Afre, sister of Saint Oda. As a youth, Hubert went to the court
of Neustria, where his charming manners and agreeable address won universal
esteem, gave him a prominent position among the gay courtiers, and led to his
investment with the dignity of "count of the palace". He was a
worldling and a lover of pleasure, his chief passion being for the chase, to
which pursuit he devoted nearly all his time. The tyrannical conduct of Ebroin
caused a general emigration of the nobles and others to the court of Austrasia.
Hubert soon followed them and was warmly welcomed by Pepin Heristal, mayor of
the palace, who created him almost immediately grand-master of the household.
About this time (682) he married Floribanne, daughter of Dagobert, Count
of Louvain,
and seemed to have given himself entirely up to the pomp and vanities of this
world. But a great spiritual revolution was imminent. On Good
Friday morn, when the faithful were
crowding the churches, Hubert sallied forth to the chase. As he was pursuing a
magnificent stag, the animal turned and, as the pious legend
narrates, he was astounded at perceiving a crucifix between its antlers, while
he heard a voice saying: "Hubert, unless thou turnest to the Lord, and
leadest an holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into hell".
Hubert dismounted, prostrated himself and said, "Lord, what wouldst Thou
have me do?" He received the answer, "Go and seek Lambert, and he
will instruct you."
Accordingly, he set out
immediately for Maastricht, of which place St.
Lambert was then bishop.
The latter received Hubert kindly, and became his spiritual
director. Hubert, losing his wife shortly after this, renounced all his
honors and his military rank, and gave up his birthright to the Duchy of
Aquitaine to his younger brother Eudon, whom he made guardian of his infant
son, Floribert. Having distributed all his personal wealth among the poor,
he entered upon his studies for the priesthood,
was soon ordained,
and shortly afterwards became one of St.
Lambert's chief associates in the administration of his diocese.
By the advice of St.
Lambert, Hubert made a pilgrimage to Rome and
during his absence, the saint was
assassinated by the followers of Pepin. At the same hour, this was revealed to
the pope in
a vision, together with an injunction to appoint Hubert bishop,
as being a worthy successor to the see.
Hubert was so much possessed with the idea of
himself winning the martyr's crown
that he sought it on many occasions, but unsuccessfully. He distributed his
episcopal revenues among the poor,
was diligent in fasting and prayer,
and became famous for his eloquence in the pulpit.
In 720, in obedience to a vision, Hubert translated St.
Lambert's remains from Maastrict to Liège with
great pomp and ceremonial, several neighboring bishops assisting.
A church for the relics was
built upon the site of the martyrdom,
and was made a cathedral the
following year, the see being
removed from Maastricht to Liège,
then only a small village. This laid the foundation of the future greatness
of Liège,
of which Lambert is honored as patron, and St. Hubert as founder and
first bishop.
Idolatry still lingered
in the fastnesses of the forest of Ardennes--in Toxandria, a district
stretching from near Tongres to the confluence of the Waal and the Rhine, and
in Brabant. At the risk of his life Hubert penetrated the remote lurking places
of paganism in
his pursuit of souls,
and finally brought about the abolishment of the worship of idols in his
neighborhood. Between Brussels and Louvain,
about twelve leagues from Liège,
lies a town called Tervueren, formerly known as Fura. Hither Hubert went for
the dedication of a new church. Being apprised of his impending death by a
vision, he there preached his valedictory sermon, fell sick almost immediately,
and in six days died with the words "Our Father, who art in Heaven .
. . " on his lips. His body was deposited in the collegiate church of
St. Peter, Liège.
It was solemnly translated
in 825 to the Abbey of Amdain (since called St. Hubert's) near what is now the
Luxemburg frontier; but the coffin disappeared in the sixteenth century. Very
many miracles are
recorded of him in the Acta SS., etc. His feast is
kept on 3 November, which was probably the date of
the translation. St. Hubert was widely venerated in
the Middle
Ages, and many military
orders were named after him.
Brown, C.F.
Wemyss. "St. Hubert." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 2 Nov.
