Hugh of Saint-Cher

Hugh of Saint-Cher was a French Dominican friar who became a cardinal and noted biblical commentator. He was born around the beginning of the 13th century in Saint-Cher, a suburb of Vienne, Dauphiné. He studied philosophy, theology, and jurisprudence at the University of Paris and later taught there. He joined the Dominican Order in 1225 and became the prior provincial of France in 1230. He was a trusted envoy of Pope Gregory IX and Pope Innocent IV, who made him a cardinal in 1244. He played an important role in the First Council of Lyons in 1245 and revised the Carmelite Rule of St. Albert in 1247. He also contributed to the institution of the Feast of Corpus Christi on the General Roman Calendar. He was involved in various papal missions and controversies, such as the election of a successor to Emperor Frederick II, the condemnation of the teachings of Abbot Joachim of Fiore and William of St Amour, and the promotion of the crusades. He was known for his work in correcting and indexing the Latin version of the Bible, which he did with the help of other Dominican scholars. He also wrote commentaries on various books of the Bible, following the fourfold sense of interpretation: literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical. He died on March 19, 1263 in Orvieto, where he was buried in the cathedral.