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BLESSED HECHARD, PRIEST AND RELIGIOUS - 1 JULY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY

Saints celebrated on the 1st of July

BLESSED HECHARD, PRIEST AND RELIGIOUS


Hechard (Hechardus, Eckardus) - this name is derived from the old German Eck, Enk, meaning young man, and hard, denoting brave etc.

This god-fearing priest lived in the middle of the 12th century. It is uncertain whether he really belonged to the Order of the Premonstratensians, as some suppose, since his name is not found on the lists of the Order. We also have no reliable information about the circumstances of his life. 

The Scheida (Scheda) monastery near Unna in Westphalia was founded by Blessed Hechard. Archbishop Philipp Heinsberg von Cölo inaugurated it in A.D. 1170. Co-founders were the blessed Menrich and Berthold of Fröndenberg, as well as a widow named Wiltrudis, who donated her castle for this purpose. Sometimes Blessed Hechard is called her son. If so, he had a brother named Rathardus. Weissbacher* reckons that Hechard was descended from the noble family de Ardeja. 

Menrich and Berthold were canons; Hechard may have been one, too. In any case, all sources agree that he was "a priest distinguished by the integrity of his customs and his piety." His public veneration began soon after his death. According to the Bollandists* Hechard's relics were solemnly raised on June 23, 1628 by Johann Gelen, cathedral dean of Cologne. 

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, p. 606)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of the blessed Hechard may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.





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