Saint Willibald
Évêque
d'Eischstätt (+ 787)
ou Guilbaud ou Willibald.
Fils de saint Richard, roi d'Angleterre, nous avons de lui le récit de son pèlerinage aux Lieux-Saints. Ce qui fait de saint Guillebaud le premier pèlerin anglais que nous connaissons en Terre Sainte. Vers 738, il rejoignit son cousin saint Boniface en Allemagne, lequel l'ordonna prêtre et lui conféra l'épiscopat pour la charge de l'Église d'Eichstadt en Bavière.
À Eichstadt en Franconie, l’an 787, saint Guillebaud (Willibald), évêque. Il
fut d’abord moine et se fit longtemps pèlerin dans les lieux saints et dans de
nombreuses régions où il restaura la vie monastique ; enfin, ordonné premier
évêque d’Eichstadt par saint Boniface, il coopéra à l’œuvre d’évangélisation de
la Germanie et convertit au Christ bien des peuples.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1464/Saint-Willibald.html
Katholische
Pfarrkirche St. Willibald in Deining: Gemälde St. Willibald mit Familie
Williald d'Eichstätt dit
Saint Willibald ou saint Guillebaud (vers 700-vers 786)
Évêque d’origine
anglo-saxonne
Natif du Wessex [1],
en Angleterre, saint Willibald fut le frère de saint Winebaud ou Winibald et de
sainte Walburge et
cousin de saint
Boniface. À l’âge de 5 ans, il fut placé comme futur moine à l’abbaye de
Waltham [2].
En 722, il se rendit en pèlerinage à Rome avec son père, saint Richard, qui
mourut en route, et son frère.
Il poursuivit son
pèlerinage jusqu’en Terre sainte avant de revenir en Italie via Constantinople.
Son récit, recueilli bien des années plus tard par une religieuse, est le
premier livre de voyage écrit par un Anglais.
Willibald est d’abord un
pèlerin et il ne faut pas s’attendre à trouver dans son récit les notes d’un
observateur scientifique. Quoiqu’il soit peu disert, Willibald livre de
précieux renseignements sur les Lieux saints. C’est le seul récit connu à ce
jour d’un pèlerinage vers la Terre sainte au 8ème siècle, formant ainsi un pont
entre les travaux d’ Arculfe en 670 et de Bernard le Sage en
870.
Après Constantinople, où
il s’attarda 2 années, sur le chemin du retour il se fixa au monastère
bénédictin du Mont-Cassin [3] où
il assura les charges de sacristain et de doyen, puis contribua à la
restauration monastique sous saint Pétronax .
Lors d’une visite à Rome,
il fut envoyé à Rome par le pape pour aider son parent saint Boniface dans son
travail missionnaire. En 742, il fut sacré évêque d’Eichstätt [4].
Avec Winebaud, il fonda la double abbaye de Heidenheim [5],
où il installa sa sœur Walburge comme abbesse. Il mourut en 786 très âgé et fut
canonisé en 935 par Léon
VII. Ses reliques se trouvent dans la cathédrale d’Eichstätt [6].
P.-S.
Source : Cet article
est partiellement ou en totalité issu de l’article de Jean-Robert Maréchal, Les
Saints Patrons protecteurs, Cheminements
Notes
[1] Le Wessex est l’un des royaumes fondés par les
Anglo-Saxons en Angleterre durant le Haut Moyen Âge. Il s’étend sur une partie
du sud-ouest de la Grande-Bretagne, entre la Domnonée à l’ouest, la Mercie au
nord et les royaumes de Kent, de Sussex et d’Essex à l’est. Au IXe siècle, le Wessex
est le dernier royaume anglo-saxon à résister aux invasions vikings.
[2] L’abbatiale de Waltham Holy Cross et St-Laurent est
l’église paroissiale de la ville de Waltham Abbey, Essex en Angleterre. Lieu de
culte depuis le 7ème siècle. Le bâtiment actuel date principalement du début du
12ème siècle et est un bel exemple de l’architecture normande. A l’est de
l’église existante sont des traces d’un énorme bâtiment, commencé après la
re-fondation de l’abbaye en 1177. Dans la fin du Moyen Age, Waltham était un
des plus grands bâtiments de l’église en Angleterre et un site majeur de
pèlerinage ; en 1540 fut la dernière communauté religieuse à être fermé au
cours de la dissolution des monastères.
[3] L’abbaye du Mont-Cassin se situe au sommet du mont
éponyme, à 80 km à l’ouest de Naples, entre Rome et Naples, près de la commune
de Cassino, dans la province de Frosinone, dans la région du Latium, en Italie.
L’abbaye est dite « territoriale », car elle ne fait pas partie d’un
diocèse, et a donc le statut dit de Nullius dioecesis.
[4] Le diocèse d’Eichstätt est un diocèse catholique
d’Allemagne, situé en Haute Bavière. Il a son siège à la cathédrale Notre Dame
de l’Assomption d’Eichstätt, et est suffragant de l’archidiocèse de Bamberg.
Créé en 745, par Saint Boniface, l’évêque de Mayence, elle constitua une
principauté ecclésiastique du Saint Empire romain germanique et resta
suffragant de l’ancienne province ecclésiastique de Mayence, jusqu’à ce qu’il
fut médiatisé en 1805.
[5] Heidenheim est une commune de Bavière (Allemagne),
située dans l’arrondissement de Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen, dans le district de
Moyenne-Franconie.
[6] Eichstätt (parfois écrit Eichstädt) est une ville située
le long de la rivière Altmühl. C’est la capitale du district d’Eichstätt dans
l’état fédéral de Bavière, en Allemagne. La ville d’Eichstätt s’étend dans la
vallée de l’Altmühl, au centre de la Bavière, entre Munich et Nuremberg. La
cathédrale Notre Dame de l’Assomption est le siège du diocèse d’Eichstätt
SOURCE : https://www.ljallamion.fr/spip.php?article5253
Saint
Willibald, Church of St. Willibald / Willibaldskirche, Oberhaunstadt, Ingolstadt, Upper
Bavaria,
Also
known as
Willebald
9 July (in England,
by concession of Pope Leo
XIII)
Profile
Born a prince,
the son of Saint Richard
the King. Brother of Saint Winnebald
of Heidenheim and Saint Walburga.
Related to Saint Boniface.
He nearly died as
an infant,
leading his parents to pray for
his life, vowing that he would be dedicated to God if
he survived. Entered the Abbey of
Waltham, Hampshire, England at
age five. Educated by
Egwald. Benedictine monk. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy in 722 with Saint Richard and Saint Winnebald;
his father died on
the way, and Willibald suffered from malaria while there.
Pilgrim to
the Holy Lands in 724.
He reached Jerusalem on 11
November 725,
and is the first known Englishman in
the Holy Land; the book of
his travels, Hodoeporicon,
is the first known English travelogue. Pilgrim to
assorted holy sites throughout Europe.
At one point he was arrested by
Saracens at Emessa as a Christian spy,
and imprisoned in Constantinople.
Willibald then spent ten
years helping Saint Petronax restore
the monastery of Monte
Cassino; served there as sacristan, dean,
and porter.
In 740 he
was sent by Pope Gregory
III to help Saint Boniface evangelize the
area that is modern Germany. Ordained on 22 July 741 by Saint Boniface,
and consecrated as a missionary bishop by him on 21
October 741.
Founded a missionary monastery in Eichstätt,
Franconia (in modern Germany.
Worked with Saint Sebaldus.
First bishop of
the diocese of Eichstätt.
With Saint Winnebald,
he founded the double monastery at
Hiedenheim in 752.
