Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 9.djvu/297

 LXHUUOK

ian Society for the protectioa of ^rls etc. There are poeition ol the place for trade and commerce, they 20 charitable institutions under reli^oua admlois' settled there in the ninth centuiy, and from thia at tration (orphanages, working-girlB' homes, hospitals, their etroDKhold they oppressed the natives around etc.). Themoet important church of the diocese is the and plundered the religious establishments along the cathedral at Limburg. It is in the transition style be- Sliannoji. They were severely pimishcd in the end of tween Romanesque and Gothic, and was built in the first third of the thirteenth centuiy, consecrated in 1235, and completely restored 1871-78. The cele- brated treasure of tiie cathedral, containing costly reliquaries of the Byzantine period, etc., is kept in the church of the Franciscans. Other churches of the diocese worthy of special notice are ; the Kaiserdom of St. BartholomewatFrankfort^on-tbo-MQtn, formerly a place of pilgrimage, and tiie church where the German emperors were crowned (see FKANKFoaT-ON-THE- Main), the Romanesque church of the former monas- tery of Augustinian Canons at Dietkirchen near Lim- burp, the oldest church of the diocese (ninth century), the (jothic pilgrimafic church of Bomhofen (fifteenth century); the church of Eltville (fourteenth century), the pilgrimage church of Kiedrich (early fourteenth century), Rudeslieim (1301-1400), the pilgrimage ^urch of St. Martin at Lorch (end of thirteenth cen- tury), the abbey churches of Marienstatt and Ei- bingen, and the Romanesque- Got hie Church of the former Premonstratensian monastery of Amstein-on- the-Lahn, etc.

BAiiL.£nlrA(reiurCi-KAicAlc/,tin6uKri(LimfaurB,18SH. ISW): Ibach. Drr Dom lu Limbun (Umburg, 1S7U) : Luthhek. Du Bav- un<^ Kvnttdmknuiicr att RtviervngabnirkB Wiabadm (H vol!., Fnnkfort, 1002-07): H<)bt.eh. CfKl\'iehlt dtt Bii*M«n lAmlmTB mit baonrlirrr liurktirhtnahme auf dm Lrbat unil Wirktada driUm BiKholt Ptter Jetrph Blum (LimbuiB. 19081; 8dinnatUnn^drrDi\iit,]»i7\ BUpplemoi-

Uiyvol.,iBiO). Joseph Lras.

Umerlek, Diocgbc of (Liugricenbis), in Ireland, includes the greater part of the County of Limerick and a small portion at Clare, and has an area, approxi- mately, of about 500,000 acres. It corresponds with the ancient territory of Hy Fidheheinte. St. Patrick visited the district, and was follo'K'ed in the work of converting the natives by St. Senan, who lived in the sixth century and who was at one time Abbot of Scattery Inland. In the same century lived St. Mun- cliin, Ihciwtron of the diocese, wlio established a mon-

St. John's Cati

astery and school at Munf^t. Tliis school )>ecamo so famous that at one time it had ],.'iO0 students. An olTKhoot from Mungret wan a hcnnitage at Kill-Mua- cbin, near I.imerirk. Thither St. Munchin retired, and Uiere he sjient hiu closing years, anil, no doubt, from this licnnitagc anil from Mungrct the spiritual needs of the surrouniliiig district were supplied. But as vet then- wiiH no eitv uf f.imeriok, anil no dioi'i«e till iiftfr the DniK'H came, (juick Hi discern the a<lvantiigi-nuH

the tenth century by Brian Boroihme, who expelled them from the city, and they were readmitted only as subjects and tributaries of the kings of Thomond. Gradually they became Christians, though they still disliked the Irish, and had their bishops at Limerick consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbuiy and subject to him.

It is said there was a Bishop of Limerick about 1050, but his name and acts are unknown. Wo do know, however, that there was a bishop at Limerick about 1100, a remarkable man, Gillebert liy name. Edu- cated at Bangor, be hod liccn abbot there, and then, having travelled abroad, he met Anselm, Archbishop

and also Apostolic delegate. I'robablv it was under Anscini's advice that he cndea\'ouroa to introduce unity of liturgy in the Irish Church, instead of the be- wildering diversity of Offices and M.is.scs which pre- vailed. He presided at the Svnod of Rathbreasail (1118), where the number and limits of the Irish dio- ceses were determined, when Limerick itself, freed from the jurisdiction of Canterbury, was made subject to Caahel as the metropolitan See of .Munstcr. Gille- hert resigned bis position as papal delegate in 1139 and in the following year died. His immolate successois in the See of Limerick were all Danes; then came Donat O'Brien, of the royal House of Thomond, Dur- ing his episconate (1I7!^1207) the cathedral of St. Mary was built, a cathmlral thapler was set up, and Scatter)' Island was united to Limerick. Meantime the city of Limerick, altj.'rnately ruled by native and Anglo-Norman, was in 1199 taken possession of by de Burgh, who soon ruled with the power of an inde- pendent prince. Under Anglo-Norman rule English influencps pn'Vuiliif. ami for two centuriw l^ie bishops apjioiiiteil Wire i:ri|tlif^!i, or of i:iigli>li descent. Dur-