ARIBERTO (HARIBERT, commonly HERIBERT), St. — Son of Count Hugh of Worms, b. c. 970, d. March 16, 1021. Educated at Gorze and advisor to Otto III, he was elected archbishop of Cologne in 999. Present at Paterno del Soratte at the death of Otto III in 1002, he brought back the emperor’s body and imperial insignia to his homeland. Opposed by Henry II, he withdrew from politics, devoting himself solely to the spiritual governance of his diocese. In 1002 he founded the Benedictine abbey of Deutz.
His cult is attested by nearly contemporary documents. However, the bull of canonization is considered spurious (Martyr. Romanum, p. 100). His feast is celebrated on March 10, and his translation on August 20. The relics (chasuble and crozier), previously preserved in the abbey church of Deutz, are now housed in the neo-Romanesque church of St. Heribert, along with the famous “Heribertsschrein,” a grand Romanesque reliquary (c. 1170) adorned with enamel roundels.