Bl. Hugh of Gualdo Cattaneo
January 8
Hugh of Gualdo Cattaneo (died 1260) was a hermit known for his life of prayer and penance.
For a long time he lived in the Hermitage of Saint John near Bevagna.
Shortly after the Augustinian Grand Union of 1256, in which several diverse religious communities became part of the Order of Saint Augustine, people of the town of Gualdo wanted to have this holy man living in their midst.
The Benedictines owned a long-abandoned monastery there. The townspeople of Gualdo persuaded the Benedictines to donate this abandoned monastery to the town. The town, in turn, placed the monastery under the auspices of the Augustinians and in 1258 brought Hugh and his community of hermits to live there.
Hugh was selected as the first Prior (local superior) of the new Augustinian community. Hugh died January 1, 1260. He was first buried at the little Church of Saint Augustine, which was attached to the monastery. Later his remains were moved to the larger Church of Saints Anthony and Antoninus, where they could be better protected from a group of people from Bevagna, the site of Hugh's earlier hermitage, who wanted to dig up his body and carry it back to their town.
