Hunfrid of Prüm: Difference between revisions

Frankish-German Benedictine monk (died 871)

Saint Hunfrid of Prüm (Sanctus Hunfridus or Sanctus Humfridus in Latin and Saint Humphrey in English) was a ninth-century Frankish-German (East Francia) Benedictine monk at Prüm Abbey in the Eifel region. In 856, Upon the death of Folquin he was appointed Bishop of Thérouanne and Abbot of Prüm by Pope Nicholas I.^[1] Later in life, he served as Abbot of Abbey of Saint-Bertin in France in 864 to 866 before his death.

His Feast Day is 8 March, the day of his death.^[2]

During Hunfrid‘s episcopate, around 861, the Norse (Norman/Danish) raiders devastated the diocese of Thérouanne and surrounding regions, forcing many clerics to flee. Deeply troubled by the destruction, Hunfrid reportedly sought to return to Prüm Abbey, but was persuaded to remain by Pope Nicholas I and assisted at a number of councils in France, including the Third Council of Soissons, September, 866.^[3]

Shortly after his death on March 8, 871, Hunfrid was venerated as a saint, and his cult spread through northern France. His relics were solemnly exhumed on April 13, 1108 by Bishop John of Thérouanne.^[3] His head was enshrined and venerated at Saint-Omer, while other relics were transferred to Ypres in 1553.^[3] During the religious conflicts of the Eighty Years’ War, these relics were desecrated and burned by the anti-Spanish rebels in 1563.^[3]

The remaining first-class relics associated with Saint Hunfrid are preserved at Arras Cathedral in northern France, where he continues to be venerated.

• Some sources emphasize his monastic origin at Prüm, while others highlight his later role at Saint-Bertin.
• Some sources say he was born on the Meuse River, while some think he was born in Prüm, due to his name.
• He served simultaneously in more than one major office: Bishop of Thérouanne and Abbot of Saint-Bertin. This was not uncommon in the 9th-century Church, though often complicated by politics.