Born
21
October 700 in
Wessex, England
relics kept
in a marble reliquary urn
in Saint Willibald Cathedral, Eichstätt, Germany,
which was completed in 1269
Eichstätt, Germany, diocese of
baby being dedicated by
his parents at the foot of a cross
bishop overseeing construction of
a church
monk or bishop with
the words fides, spes, charitas on his cloak or
arm
monk with
a crown at
his feet as he talks to a man cutting down a tree
pilgrim with Saint Richard
the King and Saint Winnebald
of Heidenheim
receiving a bishop‘s mitre from Pope Gregory
III
with Saint Richard
the King and Saint Winnebald
of Heidenheim
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Dictionary
of National Biography
Hodoeporicon,
by Huneberc of Heidenheim
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives of the Saints,
by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
The
Itinerary of Saint Willibald, by Father Thomas
Meyrick, SJ
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
webseiten
auf deutsch
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Willibald of
Eichstätt“. CatholicSaints.Info. 26 June 2022. Web. 3 July 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-willibald-of-eichstatt/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-willibald-of-eichstatt/
Statue
des Hl Willibald an der Kirche St Willilbald in Muenchen, Pasing
Willibald (RM)
Died 786; feast day was formerly July 7.
The life of St. Willibald
had been despaired of as a child and he had been cured, so it was believed, by
being placed at the foot of a market cross where his royal parents had prayed and
made a vow that if his life were spared it should be dedicated to the service
of God. As a result, when five years old, he was placed for education in a
monastery. Later he accompanied his father and brother to the Holy Land, and at
one point was arrested as a spy and imprisoned. After an absence of six years
he settled in the great monastery of Monte Cassino, where he was appointed
sacristan and for eight years acted as porter.
At the end of that time
he was sent to join his uncle Saint Boniface in Germany, where he was ordained
priest and became bishop of Eichstaett. It was a hard and rough task in a
barbarous land, for it was pioneering work demanding great qualities of energy
and evangelism. During that period he lived in the abbey ruled by his brother,
and afterwards by his sister, where he found a welcome retreat from the cares
of his work, but was no less diligent in his pastoral oversight. "The
field which had been so arid and barren soon flourished as a very vineyard of
the Lord."
For over 50 years he
labored for God in a foreign land and no story of missionary enterprise is more
exhilarating than that of this faithful prince, who, whether as porter of a
monastery or bishop of a diocese, served the needs of men and to the glory of
God. And thus these three children of the good Saxon King Richard came to be
numbered among the saints.
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0606.shtml
Figur
des hl. Willibald an der Fassade der Spitalkirche von Eichstätt von dem
Barock-Bildhauer Christian Handschuher, Ende 17., Anfang 18. Jahrhundert
Sts. Willibald and
Winnebald
(WUNIBALD, WYNNEBALD).
Members of
the Order of St. Benedict, brothers, natives probably
of Wessex in England,
the former, first Bishop of Eichstätt,
born on 21 October, 700 (701); died on 7 July, 781 (787); the latter, Abbot of
Heidenheim, born in 702; died on 18 (19) December, 761. They were the children
of St. Richard, commonly called the King; their mother was a relative
of St.
Boniface. Willibald entered the Abbey
of Waltham in Hampshire at the age of five and was educated by Egwald.
He made a pilgrimage to Rome in
722 with his father and
brother. Richard died at Lucca and
was buried in the Church of St. Frigidian. After an attack
of malaria Willibald started from Rome in
724 with two companions on a trip to the Holy Land, passed the winter at Patara,
and arrived at Jerusalem on
11 November, 725. He then went to Tyre,
to Constantinople, and in 730 arrived at the Abbey of Monte Casino,
after having visited the grave of St. Severin of Noricum in Naples.
In 740 he was again at Rome,
whence he was sent by Gregory
III to Germany.
There he was welcomed by St.
Boniface, who ordained him
on 22 July, 741, and assigned him to missionary work at Eichstätt.
Possibly the ordination of
Willibald was connected with Boniface's missionary
plans regarding the Slavs.
On 21 October, 741 (742), Boniface consecrated him bishop at
Sülzenbrücken near Gotha. The Diocese
of Eichstätt was formed a few years later. Winnebald had,
after the departure of his brother for Palestine, lived in a monastery at Rome.
In 730 he visited England to
procure candidates for the religious state and returned the same
year. On his third visit to Rome, St.
Boniface received a promise that Winnebald would go to Germany. Winnebald arrived
in Thuringia on 30 November, 740, and was ordained priest.
He took part in the Concilium Germanicum, 21 April, 744 (742), was
present at the Synod of Liptine, 1 March, 745 (743),
subscribed Pepin's donation to Fulda,
753; joined the League of Attigny in 762; and subscribed
the last will of Remigius, Bishop of Strasburg.
With his brother he founded the double
monastery of Heidenheim in 752; Winnebald was placed
as abbot over
the men, and his sister, St.
Walburga, governed the female community.
Winnebald's body was found incorrupt eighteen years after his death. His name
is mentioned in the Benedictine Martyrology.
Willibald blessed the new church of Heidenheim in 778.
His feast occurs
in the Roman Martyrology on 7 July, but in England it
is observed by concession of Leo
XIII on 9 July. A costly reliquary for
his remains was completed in 1269.
Mershman,
Francis. "Sts. Willibald and Winnebald." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1912. 6 Jun.
2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15644c.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Michael C. Tinkler.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15644c.htm
Statue
de saint Willibald dans la cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption d'Eichstätt.
Willibald-Statue
im Dom in
Eichstätt. Willibaldsaltar,
Eichstätt, Domplatz 10, Katholischer Dom St. Mariä Himmelfahrt und St.
Willibald
Statue
de saint Willibald dans la cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption d'Eichstätt.
Willibald-Statue
im Dom in
Eichstätt. Willibaldsaltar,
Eichstätt, Domplatz 10, Katholischer Dom St. Mariä Himmelfahrt und St.
Willibald
Statue
de saint Willibald dans la cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption d'Eichstätt.
Willibald-Statue
im Dom in
Eichstätt. Willibaldsaltar,
Eichstätt, Domplatz 10, Katholischer Dom St. Mariä Himmelfahrt und St.
Willibald
St. Willibald, Bishop of
Aichstadt, Confessor
HE was son of the holy
king St. Richard, and was born about the year 704 in the kingdom of the
West-Saxons, about the place where Southampton now stands. When he was three
years old his life was despaired of in a violent sickness; but when all natural
remedies proved unsuccessful, his parents carried him and laid him at the foot
of a great cross which was erected in a public place near their house,
according to the custom in Catholic countries to this day. There they poured
forth their prayers with great fervour, and made a promise to God that in case
the child recovered they would consecrate him to the divine service. God
accepted their pious offering, and the child was immediately restored to his
health. St. Richard kept the child two years longer at home, but only regarded
him as a sacred depositum committed to him by God; and when he was five years
old placed him under the Abbot Egbald, and other holy tutors in the monastery
of Waltheim. The young saint, from the first use of his reason, in all his
thoughts and actions seemed to aspire only to heaven, and his heart seemed full
only of God and his holy love. He left this monastery about the year 721, when
he was seventeen years old, and his brother Winibald nineteen, to accompany his
father and brother in a pilgrimage of devotion to the tombs of the apostles at
Rome, and to the Holy Land. They visited many churches in France on their road;
but St. Richard died at Lucca, where his relics are still venerated in the
church of St. Fridian, and he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on the
7th of February. The two sons went on to Rome, and there took the monastic
habit.
