Saint Corbinian | |
|---|---|
 Saint Corbinian depicted inThe Miracle of the Bear (1489) byJan Polack, Diocesan Museum inFreising, Germany. | |
| Bishop | |
| Born | c. 670 Châtres,Neustria(now France) |
| Died | 8 Septemberc. 730 Freising,Kingdom of the Franks(now Germany) |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 8 September |
| Attributes | Bear; bishop making a bear carry his luggage because it has eaten hismule; bishop with a bear and mule in the background; bishop with DukeGrimoald of Bavaria at his feet[1] |
| Patronage | Freising, Germany;archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Germany[1] |
Saint Corbinian (Latin:Corbinianus;French:Corbinien;German:Korbinian;c. 670 – 8 Septemberc. 730) was aFrankishbishop. After living as a hermit nearChartres for fourteen years, he made a pilgrimage to Rome.Pope Gregory II sent him to Bavaria. His opposition to the marriage of DukeGrimoald of Bavaria to his brother's widow,Biltrudis, caused Corbinian to go into exile for a time. Hisfeast day is 8 September. The commemoration of the translation of his relics is on 20 November.[1]
Corbinian was born and baptised asWaldegiso atChâtres, nearMelun, in Frankish territory. He was named after his father, who may have died when Corbinian was an infant. Soon after his father's death, his mother Corbiniana[2] renamed Waldegiso to "Corbinian", after herself.[3] Nothing else is known of his childhood. The early source for Corbinian's life is theVita Corbiniani of BishopArbeo of Freising.[4]
He lived in Châtres on the road toOrléans as ahermit for fourteen years, near a church dedicated toSaint Germain. His reputation attracted students to him, which distracted him from his hermitage. His devotion toSaint Peter the Apostle prompted a decision to make a journey toRome, accompanied by some of the disciples. While in Rome,Pope Gregory II admonished him to use his talents toevangeliseBavaria. Corbinian, who may already have been a bishop or who was so consecrated by Gregory, was sent to minister toGrimoald, the FrankishDuke of Bavaria.[5] Corbinian probably arrived in Bavaria in 724.[6]
On a mountain nearFreising, where there was already a sanctuary, the saint erected aBenedictinemonastery and a school which, after his death, came to be governed by his brother Erembert. The monastery was dedicated toSaint Vitus and later,Saint Stephen, before becomingWeihenstephan Abbey in the 11th century.
In 738, whenSaint Boniface regulated theecclesial structure in the Duchy of Bavaria by creating fourdioceses to be governed by thearchbishop of Mainz, Erembert was chosen firstBishop of Freising.[7]
Soon after settling, Corbinian denounced Grimoald's marriage to his brother's widow, Biltrudis, though Grimoald had already repented of hisincest. This incited his anger and the chagrin of his wife, whoexcoriated Corbinian, labeling him a foreign interloper. Finally, she arranged to have him murdered. Corbinian fled Freising until Grimoald was killed and Biltrudis carried off by invaders in 725.[3] Corbinian returned on the invitation of Grimoald's successor, Huebert,[8] and continued his apostolic labors at Freising until his own death in 730.
Corbinian's body, buried at Merano, was translated to Freising in 769 by the aforementioned Bishop Arbeo, author of Corbinian'svita, and is now entombed inFreising Cathedral.
Corbinian's symbol is the saddledbear. According to hishagiography, a bear killed Corbinian's pack horse on the way to Rome and so the saint commanded it to carry his load. Once he arrived in Rome, however, he let the bear go, and it lumbered back to its native forest.[9] Both the heraldic element and the legend itself carry significantsymbolism. One interpretation is that the bear tamed byGod's grace is theBishop of Freising himself and the pack saddle is the burden of hisepiscopate.[10] The bear's submission and retreat can also be interpreted as Christianity's "taming" and "domestication" of the ferocity ofpaganism and, consequentially, the laying of a "[foundation] for a great civilization in the Duchy of Bavaria."[9]
Corbinian's Bear is used as the symbol of Freising in both civic and ecclesiasticalheraldry. It appeared on thearms ofPope Benedict XVI, who first adopted the symbol when still known as Joseph Ratzinger, he was appointedArchbishop of Freising-Munich in March 1977.[11] He retained the bear in his revised coat of arms when he was elevated toCardinal in June of the same year, and again on his papal coat of arms when he was elected in 2005.
The scallop shell is a traditional reference to pilgrimage. For Pope Benedict XVI, it also reminded him of the legend according to which one day St. Augustine, pondering the mystery of the Trinity, saw a child at the seashore playing with a shell, trying to put the water of the ocean into a little hole. Then he heard the words: This hole can no more contain the waters of the ocean than your intellect can comprehend the mystery of God. The crowned Moor is a regional motif in heraldry often seen inBavaria, Benedict's German homeland. Benedict has been quoted saying that, in addition to the obvious reference back to Saint Corbinian, thefounder of the diocese where Benedict would become bishop in 1977, the bear represents Benedict himself being "tamed by God" to bear the spiritual burdens of Benedict's own ministries first as bishop, then as cardinal, and now as pope.[12]
Scenes from the life of Saint Corbinian from a panel in thecrypt ofFreising Cathedral.
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