Saint Hermes, born in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

, died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

as a

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 ...

in 120, is venerated as a saint by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

. His name appears in the ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' as well as entries in the ''Depositio Martyrum'' (354). There was a large

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

over his tomb that was built around 600 by

Pope Pelagius I Pope Pelagius I (died 4 March 561) was the bishop of Rome from 556 to his death. A former '' apocrisiarius'' to Constantinople, Pelagius I was elected pope as the candidate of Emperor Justinian I, a designation not well received in the Western C ...

and restored by

Pope Adrian I Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman. Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...

. A

catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

in the

Salarian Way The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to ''Castrum Truentinum'' (Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed through ...

bears his name.

Background

In the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the '' sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while d ...

, his feast is on 28 August. Under that date, he appears in the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

, the official but professedly incomplete list of saints recognized by the Catholic Church. The entry is as follows: "In the Cemetery of Basilia on the Old Salarian Way, Saint Hermes, Martyr, whom, as reported by Saint Damasus,

sent forth, but Rome kept as its citizen when he died for the holy name." His existence is attested by his early cult. However, his ''Acts'', included in those of

Pope Alexander I Pope Alexander I (c. 75-80 AD - c. 115) was the bishop of Rome from c. 107 to his death c. 115. The Holy See's ''Annuario Pontificio'' (2012) identifies him as a Roman who reigned from 108 or 109 to 116 or 119. Some believe he suffered martyrdom ...

, are legendary. They depict Hermes as a wealthy freedman who with his companions was martyred in Rome, being killed on the orders of a judge named Aurelian.

Veneration

Some of his

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

were given to

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Sp ...

by Pope Gregory the Great. Other relics went to

Lothair I Lothair I or Lothar I ( Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario'') (795 – 29 September 855) was emperor (817–855, co-ruling with his father until 840), and the governor of Bav ...

Pope Leo IV Pope Leo IV (790 – 17 July 855) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 847 to his death. He is remembered for repairing Roman churches that had been damaged during the Arab raid against Rome, and for building the Le ...

; Lothair brought them first to Cornelismünster, near Aachen. The relics later came to

Ronse Ronse (; french: Renaix, ) is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only encompasses the city of Ronse proper. History Early settlements to 14th century The hills around Ronse show cl ...

in the 9th century. During those times,

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

raids forced the monks to flee the town more than once, and the monastery was burnt by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. T ...

in 880. The relics were recovered in 940 and housed in a Romanesque-style

crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a ...

in 1083. The ''Fiertelommegang'' (Fiertel Procession) that has been held here since 1090, a procession with the relics throughout the city. The church of Saint Hermes, which was later built on top of the crypt, was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

in 1129. A pilgrimage in honour of the saint, who had by then become known for curing mental illnesses, sustained the local economy. There is still a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

saying today which translates as "Saint Hermes cures the area's madmen but keeps the Ronse dwellers as they are". Hermes is the patron saint of Ronse. Although he is recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church, the commemoration of Saint Hermes in the

General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These cel ...

was removed in 1969 because of the paucity of information about him.

Gallery

Ronse - Sint-Hermeskerk 3.jpg , Church of Saint Hermes (Sint-Hirmes) in Ronse, Belgium.

References

External links

Hermes
at Patron Saints Index

at Enrosadira {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermes 120 deaths 2nd-century Christian martyrs Saints from Roman Greece Year of birth unknown

Background

Veneration

Gallery

See also

References

External links