Hugues des Hazards

But how, in a hagiographic work, could one fail to make special mention of that one among these bishops, canonized so to speak by his contemporaries who nicknamed him the *Good Father*, and by subsequent generations who, to this day, have never ceased to honor his tomb and to claim the effects of his intercession before God. Now, this venerable prelate is none other t han *Hugues des Ha Hugues des Hazards Bishop of Toul from 1506 to 1517, jurist and ducal advisor. zards* who, the seventy-fourth since Saint Mansuy, occupied the episcopal chair of Toul from 1506 to 1517.

Born in 1454, in Blé Blénod Birthplace and burial site of Hugues des Hazards. nod, in the castellany of the bishopric of Toul, and of honorable parents, Hugues received from his elder brother, cantor and canon of the cathedral, the first teachings of religion and letters. The progress of the young student and the hopes he inspired for the future earned him, at an early age, a canonry in the collegiate church of Saint-Gengoult. He nevertheless continued his studies in the episcopal schools of Toul, then in those of Metz and, later, of Dijon. Seriously versed in the liberal arts, as they were called then, he went to Siena where, for seven years and at the expense of his family, he studied jurisprudence with such success that he received there, with distinction, the title of doctor in both canon and civil law. From Siena he went to Rome where, for a certain time, he exercised, in a distinguished manner, the functions of an advocate. The fame of his successes having reached his native land, the Duke of Lorraine, René II René II Duke of Lorraine and protector of Hugues des Hazards. , had him return and resolved to attach him to his service. He had him given a canonry in the church of Toul and appointed him counselor of his States of Lorraine and head of his council. The chapter of Metz chose him as its dean; that of the collegiate church of Saint-Georges of Nancy as its provost, and Rome gave him in commendam the administration of the abbey of Saint-Mansuy.

René of Lorraine employed his advisor in delicate negotiations and, through the successes he achieved, Hugues justified the trust with which this prince had honored him. It was, beyond the talents and eminent virtues of Hugues, that to recognize the services he had received from him, the King of Sicily exerted himself to make him his diocesan bishop. The new prelate made his solemn entry into Toul on September 12 in the year 1506. Duke Antoine, wishing to honor him and acknowledge the obligations his family owed him, accompanied him himself, escorted by the greater part of the nobility of Lorraine, as far as his episcopal city.

Hardly installed, Hugues des Hazards set to work and labored with as much prudence as perseverance and ardor for the moral and temporal prosperity of his clergy and his entire diocese. He brought back under episcopal jurisdiction parish priests whom their patrons had claimed to exempt; he introduced reform into the convents of the Cordeliers of Toul and Ne ufchâteau, Cordeliers Religious order reformed by Hugues in Toul and Neufchâteau. while at the same time recalling his clerics and priests to the practice of the knowledge and virtues of their state. To achieve this latter result more effectively, he issued and had printed, in 1515, synodal statutes of which every priest in the diocese was obliged to obtain a copy, in order to become exactly acquainted with them and to conform to them with punctuality. Following the Latin of each article, he placed the *romain* [vernacular French], with the goal of provoking attention, stimulating and piquing the taste of the ecclesiastics, giving them a lesson in *romain*, and teaching them to speak it in a more correct manner and more in conformity with that of the *beaux esprits*. He also had printed, in 1507, a * Missal Missel The oldest printed missal of the region, published in 1507. * for the use of the church of Toul, which is the oldest one possessed in the region; a Breviary, in 1510, and Hours for the use of Toul, of which several editions were made.

This pious bishop made it his duty to be in his episcopal city for the principal feasts of the year, to officiate pontifically at the head of his clergy and to manifest, at the same time, the vivacity of his religious faith, his eagerness to edify his diocesans well and to preach to them, by example, the exactitude with which one must take part in the solemnities of the Church. In the year 1511, he presided over the ceremony of the translation of the body of Saint saint Amon Saint whose relics were translated by Hugh. Amon, which took place with a magnificence worthy of the prelate who bore the costs. He also wished to proceed with the translation of the relics of the blessed Mansuy. To this end, he had a bust cast and sculpted, admirable for the richness of the material and the perfection of the workmanship, and he deposited therein the precious head of this apostle of the ancient Leuci.

The church of Blénod-lès-Toul, a monument to the filial piety and patriotism of its founder, was also built, within the space of six years, through the care and at the expense of Hugues des Hazards, who wished in this way to honor the place of his birth and the tomb of his parents. Concerned by the unfortunate position of the infirm and the sick among his fellow citizens, he founded for them, within the parish, a hospice which he endowed as he knew how to do everything else. Revolutionary vandalism did not annihilate its final resources; the hospice of Toul inherited them and, consequently, must keep at the disposal of the commune of Blénod three beds for the poor or infirm of the locality.

Hugues des Hazards dictated his last wishes in the priory of Notre-Dame de Nancy on June 6, 1517, about four months before his death. One sees in his testament that he left only his own patrimony to his family; that the modest gifts he made to his brothers, nephews, and servants, and the pious foundations he established in various churches for the repose of his soul and those of his deceased relatives, were the result of his labors and industry... "Let us render our poor soul to God," it is written therein, "when it shall be His pleasure, wherever our body may be, beseeching Him that it may please Him to receive it as His poor creature into His holy kingdom of paradise... And afterwards, we choose the burial of our body in the parish church of Blénod, on the right side of the high altar, in the tomb that we have had made, because we have had this church built and constructed, and because our progenitors are interred there."

Having reached the sixty-third year of his age, after a career filled with the most useful works, Hugues des Hazards left the earth to go, in heaven, to join the holy pontiffs to whom he had succeeded, and whose heroic virtues he had retraced before the eyes of his diocesans. He died in Toul on October 14, 1517. His heart remained in his cathedral; his body was transported to Blénod and deposited in the tomb he had prepared for himself. Two hundred and seventeen years later, a mason, occupied with repairing the wall of the church adjacent to this tomb, caused a stone of the casing to fall, which opened it slightly. One could see the mortal remains of the venerated deceased: the flesh was partially preserved and the pontifical vestments only very slightly altered. Soon notified, the inhabitants of the neighboring communes rushed to join those of the locality and to pay, with them, a tribute of homage to the ashes of an illustrious benefactor. These precious remains were placed in a double coffin which, after a solemn office, was enclosed in the marked place. On this occasion, a sort of long canticle was composed in hexameter verse, which the congregations of the parish sang in the church before or after their offices. It is entitled: "Discourse on the opening of the tomb of Messire Hugues des Hazards, Bishop and Count of Toul, which took place in the church of Blénod in the month of August of the year 1734."

If the singing of this canticle has ceased, perhaps because it is very difficult to find a copy of it, the parish priests have not ceased to celebrate, each year, on the Monday closest to October 14, a funeral service which the population makes it a duty to attend in mourning clothes.

Notice due to the kindness of Abbé Guillaume, canon of Nancy. — Consult, for more details, the History of the Dioceses of Toul and Nancy (1866) vol. II, pp. 320-364, and the Notice on Blénod-les-Toul, in-8°, preceded by a historical eulogy of this prelate (1845).