2021 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07507a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by H. Jon Thomas.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07507a.htm
Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625) / Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Het
visioen van de heilige Hubertus / Miracle of Saint Hubert, 1617, 63 x 100.5, Museo del Prado
St. Hubert, Bishop of
Liege, Confessor
GOD, who is wonderful in
his mercies above all his works, called St. Hubert from a worldly life to his
service in an extraordinary manner; though the circumstances of this event are
so obscured by popular inconsistent relations, that we have no authentic
account of his actions before he was engaged in the service of the church under
the discipline of St. Lambert, bishop of Maestricht. He is said to have been a
nobleman of Aquitain; passed his youth in the court of Theodoric III. and
probably spent some time in the service of Pepin of Herstal, who became mayor
of the palace of Austrasia in 681. He is also said to have been passionately
addicted to the diversion of hunting, and was entirely taken up in worldly
pursuits, when, moved by divine grace, he resolved at once to renounce the
school of vanity, and enter himself in that of Christ, in which his name had
been enrolled in baptism. St. Lambert was the experienced and skilful master by
whose direction he studied to divest himself of the spirit of the world, and to
put on that of Jesus Christ: and to learn to overcome enemies and injuries by
meekness, and patience, not by revenge and pride, rather to sink under, than to
vanquish them. His extraordinary fervour, and the great progress which he made
in virtue and learning strongly recommended him to St. Lambert, who ordained
him priest, and intrusted him with the principal share in the administration of
his diocess. That holy prelate being barbarously murdered in 681, St. Hubert
was unanimously chosen his successor, and the death of his dear master inflamed
him with a holy desire of martyrdom, of which he sought all occasions. For
charity conceives no other sentiments from wrongs, and knows no other revenge
for the most atrocious injuries than the most tender concern and regard for
sinners, and a desire of returning all good offices for evil received; thus to
overcome evil by good, and invincibly maintain justice. St. Hubert never ceased
with David to deplore his banishment from the face of God, and tears almost
continually watered his cheeks. His revenues he consecrated to the service of
the poor, and his labours to the extirpation of vice and of the remains of
idolatry. His fervour in fasting, watching, and prayer far from ever abating
seemed every day to increase; and he preached the word of God assiduously, with
so much sweetness and energy, and with such unction of the Holy Ghost, that it
was truly in his mouth a two-edged sword, and the people flocked from distant
places to hear it from him. Out of devotion to the memory of St. Lambert, in
the thirteenth year of his episcopal dignity, he translated his bones from
Maestricht to Liege, then a very commodious and agreeable village upon the banks
of the Meuse, which from this treasure very soon grew into a flourishing city,
to which the ruins of Herstal, a mile distant, and of several other palaces and
fortresses on the Meuse, contributed not a little. St. Hubert placed the relics
of the martyr in a stately church which he built upon the spot where he had
spilt his blood, which our saint made his cathedral, removing thither the
episcopal see from Maestricht in 721, which St. Servatius had translated from
Tongres to Maestricht in 382. Hence St. Lambert is honoured at Liege as
principal patron, and St. Hubert as founder of the city and church, and its
first bishop.
The great forest of
Ardenne, famous in the Commentaries of Julius Cæsar and later writers, was in
many parts a shelter for idolatry down to that age. 1 St.
Hubert, with incredible zeal penetrated into the most remote and barbarous
places of this country, and abolished the worship of idols; and as he performed
the office of the apostles, God bestowed on him a like gift of miracles.
Amongst others the author of his life relates as an eye-witness, that on the
three days’ fast of the Rogations which the whole church observes, the holy
bishop went out of the city of Maestricht in procession, through the fields and
villages with his clergy and people, according to custom, following the
standard of the cross and the relics of the saints, and singing the litany.
