Saint Who?
Saints Who Wrote Hymns
Saint Hermann Joseph
Priest († 1241) Feast: April 7
Hermann is better known as a mystic than as a hymnwriter. His few writings date primarily to the last several years of his life, when he was suffering from an illness probably caused by decades of ascetic practices.
Hermann was born in Cologne, Germany, into an impoverished noble family. Even as a child, he loved to pray in church before a statue of the Blessed Mother and the Infant Jesus. He spoke to them, and they (apparently) spoke to him. When twelve-year-old Hermann tried to enter the Premonstratensian abbey at Steinfeld, he was told that he first needed to receive an education. After he obediently completed his studies, he returned to Steinfeld Abbey and was ordained a priest. Because he was frequently caught up in ecstasies while praying, he had a difficult time finding altar servers patient enough for his Masses.
Although Hermann loved to pray and experienced many visions, he was also a handy mechanic and fixed the monastery clocks. Some of the prayers and hymns he wrote are lost to us today, but others, such as his works in praise of Our Lord, Our Lady, and Saint Ursula (to whom he was particularly devoted), still survive, showing his childlike devotion.
Jesus, my beloved, take my heart as your own.
