Emebert was an early

Bishop of Cambrai The Archdiocese of Cambrai ( la, Archdiocesis Cameracensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Cambrai'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe ...

, often identified with Bishop Ablebert of Cambrai (early 8th century). According to the unreliable ''Vita S. Amalbergae viduae'', Emebert was the son of Duke Witger of

Lotharingia Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...

and Saint

Amalberga of Maubeuge Saint Amalberga of Maubeuge (also Amalia, or Amelia of Lobbes or Binche) was a Merovingian nun and saint who lived in the 7th century. Narrative Amalberga's father was Saint Geremarus. She was born in Brabant. She is said to have been the n ...

. His siblings include four other saints, Ermelinde,

Gudula Saint Gudula was born in the pagus of Brabant (in present-day Belgium). According to her 11th-century biography ( Vita Gudilae), written by a monk of the abbey of Hautmont between 1048 and 1051, she was the daughter of a duke of Lotharingia calle ...

Pharaildis Saint Pharaildis or Pharailde ( nl, Veerle) is an 8th-century Belgian saint in Roman Catholicism, and patron saint of Ghent. Her dates are imprecise, but she lived to a great age and died on January 5 at ninety.Engelbert, Omer. ''The Lives of ...

and the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

ed Reineldis, beheaded during an invasion by the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

. Emebert was possibly a missionary bishop who evangelized Brabant, his native country.Walsh, Michael. ''A New Dictionary of Saints'', Liturgical Press, 2007, p. 177
According to the ''Gesta Episcoporum Cameracensis'' (''Acts of the Bishops of Cambrai''), he was buried in a place called Ham, located in the vicinity of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Esca ...

. His body was afterwards taken to

Maubeuge Abbey Maubeuge Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubeuge) was a women's monastery in Maubeuge, in the County of Hainaut, now northern France, close to the modern border with Belgium. It is best known today as the abbey founded by St. Aldegonde, still a popula ...

, where his mother had become a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is ...

. His feast day is celebrated on the 15 January at

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the ...

and

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...

References

Sources

* ''Gesta Ableberti'': Bollandus J., Henschenius G., 'De S. Ableberto, sive Emeberto, episcopo Cameracensi et Atrebatensi', ''Acta Sanctorum'' Januarii Tomus I (1643) 1077–1080. *

Holweck, F. G. Frederick George Holweck (born Friedrich Georg Holweck; 29 December 1856 – 15 February 1927) was a German-American Catholic parish priest and scholar, hagiographer and church historian. Monsignor Holweck contributed some articles to the ''Catho ...

, ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924. Year of birth missing 8th-century Frankish bishops 8th-century Frankish saints Burials at Maubeuge Abbey 710 deaths Bishops of Cambrai {{France-saint-stub