Wala, Saint (WALA, SANTO) - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XII, p. 1024

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

WALA, saint. - Benedictine, descended from the royal family of the Carolingians, b. c. 755; d. at Bobbio on 31 Aug. 836.

Educated in the palace school, he held, among other offices, that of counsellor to Ludovico il Pio; but he soon withdrew from him, entering the monastery of Corbie, where he held various offices. In 815 he collaborated in the foundations of Corvey and Herdford; he accompanied Lotario on his journey to Rome in 822–25. In 826 he succeeded his brother as abbot of Corbie, where he strove to restore the greatly decayed monastic discipline. He proved a vigorous defender of the sanctity of marriage in the affair of the empress Giuditta and the margrave Bernardo di Septimania, and for this reason was driven into exile (830–33). Gregorio IV sent him to Alsace to settle the dissensions within the imperial family. He died in the abbey of Bobbio, of which he had been appointed abbot.

BIBL.: his life was written by Pascasio Radberto: Vita Walae in forma di dialogo (BHL, 876); PL. 120, 1557-1650; MGH, Scriptores, II, 533-60; J. Mabillon, Acta SS. Ord. 1. Bened., 2ª ed., IV, 1, Venezia 1936, pp. 455-522; G. Rodenberg, Die «Vita Walae» als historische Quelle, Gottling 1877; A. Zimmermann, Kalend. Benedict., III, Metten 1937, pp. 4-8.

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