ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH
Saints celebrated on the 16th of March
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 HERIBERT, ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
Saint Heribert was Archbishop of Cologne; he was born at Worms, c. 970 and died at Cologne, March 16, 1021. His father was Duke Hugo of Worms.
HE SPENT SOME TIME AT THE MONASTERY OF GORZE
After receiving his education at the cathedral school of Worms, he spent some time as guest at the monastery of Gorze, after which he became provost at the cathedral of Worms.
HE WAS ORDAINED PRIEST
In 994 he was ordained priest; in the same year King Otto III appointed him chancellor for Italy and four years later also for Germany, a position which he held until the death of Otto III on January 23, 1002. As chancellor he was the most influential adviser of Otto III, whom he accompanied to Rome in 906 and again in 997.
HE RECEIVED THE PALLIUM ON JULY 9, 999
He was still in Italy when, in 999, he was elected Archbishop of Cologne. At Benevento he received ecclesiastical investiture and the pallium from Pope Sylvester II on July 9, 999, and on the following Christmas Day he was consecrated at Cologne.
HE WAS HELD CAPTIVE FOR SOME TIME
In 1002 he was present at the death-bed of the youthful emperor at Paterno. While returning to Germany with the emperor’s remains and the imperial insignia, he was held captive for some time by the future King Henry II, whose candidacy he first opposed.
THE KING SAW HIS MISTAKE
As soon as Henry II was elected king, on June 7, 1002, Heribert acknowledged him as such, accompanied him to Rome in 1004, mediated between him and the House of Luxemburg, and served him faithfully in many other ways; but he never won his entire confidence until the year 1021, when the king saw his mistake and humbly begged pardon on the archbishop.
THE MONASTERY AND CHURCH OF DEUTZ
Heribert founded and richly endowed the Benedictine monastery and church of Deutz, where he lies buried. He was already honoured as a saint during his lifetime. Between 1073 and 1075 he was canonised by Pope Gregory VII. His feast is celebrated on March 16.
(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)
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