Heimerad, St.
HEIMERAD, ST.
Wandering priest and hermit; b. Messkirch, Baden, Germany; d. Mt. Hasungen, near Kassel, Germany, June 28, 1019. Apparently Heimerad was a serf who became a priest and served as chaplain to the lady of the manor on which he was born. At his request she released him and allowed him to begin his peripatetic career, which took him on pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem, and then through western Germany. Heimerad lived a short time at hersfeld abbey but, disliking the routine, departed without taking vows. After further wanderings he built a hermitage on Mt. Hasungen where he lived until death. During his lifetime Heimerad came into contact with Empress kunigunde, Meinwerk of Paderborn, and aribo of mainz. His asceticism and eccentricities attracted attention and respect; miracles were attributed to him even in his lifetime. His cult is popular and unofficial.
Feast: June 28.
Bibliography: Monumenta Germaniae Scriptores (Berlin 1825–) 10:595–612. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheueux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 1935–56) 6:476–477. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater, 4 v. (New York 1956) 2:660–662.
[r. h. schmandt]