Saint Ableberto de Cambrai

Ableberto, also known as Emeberto (died in Ham, first half of the 7th century), was Bishop of Cambrai and Arras during the first half of the 7th century and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. In the oldest episcopal catalogues of Cambrai, dating back to the 9th century, the name of Ableberto or Emeberto appears in fifth or sixth place after Saint Vedast, who is considered the founder of the diocese. Subsequent 11th-century catalogues confuse him with Hildebert, the 9th Bishop of Cambrai and Arras and brother of Saint Gudula. Nothing is known of the life of this saint, who was certainly a bishop in the first half of the 7th century; his predecessor, Bertoaldus, is attested at the Council of Clichy in 627, while his successor, Audebertus, is historically documented for the first time in the period between 645 and 652. It is within this timeframe that Ableberto's episcopate must be placed. At that time, the bishops governed the dioceses of Cambrai and Arras together. Ableberto was likely a native of Brabant and, according to tradition, died there in the locality of Ham and was buried in the Church of Saint Aldegund in Maubeuge. The current martyrology, reformed in accordance with the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, commemorates the holy bishop on January 15 with these words: