ST HYMERIUS, CONFESSOR

ST HYMERIUS, CONFESSOR - 12 NOVEMBER

SAINT HYMERIUS, CONFESSOR

Saint Hymerius (Himerius), commemorated on November 12 or July 28, was a confessor. Burgener's* recently published work, "Helvetia sancta," where he is called the "Apostle of the Northern Jura Mountains," recounts his life story. The village of Lugué, near the town of Puntrut, is identified as the birthplace of Saint Hymerius; his parents were of noble birth and raised their son in a Christian and sensible manner. Early on, he renounced the world, gave his wealth to the poor, and went with a servant (Albert Elbertus) to the Sufinger Valley (now St Immerthal, French: St-Imier, with a village of the same name). There he cultivated a small field of grain and led a holy life with his companion.

Several years had passed when he felt the urge to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He happily carried out his pious decision with Albert and stayed for an extended period in Jerusalem, working towards his salvation through prayer and fasting. The patriarch there entrusted him with the conversion of a nearby island. A terrible beast, a vulture, lived there, wreaking great devastation on the fields and elsewhere. The holy apostle promised the afflicted islanders help if they renounced idolatry and believed in Christ.

When one day the people were gathered around him and the ominous bird also flew by, the man of God signaled to him to leave forever and leave behind a claw. The griffin tore off its own claw and flew away; no one saw it again. After Saint Hymerius had converted the people, he returned to Jerusalem, where the Patriarch presented him with precious relics, notably an arm of Saint Simeon, which Saint Hymerius, along with the griffin's claw, took to Switzerland. For he soon returned home from Jerusalem.

Arriving in Switzerland, he wanted to build a hermitage near Chaveillat (Cyriliacum). But the people, who were suspicious of the stranger, allowed him neither lodging nor the construction of a hut. While he prayed at night, and his servant slept, he heard wondrous bell sounds in the distance. (Cf. Menzel's Symbolism I. 342). He woke the servant and asked him if he too heard it. But the servant heard nothing. The sound rang a second and a third time. At daybreak, he set out and went in the very direction from which the sounds had come. And by this way he returned to Sufingen, to his former dwelling. There he cut a branch from a tree and stuck it into the ground, from which a spring immediately sprang, which still flows today and from which the sick drink. It is called "St Hymer's Spring." There the saint remained and subsequently built a church at the foot of Mount Chasseron, dedicated to Saint Martin, Bishop of Tours. He led a strict life in his cell, and soon several brothers joined him and his companion. His bed was a pile of stones; for sustenance, he took a piece of barley bread sprinkled with ashes every three days.

After living in this austere way for nine years, he felt his hour of death approaching. Frail and ill, he had himself carried to Saint Martin's Church, which he had built, where, surrounded by his brothers, he breathed his last on November 12, around the year 610 or 612. In the Diocese of Basel, his memory has been celebrated on this day since time immemorial; the dioceses of Lausanne and Besançon also celebrate his feast day, the former on November 14, the latter on July 28. His monastery was later transformed into a collegiate church. During the religious unrest of 1533, the canons were expelled by the Calvinists and went first to Solothurn, then to Delsberg (Delémont). In the sacristy of the latter city was a tablet depicting the "History of the Old Man." The relics that the saint brought from Jerusalem are still kept there. The griffin's claw is shaped exactly like the horn of a Hungarian ox.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, pp. 816-17)

*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 Saint Hymerius 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.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org

SAINT FEAST DAY 11 NOVEMBER: ST MARTIN OF TOURS

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