This religious procession was disturbed in its devotions by a woman possessed
by an evil spirit; but the holy bishop silenced her and restored her to her
health by signing her with the cross. In the time of a great drought he
obtained rain by his prayers. A year before his happy death he was advertised
of it in a vision, and favoured with a sight of a place prepared for him in
glory. Though the foreknowledge which faith gives us of the great change for which
we wait the divine will, be equally sufficient to raise up our hearts thither,
the saint from that time redoubled his fervour in sighing after that bliss, and
in putting his house in order; and reserved to himself more time for visiting
the altars, and the shrines of the saints, especially the tomb of St. Lambert,
and the altar of St. Albinus, commending his soul to God through the
intercession of the saints with many tears. Going to dedicate a new church at
Fur, (which seems to be Terture in Brabant,) twelve leagues from Liege, he
preached there his farewell sermon; immediately after which he betook himself
to bed ill of a fever, and on the sixth day of his sickness, reciting to his
last breath the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, sweetly reposed in Christ, on the
30th of May, in 727. His body was conveyed to Liege, and deposited in the
collegiate church of St. Peter. 2 With
the leave of the bishop, and of the emperor Lewis Debonnair, it was translated,
in 825, to the abbey of Andain, since called St. Hubert’s, in the Ardennes, on
the frontiers of the duchy of Luxemburg. The abbot is lord of the territory,
which comprises sixteen villages. The shrine of St. Hubert is resorted to by
many pilgrims, and has been honoured by many miraculous cures, especially of
persons bit by mad dogs. 3 The
principal feast of St. Hubert, probably on account of some translation, is kept
on the 3rd of November. See the history of his life from the time of his
conversion, written by one who had conversed familiarly with him; also the
History of the Translation of his relics to Andain (or St. Hubert’s) by Jonas,
(probably the Bishop of Orleans,) and an anonymous history of his miracles
compiled in the eleventh age, all published by Mabillon, Sæc. Ben. 4, p. 293,
&c. Likewise Le Cointe and Miræus, in their Annals of France and Belgium;
Placentius, Hist. Episcoporum, Leod. p. 272, Buxhorn, Antiq. Leod. p. 7,
&c.
Note 1. A small
district on both sides of the Meuse still retains the name of the country of
Ardenne. The ancient forest of that name was inclosed betwixt the Rhine and the
Meuse. Some authors have extended it on one side into Champagne, and on the other
as far as the Scheldt. Those at least who carry it beyond this river into
Artois, seem to take this name of Ardenne for any great wood, as the Romans
understood the word Hercynian. On which account they called by the same name
Hercynia the whole great German forest, which was extended from the Ardennes or
the Rhine, through all Germany to the Danube. They seem to have mistaken the
German word Hartz, a wood, and the plural Hartzen, for an appellative, which
they corrupted into Hercynia. The name of Hercynian or Hartz-Forest is given by
moderns only to that wood which it thirty English miles broad, and about sixty
long, situated in Brunswic-Lunenburg, Thuringia, Anhalt, and Hildersheim. See
the Natural History of Hartz-Forest by H. Behrens, M.D. [back]
Note 2. The military
order of knights of St. Hubert was instituted by Gerard V., duke of Cleves and
Gueldres, in memory of his victory gained in 1444, on St. Hubert’s day, over
the house of Egmont, which pretended a claim to those duchies. The knights wore
a gold collar ornamented with hunting horns: on which hung a medal with an
image of St. Hubert before their breast. The duke of Neuburgh became heir to
Cleves, and in 1685 was made elector palatine of the Rhine. This honour is
since conferred by the elector palatine on certain gentlemen of his court with
pensions. The knights now wear a gold collar with a cross and an image of St.
Hubert, &c. See Statuta Ordinis Militaris S. Huberti a ser. Principe Joan.
Gul. Comite Palatino Rheni S. R. J. elect. renovati. an. 1708. Also the Jesuit
Bonanni, Schoonebeck, Bern. Giustiniani and F. Honoratus of St. Mary in their
histories of military orders of knighthood. [back]
Note 3. Against this
dreadful venom the blessing of heaven is so much the more earnestly to be
implored, as no confidence can be placed in bathing in the sea or other vulgar
remedies, as Somerville truly observes; neither is the new secret a sure
prescription, though it sometimes succeeds. Nevertheless, superstitious notions
and practices, which easily creep into the best devotions amongst the vulgar,
cannot be too carefully guarded against on all occasions, and require the
particular attention of all pastors concerned in these pilgrimages, &c. at
St. Hubert’s, that every practice be regulated and directed by true piety and
religion. See Dr. Thiers, Traités des Superstitions, l. 6, c. 4, p. 107.