Above two years after
this, Winibald having been obliged to return to England, St. Wil libald, with
two or three young Englishmen, set out to visit the holy places which Christ
had sanctified by his sacred presence on earth. They added most severe
mortifications to the incredible fatigues of their journey, living only on
bread and water, and at land using no other bed than the bare ground. They
sailed first to Cyprus and thence into Syria. At Emesa St. Willibald was taken
by the Saracens for a spy, was loaded with irons, and suffered much in severe
confinement for several months, till certain persons, who were charmed with his
wonderful virtue, and moved with compassion for his disaster, satisfied the
caliph of his innocence, and procured his enlargement. The holy pilgrims
expressed their gratitude to their benefactors, and pursued their journey to
the holy places. They resolved in visiting them to follow our Divine Redeemer
in the course of his mortal life; and therefore they began their devotions at
Nazareth. Our saint passed there some days with his companions in the continual
contemplation of the infinite mercies of God in the great mystery of the
incarnation; and the sight of the place in which it was wrought drew from his
eyes streams of devout tears during all the time of his stay in that town. From
Nazareth he went to Bethlehem, and thence into Egypt, making no account of the
fatigues and hardships of his journey, and assiduously meditating on what our
Blessed Redeemer had suffered in the same. He returned to Nazareth, and thence
travelled to Cana, Capharnaum, and Jerusalem. In this last place he made a long
stay to satisfy his fervour in adoring Christ in the places where he wrought so
many great mysteries, particularly on the mountains of Calvary and Olivet, the
theatres of his sacred death and ascension. He likewise visited all the famous
monasteries, lauras, and hermitages in that country, with an ardent desire of
learning and imitating all the most perfect practices of virtue, and whatever
might seem most conducive to the sanctification of his soul. The tender and
lively sentiments of devotion with which his fervent contemplation on the holy
mysteries of our redemption inspired him at the sight of all those sacred
places, filled his devout soul with heavenly consolations, and made on it
strong and lasting impressions. In his return a severe sickness at Acon
exercised his patience and resignation. After seven years employed in this
pilgrimage he arrived safe with his companions in Italy.
The celebrated monastery
of Mount Cassino having been lately repaired by Pope Gregory II., the saint
chose that house for his residence, and his fervent example contributed very
much to settle in it the primitive spirit of its holy institute during the ten
years that he lived there. He was first appointed sacristan, afterwards dean or
superior over ten monks, and during the last eight years porter, which was an
office of great trust and importance, and required a rooted habit of virtue
which might suffer no abatement by external employs and frequent commerce with
seculars. It happened that in 738 St. Boniface, coming to Rome, begged of Pope
Gregory III. that Willibald, who was his cousin, might be sent to assist him in
his missions in Germany. The pope desired to see the monk, and was much
delighted with the history of his travels, and edified with his virtue. In the
close of their conversation, he acquainted him of Bishop Boniface’s request.
Willibald desired to go back at least to obtain the leave and blessing of his
abbot; but the pope told him his order sufficed, and commanded him to go
without more ado into Germany. The saint replied that he was ready to go
wheresoever his holiness should think fit. Accordingly he set out for Thuringia,
where St. Boniface then was, by whom he was ordained priest. His labours in the
country about Aichstadt, in Franconia and Bavaria, were crowned with incredible
success, and he was no less powerful in words than in works.
In 746 he was consecrated
by St. Boniface bishop of Aichstadt. This dignity gave his humility much to
suffer, but it exceedingly excited his zeal. The cultivation of so rough a
vineyard was a laborious and painful task; but his heroic patience and
invincible meekness overcame all difficulties. His charity was most tender and
compassionate, and he had a singular talent in comforting the afflicted. He
founded a monastery which resembled in discipline that of Mount Cassino, to
which he often retired. But his love of solitude diminished not his pastoral
solicitude for his flock. He was attentive to all their spiritual necessities,
he visited often every part of his charge, and instructed all his people with
indefatigable zeal and charity. His fasts were most austere, nor did he allow himself
any indulgence in them or in his labours on account of his great age, till his
strength was entirely exhausted. Having laboured almost forty-five years in
regulating and sanctifying his diocess, he died at Aichstadt on the 7th of
June, 790, being eighty-seven years old. He was honoured with miracles, and
buried in his own cathedral. Pope Leo VII. canonized him in 938. In 1270 the
Bishop Hildebrand built a church in his honour, into which his relics were
translated, and are honourably preserved to this day; but a portion is honoured
at Furnec in Flanders. See the three lives of St. Willibald, written by
contemporary authors, especially that by a nun of his sister St.
Walburga’s monastery. She gives from the saint’s own relation a curious and
useful description of the Holy Land, as it stood in that age; which is rendered
more curious by the notes of Mabillon, and those of Basnage in his edition of
Canisius’s Lect. Antiquæ. On St. Willibald, see Solier the Bollandist, t. 2.
Julij, p. 485.
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
VII: July. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/7/072.html
St.
Willibald - Büstenreliquiar des hl. Willibald in Scheer
Dictionary
of National Biography – Willibald
Article
Willibald (700?–786),
bishop and traveller, born about 700, was the son of a certain Saint Richard
who bore the title of king, and is conjectured to have been the son of
Hlothere, king of Kent, who died in 685. His mother was Winna, sister of Saint
Boniface, the great apostle of Germany; she was also related to Ine, king of
Wessex. Willibald had a brother Wunebald and a sister Walburga, who were also
missionaries among the Germans. In his boyhood he was sent to the monastery of
Waltham to be educated. Here he conceived the idea of a pilgrimage, and
persuaded his father and brother to set out with him for Rome about 720–721. At
Lucca Willibald’s father died, but he himself and his brother pressed on their
difficult and dangerous journey, and finally arrived in Rome. Here Willibald
formed the design of going on to Jerusalem, and after wintering in Rome, where
he was seriously ill, set out in the spring of 722 for Syria. It was a time
when pilgrimage in the east was fraught with infinite hardship and danger, when
the old hospitals on the pilgrim routes had fallen into neglect, and when the
great Mahommedan empire stretched from the Oxus to the Pyrenees. The sufferings
of Willibald and his party were therefore very great. At Emesa they were taken
prisoners as spies, but were ultimately set free to visit the pilgrim shrines
still allowed to remain open. Willibald seems to have wandered about Palestine
a good deal, and to have visited Jerusalem several times, finally leaving Syria
about 726 after a narrow escape of martyrdom through smuggling balsam from
Jerusalem. In Constantinople he spent two years, from 726 to 728, returning to
Italy after an absence of seven years by way of Naples. At the great
Benedictine monastery of Monte Casino he remained for ten years, holding
various offices in the house. At the end of this time he again visited Rome,
where Gregory III talked with him of his travels, and authorised the
publication of his narrative. Boniface meanwhile was in need of help in
Germany, and asked for Willibald, who was accordingly despatched by Gregory III
to Eichstädt. At Salzburg in 741 Willibald was consecrated to the bishopric of
Eichstädt by Archbishop Boniface, and after the latter’s death became the
leader of the German mission. He built a monastery at Eichstädt, and lived a
monastic life there, dying in 786.
Willibald’s guide-book,
entitled ‘Vita seu Hodœporicon Sancti Willibaldi scriptum a Sanctimoniali,’
from which the details of his life are taken, was dictated by himself, and
probably written down by a nun at Heidenheim, the finishing touches being added
by another hand after his death. His book gives little general information, as
the writer was intent upon his devotions, but throws some light upon law and
custom in the eastern lands in which he travelled. Its value is owing to the
extreme scarcity of pilgrim notices during the eighth century. It is published
by Mabillon in the ‘Acta Sanctorum Ordinis Benedicti’, but the most accessible
edition is that of Tobler in the ‘Descriptiones Terræ Sanctæ’. Other lives
based upon this have been written, but have added to it nothing of importance.
