Herman Wijns

March 15, 1931 - May 26, 1941

Herman Wijns, the little pastor, was born on Sunday March 15, 1931, as the son of a couple of butchers. He died at the age of 10 and is said to have worked a number of miracles. An application is pending for his beatification by the Church. Herman is also a cousin of the Flemish master comedian Gaston Berghmans, the son of Gaston's mother's sister. They called him "our Hermanneke".

He was a gentle and docile little boy, always animated with a joyful and attentive attention to his fellows. Very early on he was favored by grace and his qualities displayed a heavenly character.
Grace blossomed in him in the form of a deep faith, a boundless trust, and a fiery love for God, along with a serene and delicate love for all who approached him, and a panicked fear of all that is sinful.

At the age of two and a half years, he prays daily without being called to the rosary with his father. By the age of nine he has already taken up the habit of praying the Rosary daily. The fifteen mysteries are formulated by heart, and each hail is preceded by a brief pious reflection.

From the age of four, he attends mass every morning at 6:30 am. His first communion, on July 4, 1937, marked the beginning of his daily participation in the Sacrament Sacrament of Christ-Priest, the Meal for the soul: he is a fiery Eucharistic Crusader. He can be seen in the photo, proud to be able to wear the license plate.

When he is nine years old, he is promoted to an altar boy at his insistence a year before the «official» age, and he fulfills this function with heroic fidelity every day without exception until his death. From this moment on he has only one desire: "to be a priest". But God destined him for a different "ministry."

A fatal fall through a glass dome left him with arterial bleeding in his left knee. Because that bleeding was stopped too late, it was fatal. Without a complaint, he endured terrible pains for two days. He entrusted his beautiful soul to God with the following words: «..... et in saecula saeculorum ... A - men! So he ended the «service» of his last Mass here on earth to begin the eternal Mass in a mood of peace and happiness without end. Herman Wijns died on May 26, 1941, at the age of 10. His miraculous sayings as a little boy and the strange appearance of his grave in the old cemetery in the Van Heybeeckstraat in Merksem near Antwerp (Belgium) have turned it into a place of pilgrimage. Numerous favors of all kinds have already been obtained through the intercession of this lovable childhood friend.

Herman Wijns did not develop rigidity after his death, his eyes did not “break”, he retained the flush on his cheeks and his lips remained bright red despite the great loss of blood from his accident. Many people believe that Herman is healing and around his grave there are more than 4,000 expressions of thanks from people who have been relieved of their ailments. His grave is still visited daily by dozens of people and there is a massively attended ceremony every first Friday of the month.

Prayer to Herman Wijns

Herman,
You yourself invite us to come to you. After all, you yourself said: "If you have anything to ask, our Lord, ask me, I am the closest to it. You meant this because you knelt at the altar to serve Holy Mass.
Well then, Herman, look at us down here, you who know so well what we need here. Please go for us to our Dear Lord, who nevertheless said: "Let the little ones come to me, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven". We thank you Herman for that intercession, and we feel you close to us from Heaven.
Amen.

Prayer to obtain Beatification from young Herman Wijns

Herman,
You yourself invite us to come to you. After all, you yourself said: "If you have anything to ask, our Lord, ask me, I am the closest to it. You meant this because you knelt at the altar serving Holy Mass.
Well then, Herman, look at us down here, you who know so well what we need here. Please go for us to our Dear Lord, who nevertheless said: "Let the little ones come to me, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven". We thank you Herman for that intercession, and we feel you close to us from Heaven.
Amen.