ST HEMMA OF GURK, WIDOW - 27 JUNE

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JUNE

Saints celebrated on the 27th of June

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST HEMMA OF GURK, WIDOW 

Saint Hemma was born about 995. Herself of noble family, she married the Carinthian count William II of Friesach, mentioned as margrave an der Sann in 1016. Carinthia (Kärnten) is a part of today's Austria.

HEMMA'S FAMILY

Both her sons (Hartwig and Wilhelm) as well as her husband were murdered, the latter presumably in 1036 by the deposed duke Adalbero of Carinthia in revenge. Hemma became wealthy through inheritance upon the death of her husband and sons.

HER FOUNDATIONS

Countess Hemma, who is venerated as patron of Carinthia, used her great wealth for the benefit of the poor. She also founded ten churches throughout Carinthia. In 1043 she founded the Benedictine double monastery of Gurk Abbey, where she withdrew during the last years of her life.

After her death, Gurk Abbey was dissolved by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Gebhard, who instead used the funds to set up the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt in 1072. Admont Abbey, another Benedictine foundation in Austria, was founded in 1074 by the same Gebhard, and also owes its existence to Hemma's wealth. Since 1174 Hemma's relics have been buried in the crypt of Gurk Cathedral.

(Information from Wikipedia -

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemma_of_Gurk)