From a non-Catholic writer as ESPN! Full story here, bits below.
I am not a Catholic, but I propose that we should consider honoring St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunting, in celebrations in the U.S. Crass commercialization could happen to St. Hubert’s Day as well, but I am willing to take the chance.
The experience of hunting in the U.S. today seems secular and economic to most. That’s unfortunate because for most hunters the hunt is a deeply ethical experience. Even more important, the hunt becomes more vulnerable to suspicion and criticism by not showing how hunting is closely tied to Christianity.
In France and Belgium each fall, special ceremonies and festivities are held to honor St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunting. The epicenter of his veneration is the town of St. Hubert, Belgium, not far from the Ardennes forest. The annual colorful festivities draw crowds of 10,000 or more. Elsewhere in Europe schools are closed on St. Hubert’s Day, November 3, as churches conduct the Mass of Saint Hubert, where hunters, their dogs and falcons are brought into the church for blessings.
Hunting ceremonies and rituals in North America are usually associated with Indians and Eskimos. A few churches in the Midwest and Rockies hold a “Hunter’s Mass” on the eve of the hunting season, but in general the ethics and spirituality of modern hunting are pretty much left up to individuals.
The tradition of St. Hubert offers a way to make a strong connection between hunting, religion and ethics. Many, perhaps most, hunters, let alone the general public, have not heard of St. Hubert. So here’s some background.
The Story of Saint Hubert
Hubert, the eldest son of Bertrans, Duke of Aquitaine, was born in 638 A.D. He became a prince in the House of Aquitaine in France. Hubert enjoyed the “good life” of nobility, but most of all he loved hunting. Legend has it that one Good Friday, when he should have been in church, Hubert galloped off on horseback to hunt deer. His hounds cornered a large stag. As Hubert approached, suddenly he had a vision of a glowing crucifix appearing over the deer’s head. A voice spoke to him: “Hubert, unless thou turnest to the Lord, and leadest a holy life, thou shalt quickly go to hell.”
Hubert climbed down off his horse, begging forgiveness. The voice instructed him to seek guidance from Lambert, Bishop of Maastrichcht. Not long after seeking out the Bishop, Hubert’s wife died. He soon entered the Abbey of Staveleot and became a priest.
Lambrecht advised Hubert to make a pilgrimage to Rome in 705 A.D. During Hubert’s absence, Lambert was murdered. Hubert was selected by the Pope to succeed his mentor as Bishop. Later Hubert built St. Peter’s Cathedral in Liege, Belgium, on the spot where Lambert had died, and he in turn became the patron of the city.
Hubert applied his passion to his faith, establishing Christianity in large sections of the Ardennes forest of Belgium, stretching from Meuse to the Rhine. He preached to many of the hunters of the forest and is said to have hunted and kept dogs.
Rabies was a problem for those who owned dogs, but Hubert is said to not only have been protected from the deadly disease, but to have been blessed with miraculous powers to heal rabies, aided by a special white and gold silk stole that he said was given to him by the Blessed Virgin Mary. He also had a golden key, which was reputed to be a healing amulet.
Hubert died quietly on May 30, 727 A.D. with the words “Our father, who art in heaven…” on his lips. In 1744 he was canonized as a saint: the patron saint of hunting and butchers.
First buried in Luttich, Hubert’s body was later moved to the Andain monastery in the Ardennes, which today is known as St. Hubert’s Abbey. The location of the abbey, and the Belgian town of Saint Hubert, is supposed to be close to where Hubert saw the stag with the cross between his antlers.
Each November 3, Saint Hubert’s Day, all across France, Luxembourg and Belgium, thousands of people attend special masses and celebrations to honor Saint Hubert. During these festivities special blessings are said for the safety and success of hunters and the health of their animals — dogs are blessed for protection from diseases like rabies — and special religious music written for hunting horns is performed (“Grande Mess de Saint Hubert”). In certain parts of Europe the deer hunting season is suspended to honor St. Hubert.
The physical center of devotion to Saint Hubert today remains the town of Saint Hubert in Belgium, where thousands of people gather every November 3. To many European hunters, making the pilgrimage to the town on Saint Hubert’s Day is like a Muslim making a pilgrimage to Mecca, a Jew praying at the Wailing Wall or a Christian visiting Jerusalem on Easter.
St. Hubert’s Day in the US?
The potential for St. Hubert’s festivities on this side of the Atlantic can be seen at Cap St. Ignace, Quebec. When the Mass of St. Hubert is said in the local church, hunters — dressed in hunting clothes — come into the church for a blessing. They also bring their dogs and guns to be blessed. In fact, the procession enters and exits the church under an archway of guns held aloft by hunters wearing camouflage and orange. Such pagentry tackles two touchy subjects — hunting and guns — and sanctions both.
Holding hunting festivities associated with churches makes a public statement about support for hunting, and hunting needs all the support it can get. To many non-hunters who live their lives in cities deprived of contact with nature, hunting seems like an archaic blood ritual and drunken orgy. Hunting stories once helped educate people about the ethics and values of hunting. Hunting stories today are told almost entirely for hunters. Movies and television, seldom have anything positive to say about hunting. One reason why some people oppose hunting is that they know little or nothing about it.
The modern hunter no longer needs to hunt for food to survive, but the motivation to hunt is no less important. For most modern hunters, the hunt is more of a ritual to conserve the soul rather than putting meat in the freezer or antlers on the wall. We need social customs to acknowledge the ethics and spirituality of hunting. In many parts of the world, honoring St. Hubert strengthens the image and ethical elements of hunting. Perhaps it is time for the US to honor St. Hubert as well.
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