Saints of The Day: September 8th St. Corbinian

Though St. Corbinian was a great Apostle of Bavaria, he was a native of Chatres, in France. He lived alone in a cell close to a chapel for fourteen years. He was sought out for spiritual counsel, and the occurrence of miracles made his holiness further known.

Various people desired to form a community with him as their superior, but the disruption in his life caused by the duties that this undertaking required made him decide to go to Rome. A tradition relates that on his way there, after a bear killed his pack horse, he had his servant place his pack on the back of the bear and proceeded with it to the Eternal City. At some point, St. Corbinian was made a bishop, and Pope St. Gregory II sent him to Bavaria.

In Freising, he preached with great success. St. Corbinian had been protected by Duke Grimoald, but when the Duke disobeyed Church law and married the widow of his brother without a dispensation, Corbinian condemned the union. The widow, Biltrudis, plotted to have Corbinian killed, but he fled to Meran. Eventually the Duke died in battle. Corbinian was originally buried at a monastery he had founded in Meran, but his body was later moved to Freising.

Excerpted from 2009 Saints Calendar, Tan Books and Publishers

Patron: Freising, Germany; Archdiocese of Munich, Germany.

Symbols: Bear, bishop making a bear carry his luggage; bishop with a bear and mule.

(ADDITIONAL SOURCE : www.catholicculture.org)