Saint Sturmi of Fulda

Also known as: Sturm
Sturmius
Apostle of the Saxons
Memorial: 17 December
Profile: Educated by Saint Wigbert at Fritzlar Abbey under the direction of Saint Boniface. Friend of Charlemagne. Priest. Missionary in Westphalia for three years. Hermit at Hersfeld, where he tried to establish a monastery in 742, but had to flee ahead of Saxon raiders. Founded the Fulda monastery in 744, and served as its first abbot. He became the first German to become a Benedictine, and placed his house under the Benedictine Rule; it became a regional center for learning and spirituality. He became involved in a drawn-out dispute with bishop Saint Lull of Mainz about jurisdiction over the monastery, and in 763 Pepin banished Sturmi from Fulda. His brother monks rebelled, and persuaded Pepin to recall him after two years of exile. Sturmi evangelized the Saxons but met with little success as they associated him with the brutality of the rulers Charlemagne and Pepin.
Born: in Bavaria
Died: 779 in Fulda
Canonized: 1139
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