Gotthard (or Godehard ) (960 – 5 May 1038 AD ; Latin : Gotthardus, Godehardus ), also known as Gothard or Godehard the Bishop , was a German bishop venerated as a saint .
14-505: Gotthard was born in 960 near Niederaltaich in the diocese of Passau . Gotthard studied the humanities and theology at Niederaltaich Abbey , where his father Ratmund was a vassal of the canons. While at the abbey, Gotthard became a canon under Abbot Erkanbert. Gotthard then continued his studies at the archiepiscopal court of Salzburg , where he served as an ecclesiastical administrator. After traveling through various countries, including Italy , Gotthard completed his advanced studies under
28-614: Is a patron of both Lombardy and his old archdiocese. He was born in Milan around 1096 into the della Sala family which was considered to be minor nobility of the city. He was a strong supporter of the Roman papacy in the schism that erupted in 1159 after the death of Pope Adrian IV . Pope Alexander III was the Roman candidate, while Antipope Victor IV was supported by Frederick Barbarossa and his cardinals . Galdino's Milanese church supported Alexander III, and Galdino, as archdeacon of
42-473: Is best known as the location of Niederaltaich Abbey . This Deggendorf district location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Galdino Galdino della Sala ( c. 1096 – 18 April 1176), Galdinus or Galdimus ( Milanese : Galdin ), was a Roman Catholic saint from Milan in northern Italy . He was a cardinal elevated in 1165 and he also served as Archbishop of Milan from 1166 to his death in 1176. He
56-568: The St.-Gotthard-Gymnasium . Gotthard also became the patron saint of traveling merchants, and thus many churches and chapels were dedicated to him in the Alps . According to an ancient Ticinese tradition, the little church in St. Gotthard Pass ( San Gottardo ) in the Swiss Alps was founded by Galdino , Archbishop of Milan (r. 1166-76). Goffredo da Bussero, however, attributes the founding of
70-661: The titular church of Santa Sabina , and a year later made him the Archbishop of Milan . The year after that, Alexander III made Galdino the apostolic legate for Lombardy . When the Lombard League expelled Barbarossa, Galdino took possession of his see and began deposing any Lombard priests who were faithful to Victor IV. He consecrated new bishops at Lodi , Alba , Cremona , Vercelli , Asti , Turin , Novara , Brescia , and Alessandria . On 18 April 1176 Galdino della Sala died in his pulpit , having just completed
84-536: The 15 years of his episcopal government, while earning the respect of the clergy. He was particularly interested in the education of the young clergy, and he started several schools. The cathedral school in Hildesheim became under him a center for learning. Gotthard ordered the construction of some 30 churches. He founded a monastery beside the chapel on the Zierenberg about 1025 and had a church built there which
98-686: The church to Enrico da Settala , Bishop of Milan from 1213 to 1230. The hospice was entrusted to the care of the Capuchin Order in 1685 by Federico Visconti , and later passed under the control of a confraternity of Ticino. Several places and events are named in honour of the Saint: Niederalteich Niederalteich ( Central Bavarian : Niedaoida ) is a village on the Danube in Bavaria , Germany . It
112-519: The church, took a very public stand. Frederick came to besiege Milan and reduced it within six months. Galdino joined Alexander III in Genoa and followed him to Maguelonne , Montpellier , and Clermont . He later followed him to Sicily and Rome upon his return in 1165. When Alexander returned to the papacy in 1165, he named Galdino in the consistory of 15 December as the Cardinal Priest of
126-467: The episcopate of Bernard, in 1131, and it took place at a synod in Rheims . There, Pope Innocent II , in the presence of Bernard and Norbert of Xanten , officially made Gotthard a saint. On 4 May 1132, Bernard translated Gotthard's relics from the abbatial church to the cathedral at Hildesheim. On 5 May the first liturgical festivity in honor of Gotthard was celebrated. Miracles were attributed to
140-437: The guidance of Liutfrid in the cathedral school at Passau . He then joined the canons at Niederaltaich and was appointed provost . When Henry II of Bavaria decided to transform the chapter house of Niederaltaich into a Benedictine monastery Gotthard remained there as a novice, subsequently becoming a monk there in 990 under the abbot Ercanbertn. In 993, Gotthard was ordained a priest, and later became prior and rector of
154-633: The monastic school. Duke Henry was present at Gotthard's installation as abbot in 996. Gotthard was a dedicated reformer and introduced the Cluniac reforms at Niederaltaich. He helped revive the Rule of St. Benedict , and then trained abbots for the abbeys of Tegernsee , Hersfeld and Kremsmünster to restore Benedictine observance, under the patronage of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor . He succeeded Bernward as bishop of Hildesheim on 2 December 1022, being consecrated by Aribo, Archbishop of Mainz . During
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#1732787496860168-494: The relics. The Gotthard shrine is one of the oldest remaining relic shrines of the Middle Ages, dating from about 1140. Veneration of Gotthard spread to Scandinavia , Switzerland , and Eastern Europe . Gotthard was invoked against fever, dropsy , childhood sicknesses, hailstones , the pain of childbirth, and gout . Niederaltaich Abbey made its famous abbot the patron saint of the abbey's well-known grammar school,
182-599: Was a staunch supporter both of Pope Alexander III , and of Milan and its neighbours in Lombardy , in their joint and parallel struggles against the Antipope Victor IV , supported by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa . He is remembered also for his charity in Milan to the poor and to those imprisoned for debt. Alexander III canonized him as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, and he
196-422: Was dedicated to Saint Maurice and consecrated in 1028. Despite his advanced age, he defended the rights of his diocese vigorously. After a brief sickness, he died on 5 May 1038 at the "Mauritiusstift", the hospice for travelers which he had founded. Gotthard's successors in the episcopate of Hildesheim, Bertold (1119–30) and Bernhard I (1130–53), pushed for his canonization . This was accomplished during
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