Profile
Son of the bard Hyvarnion, Herve was born blind. His father died when he was an infant. His mother, Rivanone, became an anchoress, and the boy was entrusted to the care of his uncles and a renowned holy man with whom he stayed until his teenage years. He lived for a while as a hermit and bard, then joined a monastic school at Plouvien, France which had been founded by his uncle. He was an abbot at Plouvien. He migrated with part of his community to found a new house in Lanhouarneau. He was a singer, minstrel, teacher, and a miracle worker. One of the most popular saints in Brittany, he figures in the area’s folklore. He was reported to have a special ministry of healing animals, and to have a domesticated wolf as a companion. Legend says that the wolf killed and ate the ox that Herve used to plow his fields; Herve then preached such a moving sermon the wolf repented his ways, moved to Herve’s hermitage, and ploughed Herve’s fields in place of the ox.
Born
- Guimiliau, Brittany, France or unknown location in Wales (sources vary)
Died
- c.556 to c.575 (sources vary) of natural causes
interred at Lanhouarneau, Brittany, France
Canonized
- Pre-Congregation
Patronage
- against eye disease
- against eye problems
- blind people
- in France
– Brest
– Plouvien
Representation
- blind man being led by a wolf
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-herve/
