HEMMING, BL.

Bishop of Åbo; b. Bälinge, Sweden; d. May 21, 1366. In 1338 he was elected bishop of Åbo (modern Turku, Finland) in what was then a province of medieval Sweden, and the election was confirmed by the archbishop of uppsala, who consecrated him. Hemming instituted the office of provost (praepositus ) at his cathedral in 1340. He obtained two papal letters of indulgence from clement vi and one from innocent vi. Much reconstruction, especially new windows and portals, was undertaken in the cathedral, and two prebends were established. To his cathedral he willed his library, containing theological works and treatises on canon law; the De proprietatibus rerum of bartholomaeus anglicus was to be found in this collection. He was much appreciated by St. bridget of sweden (nihil timet nec etiam mortem, bk. 4, ch. 125 of her Revelations says of him) and acted as her messenger to the kings of France and England as well as to the pope. Between 1350 and 1352 he promulgated statutes for the clergy, and for some time he seems to have been kept in custody by King Magnus Eriksson. Hemming was buried in his cathedral. The translation of his relics was authorized by the Holy See in 1514, and the shrine is still extant. He is often called "saint."

Feast: May 22.

Bibliography: Sources. bridget, Extravagantes, ed. l. hollman (Uppsala 1956). The important revelation (4.125 in the Latin text), is accessible only in older eds. The documents are ed. in Finlands Medeltidsurkunder, 8 v. (Helsinki 1910–35) and Diplomatarium suecanum (Stockholm 1829–). Literature. b. klockars, Bishop Hemming av Åbo (Turku 1961). j. gallÉn, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 5:228.

[t. schmid]