Emeric of Hungary

Holy Right-⁠Believing Emeric of Hungary (Hungarian Imre) was born around 1007, son of King Saint Stephen I of Hungary and Gisela of Bavaria, and died young, on 2 September 1031, aged twenty-⁠four. He is venerated as a devout prince, pure of heart, in the undivided Church.

He was the only son of Stephen to reach adulthood and was named after his maternal uncle, the emperor Henry II. From the age of fifteen to twenty-⁠three he was raised in a strict, ascetic spirit by the Benedictine monk Gerard (Gellért) of Venice, later bishop of Csanád and a saint. His father wrote the Admonitions for him, to prepare him for ruling, and wished to make him co-⁠heir in his own lifetime. He married in 1022; the identity of his wife is uncertain.

The succession plan could not be fulfilled: Emeric was killed by a boar while hunting. He was buried in the basilica of Székesfehérvár. Healings and conversions occurred at his grave, so on 5 November 1083 King Ladislaus I unearthed his bones in a large ceremony, and Pope Gregory VII canonised him, together with his father and Bishop Gerard of Csanád. He is usually shown in knight's armour, wearing a crown and holding a lily.

He is commemorated on 4 November, the liturgical date in the Orthodox calendar (the same day number on the old and new calendars).