Hemma of Gurk

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Hemma of Gurk (sometimes Emma) (c. 980 – June 27, 1045) is a saint and a founder of religious houses in Austria.

1 Life
2 Iconography
3 Hemma Pilgrimage
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Life

Hemma was a member of the noble family of Peilenstein, related to the Liutpoldings of Bavaria and thus to Emperor Henry II. She was born Countess of Friesach-Zeltschach and was brought up at the Imperial court in Bamberg by the Empress Saint Cunigunde. She married Count Wilhelm of the Sanngau, by whom she had two sons, Hartwig and Wilhelm. Countess Hemma used her great wealth for the benefit of the poor and was already venerated as a saint during her lifetime. In addition she founded ten churches. Both her sons and her husband were murdered, the latest of them probably in 1036. In 1043 she founded a Benedictine double monastery at Gurk in Carinthia in Austria, into which she withdrew during the last years of her life.

Gurk Abbey was dissolved by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Gebhard, who instead in 1072 set up the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt. Admont Abbey, another Benedictine foundation in Austria, which was founded in 1074 by the same Gebhard, also owes its existence to Hemma's wealth.

Since 1174 Hemma has been buried in the crypt of Gurk Cathedral. She was beatified on 21 November 1287 and canonised on 5 January 1938 by Pope Pius XI. Her feast day is 27 June.

She is the patron saint of the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt as well as of the Austrian state of Carinthia, and her intercession is sought for childbirth and diseases of the eye.

[edit] Iconography

She is depicted as a noble lady with either a model of a church, a legal deed or a rose, or distributing alms.

[edit] Hemma Pilgrimage

Saint Emma is venerated not only in Austria but also in Slovenia and Styria. From about 300 years ago, the pious and those seeking assistance have been coming to her tomb in Gurk Cathedral, travelling from Krain over the Loibl Pass. This pilgrimage took place every year on the fourth Sunday after Easter, but fell out of use as a result of the political circumstances of the 20th century.

In recent years however the routes of pilgrimage from Slovenia and Styria to Gurk have gradually reopened and are becoming increasingly used.

[edit] References

Messner, Sepp, 1995: Hemma von Gurk. Wesentliches kurz gefaßt. Kolbnitz: S. Messner.
Prenner-Walzl, Irene Maria, 1987: Das Leben der Heiligen Hemma von Gurk und dessen künstlerische Ausdeutung im Laufe der Geschichte. (Thesis) University of Graz.
Till, Josef, 1999: Hemmas Welt. Hemma von Gurk - ein Frauenschicksal im Mittelalter. Klagenfurt/Celovec: Hermagoras/Mohorjeva. ISBN 3-85013-634-5
Tropper, Peter Günther (ed.), 1988: Hemma von Gurk. (Exhibition catalogue) Carinthia, Klagenfurt. ISBN 3-85378-315-5
Vieser, Dolores, 1999: Hemma von Gurk. Carinthia, Klagenfurt. ISBN 3-85378-505-0