F. Le Brun, Hist. Crit. des Pratiques Superstit. l. 4, c. 4, p. 195. Raynaud,
t. 8, p. 114. Bend. XIV. de Canoniz. &c. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume XI: November. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/11/032.html
Wallfahrtskirche
Heilig Kreuz, ehemalige Klosterkirche des Klosters Bergen in Bergen, einem Ortsteil von Neuburg an der Donau im Landkreis
Neuburg-Schrobenhausen (Bayern), Fresken von Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner, von
1758; Darstellung: Heiliger Hubertus
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Hubert, Bishop of Maestricht and Liege
Article
Saint Hubert, bishop of
Maestricht and Liege, was the son of Bertrand, duke of Aquitain. In his
childhood, he was led in the path of piety; but coming afterwards to the Court
of King Theodoric, and thence to that of Duke Pepin of Heristal, he lost all
love for devotion, and was carried away by the pleasures of the world. Yielding
to Pepin’s wish, he married Floribana, a very virtuous duchess, but did not in
the least change his conduct. His occupations were gaming and feasting. He was
also passionately fond of hunting, and wasted much of his precious time in
roving through fields and forests. Saint Oda, a sister of his mother, who had
very carefully guided his early youth, was very sad on account of his having
given himself entirely to worldly pursuits, and prayed daily to God for his
conversion. Her prayer was at length granted. One day, when Hubert was in full
pursuit of a noble stag, the animal, suddenly turning round, stood still.
Hubert gazed at it in astonishment, and saw a crucifix between its antlers,
while from its lips he heard distinctly: “Hubert! Hubert, how long wilt you
pursue wild animals, and waste the time given thee to work out thy salvation? I
warn thee that, if you wilt not lead a better life, you shalt be cast into
hell.” Hubert, who, on seeing the image of his crucified Lord, had immediately
dismounted and thrown himself upon the ground, listened trembling, and was
deeply moved at these words. A second Saul, he cried: “Lord, what wilt you have
me do?” “Go to Maestricht,” was the reply; “Bishop Lambert will tell thee what
you must do.”
Hubert, somewhat consoled
by these words, although still full of fear at the terrible menace, repented of
his past conduct, and immediately went to Saint Lambert. Sinking down on his
knees before the bishop, Hubert wept so bitterly that he could not utter a
word. Lambert asked him the cause of his grief, and why he had come. Hubert
related all that had happened, and humbly begged the holy bishop to show him
the path he ought to follow in order not to be cast into hell. The bishop,
having encouraged him to trust in the mercy of God, advised him to make a
thorough confession* and then instructed him in regard to his future conduct.
After this, Hubert returned home, and, without informing any one of what had
happened to him, he showed by his life that he was quite a different man. His
only desire now was to leave the world entirely, and to serve God more
perfectly. The early death of his wife gave him the desired opportunity for
doing so; for, God called her to Himself after she had given birth to a son.
Hubert, recognizing the
hand of the Almighty in this event, gave thanks to Him, and going to his holy
teacher, told him that he was determined to lead the life of a hermit, in order
the better to atone for his sins and to serve God in peace. Saint Lambert praised
his resolution, instructed him how to regulate his life in the desert, gave him
his blessing and dismissed him quite consoled. On his return home, Hubert was
informed that his father had become very sick, and hastening to him, he
remained with him until his end. By this death, Hubert became heir to the whole
duchy; but he resigned it to his younger brother, gave his own possessions to
the poor, reserving only as much as was needed for his son, whom he gave in
charge of his brother, to be educated according to his station in life. In this
manner, Hubert freed himself from every earthly tie, and, going into the forest
where he had had the above-mentioned apparition, he led during seven years a
most austere and holy life.
