Hemma of Gurk

Infobox Saint
name= Saint Hemma of Gurk
birth_date=~980
death_date=27 June, 1045
feast_day= 27 June
venerated_in= Roman Catholic Church


imagesize= 250px
caption= "Hemma of Gurk", by Sebald Bopp, ca. 1510.
birth_place=
death_place=
titles=
beatified_date= 21 November, 1287
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date= 5 January, 1938
canonized_place=
canonized_by=Pope Pius XI
attributes= Depicted as a noble lady with either a model of a church, a legal deed or a rose, or distributing alms.
patronage=Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt; state of Carinthia; invoked during childbirth and against diseases of the eye
major_shrine= Gurk Cathedral
suppressed_date=
issues=

Hemma of Gurk (sometimes Emma) (c. 980 – 27 June 1045)29 June according to [http://www.dom-zu-gurk.at/dom_zu_gurk/heilige_hemma.htm Gurk Cathedral] ] is a saint and a founder of religious houses in Austria.

Life

Hemma was a member of the noble family of Peilenstein, related to the Liutpoldings of Bavaria and thus to Emperor Henry II. She was born Countess of Zeltschach and was brought up at the Imperial court in Bamberg by the Empress Saint Cunigunde. She married Count Wilhelm of Friesach and of the Sanngau, by whom she had two sons, Hartwig and Wilhelm. Countess Hemma used her great wealth for the benefit of the poor and was already venerated as a saint during her lifetime. In addition she founded ten churches. Both her sons and her husband were murdered, the latest of them probably in 1036. In 1043 she founded a Benedictine double monastery at Gurk in Carinthia in Austria, into which 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 has been buried in the crypt of Gurk Cathedral, of which she is accounted the founder. She was beatified on 21 November 1287 and canonised on 5 January 1938 by Pope Pius XI. Her feast day is 27 June.

She is the patron saint of the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt as well as of the Austrian state of Carinthia, and her intercession is sought for childbirth and diseases of the eye.

=Hemma Pilgr

Saint Emma is venerated not only in Austria but also in Slovenia and Styria. From about 300 years ago, the pious and those seeking assistance have been coming to her tomb in Gurk Cathedral (Krška katedrala), travelling from Carniola over the Ljubelj/Loibl Pass. This pilgrimage took place every year on the fourth Sunday after Easter, but fell out of use as a result of the political circumstances of the 20th century.

In recent years, however, the routes of pilgrimage from Slovenia and Styria to Gurk (Krka) have gradually reopened and are becoming increasingly used.

Notes

References

*Messner, Sepp, 1995: "Hemma von Gurk. Wesentliches kurz gefaßt". Kolbnitz: S. Messner.
*Prenner-Walzl, Irene Maria, 1987: "Das Leben der Heiligen Hemma von Gurk und dessen künstlerische Ausdeutung im Laufe der Geschichte". (Thesis) University of Graz.
*Till, Josef, 1999: "Hemmas Welt. Hemma von Gurk - ein Frauenschicksal im Mittelalter". Klagenfurt/Celovec: Hermagoras/Mohorjeva. ISBN 3-85013-634-5
*Tropper, Peter Günther (ed.), 1988: "Hemma von Gurk". (Exhibition catalogue) Carinthia, Klagenfurt. ISBN 3-85378-315-5
*Vieser, Dolores, 1999: "Hemma von Gurk". Carinthia, Klagenfurt. ISBN 3-85378-505-0

External links

* [http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=272 Biography, Catholic Online]
*de icon [http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/h/hemma_v_g.shtml Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchlexikon: Hemma von Gurk]
*de icon [http://www.dom-zu-gurk.at/dom_zu_gurk/heilige_hemma.htm Biography, Gurk Cathedral website]
*de icon [http://www.kath-kirche-kaernten.at/pages/bericht.asp?id=405 Biography, Catholic Church of Carinthia website]
*de icon [http://www.hemmapilgerweg.com/index1.htm Hemma Pilgrimage Route]