Hubert Bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht-Liège
A 7th-century nobleman and passionate hunter, he converted after having a vision of a stag bearing a crucifix between its antlers. He is the patron saint of hunters.
- Early Middle Ages
- Belgium
- Feast day November 3
- † 727
- Bishop
- Missionary
- Confessor
Born around 656 in Aquitaine, Hubert was a nobleman and an ardent hunter. According to hagiographic legend, during a hunt on Good Friday, he encountered a stag bearing a luminous crucifix between its antlers, leading to his radical conversion. He became a disciple of Saint Lambert, Bishop of Maastricht. After Lambert's martyrdom, Hubert succeeded him as Bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht around 705-706. He worked tirelessly to evangelize the pagan regions of the Ardennes and Flanders, destroying idols and building churches. He is also famous for transferring the episcopal see from Maastricht to Liège around 717-720, where he was initially buried after his death in 727. His relics were later moved in 825 to the Abbey of Andage, which was renamed Saint-Hubert in Ardennes.
Patronage
Sayings for the day — November 3
- A la Saint Hubert, les oies sauvages fuient l'hiver.
Places
- Church
- Basilique Saint-Hubert
- Birth
- Toulouse
- Death
- Tervuren
- Pilgrimage
- Basilique Saint-Hubert, Saint-Hubert