After this time, he felt
an inner desire to make a pilgrimage to Rome, and having the permission of
Saint Lambert, he went thither as a poor pilgrim, and visited with great
devotion the churches and the tombs of the Saints. During his stay there, Saint
Lambert was cruelly murdered in his church, for having fearlessly reproved the
King of France for his unchaste life. An angel appeared on the following night
to Pope Sergius, and informing him of the death of Saint Lambert, commanded him
at the same time to appoint Hubert, the disciple of Lambert, whom he would see
enter the Church of the Apostles on the following day, as his successor. When
the Pope awoke, he went into the church, and when he saw Hubert enter in the
garb of a pilgrim, he called him and asked him who he was and whence he came. Hubert
gave his name, adding that he was a disciple of bishop Lambert, and that the
purpose of his pilgrimage was to visit the holy places. The Pope desired to
hear no more, but taking Hubert by the hand, led him to the shrine of Saint
Peter and said to him: “Your teacher, Saint Lambert has been killed by wicked
people, but is already crowned in heaven; and you shall become his successor.”
The humble servant of God endeavored to excuse himself, but the Pope informed
him of the divine command, which Hubert could not disobey. He was therefore
consecrated by the Pope himself, and returned as bishop to Maestricht. Before
he had reached the city, his appointment and consecration had been made known,
so that he was joyfully received by the people and the clergy, and placed upon
the episcopal throne. The first resolution of the new bishop was to conform his
life to the example of his holy teacher, Saint Lambert, who was already honored
as a martyr. Hubert transferred his see to Liege, where Saint Lambert had been buried;
and not satisfied with guarding and leading by word and example the flock
entrusted to his care, he also endeavored to uproot entirely the idolatry which
still existed in the neighboring places; and his undertaking was blessed with
great success.
After having converted
many thousand souls to Christ, and administered his functions as a true and
holy pastor for nearly 30 years, he was called to receive the eternal reward of
his faithful services. A year before he died, his last hour was made known to him
by divine revelation, while, at the same time, the glory which was prepared for
him in heaven was shown him in an ecstasy. In his last sickness, after he had
received the holy Sacraments, he saw a great number of spirits of hell, who
menacing him most fearfully, tried to approach him. Asking for holy water, he
sprinkled himself and his bed with it and thus drove away the hosts of hell.
After this, he raised his eyes on high, and having recited the Apostles’ Creed
and the Lord’s Prayer, he expired. The power of the intercession of the Saint
is still seen at this day, especially in favor of those who are bitten by rabid
animals.
Practical Considerations
• “How long will you
pursue wild beasts and waste the precious time given you to work out your
salvation?” This was asked of Hubert by Christ, the Lord. The same question I
address to you. How long will you waste the time of your life? Behold, the
present days of your life are the days of your salvation; that is, they are
days which God has given you to work out your salvation. You have, until now,
wasted so many days, because you did not employ them to the end for which they
were given.
How long will you
continue thus? Has not the Almighty waited long enough for your conversion?
Have you not reason to fear that He will say to you what He said to Hubert: “I
warn thee that if you dost not soon change thy conduct, you shall go to hell.”
Heed it well: “Soon!” God may suffer from you a certain number of iniquities;
He destines for you a certain number of graces, a certain number of. days. How
large this number is, you do not know. For some men it is large, for others
small. If you fill the measure of sin without being converted, you will die and
go to destruction in your sins. When the number of your graces or of your days
is full, you will not receive others from God, and your time will have expired
in which to work out your salvation. God will then let you die and will banish
you eternally from His face. If it is, therefore, your earnest desire to escape
hell, follow Saint Hubert, and reform your life. Today the Almighty gives you
yet time and grace; whether He will give you the same also tomorrow, I do not
know. “We must, therefore,” says Saint Ambrose, “work, with the grace of the
Almighty, without delay.” “And we helping, exhort you that you receive not the
grace of God in vain,” writes Saint Paul. “For he saith: in an accepted time
have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee. Behold, now
is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2nd Corinthians
6) But who receives the grace of God in vain? Saint Anselm says: “Those who do
not cooperate with it, or who, by their indolence, cause the grace received to
be idle and of no effect.” Take care that you do not belong to these. Work
today with the grace; because today is the day of salvation, a day on which you
can work at your salvation.
