Today, September 25, is the memorial of Blessed Herman the Cripple.
Author of the “Salve Regina” and the “Alma Redemptoris Mater.”
Herman was born in 1013 with a cleft palate and cerebral palsy. He suffered from severe physical disabilities and could hardly speak. Reports indicate he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or spinal muscular atrophy. Because of these physical disabilities, people called him Herman “Contractus” or “the Cripple.”
His family sent the cheerful Herman to be educated by the Benedictine monks at the abbey in Reichenau, Switzerland. It is said that while he was still a youth, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and asked if he would rather have health or wisdom. He chose wisdom. He eventually became a Benedictine monk.
Herman became a celebrated mathematician and was known for his work in astronomy, history, and music. He could speak, read, and write Arabic, German, Greek, and Latin. Even his contemporaries–all scholars– acknowledged him as “The Wonder of His Age.”
He wrote both the words and the music for the Marian hymn “Alma Redemptoris Mater” and, probably, the “Salve Regina”. He came out with religious poetry and musical compositions.
He died at age 41 in 1054. He was beatified in 1863 by Blessed Pope Pius IX.