Willigis (Willigiso), Saint

WILLIGIS (Willigiso), Saint. - Archbishop of Mainz, one of the best statesmen of the 10th century, b. at Schüningen to a poor family, d. at Mainz on 23 February 1011.

He was a canon at Hildesheim when in 970 he was summoned to court by the Emperor Otto II, who in 971 appointed him chief chaplain of his private chapel and chancellor of Germany, and in 975 archbishop of Mainz and chief chancellor of the Empire. He played a decisive part in the political affairs of that time; indeed, through him the underage Otto III preserved the crown, which he received from the archbishop in 983 at Aachen; on the death of the Empress Theophanu he cooperated in the government with the Empress Adelaide, and when the young Emperor died, at the age of 21, he compelled his cousin Henry of Bavaria to succeed him. All this without forgetting his ecclesiastical duties. He propagated the faith, in fact, in Schleswig, in Holstein, in Denmark and in Sweden, taking particular care in the choice of bishops. He built and restored various churches, erected the collegiate churches of St. Stephen and St. Victor; he rebuilt the Cathedral twice, established monasteries; he promoted art and science; alongside the cathedral school, in which he himself taught, he caused the school of St. Alban to flourish. He always maintained excellent relations with the Holy See, and Benedict VII invested him with the pallium. He had only one dispute with the bishop of Hildesheim over the nunnery and the Church of Gandersheim, on the border between the two dioceses: Rome decided against him, and he humbly submitted. He was venerated as a saint at Mainz and in various other dioceses of Germany. Feast day 23 February.

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