Saint Benno
| Saint Benno of Meissen | |
|---|---|
|
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| Confessor and Bishop of Meissen | |
| Born |
c. 1010 Hildesheim, Duchy of Saxony |
| Died | 16 June 1106 Meissen, Margraviate of Meissen |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | 31 May 1523 by Pope Adrian VI |
| Major shrine | Munich, formerly Meissen |
| Feast | 16 June |
| Attributes | book, fish with keys in its mouth |
| Patronage | fishermen, weavers, Dresden-Meissen, Munich |
Saint Benno (c. 1010 – 16 June 1106) was named Bishop of Meissen in 1066. Venerated since the 13th century, he was canonized in 1523.
The first Vita was composed in 1460 by one Spedel, a Bendictine monk of St. Michael's monastery in Hildesheim. The second, by Jerome Emser, was published in 1512 as part of the efforts to have Benno canonized. In the last years of the fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century the canons of Meissen and George, Duke of Albertine Saxony, coordinated a campaign to achieve Benno's canonization The canons sought the prestige of a canonized local bishop, and the duke sought a suitable model bishop for the reform of the church.
Little is known of Benno's early life. Born in Hildesheim, it is reported that he was the scion of a Saxon noble family, such as the Woldenburgs; and may have been educated at the monastery of St. Michael in Hildesheim. However it is certain that Benno was a canon of the Goslar chapter. In 1066 he was nominated by King Henry IV to the episcopal see of Meissen.
Benno appears as a supporter of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073, though the chronicler Lambert of Hersfeld and other contemporary authorities attribute little weight to his share in it. Henry IV exiled Benno in 1075, but allowed him to return to his see the following year.
During the fierce Investiture Controversy, Benno supported Pope Gregory, and allegedly took part in the election of antiking Rudolf of Rheinfelden in 1077. After Rudolf's death he turned to the new antiking Hermann of Salm and was accordingly excommunicated and deprived of his bishopric by the 1085 Synod of Mainz. Benno betook himself to Archbishop Guibert of Ravenna, supported by Henry as Antipope Clement III, and by a penitent acknowledgment of his offences obtained from him both absolution and a letter of commendation to Henry, on the basis of which he was restored to his see.
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