St. Hugh of Grenoble
Bishop

April 1


He was born into nobility at Chateau-neuf d'Isere, France in 1053 and chose the life of a religious, becoming a canon in Valence. While still as yet ordained he was made a bishop of Grenoble at the age of twenty-seven. Solitude was the companion virtue of humility that most attracted him and thus he preferred to be a monk; several requests to be relieved of his See were turned down. He was of great assistance to St. Bruno in the founding of the first Carthusian community at Chartreuse in his diocese. When the Saint had sat as bishop for fifty-two years he died in 1132 and was canonized a mere two years later by Pope Innocent II. He is depicted in his episcopal vestments over a white scapular and holding the Rosary. His name is from the German which means "heart" or "spirit." The above image is by Daniele Crespi, 1618.