Saint Hugh of Lincoln
- Also known as
-
Hugh of Avalon;
Hugh of Burgundy
- Memorial
- 17 November
- Profile
- Son of William, Lord of Avalon.
His mother Anna died when he was eight, and he was raised and educated at a convent at Villard-Benoit.
Monk at 15.
Deacon at 19.
Prior of a monastery at Saint-Maxim.
Joined the Carthusians in 1160.
Ordained in 1165.
In 1175 he became abbot of the first English Carthusian monastery, which was built by King Henry II as part of his penance for the murder of Thomas Becket.
His reputation for holiness spread through England, and attracted many to the monastery.
He admonished Henry for keeping dioceses vacant in order to keep their income for the throne.
He resisted the appointment, but was made bishop of Lincoln on 21 September 1181.
Restored clerical discipline in his see.
Rebuilt the Lincoln cathedral, destroyed by earthquake in 1185.
Denounced the mass persecution of Jews in England in 1190-91, repeatedly facing down armed mobs, making them release their victims.
Diplomat to France for King John in 1199, a trip that ruined his health.
While attending a national council in London a few months later, he was stricken with an unnamed ailment, and died two months later.
Hugh's primary emblem is a white swan, in reference to the story of the swan of Stowe which had a deep and lasting friendship for the saint, even guarding him while he slept.
- Born
- 1135 at Avalon Castle, Burgundy, France
- Died
- 16 November 1200 at London, England of natural causes;
buried in the Lincoln Cathedral
- Canonized
- 18 February 1220 by Pope Honorius III;
first canonized Carthusian
- Patronage
-
sick children;
sick people;
swans
- Representation
-
chalice;
swan;
bishop with a swan;
Carthusian with a swan;
Carthusian surrounded by seven stars;
man with a swan at his death bed;
bearded bishop giving a blessing;
helping to build the Lincoln Cathedral;
raising a dead child to life
- Additional Information
-
Christian Biographies, by James E Keifer
Christian Biographies, by James E Keifer
Columbia Encyclopedia
Britannia Biographies
Catholic-Hierarchy.Org
Sacred Heart Parish
Catholic Encyclopedia, by R Urban Butler
For All the Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein
Christian Biographies, by James E Keifer
Saint Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Church, Huntington Station, New York
Claves Regni, by Robert Cockcroft
Our Island Saints, by Amy Steedman
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