Saint Hildeman of Beauvais

Hildeman Hildeman Bishop of Beauvais in the 9th century, former monk of Corbie. , coming from a wealthy family of the Beauvaisis, renounced the advantages of fortune and rank to seek in the famous Abbey of Corbie that peace of soul which the world is powerless to give: there, he had Saint Adal ard as a mast saint Adélard Abbot of Corbie and spiritual master of Hildeman. er, and, as fellow disciples, religious men equally eager for virtue and science. Under such a guide, and with such edifying examples, Hildeman, gifted with great perspicacity of mind and an indefatigable ardor for work, could not fail to make rapid progress in evangelical perfection and in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Faithful to all the duties of monastic life, he excited the admiration of his brothers by his sobriety, his love of prayer and study, the angelic purity of his morals, and won their friendship by his charity, his devotion, and his gentleness. He gained the esteem and confidence of Adalard by the gravity of his manners and his humble obedience to the least prescriptions of the Rule. This holy abbot conceived such a high opinion of Hildeman that, after the death of Raimbert, Bishop of Beauvais, which occurred around the year 821, he signaled him to the church of that city as the candidate most worthy of its choice.

The clergy and the people of Beauvais did not deliberate for long: as the virtues and knowledge of the humble religious of Corbie were already known to them, they elected him with a unanimous voice. This election having been approv ed by King Louis the Pi roi Louis le Débonnaire King of the Franks who made Aldric his advisor and commander of the palace. ous, Hildeman, after having tried in vain to evade the honors of the episcopate, came to fulfill the holy functions of which he was all the more worthy as he feared their burden more. To maintain within the clergy the salutary rules of discipline, to distribute to his people the bread of the divine word, to lavish upon the poor, along with the consolations of religion, the relief of his abundant alms, such was the constant solicitude of the pontiff Hildeman. However, the multiplicity of his labors did not make him forget the holy asylum of Corbie; he often went there to gather the advice of the virtuous Adalard. Until the death of the blessed abbot, he showed him the respectful tenderness of a son and the docility of a disciple. During his final illness, he cared for him with his own hands and did not cease to exhort him to take advantage of his sufferings to embellish his crown. He administered the sacraments of the Church to him himself, received his last breath, and gave him a magnificent funeral at which he assisted while shedding abundant tears.

After having paid his final respects to the remains of the Saint, Hildeman worked more than ever to sanctify himself, and to sanctify the flock whose care God had entrusted to him. His virtues made him dear to his people, and earned him the veneration of his colleagues. In the year 829, we see him attending the sixth Council of Paris with Ebbo, his metro politan. He showed such sixième concile de Paris Ecclesiastical assembly in which Hildeman participated. great wisdom there in all matters relating to the honor of the Church and the pacification of disputes that he was soon entrusted with important missions. Charged with remedying the abuses that the misfortunes of the times had introduced into the Abbey of Saint-Denis, and subsequently with settling a litigious matter that divided Aldric, Bishop of Le Mans, and a local lord, he fulfilled these two missions with as much skill as success. By dint of kindness, gentleness, and patience, he almost always succeeded in bringing together what was divided and reconciling what appeared irreconcilable.

However, to strengthen the holiness of Hildeman, God willed that he pass through the crucible of trial. Unjustly accused of having favored the revolt of the children of Louis the Pious against the king their father, the Saint was arrested and confin ed in the monastery of Saint-Vaa monastère de Saint-Vaast d'Arras Place of imprisonment for Hildeman during his disgrace. st in Arras, where he awaited the judgment of a counc il assembl Thionville Site of the council where Hildeman was exonerated. ed at Thionville. As painful as his separation from his faithful flock was for Hildeman, he rejoiced in secret to have found the opportunity to resemble in some small way his divine Master. His disgrace was not of long duration: recognized as innocent of the crime imputed to him, he returned to his episcopal city, where he was received with testimonies of the liveliest joy.

The diocese of Beauvais did not take long to recognize the value of the favor that God had granted it by returning its beloved pastor. On the verge of suffering the disasters of an invasion by barbarians, it needed a defender and support more than ever. Soon, indeed, the Normans ru shed upo Normands Viking raids devastating Flanders and Morinia in the 9th century. n this land and put everything to fire and sword. Churches and monasteries were pillaged and destroyed; sacred vessels, shrines containing holy relics, as well as precious ornaments, fell in many places into the power of these sacrilegious spoilers. Before the invasion, Hildeman had tried to divert the scourge from his diocese by exhorting the faithful to appease the wrath of heaven through their supplications and fasts. Having been unable to stop the effects of the justice of God, angered by the forgetting of His holy law, he devoted himself to the relief of all suffering and applied himself to the repair of all ruins. He gathered in the city of Beauvais the religious whose monasteries had been destroyed. It was, it is said, in these unfortunate circumstances, and to relieve a greater number, that his inexhaustible charity caused the Abbey of Saint-Michel to be raised. Orphans, wi dows, and the needy fo abbaye de Saint-Michel Abbey founded by Hildeman for refugees. und in him a protector and a father. It seemed that a city sheltered by the holiness of this illustrious pontiff was impregnable; from all sides, people came to seek refuge there against the enemies. The relics of Saint Just, Saint Evrou, Saint Germer, and Saint Angadrième were transferr saint Just Saint whose relics were transferred to Beauvais. ed there. The religious of Saint-Vaast of Arras also brought there the body of their venerated Patron, who rewarded the hospitality of the Beauvaisians with miracles.

In these times of misfortune for these unhappy regions, the ministers of the Church displayed a charity and devotion that the Gospel alone has the privilege of inspiring. In every diocese, the bishop and the priests went to every scene where there were wounded to care for, poor to assist, and buildings to rebuild. In every province, the metropolitan and his colleagues considered ways to alleviate all suffering and prevent its return; hence the frequent assemblies of pontiffs in these calamitous times. It must not be believed that these solemn meetings had only the regulation of spiritual matters as their goal; in concert with the princes, effective measures were taken to repair the evils caused by invasions or internal strife, and to ensure the temporal happiness of the people: such was the council held at Germigny, in the diocese of Orléans, in the year 843. Hildeman had a great part in the work of this holy assembly; it was the last act by which the virtuous pontiff ended his public career. His death, which occurred shortly after, was worthy of his entire life: when he felt its approach, he disposed in favor of his cathedral, by a pious bequest, of a property he had acquired at Froidmont. Until the moment he rendered his soul to God, his thoughts were only for heaven, where he was to be crowned by the hand of the angels. He was received into the midst of their holy militia on the fifteenth day of December in the year 844.

The body of the holy pontiff was buried near the altar of the abbey church of Saint-Lucien, beside the apostle of the Beauvaisis. He did not rest only in the same sanctuary as the venerated remains of the Martyr; he soon shared in its honors. Miracles performed at the tomb of Hildeman bore witness to his holiness and earned him the cult reserved for the memory of the Blessed. His name was inscribed in the martyrology of the cathedral of Beauvais. The martyrology of France and that of the Benedictines also adopted it. Since the episcopate of Monseigneur Cottret, the entire diocese of Beauvais celebrates his feast, by virtue of a decree of the sovereign po ntiff Gregor Grégoire XVI Pope who established the liturgical feast of the blessed. y XVI, dated May 22, 1841.

Vie des Saints du diocèse de Beauvais, by Abbé Sabatier. — Cf. l'Hagiographie du diocèse d'Amiens, by Abbé Corblet.