Saint Willigis
- Memorial
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23 February
formerly 18 April
- Profile
- Son of a wheelwright.
Well educated.
Priest.
Canon at Hildesheim, Germany.
Noted speaker.
Chaplain to Emperor Otto II.
Chancellor of Germany in 971.
Archbishop of Mainz in 973.
Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire in 975.
Vicar apostolic to Germany in 975, ordained by Pope Benedict VII.
He crowned the infant Otto III as Holy Roman Emperor in 983, and served in the regencies of Empress Theophano and Empress Adelaide.
Assisted at the consecration of Pope Gregory V in 996.
Participated in the synod in 996, and spoke for the return of Saint Adalbert of Prague, whom he had consecrated as bishop, to his diocese.
Worked to insure the choice of Emperor Henry II in 1002, and consecrated the the emperor.
Presided at the Synod of Frankfort in 1007.
He sent missionaries to Scandinavia, founded churches, built roads and bridges, supported artists and monasteries, and rebuilt the cathedral of Mainz.
Though he was known as a brilliant statesman and politician, he was a Church man first, and was also known for the care he took in educating priests, and choosing them for their assignments.
- Born
- at Schoningen, Germany
- Died
- 23 February 1011;
interred in the Church of Saint Stephen
- Representation
- bishop with a wheel, a symbol of his father's trade, and an emblem he had chosen for his coat of arms
- Additional Information
-
Google Directory
Catholic Online
Catholic Encyclopedia, by Francis Mershman
For All The Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein
- Print References
- The Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Translate
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