Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/707

 WILLIBRORD

645

WILLIGIS

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 Eichstiitt. Possibly the ordination of Willibald was connected with Boniface's missionary plans regarding the Slavs. On 21 Oct., 741 (742), Boniface conse- crated him bishop at Siilzenbriicken near Gotha. The Diocese of Eichstiitt was formed a few years later. Winnebald had, after the departure of his brother for Palestine, hved in a monastery at Rome. In 7.30 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 promi.se that Winnebald would go to Germany. Winnebald arrived in Thuringia on 30 Nov., 740, and was ordained priest. He took part in the Concilium Ger- manicum, 21 Apr., 744 ((42), was present at the Synod of Liptine, 1 March, 74.5 (743), subscribed Pepin's donation to Fulda, 753; joined the League of Attigny in 762; and subscribed the last will of Remi- gius, Bi.shop of Strasburg. With his brother he founded the double monastery of Heidenheim in 7.52; 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 Bene- dictine Martyrologj'. Willibald blessed the new church of Heidenheim in 778. His feast occurs in the Roman MartjTology 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.

Hi.s life wa-i writtpn by a nun of Heidenheim. The chief eon- tents are the Hodaporicon or Ilinerarium of St. WiUibald. This appeared in Mabillon. Ada SS. O. S. B., HI, 2, 367, and was again edited bv Tobler (Leipzig, 1874), and bv BRtJcKL (Eich- stiitt, 1882): Newmans, The Family of St. Richard (London, 1844); Ada SS.. July, U, 485; Analed. bolt.. XXIII. 466. On the difference in dates see H.\ucK, Kirchengesch. Deulfichl.. I (Leipzig, 1904), 520; Hefele-Leclercq, Hist, des candles. Ill (Paris, 1910), 815; Hist. Jahrbuch, XXII. 317.

Francis Mershman.

Willibrord, Saint, Bishop of Utrecht, Apostle of the Frisians, and .son of St. Hilgis, b. in North- umbria, 6.58; d. at Echternach, Luxemburg, 7 Nov., 739. Willibrord made his early studies at the Abbey of Ripon near York, as a disciple of St. Wilfrid, and then entered the Benedictine Order. When twenty years old he went to Ireland and spent twelve years m the Abbey of Rathmelsigi (identified by some as Mellifont in Co. Louth) under St. Egbert. From him Willibrord and eleven companions received the mission to Frisia, at the request of Pepin. They came to Utrecht but did not remain there, repairing instead to the court of Pepin. In 692 Wilhbrord went to Rome, received Apostolic authorization, and returned to his missionary labours. At the wish of Pepin he went a second time to Rome, was consecrated Bishop of the Fri.sians by Sergius III (21 Nov., 695) in the Church of St. Cecilia, and given the name of Clement. He also received the pallium from the pope. On his return he laboured among the people assigned to him; to raise recruits for future apostolic work he founded a monasterj- at Utrecht, where alsfo he built a church in honour of the Holy Redeemer and made it his cathedral. In 69S he established an abbey at the Villa Echternach on the Sure; this villa had been presented to him by St. Irmina, daughter of St. Dagobert II, the donation being legally confirmed in 706.

When Radbod gained pos.se8sion of all Frisia (716) Willibrord was obligeil to leave, and Radbod de- stroyed most of the churches, rei)laced them by tem- ples and shrines to the idols, and killed many of the mi.s.sionaries. Willibrord and his companions made trips between the Maas :ind the Waal, to the North of Brabant, in Thuringia :ind GeUlria, but met with no success in lienmark and Helgoland, .\fter the death of Radbod he returned (719) and repaired the damages

done there, being ably assisted in this work by St. Boniface. Numberless conversions were the result of their labours. Willibrord frequently retired to the Abbey of Echternach to provide more particularly for his own soul; he was buried in the oratory of this abbey, and after death was almost immediately hon- oured as a saint. Some relics were distributed in vari- ous churches, but the greater part remained at the abbey. On 19 Oct., 1031, the relics were placed in a shrine under the main altar of the new basilica. His feast is celebrated on 7 Nov., but in England, by order of Leo XIII, on 29 Nov. Since his burial Echter- nach has been a place of pilgrimage, and Alcuin men- tions miracles wrought there. The old church was restored in 1862 and consecrated in Sept., 1868. An- other solemn tninslation of the relics took place on 4 June, 1906, froni the Church of St. Peter to the new basiUca. On this occasion occurred also the annual procession of the holy dancers (see Echternach, Abbey of. — The Dancing Proces.non). Five bishops in full pontificals assisted; engaged in the dance were 2 Swiss guards, 16 standard-bearers, 3045 singers, 136 priests, 426 musicians, 15,085 dancers, and 2032 players (Studien u. Mittheilungen, 1906, 551).

No writing can with certainty be attributed to St. Willibrord except a marginal note in the Calendar of Echternach giving some chronological data. On his testament or last will, which is probably genuine, see "Acta SS.", Ill Nov., 631. In the national library of Paris (No. 9389) there is a copy of the Gospels under the name of Wilhbrord; this is an old Irish manuscript and was probably brought by Willibrord from Ireland (Bellesheim, "Gesch. der kath. Kirche in Irland", I, Mainz, 1890, 623).

The Life was written bv ALcriN and dedicated to Beornrad, (Abbot of EclitrTiiarlil. He probably made use of an older one written by a. '^rotti^h ni.,i,k, which is lost. This was used also by Theofric, I ii, l:.t. r ,.l,i,„ns see Anal. Boll., XXII. 419; XXIII, 111; XXV, lii:i; XX\1.73; Wattenbach, Deutschl. Geschichls- Quellen, I (Stuttgart, 19U4), 148, 186.

Francis Mershman.

Willigis (WiLLEGis), Saint, Archbishop of Mainz, d. 23 Feb., 1011. Feast, 23 Feb. or 18 April. Though of humble birth he received a good education, and through the influence of BLshop Volkold of Meissen entered the service of Otto I, and after 971 figured as chancellor of Germany. Otto II in 975 made him Archbishop of Mainz and Archchancellor of the Em- pire, in which capacity he did valuable service to the State. Hauch (Kirchengesch. Deutschland.s, III, Leipzig, 1906, 414) calls him an ideal bishop of the tenth century. Well educated himself, he demanded solid learning in his clergj*. He was known as a good and fluent speaker. In March, 975, he received the pallium from Benedict VII and was named Primate of Germany. As such, on Christmas, 983, he crowned Otto III at Aachen, and in June, 1002, per- formed the coronation of Henry II at Mainz; he pre- sided at the Synod of Frankfort, 1007, at which thirty- five bi.shops signed the Bull of John XVIII for the erection of the Diocese of Bamberg. He always stood in friendly relations with Rome ("Katholik", 1911, 142). In 996 he was in the retinue of Otto III on his journey to Italy, a.ssisted at the consecration of Gregory V antl at the synod convened a few days later. In this synod Willigis strongly urged the re- turn of St. Adalbert to Prague, which diocese was a suffragan of Mainz. Willigis had probably conse- crated the first bishop, Thiet mar (January, 976), at Brumath in Alsace (Hauch, III, 193), and had con- secrated St. .Adalbert. The latter, unable to bear the opposition to his labours, left his diocese and was, after much correspondence between the Holy See and Willigis, forced to ret tun.

In 997 (iregory V sent the decrees of a synod of Pavia to Willigis, "his vicar", for publication. These friendly relations were somewhat disturbed by the dispute of Willigis with the Bishop of Hildesheim