Archdiocese of Bamberg

 The following is translated from the Bamberg Archdiocese website.

Saint Henry II

Saint Henry II and Saint Cunegonde

Emperor Henry II, patron saint of the diocese

Solemnity (13 July)

St. Henry II is the patron saint of the diocese. He came from the family of the Dukes of Bavaria, became German king in 1002 and crowned emperor in 1014. He secured external and internal peace for the empire, promoted ecclesiastical reform, founded the diocese of Bamberg, founded many monasteries and died on 13 July 1024. He is buried with his wife, St. Cunegonde, in Bamberg Cathedral.

Life and work of Henry II and Kunigunde

Emperor Henry and his wife Kunigunde were already an extraordinary ruling couple during their lifetimes. Henry and Cunegonde were both educated – and very pious. Both advocated church reform, convinced with a consistent church attitude and their zeal for foundations and tried to bring about peace.

Heinrich's education

Henry, born around 973 near Regensburg as the son of the Bavarian Duke Henry "the Quarrel", was first educated by Bishop Abraham of Freising and his mother Gisela, then attended the cathedral school in Hildesheim and was prepared for a clerical career there. From 985 onwards, his father raised him. At this time, Heinrich already came into contact with Bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg and Abbot Romwold of St. Emmeran. He became acquainted with the monastic reform movement from Cluny and Gorze and the associated renewal of monastic life and the external independence of the monasteries.

Marriage to Kunigunde

Around 1000, Henry and Kunigunde married. The future empress came from a large family in Luxembourg and received Bamberg from Heinrich as a wedding gift. Their marriage, which remained childless, was obviously characterized by constant affection.

The way to the king's coronation

Henry's path from Duke of Bavaria to Emperor was long. After all, it was not only Henry who applied to succeed Emperor Otto III. In addition to him, there were Duke Hermann II of Swabia, Duke Dietrich I of Upper Lorraine and the Salian Otto of Worms, among others, who also thought they had good chances. In the end, it was Henry's chutzpé that initially brought him into possession of the imperial insignia: in Polling near Weilheim, he waited for the funeral procession of the dead emperor and took control of the imperial insignia including the holy lance. The holy lance had a special meaning for Henry: his great-grandfather King Henry I had received it from the Burgundian king. Thus, the lance, in which a nail from the cross of Christ was embedded, established the direct connection between the kingship of his great-grandfather and Henry II. Henry moved to Mainz, where he was crowned king on 7 June 1002; Kunigunde's coronation followed on August 10 in Paderborn. Now the starting position after the coronations of Henry and Kunigunde was good to persuade even the last opponents to give in. The last to submit was Duke Hermann II of Swabia.

Henry equips his diocese of Bamberg

Heinrich had probably been planning to establish a bishopric in Bamberg for a very long time. In tough negotiations, he won the approval of the bishops of Würzburg and Eichstätt. His brother, Bishop Brun of Augsburg, and Kunigunde, whose dowry was the subject of the gift, also agreed. Pope John XVIII finally made the diocese an independent diocese. Henry had several reasons for establishing the diocese: First of all, the childless ruler was concerned with his salvation and not being forgotten, as well as with the reorganization of the Upper Main region and the Slavic mission. The motive of not being forgotten despite the childless marriage is also supported by the fact that Henry and Kunigunde concluded a funeral covenant with important princes in 1005. Each participant undertook to pray for the soul of the deceased, to give alms and to have masses read. Even before its foundation in 1007, the construction of the cathedral began. On the day of its foundation in 1007, the new church received numerous donations and the generosity of the imperial couple did not cease in the following years – in the immediate vicinity, the donations included Hallstadt, Forchheim, Fürth, Büchenbach and Herzogenaurach, and outside the diocesan boundaries possessions in Bavaria, Carinthia, Swabia, Thuringia, Saxony and Styria.

Renewing the empire of the Franks

Henry pursued the goal of restoring the empire of the Franks – not least with the help of the church. The problems of his time are obvious: In the east, Polish Duke Boleslaw Chrobry threatened the borders for almost two decades – and there were similar developments in the west and south. Kunigunde seems to have often advised her husband politically – and to have had similar skills. Henry entrusted Kunigunde with the regency of the empire during his two Italian campaigns in 1004 and 1021/22.

Death and veneration

Henry died on 13 July 1024 in the Palatinate of Grone near Göttingen in the presence of Kunigunde. He was buried in Bamberg Cathedral. Cunegonde then ruled the empire for six weeks before the rule passed to Conrad the Elder, Henry's successor. Not much is known about Kunigunde's further life. Very unconventional for the time, the empress dowager entered the nunnery of Kaufungen one year after Henry's death, which she herself had founded after a long illness. She died on 3 March 1033 and was also buried in Bamberg.

Henry was canonized in 1146, Kunigunde in 1200. To this day, the pious ruling couple is revered in Bamberg.