Today for religion class, the kiddos learned about one of today's saints, St.Himelin.
He was a holy priest on a pilgrimage to Rome in huge year 750. He got to a town in Belgium and fell ill (bubonic plague was widespread in the area). A passing maid was carrying a water pitcher to the local priest's rectory. St. Himelin asked her for a drink, but initially she refused. Finally, she had pity upon him and gave him a drink. After drinking, St. Himelin said the priest would be well-pleased with the water. When the priest sampled the water, he found it had been turned to fine wine. At that point, the maid told the priest about St. Himelin. Immediately they retrieved St. Himelin to care for him in his sickness. However, St. Himelin refused a bed and asked only for a pile of straw. Three days later, at the hour of his death, the bells at the local church rang of their own accord.
This saint doesn't appear to be very well-known or studied. However, 2 miracles were performed by/for him in the only three days we know of his life. That's pretty amazing! I was unimpressed with the pictures I saw of this saint, so I drew my own. In my drawing I included the bed of straw, the water pitcher, and the church bell tower since those, to me, are important parts of the story. I wasn't sure what he looked like, exactly what attire he'd wear, or how old he was, so I just did a generic man in a robe. Pardon the bad photo, but my scanner doesn't work with my iPad.
