13/07/2022
St. Henry
St. Henry was born on May 6, 972 in Bavaria. His father was Henry, Duke of Bavaria and mother Gisella, daughter of Conrad, King of Burgundy. St. Henry succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria in 995 and reigned till 1004. After the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto-III at age 21 without leaving an heir to the throne, Henry tried to become king but failed in his attempt. Since Henry belongs to the Bavarian branch and not the Saxon branch of the Ottoman Dynasty, the princes and other nobles did not support Henry for the position of king. But Henry announced himself the King of Germany by taking the name Henry-II and crowned King by the arch-bishop Willigis, the arch-bishop of Mainz on June 7, 1002. He also became king of Italy on May 15, 1004. After some political maneuvers, Henry-II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by pope Benedict-VIII at the ST. Peterβs Basilica on February 14, 1014. On this occasion Henry-II confirmed the sovereignty of the Pope over Rome and the exarchate of Ravenna. St. Henry supported the church in a big way. He also employed Catholic clergy as a counter weight to the secular nobility. He and his wife Queen Cunegunde of Luxemburg lived in perpetual chastity, to which they bound themselves by a vow, resulting in no children for them and no heir to the throne. In his life, Henry-II became an oblate of the Benedictine Order. When the nobles revolted against him, he suppressed them with the help of the catholic clergy. It is said that once Henry-II begged the pardon of Herbert, Bishop of Cologne, for treating the bishop in an earlier occasion with coldness due to some misunderstanding.
Henry-II was canonized by pope Eugenius-III in July 1147. His wife Cunegunde of Luxemburg was also canonized by pope Innocent-III in 1200.
July 13,2022