The chief of these – the ‘Vita sive potius Itinerarium Sancti Willibaldi
auctore Anonymo’ – is also published by Tobler. Willibald is said to have
written the well-known life of Saint Boniface published by Jaffé in the
‘Monumenta Moguntina’ in ‘Bibliotheca Rerum Germanicarum’.
MLA
Citation
Alice Margaret Cooke.
“Willibald”. Dictionary of National Biography, 1899. CatholicSaints.Info.
16 April 2019. Web. 3 July 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/dictionary-of-national-biography-willibald/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/dictionary-of-national-biography-willibald/
The
Itinerary of Saint Willibald, by Father Thomas Meyrick, SJ
Of the Nun of Heidenheim
To the venerable priests
and deacons, abbots, and brethren beloved in Christ, whom our holy bishop, as a
good captain and tender father, has appointed throughout his diocese, some in
the order of priesthood, others chaste Levites, others monks and novices, to
all these living in holy religious observance, I, an unworthy Sister, of Saxon
lineage, last and least in life and manners, venture to write, and for the sake
of memorial give to you, Catholic and religious men, ministers of the Word of
God, a brief account of the early life of the venerable Willibald.
Notwithstanding my want of wisdom and erudition, and the weakness of my sex, I
am desirous, according to my poor power, of gathering some few flowers from the
blooming abundance of his virtues, and composing for you a lasting memorial of
them. And here I repeat, it is not my presumption that impels me to attempt
this task on which I scarce dare to venture, but relying on your high authority
and kindness, I propose, with the aid of God s grace, to describe the marvels
of the Word Incarnate, and the scenes of the Gospel narrative which the
venerable Willibald visited and beheld with his own eyes, and trod with his
feet, in the very footsteps of Him Who was born into this world, suffered, and
rose again for us; of all which he has given us a faithful narrative. Therefore
it seems right that we should not be silent, nor suffer to pass into oblivion,
the things that God has shown His servant in these our times. For we heard them
dictated by his own mouth, in the presence of two deacons as witnesses, on the
20th of June, the day before the summer solstice.
Indeed, I know that it
may seem boldness on my part to write, when there are so many more excellent
than myself, and holy priests, capable of doing so, but nevertheless, as their
humble relative and the least of their race, I would commit to memory something
of the acts and travels of these venerable men — the one of whom is our high
priest, pastor, and bishop, the great Master Willibald, lover of the Gross, and
the other is abbot, priest, and glorious servant of Christ, Winibald, guide in
the path of perfection, missioner to the people, and bold rebuker of sin.
Hoping, therefore, to find excuse and indulgence, by your kindness and favour,
and looking for help to the grace of God, I present to you their history,
traced in letters of ink, to the glory of God, the Giver of all good.
Early Life of Saint
Willibald
First, then, I will
relate the early life of the venerable bishop and pious servant of God,
Willibald, and, beginning from his infancy, will follow it to his old age, now
far advanced.
Nurtured by his parents
with tender care, he arrived at the age of three years, when he was taken with
such violent sickness as to be brought to extremity. His father and mother,
seeing he was about to die, were exceedingly grieved at the likelihood of the
loss of their tender child, whom they hoped to leave as their successor and
heir. Yet it was not the will of the almighty and merciful God that he should
die in his infancy, but live to instruct others in His law.
Accordingly, to continue,
they being in very great fear and grief, made an offering of the child before
the holy Cross of God our Saviour. For such is the custom of the Saxon nation,
that on the estates of the noble and good they have commonly the emblem of the
holy Cross in place of a church, dedicated to the worship of God, erected in a
lofty place, to be frequented for the purpose of daily prayer. Placing him
there before the cross, they earnestly besought God, the Creator of all things,
to save his life by His almighty power; and they promised on their part, that
if his health were restored, he should, as soon as possible, receive the
tonsure, and be dedicated to the service of Christ as a monk and soldier of
God. So when the noble child had come to the age of five years, and showed
already wisdom before its time, they hastened to fulfill their vow, and to send
him to begin his monastic life, having first obtained the consent of their
relatives and adherents. And they committed him to the care of the faithful and
venerable Theodred to take him to the monastery, and make all due provision for
him. When, therefore, they came to the abbey called Waltham, they delivered him
to the keeping of the venerable abbot of the monastery, Egbald by name, to live
subject and obedient to his rule And immediately the abbot summoned together
the monks according to custom, and asked them whether they were willing and of
one mind to receive him amongst them; and they all signified their willingness.
Forthwith the wise and
gracious child began to learn by rote the Psalms of David, and other books of
the holy law, whilst he was so young, fulfilling the words of the Prophet,
“From the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise.” And as he
grew in stature, he grew also in grace, being wholly turned to the love of God,
and meditating on the Scriptures day and night, while he considered the
monastic rule, and how one day he should become a monk, joining the blessed
company of religious men.
Meanwhile he began to
ponder how he could most effectually leave the world with its riches and
possessions, his parents and relations, country and home, by making a
pilgrimage to a strange land. And when he had passed, by Gods grace, the
dangerous and slippery years of early youth, and reached manhood, his gentle
behaviour and obedience had gained the love of all the brethren, so that he was
highly honoured and esteemed among them, making daily progress in study and
strict observance. Then it was that, as said above, eagerly desiring to make a
pilgrimage to distant lands, he opened his secret thought to his father by the
ties of consanguinity, and besought him not only to grant his leave to the
request, but himself also to accompany him in pilgrimage. And at first, when he
thus urged his father to forsake the uncertain riches of the world and to enter
into the service of the heavenly warfare, leaving home and family, and seeking
the glorious threshold of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, he would not, but
said that it was unfatherly to leave his children and wife, and leave them
defenseless to others. But the young soldier of Christ our Lord continued to
plead in behalf of the austere religious life, dwelling upon the terrors of
eternity and the hopes of everlasting happiness in heaven, until he so wrought
upon his mind, that in the end he prevailed, and his father and brother
Winibald gave their promise to accompany him.
So when the summer was
commencing, he and his father and youthful brother set out upon their
pilgrimage. And having made all ready with provisions for the way, they came
with a numerous company of friends and fellow-travelers to the appointed place,
called Hamlemuth, near the mart called Hamwich. Then, the wind and tide
favouring, they went on board a vessel, with its captain and crew hired to
receive them. After a quick passage across the dangers of the sea, they came to
land, and there pitched camp, setting up their tents on the banks of the river
Seine, near a town called Rouen, where there is a mart.
Having rested there some
days, they proceeded onwards, visiting the shrines of many saints upon their
way, until at length they came to the Gorthonic land,* and after that to Lucca.
Thus far Saint Willibald and Saint Winibald brought their father with them, and
there he was taken with sudden sickness to death, and it became so sore, that
he died; and his sons, having wrapped in fair burial cloths the body of their
father, laid it in the tomb in the city of Lucca, at the Church of Saint Frigidian.
In that place the body of their father sleeps in peace.
