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ST UNNI, BISHOP OF HAMBURG AND BREMEN - 17 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 17th of September

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST UNNI, BISHOP OF HAMBURG AND BREMEN

This saintly Archbishop of Hamburg and Bremen, also called Unnus, Huno and Wenni, was the successor of St  Reginward, who had passed on at Corvey on September 29, 916 (other sources say October 10, 918). 

The clergy and the people had wanted the provost Leidradus as Archbishop, but King Conrad refused to confirm their choice  and appointed his court chaplain Unni instead.

IN THE YEAR 917 HE RECEIVED THE PALLIUM

In the year 917 he received the pallium from the Pope if the relevant document regarding this matter authentic. 

Soon after the accession to the throne of the German King Heinrich I (at the end of 918), favourable prospects opened up for the spread of Christianity in the two dioceses. 

A SAXON COLONY WAS ESTABLISHED 

When Gorm the old, a fierce enemy of Christianity, called "The Cruel" by the Christian writers, was defeated by the same, the border of the empire was extended to Schleswig as a result. A mark was set up between the Eider and Schlei, and a Saxon colony was established there. 

HE IMMEDIATELY WENT TO DENMARK

St Unni immediately went to Denmark, and although he did not win King Gorm, he did win his wife Thyra and his son Harald, surnamed Bluetooth, for the Christian faith. Although he was not yet baptised, he granted the Christians his protection. Thus the churches received priests once more, and the number of believers increased. 

THE CHURCHES RECEIVED PRIESTS ONCE MORE, AND THE NUMBER OF BELIEVERS INCREASED

Our saint travelled to the Danish islands (Eastern Danes) which, until then, no missionary ever had set foot upon, and from there went to Sweden. 

HE WAS SEIZED BY AN ILLNESS

On his return journey, Bremen-bound, at Birka in Sweden, he was seized by an illness which ended his life on September 17, 936. His companions buried him in Birka, where his grave remained in high esteem, but they took his head back with them to Bremen. 

THE SUCCESS OF HIS WORK MUST HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT

Details about the work of the saint have not been reported to us, but the successes of his work must have been significant, because under his successor, St Adeldag, the three dioceses of Schleswig, Ripen and Aarhus, according to documents, had been found to already have been established in the converted countries.

(St Unni is also variously commemorated on October 21, September 15, and September, depending on the calendar.)

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858 - 🎨 Bischop Willehad)



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