ST EBERHARD, ARCHBISHOP OF SALZBURG - 22 JUNE

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JUNE

Saints celebrated on the 22nd of June

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.

SAINT EBERHARD, ARCHBISHOP OF SALZBURG 

Eberhard I. [Everard], born c. 1089, came from the Bavarian barons of Sittling-Biburg. In 1133 he became prior and in 1138 abbot of the Biburg monastery founded by his family. As early as 1130, Eberhard had entered the monastery in Fleckening as a monk. 

AN EXEMPLARY LEADER

Finally, in 1147, the Salzburg chapter unanimously appointed him the new archbishop of the diocese, an appointment that Eberhard initially rejected. However, after following this, he became a model leader of the church. During the schism under Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa, the Archbishop remained loyal to Pope Alexander III.

Eberhard I of Salzburg, who was also known as a great admirer of Mary, died on June 22, 1164 in the Cistercian monastery in Rein near Graz. He was buried in Salzburg Cathedral, but his relics were later lost.

EBERHARD'S CRYPT

During excavations on the Salzburg cathedral grounds in 1957, Eberhard's crypt was discovered; it shows Eberhard as archbishop, seated in full episcopal regalia, with a shepherd's crook in one hand and an open book in the other.

Source: Saints and patron saints over the course of the year - Schauber Schindler - Pattloch-Verlag