Henry II was born in Italy on 6 May 973. He was the last ruler of the Ottonian line. Henry was appointed as Duke of Bavaria in 995, became King of the Romans in 1002, was made King of Italy in 1004 and crowned as emperor by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.

He was the son of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, and his wife Gisela of Burgundy. German king Henry the Fowler was the great-grandfather of Emperor Henry II. Since his father had rebelled against two previous emperors, Henry spent long periods of time in exile, where he turned to Christianity at an early age, first finding refuge with the Bishop of Freising and later during his education at the cathedral school in Hildesheim.

Henry consolidated his power by cultivating personal and political ties with the Catholic Church. He greatly expanded the Ottonian dynasty's custom of employing clerics as counter-weights against secular nobles. Through donations to the Church and the establishment of new dioceses, Henry strengthened imperial rule across the Empire and increased control over ecclesiastical affairs. He stressed service to the Church and promoted monastic reform.

Henry died on 13 July 1024, and for his remarkable personal piety and enthusiastic promotion of the Church, he was canonized by Pope Eugene III in 1146; his spouse, Cunigunde was canonized on 29 March 1200 by Pope Innocent III.

Henry II is the only medieval German monarch to ever have been honoured a saint. His relics were carried on campaigns against heretics in the 1160s.

Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Clelia Barbieri
2. Saint Dogfan
3. Saint Francis Solano
4. Saint Teresa de los Andes
5. Saint Serapion

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