Hugues de Saint-Cher

Hugues de Saint-Cher, cardinal

(beginning of 13th century – 1263)

He was born in the early 13th century in Saint-Cher, a suburb of Vienne. He studied philosophy, theology and jurisprudence at the University of Paris and taught at the same university after graduation. At the time, he earned a doctorate in canon law and a bachelor's degree in theology. In 1225, he entered the Dominican order of San Jacques in Paris. Soon after, from 1227 to 1230 he was a provincial of the Dominicans in France. He contributed to the flourishing and success of the Order and won the trust of Pope Gregory IX, who sent him as a papal legate to Constantinople in 1233. From 1233 to 1236 he was a prior of the Jacobin monastery in Paris, and after that he was the provincial again, until 1244. From 1229 to 1233 he was a professor at the University of Paris and earned a master's degree in theology there around 1233. During the Paris period, he prepared concordances of the Latin Bible, revisions of the Scriptures (referred to as Hugh de Saint-Cher Correction accordingly), a collection of postils and biblical commentaries compiled from existing commentaries on the Scripture.

On May 28, 1244, he received the cardinal's hat from the hands of Pope Innocent IV. He was the first cardinal from the Dominican order. He played an important role in the Council of Lyon held the following year. He was instrumental in establishing the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord in the Roman general calendar. In 1247, as instructed by Pope Innocent IV, he reformed the Carmelite Rule, which Saint Albert, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gave to the first Carmelite friars on Mount Carmel. The Pope believed that it was necessary to moderate some of the more demanding aspects to make the rule more compatible with life in Europe. After the death of Emperor Frederick II, the Pope sent him to Germany as his legate to elect a successor. In 1255, under the authority of Pope Alexander IV, Cardinal Hugo oversaw the trials of those accused of heresy and was the guardian of the doctrine. In December 1261, he was appointed Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, but resigned the honor a few months later. He lived in Orvieto with Pope Urban IV, who established a long-term residence there, where he died on March 19, 1263. His body was buried in Lyon.

The ceramic tiles in the cloister of the Santo Domingo Monastery in Lima clearly state that Hugo de Santo Caro was the first Dominican cardinal. The inscription is quite well preserved, it reads: "Hugo de Sancto Caro primus Ord[in]is Cardi[nal]". The plate with the letter "s" probably did not come from this image. Similarly, by the way, the plate at the bottom should not be here. Probably the missing one depicted the attribute with which Cardinal Hugo was shown. It can be assumed that, as with the other Dominican cardinals represented in this decoration, he held a book in his hand. Also worth noting are the two angels that are on either side of the medallion with the hierarch's likeness. On the left, the angel holds a cardinal's hat, and on the right, the angel holds a lily, a symbol of chastity, which characterized the first Dominican cardinal.

Bibliography:

  • Hugues de Saint-Cher († 1263), bibliste et théologien, Paris, Centre d’études du Saulchoir, Actes du colloque 13-15 mars 2000, Brepols, Louis-Jacques Bataillon, dir. G. Dahan, P.-M. Gy, Turnhout, 2004 (Bibliothèque d’histoire culturelle du Moyen Âge, 1).
  • Mangenot, E., Hugues de Saint-Cher, [in:] Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, t. 7, Paris, 1930, col. 221-239.
  • Paravicini Bagliani A., Cardinali di curia e familiae cardinalizie dal 1227 al 1254, éd. Antenore, coll. t. 1, Padoue 1972 (Italia sacra), p. 256-272.