The cross and stag symbol refers to the story of St. Hubert, and ancient Merovingian nobleman. The legend is that his wife, Floribanne, died giving birth to their son, and his grief made him withdrawn and reclusive. He ignored his usual duties and spent day after day in the forest, distracting himself from the pain with extended hunting trips, abandoning both Christianity and his infant son.
On Good Friday, just a couple days before Easter, he was chasing a stag instead of praying in church. Suddenly, the stag stopped running and turned to face Hubert with a shining cross between the antlers. He heard a voice warn him that he was ruining his own life, and the voice urged him to repent for his negligence or else condemn himself to hell.
The encounter changed Hubert’s life. He immediately gave up all his honors and wealth, acknowledged his son as his rightful heir, and set out immediately to find Saint Lambert of Maastricht, who treated him kindly and educated him about becoming a priest.
He dedicated himself to faith, often using his great skills as an outdoorsman to gain the trust of pagans and atheists deep in the forest, gradually converting them to Christianity. Hubert followed his mentor St. Lambert and became the Bishop of the city of Liège in the year 708 AD.
Hubert is the patron saint of hunters, and is considered the first proponent of ethical hunting regulations. The holy stag allegedly lectured Hubert to hunt fairly, to kill quickly and minimize suffering, to spare trophy animals in their breeding years, to euthanize animals suffering from injury or disease, and to never harm females caring for their young.
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