Proceeding forward in
haste, over mountains and valleys of Italy, they passed in safety, by the aid
of God and the saints, the Alpine heights, with all their company and comrades,
secure from the dreaded ambush of enemies, and came to the glorious threshold
and renowned patronage of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles. And there they
gave great thanks to Almighty God, that having passed the dangers of the sea
and the harms to which pilgrims are exposed, they had safely reached the
“ladder” of scholarly learning, and the sight of the glorious Basilica of Saint
Peter. Then the two brothers remained there from Martinmas till the next
Easter, occupied during the winter, until the spring and the joyous burst of
the Easter festival, in the exercises of religious monastic life. But as the
heats of summer came on, they were both taken with ague fever, so that they
were brought to extremity; yet, by the merciful providence of God, they lay
sick alternate weeks, so that they could wait in turn upon each other. And
still they persevered in practices of religious observance and recitations,
according to the words of truth, “He that perseveres to the end shall be
saved.” Then, after his recovery, the glorious lover of the Cross, looking up
to heaven, and pur- suing perfection, ardently desired to proceed yet further
upon a more unfrequented pilgrimage, and petitioned leave and prayers of his
fellow-countrymen, that he might set forth and arrive safe at the walls of the
lovely and delectable city of Jerusalem.
Journey from Rome to
Jerusalem
Accordingly, as soon as
the Easter solemnities had again passed, the eager athlete, with his two
companions, arose to commence his journey. And they went eastward to Tarracina,
where they rested two days, and from thence to Gaieta on the sea shore,
crossing the bay to Naples, where they stayed two weeks. These cities belong to
the Romans, though they are in the kingdom of Beneventum. There they found, by
God’s good providence, a ship from Egypt, on which they embarked and sailed to
Reggio, a city of Calabria. Having stayed there two days, they set sail, and
came to the isle of Sicily and city of Catana, where the body of Saint Agnes,
virgin martyr, reposes. Hard by is Mount Etna, whose fires at times spread
devastation over that country; and then the people of that city take the veil
of Saint Agatha, and with it stop the progress of the flames.
There they abode three
weeks, and setting sail from thence, crossed the Adriatic Sea to Manafasia, in
the Sclavonic land, and from thence they sailed to Chios, leaving Corinth on
the left, and from Chios they came to Samos. From it they crossed to Ephesus on
the sea shore, one mile from the sea. Thence they went on foot to the place
where the seven sleepers repose, and walked on to the Church of Saint John the
Evangelist, situated in a delightful spot near Ephesus. From Saint Johns they
walked two miles along the coast to a town of great size, called Figila. And
they tarried there one day, and having begged some bread, went to a fountain in
the midst of the city, and sitting beside it on the margin of the basin, they
dipped the bread in the water, and so ate of it. Proceeding on foot from thence
along the sea, they came to the city Strobole, standing on a lofty mountain.
And from thence to a place called Patara; in which they stayed until the season
of winter was over. From Patara they took ship to a city called Militena. J
This place was once in peril of being destroyed by a flood, and two hermits
dwelt there, being Stylites — that is, upon a pillar or wall of stone built
very high, so that the waters could not reach them. And there, being without
food, they were near being starved to death; but the Almighty Pastor of His
people mercifully gave food to His poor. From this place they sailed to Cyprus,
an island which lies between the Greeks and the Saracens. And they came to the
city Paphos, and stayed there a week. And thus ended the first year of
pilgrimage.
From Paphos they went to
Constantia, in which city Saint Epiphanius lies at rest; and they stayed there
until the Nativity of Saint John Baptist was over. From thence, setting sail,
they came to the country of the Saracens, to the city of Tarratas on the sea,*
and proceeded on foot from thence to the castle of Ortha, a distance of twelve
miles. There they found a bishop of the Greeks, and they had Mass according to
the Greek rite. Proceeding from thence, they walked inland twelve miles to the
city of Emesa, where is a large church built by Saint Helena in honour of Saint
John the Baptist, and his head was a long time preserved there — that is to
say, in the land of Syria.
Now there were at this
time with Saint Willibald seven companions of his own country, Saxons, and he
was the eighth. Whereupon the heathen Saracens, perceiving that strange men and
foreigners had come thither, laid hold of them and put them in ward, because
they knew not whence they came, but took them for spies. And they led them
before the presence of a rich old man to examine them who they might be. And he
inquired of them whence they came, and what was their business. And they
declared from the beginning the cause of their journey. Then the old man
answered and said: “I have seen heretofore men of the same country as these coming
hither from those parts, and they come for no evil purpose, but to fulfill
their law.” Then they went to the palace of the King to ask permission to go to
Jerusalem. But whilst they were detained in prison, by God’s merciful
providence, Who protects His own in captivity and perils from their enemies,
there came a merchant who, for the redemption of his soul by almsgiving, would
have ransomed them and let them go free, but could not, and he sent them dinner
and supper daily, and every fourth and seventh day of the week sent his son to
lead them from the prison to the bath and back again, and on the Lord’s day
took them to the church through the mart, that they might see and purchase what
they pleased, for which he paid. And the citizens of the place came in numbers
to behold them, for they were fair youths, and handsomely attired.
There came also a
Spaniard to visit them in prison and converse with them. In answer to his
inquiries, they told him who they were, and whence they came, and all that had
befallen them in their journey. The Spaniard had a brother who was chamberlain
in the palace of the King of the Saracens. Accordingly, when the alderman who
had put them in prison went with them to the palace, the Spaniard and the
captain of the ship with whom they sailed from Cyprus came also, and they all
stood before the King of the Saracens, who is called Mirmumni (Commander of the
Faithful). When their cause was heard, the Spaniard bid his brother to explain
the matter to the King, and plead their cause. Then the King asked whence the
men came? and was told in reply, “They come from the land of the west, where
the sun sinks into the sea — and beyond them is no land known, only the sea.”
And the King spoke, saying, “For what reason should we punish them, they have
done us no wrong. Give them, therefore, leave to go upon their way.”
So they were let go free,
but the others in prison with them were required to pay three pounds in ransom;
they were men of Cyprus not bearing arms, for there was peace and amity between
the Greeks and Saracens. That region is large in extent, and there were twelve
bishoprics there. Having received permission, they departed from Emesa and went
to Damascus, a journey of a hundred miles. It is situated in the land of Syria,
and there rests the body of Saint Ananias. They tarried there one week. And two
miles out of Damascus is a church, the place of the conversion of Saint Paul,
where the Lord said to him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” and having
prayed there, they went on their pilgrimage into Galilee, until they came to
the place where Gabriel first came to Saint Mary with the salutation, “Hail,
full of grace.” A church now stands over the spot, and the name of the town is
Nazareth. The heathen would many times have destroyed the church, but the
Christians as often ransomed it There, having commended themselves to the Lord,
they passed on, walking on foot to Cana, where the Lord turned water into wine.
A great church stands there, and in the church an altar, composed of one of the
six water pots filled with water, by our Lord’s command, which was changed into
wine, and of that they received some. They stayed there one day, and proceeded
from thence to Mount Thabor, where the Lord was transfigured. Upon it stands a
monastery, and the church upon the summit is dedicated to the Lord and to Moses
and Elias. The citizens of the place call it Agemons, the Holy Mount Having
prayed, they passed on to the city of Tiberias, situated upon the shore of that
sea over which the Lord walked as on dry land, but Peter walking upon it sank.
