Introduction

I am a Benedictine Oblate of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. Henry is my oblate name. An oblate gets to choose a new name. It is similar to when we chose a confirmation name. A monk or a nun also gets a new name. They actually use their new name. My legal name remains the same. Henry is added as a middle name and is only used with the Benedictines, and even then, it is rare. 

I chose Henry for several reasons. He is a patron saint of oblates. He was married. He had secular duties. He was German. Also, my father's middle name was Henry. My Grandfather's middle name was Henry. My Great Grandfather's first name was Henry. There is a stained-glass window at the Archabbey Church of St. Henry. In my novice year study materials, St. Henry was recommended as a Saint to learn about. I became an oblate in 2024. That was 1000 years after Henry's death in 1024.  

After becoming an oblate and taking the name Henry, I tried to learn about St. Henry. It was difficult to get beyond his political career when using English language resources. This blog will seek to present a more rounded picture of Henry. I intend to search out documents in their original languages and use Google to translate those documents. 

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