Blessed Hugh of Mâcon

Distinguished by the nobility of his sentiments, gifted with a marvelous patience, he was full of firmness against the oppressors of the Church or the poor. Considering that hospitality is one of the virtues that a bishop must practice, he had promised to exercise it at the time of his consecration; thus, he wanted his house to be like an inn for passersby; he appointed a religious from Pontigny to it who was to, even in the absence of the bishop, receive with particular regard all those who presented themselves. He applied himself all his life to protecting and supporting religious houses, to bringing them back to the observance of the Rule, and to ending the disputes that arose bet ween them. The Ord Ordre de Prémontré Religious order to which Father Aubertin, the saint's biographer, belonged. er of Prémontré owed him great obligations. Bihier, a clerk of the cathedral, having communicated to him his plan to bring religious of this Order to the small monastery of the title of Saint-Marien, which he had just rebuilt beyond the Yonne, he immediately set to work to obtain from the Abbot of Prémontré a colony of these religious whom he established there in 1138, and to whom he gave the vineyards contiguous to their new house.

As he enjoyed a great reputation for doctrine and prudence, he was employed in many important negotiations and was highly regarded in the councils in which he took part. We see him, in 1139, established as a mediator between Manasses, Bishop of Meaux, and Risende, Abbess of Faremoutiers; in 1142, between the abbeys of Flavigny and Fontenay. He attended the dedication of Saint-Jean of Besançon, that of the abbey of Fontenay, and, in 1144, that of Saint-Denis, where he consecrated the chapel of Saint-Pélerin. He was then commissioned by the Sovereign Pontiff to conduct an inquiry regarding the life of the regular canons of Sainte-Geneviève. Jointly with Saint Bernard, he wrote to King Loui saint Bernard Abbot of Clairvaux and spiritual master of Raoul. s VII to implore him to put an end to the war by reconciling with the Count of Champagne. The church of Auxerre received a visit from Eugene III in 1147, and Hugh had t Eugène III Pope who transferred the relics of Saint Vannes in 1147. he honor of accompanying him to the dedication of the cathedral of Châlons-sur-Marne, which took place on October 26 of the same year.

Blessed Hugh was cons Le bienheureux Hugues Cistercian monk, first abbot of Pontigny and bishop of Auxerre. idered one of the most prudent and zealous prelates of the Church of France. Saint Bernard gives him the title of Saint in four places in his works; the martyrology of France, the menology of Cîteaux, and that of the Benedictines mention him with praise. An ancient menology of Auxerre calls him the honor of bishops, the model of all religion, and enumerates the gifts he made to his cathedral.

Hugh died in the abbey of Pontigny on October 10, 1151, and was buried in the primitive chapel of this monastery; when, later, the current basilica of Pontigny was completed, th basilique actuelle de Pontigny Cistercian abbey where the saint went into exile and where his body rests. e mortal remains of the pious bishop were transferred there. In 1567, the Huguenots o pened his Huguenots Event during which the Cathedral of Meaux was devastated. tomb, and having found his body almost intact and dressed in his pontifical vestments, they consigned it to the flames, thinking it was that of Saint Lomer, which was kept in the same church.

Drawn from La France pontificale, by Floquet, and from the Légendaire d'Autun, by Abbé Pequegnot. — Cf. Acta Sanctorum.