Hermann Joseph

Saint Hermann Joseph, O.Praem., (ca. 1150 – 4 April 1241) was a German Premonstratensian canon regular and mystic. Never formally canonized, in 1958 his status as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church was formally recognized by Pope Pius XII.

Life

He was born in Cologne. According to the biography by Razo Bonvisinus, a contemporary and prior of Steinfeld Abbey (Acta Sanctorum, 7 April, I, 679), Hermann was the son of noble but poor parents. At the age of seven he attended school and very early he was known for devotion to the Blessed Virgin. At every available moment he could be found at the church of St. Mary on the Capitol, where he would kneel wrapt in prayer to Mary. Bonvisinus claims that the boy once presented an apple, saved from his own lunch, to a statue of Jesus, who accepted it. According to still another legend, on another occasion, when on a cold day he made his appearance with bare feet, Mary procured him the means of getting shoes.

At the age of twelve he entered the abbey of the Premonstratensian (more commonly known as Norbertine) Canons Regular at Steinfeld. As he was too young to be accepted into the Order, he was sent to make his studies in the Netherlands. Upon his return, he made his vows and was given the habit. As a novice, he was entrusted initially with the service of the refectory and later of the sacristy.