Hunfried, St.
HUNFRIED, ST.
Benedictine abbot and bishop; d. Thérouanne, France, March 8, 870. Having become a monk at an early age, he was abbot of prÜm on his election as bishop of Thérouanne (856). In 861 the normans devastated Thérouanne. Discouraged by the disaster, Hunfried wished to return to Prüm but was dissuaded by Pope nich olas i (Monumenta Germaniae Epistolae 6:613). Thérouanne was rebuilt, and Hunfried marked the restoration with the solemn celebration of the Feast of the assump tion in 862. He was abbot of saint-bertin (864–866) and assisted at a number of councils in France, including the Third Council of Soissons, September 866. Hunfried's relics were exhumed April 13, 1108, by Bp. John of Thérouanne. His head is venerated at Saint-Omer; in 1553 the rest of his relics were brought to Ypres, where they were burned by the anti-Spanish faction, the Geuzen, in 1563.
Feast: March 8.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum March 1:789–792. 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) 3:175–176. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige, 4 v. (Metten 1933–38) 1:300–302.
[g. j. donnelly]