• Hunting, gaming and
such amusements were the pastime and occupation of Hubert: God threatened him
with hell if he did not change his conduct. Why this? Is gaming or hunting a
mortal sin? No, in itself, it is not. But as Hubert passed most of his time in
these diversions, as he was passionately devoted to them, and did not earnestly
occupy himself with his salvation, he sinned, and would have gone to eternal
destruction, had he not changed his conduct. Heed this most important truth.
There are many worldly pleasures and pastimes, which in themselves are no sin;
but if we devote ourselves passionately to them, waste much time on them and
hence neglect the duties of our station, and do not endeavor earnestly to gain
Heaven, then we sin, and may cause our eternal ruin; because we have not used
our time well and have not given it to that object for which God bestowed it
upon us. My fear that many thus go to perdition, is great beyond words! They
flatter themselves with the empty pretext: “I do nothing wrong; playing at this
or that game is not doing evil; hunting or dancing is not a sin.” But is it not
sinful enough to employ the noble time, given us by God to work out our
salvation, almost entirely in idle amusements? Is it not evil enough to do no
good? A servant who does no other evil, except not to employ his time according
to the will of his master, does evil enough, and must not expect to be
rewarded, but to be beaten with many stripes. “And that servant who knew the
will of his Lord, and prepared not himself, and did not according to his will,
shall be beaten with many stripes.” (Luke 12) “And the unprofitable servant
cast ye out into the exterior darkness!” (Matthew 25)
Examine yourself; and if
you are such an unprofitable servant – reform!
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Hubert, Bishop of Maestricht and Liege”. Lives of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
23 May 2018. Web. 3 November 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-hubert-bishop-of-maestricht-and-liege/>
Short
Lives of the Saints – Saint Hubert, Bishop
Entry
Hubert of Aquitaine was a
nobleman of the court of Pepin d’Heristal in the seventh century. He was given
up, as was the custom of his fellow-courtiers, to the pursuit of worldly
pleasures, and was specially devoted to the chase. One day in Holy Week, when
hunting in the forest of Ardennes, he pursued a milk-white stag which, turning
at last upon the astounded Hubert, revealed a crucifix shining between its
antlers. Penetrated with awe at this miracle of the divine mercy, the hunter
fell upon his knees, and then and there dedicated himself entirely to the
service of God. He became a hermit in the forest of Ardennes, and, after years
of penance, was elected successively to the bishoprics of Maestricht and Liege.
He was a preacher of great power and unction, and by his zeal freed his large
diocese from all remains of idolatry. God accorded him the gift of miracles
before his death, which took place November 3, 727.
. . . Thrice-happy
Hubert! thou art nigh
The foot-stool of the King!
In this lone place, O child of grace,
Henceforth in penance bide;
Forsake the court, forego the chase,
And follow the Crucified!”
–
from “Legend of the Best-Beloved”
Favorite Practice
– To permit no delay between God’s inspiration and your correspondence to
it.
MLA
Citation
Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly.
“Saint Hubert, Bishop”. Short
Lives of the Saints, 1910. CatholicSaints.Info.
22 April 2021. Web. 3 November 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/short-lives-of-the-saints-saint-hubert-bishop/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/short-lives-of-the-saints-saint-hubert-bishop/
Maurice
Denis, La légende de Saint Hubert : Le miracle (Maurice Denis,
1870-1943), quatrième panneau d’une suite de sept. Décor pour l'hôtel
particulier du baron Denys Cochin à Paris. 7 panneaux, huile sur toile, 1896-1897,
Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) - Musée départemental Maurice-Denis « Le
Prieuré » (Musée
départemental Maurice Denis "The Priory")
Sant' Uberto di
Tongeren-Maastricht Vescovo
Regione delle Ardenne
(?), ca. 685 - Tervuren (Belgio), 30 maggio 727
Patronato: Cacciatori,
Fonditori, Cani
Etimologia: Uberto =
spirito brillante, dal tedesco
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale, Libro, Cervo, Cane
Martirologio
Romano: A Tervueren sempre nel Brabante in Austrasia, transito di
sant’Uberto, vescovo di Tongeren e Maastricht, che, discepolo e successore di
san Lamberto, si adoperò con tutte le forze per diffondere il Vangelo nel
Brabante e nelle Ardenne, dove estirpò i costumi pagani.