In that city there are many churches, and a synagogue of the Jews; but the
Lord’s day is solemnized with much honour. They tarried there some days. And
thereby the Jordan flows to its outlet through the midst of the sea. From
thence they coasted along the shore, and passed by the town of Mary Magdalen,
until they came to Capharnaum, where the Lord raised to life the rulers
daughter. There was a house there, and much wall standing, in which the people
of the place said that Zebedee abode, and his two sons James and John. From
Capharnaum they came to Bethsaida, the city of Peter and Andrew, in which a
church now stands over the place where their house was. Having stayed the
night, they went on to Chorozaim, where the Lord cured the pos- sessed and sent
the devil into the herd of swine. In this city there was a church of the
Christians, and having prayed there, they proceeded until they came to the
place where two fountains take their rise, J or and Dan, and these flowing from
the mountain sides, join into one river and make the Jordan. And there they
stayed a night between the two sources of Jordan, and the shepherds gave ” us
sour milk to drink; and there we saw cattle of a strange form, with long backs,
short legs, and very large horns, all of one red colour, which, when the midday
heat is great, rise and go down to the deep pools in that place, and plunge in
so that the head alone is visible above water.” Proceeding, they went on to
Cesarea Philippi, where there is a church and a great number of Christians. And
again setting forth, they came to the monastery of Saint John the Baptist,
where they found about twenty monks. And they rested there a night, and went on
from thence more than a mile distance to the Jordan, where the Lord was
baptized. A church stands there now, raised upon pillars of stone over the spot
where our Lord was baptized; and there they now baptize. Beneath the church is
dry ground, a wooden cross stands in the midst, a streamlet of water is brought
in by a sluice, and a rope stretched across the Jordan is made fast on either
side. Thus in the solemnity of the Epiphany, the sick and infirm hold by the
rope, and are dipped into the water. The barren also receive the gift of
childbearing. Our bishop, Willibald, bathed in that place in the Jordan.
Proceeding from thence five miles, they came to Gilgal, where stands a church
of wood of no great size, in which are the twelve stones which the children of
Israel took and carried thus far from the Jordan in memory of their passage.
Having prayed there, they went on to Jericho, which is above seven miles from
the Jordan. There flows the fountain, rising from a mountain ridge whose waters
were barren until the Prophet Eliseus blessed them; after which the city made
use of it to water fields and gardens by irrigation and all other purposes, for
its waters bring with them fertility and salubrity from the blessing of
Eliseus.
From Jericho they came to
the monastery of Saint Eustachius, situated in the valley midway between
Jericho and Jerusalem. Leaving this, he came to Jerusalem, to the place where
the Cross of the Lord was found. Over it now stands a church built upon Mount
Calvary, which was previously outside of Jerusalem; but the blessed Helena,
when she found the Cross, encompassed the place so as to be within the walls of
Jerusalem. Outside of the church, against the eastern wall, stand three wooden
crosses in memory of the holy Cross of Christ and those who were crucified with
Him. These crosses are not within the church, but stand outside close under the
roof, and beside the church is the garden in which was the sepulchre of our
Lord. This sepulchre was hewn out of the rock, and of that rock there stands a
portion above ground, quadrangular at the base, and rising in a pyramidal form,
and on the summit is a cross, and over it is built a glorious church. On the
east side of this rock of the sepulchre is a door by which one enters to pray,
and the tomb of stone is within, whereon the Body of the Lord was laid. And
there stand upon it fifteen golden bowls full of oil, burning night and day:
The said tomb is on the north side within the rock of the sepulchre, on the
right hand of one who enters to pray. Before the door lies a great square
stone, like the stone which once the angel rolled back from the door of the
sepulchre. And soon after he came there he fell sick, and lay until a week
before Christmas ill of that sickness, from which, as soon as he had somewhat
recovered, he rose and went to the church called Holy Sion, which stands in the
midst of Jerusalem, and having prayed there, he went to the porch of Solomon.
Then to the pool where the sick lay waiting for the moving of the water into
which the first who descended was healed; where the Lord said to the paralytic,
“Take up thy bed and walk.”
He also narrated, that in
front of the gate of the city there stands a great pillar, and on the top of it
a cross, for a sign and memorial, upon the spot where the Jews would have
seized the body of the holy Virgin Mary. For when the eleven Apostles bearing
the body of the holy Virgin Mary were carrying it out of Jerusalem, as they
came out of the gate of the city, the Jews would have laid hands upon it, but
the men who stretched forth their hands to lay hold of the bier and stay its
passage remained with their arms outstretched and motionless, as though they
stuck fast to the bier, neither could they draw them back until, by the mercy
of God, at the Apostles’ prayer, they were loosed, and so they suffered it to
pass on. The holy Virgin Mary made her transit out of this life in the place
called Holy Sion, in the midst of Jerusalem, and then the eleven Apostles, as
said above, carried her forth, and the angels came and took her from the hands
of the Apostles and bore her to heaven.
From Jerusalem to Monte
Cassino
Then the bishop,
Willibald, went down into the Valley of Josaphat. This lies to the east,
outside of the city Jerusalem. In that valley is the Church of the Holy Virgin,
and in the church her tomb, not that her body rests in it, but it is for a
memorial of her. And haying prayed there he ascended to Mount Olivet, which is
over against the valley on the eastern side. The valley is between Jerusalem
and Mount Olivet, and on the ascent of the mountain stands a church, on the
place where the Lord prayed before His Passion and said to His disciples, ”
Watch and pray.” From thence he went up to the church on the summit where the
Lord ascended into heaven. And in the midst of the church stands a piece of
finely-sculptured bronze, in form quadrangular! It stands on the central spot
where our Lord ascended, and in the middle of the. bronze is a hollow
four-square, in which is a lanthorn, or light, enclosed with glass, and it is
so enclosed that it may burn always, both in wet and dry, for the church is
open above and without a roof. Moreover, two pillars stand in the church
against the wall on the northern side, opposite the south wall, in memory of
the two angels who said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into
heaven?” Whosoever passes between those pillars and the wall may gain a plenary
remission of sins. From thence he came to the place where the angel appeared to
the shepherds, saying, “I give you tidings of great joy.” And from thence to
Bethlehem, where Christ was born, seven miles from Jerusalem. The place of the
Nativity was of old a cave beneath the ground, and is now a house, in form
four-square, cut out of the rock, and the earth dug away around it and removed.
Above it a church is built, and over the place of the Nativity stands an altar
above the grotto, and another portable altar is carried within the grotto when
they wish to say Mass there, and after Mass is carried out again. The church
over the grotto of the Nativity is a glorious building, cruciform. Having made
their adoration there, they proceeded and came to a large town called Thecua,
and the place where the come into the presence of the holy Pontiff, he
prostrated before him and saluted him. Then the Pastor of all people asked him
to give an account of his travels, and the seven years spent by him in foreign
heathen lands. Then the pilgrim and servant of Christ humbly recounted to the
glorious governor of the world the story of his travels; how he had passed
through various parts in his pilgrimage, and visited the place of the birth of
the Lord God in Bethlehem, and of His baptism in the Jordan, and how he himself
had bathed there; how he had gone to Jerusalem and holy Sion, and the place
where the Saviour of men was crucified, dead, and buried, and to Mount Olivet,
where He ascended into heaven; that four times he had visited Jerusalem to
commend himself in prayer to God. All this he related to the Pope.
After they had thus held
sweet conversation, the holy apostolic chief Pontiff seriously signified to blessed
Willibald that the holy Boniface had made request to him to send him Willibald
from Monte Cassino to be his assistant in the conversion of the Franks.
Moreover, the Apostolic Father Gregory declared that it was his will and desire
that he should go to Saint Boniface. Then the athlete of Christ promised
immediate obedience so soon as he should obtain the leave of his abbot. Upon
which the head of supreme authority replied that “his order was sufficient,”
saying, “Should I please to send anywhere the Abbot Petronax himself, he
certainly would have no power nor right to disobey me.” Then Saint Willibald
answered “that he was ready to go not only thither but wheresoever in the world
he should please to send him. Then, after his converse with the Pope, Saint
Willibald left Rome in Easter time, having come on Saint Andrews day, but
Diapert remained at Monte Cassino. And Willibald came on his way to Lucca,
where his father lay buried in peace. From Lucca he came to Ticino, and then to
Brixia, and from Brixia to Charinta. And the Duke Odilo of Bavaria received him
in his house, and he abode a week, and then the Count Suitgar, with whom he
abode a week, and the count and Saint Willibald went together to Linthrat to
Saint Boniface. And Saint Boniface sent them to Eichstadt to view the place and
see how it pleased him, for Suitgar had given those lands to Saint Boniface for
the good of his soul. And Saint Boniface gave those lands to our bishop, Saint
Willibald, when it was as yet all waste and no habitation there, except the
little church of Saint Mary, which still stands, lesser than the other church
which Saint Willibald built there. And when they had remained a time there
choosing a place for a monastery they returned to Saint Boniface to Frisinga.
