Bruno of Würzburg, St.

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BRUNO OF WÜRZBURG, ST.

Bishop and imperial counselor; b. c. 1005; d. Bosenburg, near Linz, May 27, 1045. Bruno, son of Conrad I of Carinthia and cousin of Emperor conrad ii, was probably educated in Salzburg. He was a member of the royal chapel, the imperial chancellor of Italy, and an intimate adviser of Conrad II and Emperor henry iii, before being elected bishop of Würzburg. Bruno rebuilt the cathedral, constructed new churches, and improved education, to which purpose he composed an exegesis on the Psalms, and various catechetical writings. Under his direction the cathedral school flourished. Bruno died accidentally, en route to Hungary with Henry III, and was buried in Würzburg cathedral crypt. His cult spread in Germany, and though never formally canonized, he appears in the martyrology of 1616.

Feast: May 27.

Bibliography: j. baier, Der Heilige Bruno als Katechet. p.-w. scheele, Bruno von Würzburg, Freund Gottes und der Welt (Würzburg 1985). g. allemang, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart (Paris 1912) 10:972. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater, 4 v. (New York 1956) 2:339340. t. kramer, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 195765) 2:733.

[d. andreini]