Sebaldus

Saint Sebaldus
Shrine of St. Sebaldus (containing his relics) in the Sebalduskirche at Nuremberg, the masterpiece of Peter Vischer the Elder and his sons, 1508-19
Died	~770 AD or possibly 11th century
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Canonized	March 26, 1425 by Pope Martin V
Major shrine	St. Sebaldus Church
Feast	August 19
Attributes	pilgrim with the staff and the cap and the beard; later represented with the model of his church; sometimes depicted with the coats of arms of the reigning Houses of France and Denmark
Patronage	against cold and cold weather; Nuremberg; Bavaria

St. Sebaldus of Nuremberg (Sinibald, Sebald) is venerated as the patron saint of Nuremberg, traditional administrative centre of Franconia, and the guarantor of its independence. According to legend Sebaldus was a hermit and a missionary.

Almost all details of the life of Sebaldus are uncertain, beyond his presence in the woodland of Poppenreuth, west of Nuremberg which was explained by his being a hermit. However various legends about his life have been recorded.

One of the earliest legends (ca 1280) claims Sebaldus was a contemporary of Henry III (died 1056) and was of Franconian origin. After a pilgrimage in Italy, he became a preacher at Nuremberg. Another text claims that he was a Frankish nobleman who met Willibald and Winibald in Italy (thus dating his life to the 8th century) and later became a missionary in the Sebalder Reichswald that is associated with his name. Other legends claim he was either the son of the king of Denmark or a student in Paris who married a French princess, but then abandoned her on their wedding night to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. In these versions of the legend the Pope gave Sebaldus the mission of evangelising in the forests of Nuremberg, which gives his ancient presence there a papal authority.

Despite the obscure origins and insecure historicity of the saint himself, the cult of Sebaldus has been long associated with Nuremberg, fostered by the city itself, which became a place of pilgrimage. The earliest existence of his cult can be dated to the late eleventh century, with a passing reference under the year 1072 in the chronicle of Lambert of Hersfeld. in 1255, he became the co-patron, with Saint Peter, of the newly rebuilt parochial church, where his tomb was venerated.

The feast day of St Sebaldus as August 19 appeared in a calendar of Olmütz of 1131-1137, and many children born in that city bore the saint’s name. The relics of the saint were translated in 1397 to the new choir of the church of Saint Sebaldus, and every year his relics were carried in procession. The kings and emperors of Germany, when in Nuremberg, customarily prayed before his reliquary.