And then all three went again to Eichstadt, and there Saint Boniface
consecrated Willibald priest, and the day of his consecration was the feast of
Saint Mary Magdalen, the 22nd of July. And after the space of a year Saint
Boniface sent for him to come to Thuringia to him, and he immediately came and
lodged in the monastery of his brother Winibald, whom he had not seen for the
space of nearly eighteen years, since they parted company in Rome, and they
rejoiced together upon meeting again. It was autumn when he came to Thuringia,
and shortly after Saint Boniface, Archbishop, and Burchard and Wizo, ordained
him bishop, and thus, having been raised to the summit of the priestly honour,
he stayed a week, and then returned to the appointed place of his habitation.
Saint Willibald was
forty-one years old when he was consecrated bishop, about three weeks before
Martinmas, in a place called Salpurg.
Thus ends the narrative
of his journeys and his seven years’ pilgrimage, all which we have endeavoured
faithfully to declare, and that not from hearsay but from his own mouth, as it
was dictated to us in the monastery of Heidenheim, with two of his deacons and
others present as witnesses. And this I mention that none may hereafter lightly
question it When he arrived he had three companions; and being consecrated
bishop at the ripe age of forty-one, he began to build his monastery at
Eichstadt. And there he both practiced himself and taught to others the holy
rules of monastic life, as he had seen it observed at Monte Cassino and in
other houses in his travels. And though at first the labourers were few, he
sowed the seed of the holy Word and toiled for the future harvest. Being like
the prudent bees, who come home from the flowers and fields laden with honey,
so he imparted to others the good he had gathered by his experience in his
travels.
And after he had founded
the monastery, many soon came from far and near to listen to his wisdom. These
he gathered as a hen gathers her chickens beneath her wing, and gave new
children to the Church. They in their turn, nourished by the milk of piety,
have become themselves the masters of others.
This, then, is that
Willibald who, though helped by few at first, is now surrounded by many
assistant priests, and has won to the Lord much people. So that far and wide
throughout Bavaria the Gospel is preached, churches are built and adorned with
relics, Masses are said, psalms and antiphons are singing, holy lessons
reading, and Christ’s glorious miracles and the praises of the Creator are in
the mouths of a multitude of the faithful.
And what shall I now say
more of him who is your pastor and my master? Why speak of his piety, humility,
patience, continence, meekness? Who is more strenuous than he in comforting the
sorrowful, feeding the poor, clothing the naked. This is not said for the sake
pf vainglory, but only according to what we have seen and heard — the work of
the grace of God and not of man, for, as the Apostle says, ” He that glories
let him glory in the Lord.” Amen.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-itinerary-of-saint-willibald-by-father-thomas-meyrick-sj/
Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553),
Gabriel von Eyb mit dem hl. Willibald, Bischof von Eichstätt, und hl. Walburga
/ Gabriel von Eyb with Saint Willibald
and Saint Walpurga
Lukas
Cranach der Ältere: Willibald mit Walburga,
verehrt vom Eichstätter Fürstbischof
Gabriel von Eyb (links unten), 1520, Sammlung der Museen der Stadt Bamberg in
der Neuen Residenz in Bamberg
San Villibaldo
Wesse (Inghilterra
meridionale), ca. 700 - Eichstätt (Germania), 786/787
Nasce intorno al 700 a
Wesse, in Inghilterra. La sua famiglia lo mette a scuola dai monaci di
Waltham, dove poi decide di farsi monaco. Ma è già fuori dalla cella e
dall'Inghilterra prima dei voti definitivi: va in Terrasanta con un gruppo di
pellegrini. Sta due anni a Roma, poi continua verso la Palestina, allora sotto
gli arabi. Nel 729 rieccolo a Roma, dopo sette anni. Papa Gregorio II (715-731)
lo manda a Montecassino, dove il tenacissimo bresciano Petronace ha rimesso in
piedi i muri dopo la distruzione longobarda. Così il quasi-monaco d'Inghilterra
ricompone una comunità nel solco della vera tradizione e dello stile di vita
insegnato dal Fondatore. Dopo dieci anni torna a Roma, vi trova un Papa
nuovo, Gregorio III (731-741), che lo invia a evangelizzare i tedeschi. Dalla
Germania lo ha richiesto Winfrido, detto poi Bonifacio. Sta organizzando in
Baviera una struttura diocesana, e nel 740 ordina Villibaldo sacerdote,
consacrandolo poi vescovo di Eichstätt già l'anno dopo. Il vescovo
Villibaldo costruisce la sua cattedrale, fonda un monastero. Si fa poi
predicatore itinerante, davanti ad ascoltatori che solo in parte sono
cristiani. Quest'opera lo impegna fino alla morte, avvenuta nel 787. (Avvenire)
Martirologio Romano: A
Eichstätt nella Franconia, in Germania, san Villibaldo, vescovo, che, divenuto
monaco, peregrinò a lungo per luoghi santi e per molte regioni per rinnovare la
vita monastica e aiutò nell’evangelizzazione della Germania san Bonifacio, dal
quale fu ordinato primo vescovo di questa città, convertendo a Cristo molte
genti.
E' a questo camminatore
inglese che Montecassino deve la sua rinascita spirituale, dopo la distruzione
a opera del longobardo Zottone nel 580-81. La sua famiglia lo mette a scuola
dai monaci di Waltham, dove poi Villibaldo decide di farsi monaco. Ma è già
fuori dalla cella e dall’Inghilterra prima dei voti definitivi: va in Terrasanta
con un gruppo di pellegrini, tra cui suo padre (che morirà a Lucca) e suo
fratello Vinnibaldo. Sta due anni a Roma, poi continua senza il fratello verso
la Palestina, allora sotto gli arabi. I pellegrini cristiani vi sono in genere
bene accolti; in quel momento, tuttavia, per tensioni politiche con l’Impero
d’Oriente, Villibaldo e i suoi rischiano la prigione: li credono spie. Ma il
soggiorno prosegue in pace, e nel 729 rieccolo a Roma, dopo sette anni.
Ma non torna poi in
patria. Papa Gregorio II (715-731) lo manda nel 729 a Montecassino, dove il
tenacissimo bresciano Petronace ha rimesso in piedi i muri. Ora si tratta di
rifare i monaci, dopo l’abbandono dei tempi di Zottone, quando con l’abate
Bonito essi cercarono scampo a Roma, portando con sé soltanto la provvista di
pane e il libro della Regola. Così il quasi-monaco d’Inghilterra (non ha ancora
emesso la “professione” definitiva) ricompone una comunità nel solco della vera
tradizione e dello stile di vita insegnato dal Fondatore. E in quest’opera
spende altri dieci anni.
Tornato poi a Roma, vi
trova un Papa nuovo, Gregorio III (731-741), che gli dice: "C’è bisogno di
te per evangelizzare i tedeschi". Pronto, Villibaldo riparte, a suo agio
dovunque, e soprattutto “di casa” in ogni parte d’Europa. Dalla Germania lo ha
richiesto al papa Winfrido, detto poi Bonifacio, l’apostolo del mondo tedesco,
che è imparentato con lui e ha già con sé il fratello Vinnibaldo. Sta
organizzando in Baviera una struttura diocesana, e nel 740 ordina Villibaldo sacerdote,
consacrandolo poi vescovo di Eichstätt già l’anno dopo.
