Saint of the Day – 4 November – Saint Emeric of Hungary (c 1007-1031)

Saint of the Day – 4 November – Saint Emeric of Hungary (c 1007-1031) Confessor, Prince and Heir to the Hungarian Throne, Son of St Stephen, the first King of Hungary, Married but lived in continence with his wife, having vowed his virginity to God. Born in c 1007 in Veszprém, Hungary and died by being killed by a boar while hunting on 2 September 1031 in Hungary, aged 24. Patronages – Youth, Hungarian Americans. Also known as – Emerick, Emmerich, Emmericus, Henricus, Henry. Additional Memorial – 5 November the date of his Canonisation.

Emeric is believed to have been the second son of Saint Stephen I. Named after his maternal Uncle St Henry II, the Holy Roman Emperor, he was the only one of Stephen’s sons who reached adulthood.

Emeric was educated in a strict and ascetic spirit by the Benedictine Monk from Venice, St Gerard Sagredo (980-1046), from the age of 15 to 23. He was intended to be the next Monarch of Hungary and his father wrote his Admonitions to prepare him for this task – here: https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/16/thought-for-the-day-16-august-st-stephens-letter-to-st-emeric/

St Stephen here: https://anastpaul.com/2018/08/16/saint-of-the-day-16-august-st-stephen-of-hungary-c-975-038-apostle-of-hungary/ and St Gerard here: https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/24/saint-of-the-day-24-september-saint-gerard-sagredo-osb-980-1046-bishop-and-martyr-the-apostle-of-hungary/

Emeric married a Byzantine Princess but according to a biography written between 1109 and 1116, he lived during marriage in perfect chastity, collaborating with his father King Stephen in the conversion of his subjects.

The succession plans of Emeric’s father could never be fulfilled, for on 2 September 1031, at age 24, Emeric was killed by a boar while hunting. It is believed that this happened in Hegyközszentimre (presently Sântimreu, Romania). He was buried in the Székesfehérvár Basilica. Several wondrous healings and conversions happened at his grave. On 5 November 1083 King Ladislaus I translated Emeric’s relics in a large ceremony. Emeric was Canonised for his pious life and purity, along with his father and Bishop Gerard by Pope Gregory VII.

On the 900th Anniversary of the death of Prince Emeric, a National Memorial Year was organised in 1930–1931 and the village of Pestszentimre was named after him. The Church in the district also bears the name of the Saint-Prince and the first public Statue of the district depicts Saint Emeric. The Saint Emeric Memorial Year proclaimed for 1930–1931 moved the whole country and the settlements around Pest, which are now parts of Budapest. The two-year event series was such an important event that Pestszentimre, which belongs to the 18th District today, took the name of our first King’s, St. Stephen’s, son. The settlement had previously been called Soroksárpéteri.