HERMANN JOSEPH of STEINFELD, Blessed. — Premonstratensian mystic, born at or near Cologne after 1150, died in the Cistercian convent at Hoven on 4 April, probably in 1241. At the age of twelve he entered the abbey of the Canons Regular of Prémontré at Steinfeld in the Eifel, but completed his studies in the canonry of Mariengard in Frisia. Returning to Steinfeld, he served as sacristan and ministered in various women’s monasteries. He also distinguished himself as a clockmaker. The translation of his remains from Hoven to Steinfeld a few weeks after his death marked the beginning of a growing veneration. His tomb is located in the central nave of the church at Steinfeld; the cult paid to the Blessed has not yet received solemn recognition from the Holy See.
A contemporary wrote his life, which is reliable for biographical data but far less so for the mystical events it recounts. Yet he lived a notable mystical life and stands as a representative of tender Marian devotion, whose high point would be his mystical espousals with the Blessed Virgin Mary, hence his second name of Joseph. Affable and cheerful, he practiced severe penances. Eminent for humility, chastity, and charity, besides prayers and an office of St Ursula set to music, he wrote a commentary on the Canticle of Canticles (now lost); his literary kinship with the earliest hymn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (“Stammi regis cor aevi”) is debated. He is especially venerated in the Rhineland and among the Premonstratensians; patron of youth, he is invoked by pregnant women. The most intricate depictions of E. show him holding a chalice from which three roses emerge, symbol of his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. From the 17th century he is portrayed holding the Child Jesus in his arms; his mystical espousals with Mary appear in a canvas by Anthony van Dyck (1630, State Museum, Vienna); with Joseph von Führich (1810–76) and Eduard von Steinle (1810–86) he is presented as a schoolboy offering an apple to the Madonna. Feast day: 7 April.