Il suo nome fa subito
venire in mente la leggenda del cervo che gli sarebbe apparso, con un
crocifisso splendente sul capo, mentre egli cacciava nei boschi delle Ardenne,
in un giorno di raccoglimento: un Venerdì santo. Leggenda, e nemmeno esclusiva,
perché cose simili si raccontano di altri santi. Su di lui le notizie certe
scarseggiano. Sappiamo che era di famiglia nobile e che fu discepolo di san
Lamberto vescovo di Tongres (Belgio), il quale trasferì poi la sua sede a
Maastricht (Olanda).
Lamberto lo ordinò
sacerdote, e morì tragicamente – forse per una vendetta – ai primi dell’VIII
secolo. A succedergli fu chiamato appunto Uberto, che ricevette la
consacrazione episcopale a Roma dal papa Sergio I. Questo, non più tardi del
701, perché in quell’anno papa Sergio morì, in settembre. La sua allora era una
diocesi di boschi e di gente dei boschi, in parte ancora lontana dal
cristianesimo, sicché egli dovette dedicarsi soprattutto alla predicazione. Nel
dicembre del 717-718 fece portare il corpo del predecessore Lamberto da
Maastricht a Liegi, dov’era stato ucciso e dove ebbe definitiva sepoltura. Nel
722 trasferì a Liegi anche la sede vescovile.
Dopodiché, per anni, ci
sono soltanto narrazioni postume e fantasiose. Di certo sappiamo che anche da
vescovo Uberto andava a pescare: e che un giorno, trafficando con un amo, si
ferì a una mano. Secondo un’altra leggenda, in quel momento una voce dall’alto
gli preannunciò la morte vicina. Dopo l’incidente – che deve avere avuto
sviluppi infettivi – Uberto dà disposizione di essere seppellito a Liegi. Ma
non interrompe la sua attività, e nel maggio 737 consacra una nuova chiesa
vicino a Lovanio. Poi crolla. Il male si è aggravato, e lui muore sei giorni
dopo quel rito, a Tervuren (una ventina di km da Lovanio). Sepolto in San
Pietro a Liegi, è presto venerato come santo in Belgio e Olanda, poi anche in Francia
e in Germania. Sedici anni dopo la morte (3 novembre 743) il suo corpo viene
trasferito davanti all’altar maggiore della chiesa di San Pietro, e per
l’evento è accorso a Liegi addirittura Carlomanno, Maestro di Palazzo, e in
sostanza padrone del regno franco: un altro segno di questa diffusa venerazione
e del suo “peso” anche politico. Intanto si diffondono leggende sulla sua vita,
e lungo il tempo nasceranno confraternite intitolate al suo nome; in Germania,
l’Ordine cavalleresco di Sant’Uberto durerà fino al 1918.
Nell’825 i resti del
santo vengono portati in un’abbazia benedettina delle Ardenne, che prenderà il
suo nome, e vi resteranno fino alle devastazioni e incendi della rivolta dei
Gueux (“pezzenti”) nel 1568, scomparendo nel saccheggio del monastero. I
cacciatori lo hanno proclamato loro patrono, e così i fonditori e lavoratori di
metalli e i pellicciai. Già nel IX secolo la festa di Sant’Uberto si celebrava
il 3 novembre, e a questa data lo ricorda il Martirologio romano.
Autore: Domenico Agasso
Patronati
Cacciatori
Cani Arrabbiati, contro i
morsi dei
Cani da Caccia
Fonditori di Metalli
Guardie Forestali
Idrofobi, contro l'
Liegi (Belgio)
Macellai
Pelli, fabbricanti e
commercianti di
Rabbia, contro la (vedi
anche Cani idrofobi)
Rettili, contro i morsi
dei
Saint-Hubert (Belgio)
