Emebert was an early
Bishop of Cambrai
The Archdiocese of Cambrai ( la, Archdiocesis Cameracensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Cambrai'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Help ...
, often identified with Bishop Ablebert of Cambrai (early 8th century).
According to the unreliable ''Vita S. Amalbergae viduae'', Emebert was the son of Duke Witger of
Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
and Saint
Amalberga of Maubeuge
Saint Amalberga of Maubeuge (also Amalia, or Amelia of Lobbes or Binche) was a Merovingian nun and saint who lived in the 7th century.
Narrative
Amalberga's father was Saint Geremarus.
She was born in Brabant. She is said to have been the n ...
. His siblings include four other saints,
Ermelinde
Saint Ermelinde (born c. 546 in Lovenjoel, died 594 in Meldert, Hoegaarden), is a Brabant Saint of the 6th century. Her feast day is October 29.
Life
Her parents, Ermeonoldo and Armensinda, were rich chatelains related to the Pippinids. They wante ...
,
Gudula
Saint Gudula was born in the pagus of Brabant (in present-day Belgium). According to her 11th-century biography ( Vita Gudilae), written by a monk of the abbey of Hautmont between 1048 and 1051, she was the daughter of a duke of Lotharingia call ...
,
Pharaildis
Saint Pharaildis or Pharailde ( nl, Veerle) is an 8th-century Belgian saint in Roman Catholicism, and patron saint of Ghent. Her dates are imprecise, but she lived to a great age and died on January 5 at ninety.Engelbert, Omer. ''The Lives of ...
and the
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
ed
Reineldis
Reineldis (also Reinhild, Reinaldes, Rainelde among others; ''c.'' 630 – ''c.'' 700) was a saint of the 7th century, martyred by the Huns.
Life
Reineldis was born in a place called ''Condacum'' (which is identified with either Condé-sur-l'Esc ...
, beheaded during an invasion by the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
.
Emebert was possibly a missionary bishop who evangelized Brabant, his native country.
Walsh, Michael. ''A New Dictionary of Saints'', Liturgical Press, 2007, p. 177
According to the ''Gesta Episcoporum Cameracensis'' (''Acts of the Bishops of Cambrai''), he was buried in a place called Ham, located in the vicinity of Cambrai
Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
. His body was afterwards taken to Maubeuge Abbey
Maubeuge Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubeuge) was a women's monastery in Maubeuge, in the County of Hainaut, now northern France, close to the modern border with Belgium. It is best known today as the abbey founded by St. Aldegonde, still a popular ...
, where his mother had become a nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
.
His feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is celebrated on the 15 January at Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
, Cambrai
Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
and Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
.
References
Sources
* ''Gesta Ableberti'': Bollandus J., Henschenius G., 'De S. Ableberto, sive Emeberto, episcopo Cameracensi et Atrebatensi', ''Acta Sanctorum'' Januarii Tomus I (1643) 1077–1080.
* Holweck, F. G.
Frederick George Holweck (born Friedrich Georg Holweck; 29 December 1856 – 15 February 1927) was a German-American Catholic parish priest and scholar, hagiographer and church historian. Monsignor Holweck contributed some articles to the ''Catho ...
, ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.
Year of birth missing
8th-century Frankish bishops
8th-century Frankish saints
Burials at Maubeuge Abbey
710 deaths
Bishops of Cambrai
{{France-saint-stub