Willehad or Willihad ( la, Willehadus/Willihadus); 745 AD 8 November 789) was a Christian missionary and possibly the

Bishop of Bremen This list records the bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (german: link=no, Bistum Bremen), supposedly a suffragan of the Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were in personal union archbishops of Hamburg (sim ...

from 787 AD. Willehad was born in

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

and probably received his education at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

under Ecgbert. He was ordained after his education, and about the year 766, he went to Frisia, preaching at

Dokkum Dokkum is a Dutch fortified city in the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland. It has 12,669 inhabitants (February 8, 2020). The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the ''bolwerken'' (bulwarks). ...

and in Overijssel,Butler, Alban. ''the Lives of the Saints'', Vol. XI, 1866
/ref> to continue the missionary work of

Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations o ...

who had been martyred by the Frisians in 754. At an assembly in

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

in 777,

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

was divided into missionary zones. The zone between the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

and the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

, called ''Wigmodia'', was given to Willehad. From 780 Willehad preached in the region of the lower

Weser River The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Br ...

on commission from

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

. He barely escaped with his life when the Frisians wanted to kill him as well and he returned to the area around

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

. Once again he and his fellow missionaries barely escaped with their lives when the local pagans wanted to kill them for destroying some temples. Finally, in 780,

sent him to evangelize the Saxons. He preached to them for two years but, in 782, the Saxons under

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish province, massacred th ...

, rebelled against Charlemagne and Willehad was forced to flee to Frisia. He took the opportunity to travel to Rome where he reported to Pope

Adrian I Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman. Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...

on his work. Upon his return from Rome, Willehad retired for a time to the monastery of

Echternach Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in ...

, in present-day

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. He spent two years there reassembling his missionary team. After Charlemagne's conquest of the Saxons, Willehad preached in the region around the lower Elbe and the lower Weser. In 787 Willehad was consecrated bishop, and that part of Saxony and Friesland near the mouth of the Weser was assigned to him for his diocese. He chose as his see the city of Bremen, which is mentioned for the first time in documents of 782, and built a cathedral there. Praised for its beauty by Anschar, it was dedicated in 789.Lins, Joseph. "Bremen." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 19 May 2013
/ref> Willehad died in Blexen upon Weser, today a part of

Nordenham Nordenham () is a town in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located at the mouth (on the west bank) of the Weser river on the Butjadingen peninsula on the coast of the North Sea. The seaport city of Bremerhaven is located ...

. He is buried in the city's cathedral, which he consecrated shortly before his death on 8 November 789.Mershman, Francis. "St. Willehad." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 19 May 2013
/ref>

Anschar Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North" b ...

compiled a life of Willehad, and the preface which he wrote was considered a masterpiece for that age.Campbell, Thomas. "St. Anschar." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 19 May 2013
/ref> In 860, a sick girl from Wege (

Weyhe Weyhe is a municipality in the district of Diepholz, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south of Bremen. History First mentioned in 860, when a sick girl from "Wege" travelled to the grave of Saint Willehad in Bremen ...

) travelled to his grave. There, she was reportedly cured by a miracle. This was the first time the small village was mentioned in any historical documents.

References

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External links

*
Saint of the Day, November 8: ''Willehad of Bremen''
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org''

at Patron Saints Index

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willehad Of Bremen 789 deaths Northumbrian saints Christian missionaries in Germany Bishops of Bremen 8th-century Christian saints Medieval German saints 740s births 8th-century Frankish bishops

See also

References

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