Hemma of Gurk

Faced with these tragedies, Hemma chose not to sink into despair but to dedicate her life and her wealth to God and the relief of the poor. She used her immense patrimony to found numerous churches in the region of Gurk, in Styria, and in Carniola (present-day Slovenia). Her major work was the foundation, in 1043, of a double Benedictine monastery in Gurk, Carinthia. She had the abbey church erected and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the consecration of which took place on August 15, 1043. Hemma herself retired to this monastery to live humbly as a simple nun (or lay sister) until the end of her days. Furthermore, before her death, she ceded her vast estates located in Upper Styria to the Archbishop of Salzburg (Balduin) with the express condition of founding a monastery there. This bequest would allow Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg to found the famous Benedictine abbey of Admont in 1074, which still exists today.

During her lifetime, Hemma was venerated by the people for her inexhaustible charity and kindness toward the destitute. Popular tradition has preserved the famous "legend of the just wage" (Vom gerechten Lohn). When the workers building the church of Gurk complained about their pay, Hemma presented them with her purse and asked them to help themselves. Miraculously, each worker could only take the exact sum corresponding to the real value of his work, thus confounding the greedy. Hemma passed away peacefully in Gurk on June 29, 1045. She was first buried in the church of the monastery she founded. In 1174, her mortal remains were solemnly transferred to the hundred-column crypt of the new cathedral of Gurk, a masterpiece of Austrian Romanesque art. This transfer (translatio) was equivalent at the time to a local canonization and marked the beginning of an uninterrupted pilgrimage to her tomb. Numerous miracles of healing, particularly for eye diseases, as well as graces for pregnant women and difficult childbirths, are attributed to her intercession.

On November 21, 1287, the solemn opening of her tomb and the recognition of her relics formally sealed her beatification (confirmation of cult). In the 15th century, the bishops of Gurk, supported by Emperor Frederick III, attempted to obtain her official canonization, but Pope Paul II postponed it in 1468. It was not until the 20th century that the cause succeeded. On January 5, 1938, Pope Pius XI officially proclaimed Hemma of Gurk a saint of the Catholic Church through an equipollent canonization (confirmation of immemorial cult). She is the patron saint of Carinthia and the diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt. Her liturgical feast is set for June 29 in the Roman Martyrology, but it is celebrated on June 27 in German-speaking countries and in Slovenia.

Saint Hemma embodies the figure of the Christian laywoman who knew how to transform immense family trials into a source of spiritual and material fruitfulness for the Church. Her spirituality is anchored in abandonment to Providence, detachment from earthly riches, and humble service to the poor. Her legacy remains alive through two major monuments of Austrian heritage: the Cathedral of Gurk, where her body rests, and Admont Abbey, famous for housing the largest monastic library in the world. Furthermore, the Saint Hemma pilgrimage path (Hemmapilgerweg) now crosses Carinthia, Styria, and Slovenia, attracting thousands of walkers each year. On her feast day, pilgrims continue to receive the traditional "blessing of the eyes" (Augensegen) given with the saint's ring at her tomb.