Il vescovo Villibaldo
costruisce la sua cattedrale, fonda un monastero e soprattutto controlla
rigorosamente tutti gli altri, per incarico di Bonifacio. E poi incomincia per
lui un’esperienza nuova: quella del predicatore itinerante, davanti ad
ascoltatori che solo in parte sono cristiani. Quest’opera lo impegna fino alla
morte. E lo rende eccezionalmente popolare, già con una fama di santità in
vita, che poi si trasformerà in culto spontaneo e duraturo, molto in anticipo
sul riconoscimento canonico.
Autore: Domenico
Agasso
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/91021.html
Die
katholische Pfarrkirche St. Johannes in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz
Willibald von Eichstätt
Gedenktag katholisch: 7. Juli
nicht gebotener Gedenktag im deutschen Sprachgebiet
Hochfest im Bistum Eichstatt
im Dom in Eichstädt: Übertragung der Gebeine: Montag nach Trinitatis
in Eichstädt: Tag der Bischofsweihe: 22. Oktober
Diözesankalender Fulda
Gedenktag evangelisch:
18. Dezember
Name bedeutet: mit
kühnem Willen (althochdt.)
erster Bischof von Eichstätt, Glaubensbote in Deutschland
* 22. Oktober um 700 in Wessex in England
† 7. Juli 787 oder 7. Juli 789 in Eichstätt in
Bayern
Willibald, der
Überlieferung nach Sohn des angelsächsischen Königspaares Wunna und Richard,
sicher Bruder des Wunibald und
der Walburga,
wurde vom fünften Lebensjahr an im Kloster Waltham erzogen.
Zusammen mit seinem Vater und seinem Bruder Wunibald brach er 720 zu
einer Wallfahrt zu
den sieben
Pilgerkirchen in Rom auf. Sein Vater starb unterwegs in Lucca;
sein Bruder fand einen Platz in einem Kloster in Rom;
er selbst zog über Catania auf Sizilien, wo er das Grab von Agatha besuchte,
nach Jerusalem und
ins Heilige Land, wo er drei Jahre blieb und 725 auch die damalige Kirche
in Bethsaida -
heute der Hügel Et-Tell bei
Ad Dardarah - besuchte; 727 reiste er weiter nach Konstantinopel - dem
heutigen Istanbul -,
wo er zwei Jahre als Inkluse in
einer Zelle an der Apostelkirche lebte. 729 kehrte er nach Italien zurück und
wirkte mit an der Erneuerung des inzwischen verfallenen und verwaisten Klosters
auf dem Montecassino.
Auf Bitten von Bonifatius -
die Familien waren in Wessex wohl
miteinander befreundet, manche nennen Bonifatius Willibalds Onkel - schickte
Papst Gregor
III. Willibald 739 nach Deutschland, wo er im Frühjahr 740 Herzog
Odilo von Bayern traf und vom bayerischen Adligen Swidger Besitzungen in Eichstätt erhielt.
Dort wurde er zum Priester und 741 in Sülzenbrücken von
Bonifatius zum Bischof von Erfurt geweiht.
Nach der baldigen Integration des Bistums Erfurt in die Diözese Mainz - die
dortige Bischofskirche stand damals an der Stelle der heute evangelischen Kirche
St. Johannis - wirkte Willibald wohl vorübergehend als Klosterbischof,
bis um 748 das Bistum Eichstätt gegründet wurde 1.
Willibald sorgte für die
Stabilisierung des Christentums in der Region, baute den ersten Dom in
Eichstätt und unterstützte seinen Bruder Wunibald bei
der Gründung des Klosters
Heidenheim in Mittelfranken, wo er seinen Bruder als Abt und später
seine Schwester Walburga als
Äbtissin einsetzte. Besonders bei den Adelsgeschlechtern in Bayern wirkte
Willibald für die Verbreitung des Glaubens, so dass er Bischof der
Edlen genannt wurde. Ab 778 diktierte er seiner Verwandten, der Nonne
Hugeburc, seine Autobiographie mit Schwerpunkt bei der Schilderung seiner
Pilgerreisen.
Die erste Erhebung
der Gebeine Willibalds
fand 989 statt, eine weitere 1256, dann 1269 und 1745; sie werden im Dom in
Eichstätt aufbewahrt, wo auch ein - dem Altar über dem Petrusgrab in Rom nachgebildeter
- besonders prächtiger Altar an Willibald erinnert.
Im Wald nahe Attenfeld
bei Neuburg an der Donau machten der Überlieferung nach Willibald und seine
Gefährten im Rahmen einer Pilgerreise Rast, wobei das Pferd des Heiligen mit
seinen Hufen Löcher in dem Felsgestein neben einer dann dort errichteten Kapelle hinterlassen
habe. Dem darin nie versiegenden Wasser wird große Heilkraft zugeschrieben, im
15. Jahrhundert ist eine Holzkapelle nachgewiesen, heute steht dort eine
Kapelle aus Stein.
An der historisch
bezeugten, Sezzi genannten
Stelle nahe Bieswang, einem Ortsteil von Pappenheim, traf sich Willibald
mehrfach mit Wunibald und Sola; 2015
wurde dort eine Gedenkstätte eingerichtet.
Patron der
Gittermacher; des Bistums Eichstätt
1 Die Annahme,
Willibald sei bereits 741 Bischof von Eichstätt geworden
bzw. das Bistum sei erst nach seinem Tode entstanden, gilt als eher
unwahrscheinlich.
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Quellen:
• Vera Schauber, Hanns Michael Schindler: Heilige und Patrone im Jahreslauf. Pattloch, München 2001
• Hiltgard L. Keller: Reclams Lexikon der Heiligen und der biblischen Gestalten. Reclam, Ditzingen 1984
• http://www.glaubenszeugen.de/kalender/w/kalw024.htm
• Charlotte Bretscher-Gisinger, Thomas Meier (Hg.): Lexikon des Mittelalters. CD-ROM-Ausgabe J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2000
• Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, begr. von Michael Buchberger. Hrsg. von Walter Kasper, 3., völlig neu bearb. Aufl. Bd. 10. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2001
• http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/Home/Nachrichten/Startseite/Artikel,-Heiliges-Wasser-soll-vor-Unheil-schuetzen-_arid,2183313_regid,2_puid,2_pageid,4288.html
• https://de.catholicnewsagency.com/story/dorf-des-petrus-haben-archaologen-wirklich-eine-verlorene-stadt-der-apostel-entdeckt-2185 - abgerufen am 30.04.2023
•
https://www.donaukurier.de/lokales/eichstaett/Dort-wandern-wo-sich-die-Heiligen-getroffen-haben;art575,4596967
- abgerufen am 30.04.2023
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel Willibald von Eichstätt, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienW/Willibald_von_Eichstaett.html, abgerufen am 3. 7. 2023
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
Heiligenlexikon in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte
bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://d-nb.info/1175439177 und http://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienW/Willibald_von_Eichstaett.html
Katholische
Filialkirche St. Willibald in Engelthal
Huneberc of Heidenheim: The Hodoeporican of St. Willibald, 8th Century : https://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/willibald.asp ;
Voir aussi : http://www.villemagne.net/site_fr/jerusalem-willibald.php
http://www.heiligenlegenden.de/literatur/bavaria-sancta/zweiter-abschnitt/willibald/home.html
