Syndicat d'Initiative
de Cerfontaine
de Cerfontaine
Hubert de Liège.
Prénom d’origine germanique.
Le prénom Hubert est la fusion des termes : « Hug », qui signifie l’esprit ou l’intelligence. Et : « Beraht » : qui signifie brillant, illustre.
Le prénom Hubert désigne donc un esprit brillant ou une intelligence éclatante.
Between 656 and 658 in Toulouse, France.
30 May 727 in Tervuren or Fouron-le-Comte, Belgium.
Hubert was born into a noble family of Frankish origin. He is said to be a descendant of Clovis through his father Bertrand's lineage.
He was married to a woman named Floribane "from Louvain in Austrasia" and they had a son, Floribert, who would later become bishop of Tongres-Maastricht after his father's death.
Passionate about hunting and worldly life, he met Lambert of Maastricht who led Hubert towards a religious life. Hubert became Lambert's disciple, renouncing military honors and his father's inheritance in the process.
When his master Lambert died around 705, Hubert succeeded him as the head of the diocese of Tongres-Maastricht and had a church built on the site of Lambert's assassination, which later became the Cathedral of Our Lady and Saint Lambert in Liège to transfer Lambert's relics there.
Through this construction, Hubert is hailed by the people of Liège as the founder of the city located on the banks of the Meuse.
He played a key role in evangelizing the Belgian Ardennes and was believed to have cured many rabies-infected patients who had been bitten by dogs.
Our ancestors in Cerfontaine claimed that Hubert himself came to Cerfontaine and built the first church in the village. It was formerly located on Rue de Senzeilles, in the parking lot of the "Les Loustics" nursery. He supposedly had it built in honor of his master Lambert, who had also visited the area a few years earlier. This explains the parish's devotion to Saint Lambert in Cerfontaine.
Hubert died of gangrene on May 30, 727, either at his small villa in Tervuren (where the Tervuren Castle was erected in the 12th century) or at his second residence in Fouron-le-Comte. His body was initially buried in the Saint-Pierre Abbey in Liège.
Then, in 825, with the approval of Emperor Louis the Pious, monks from Saint-Pierre in Liège and the 5th Council of Aachen, his remains were transported to the monastery of Andage in the Ardennes. The village was renamed Saint-Hubert and the monastery on site became an abbey dedicated to the saint.
The legend of Saint Hubert has been told since the early 15th century. Hubert, before becoming a bishop, was so passionate about hunting that he went into the forest one Good Friday alone, as he couldn't find a companion. There, he encountered an extraordinary white stag with a luminous cross between its antlers. This encounter is said to have taken place at the location of the Saint Hubert Chapel in Tenneville according to local legends.
Hubert immediately set off in pursuit of this amazing animal, but he never managed to catch it as the stag was always too fast and tireless.
A voice then thundered in the sky to speak to Hubert:
“Hubert! Hubert! How long will you chase the beasts in the forests? How long will this vain passion make you forget the salvation of your soul?”
Hubert, seized with awe, fell to the ground and humbly asked the vision:
“Lord! What shall I do?”
The voice replied:
“Go to Lambert, my bishop, in Maastricht. Convert yourself. Repent of your sins, as you will be taught. This is what you must resolve to do in order to avoid damnation in eternity. I trust you, so that my Church in these wild regions may be greatly strengthened by you.”
Hubert responded, with strength and enthusiasm:
“Thank you, O Lord. You have my promise. I will repent, as you wish.
I will always show myself worthy of you!”
This legend explains what led Hubert to meet Lambert and become his disciple. It also explains why Hubert is always depicted with a stag.
The cult of Saint Hubert mainly developed in the Ardennes region from the city of the same name. He is considered a major patron saint of the Ardennes forests, hunters, loggers, foresters, tanners, and other challenging professions.
He was said to have received a key, the Saint Hubert Key, from Pope Constantine, which is currently housed at Liège Cathedral.
He is celebrated on November 3rd and is invoked to combat rabies and protect hunters.
In 1568, the abbey where Saint Hubert's remains were kept was looted and set on fire, leading to the loss of the saint's relics.
As for the shrine containing his body, it was sold in 1575 to repair the damages.
