Adalbero of Würzburg, St.
ADALBERO OF WÜRZBURG, ST.
Bishop; b. c. 1010; d. Lambach Abbey, Oct. 6, 1090. Last of the Carinthian counts of Lambach Wels, he studied at Paris, became a canon of the cathedral of Würzburg, and, named by Emperor Henry III, was consecrated bishop of Würzburg (June 30, 1045). He was a zealous if litigious bishop, maintaining his episcopal rights against both the monastery of Fulda (1049) and the Diocese of Bamberg (1052). During the struggle between King (later Emperor) Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII, he remained loyal to the imperial cause until Henry "excommunicated" the pope (1076). He then broke with Henry and participated actively in his deposition (1077). In 1085, forced from his see by an antibishop, Meginhard, he found final refuge at Lambach, his ancestral monastery, which he himself had reestablished as a Benedictine abbey. His cultus was approved in 1883.
Feast: Oct. 6.
Bibliography: Kirche in der Gesellschaft: Dimensionen der Seelsorge, eds. r. schneider and l. brandl (Passau 1992). p.-w. scheele, Die Herrlichkeit des Herrn: die Lambacher Fresken aus der Zeit des heiligen Adalbero (Würzburg 1990). p. j. jorg, Lexicon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 1:120.
[s. williams]