In the eighth century, St. Willibald served as a bishop in Bavaria. He was born on October 21, 700 AD, and passed away in 787 AD. His mother was St. Wuna of Wessex, a sister of St. Boniface, and his father was St. Richard the Pilgrim, the ruler of Wessex. St. Winibald was his brother, and St. Walburga was his sister.
St. Willibard was afflicted with a horrible disease when he was three years old, and his parents pleaded to God. The parents prayed and promised that if their son's life was saved, they would dedicate him to monastery life. He overcame the disease, and at the age of five, he joined a Benedictine monastery.
Abbot Egwald educated him while he was in the monastery, where he was exposed to the Irish and Anglo-Saxon monastic ideal of virtuous rootlessness.
St. Willibald was well renowned for his many travels, and in 721 he and his father and brother embarked on a journey to Rome as part of a pilgrimage. They traveled there by ship, and after landing in France, they began to visit shrines and spend most of their time praying. When they got to Lucca, which is in northern Italy, his father developed a serious illness, and regrettably, he passed away.
Willibald and Winibald continued traveling till they arrived in Rome after successfully burying their father. They went to St. Peter's and the Lateran Basilica when they were in Rome. They strengthened their discipline and devotion during their stay in Italy, but sadly, the two brothers contracted the black plague. In 724, after they had recovered, they went from Rome by water and traveled to Sicily and Greece. Willibald remained at a Rome monastery when his brother left.
Willibald and his seven companions also embarked on a pilgrimage to Palestine that began in 723 and finished in 726, visiting Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Egypt. In addition, they traveled to Cana, Capernaum, Jerusalem, Gaza's harbor cities, Hebron, Lydda, Joppa, Tyre, Sidon, and Samaria.
After spending some time in Tyre, Willibald was eventually able to travel back to Constantinople, where he spent the years 727–729 living in a modest room in the Church of the Holy Apostles. He devoted his time to reviewing the records of the first Nicene council, which Emperor Constantine organized.
After Constantinople, he traveled to Sicily, and around seven years after leaving Italy, he arrived in Naples. St. Willibald entered the Benedictine community at Monte Casino with his final companion, Tidbercht. He spent more than ten years in Monte Casino and another in a nearby Benedictine monastery, working as a sacristan, dean, and porter during his time there. He also spoke to the locals about his travels.
Saint Boniface asked the Pope in 738 for permission to use St. Willibald as a helper in his missions in Germany. The pope approved St. Boniface's request because he was impressed with St. Willibald's travel background.
Boniface gave St. Willibald his priestly ordination in 741 and asked him to start a mission in Eichstatt. After a year, he received a summons to Thuringia, where he finally saw his brother Winibald after more than eight years. Willibald was ordained by St. Boniface as the Bishop of Eichstatt in 746. Willibald's most effective missionary work took place at Eichstatt, though there are no records of how many people were converted there.
St. Willibald resided in the monastery and gave talks about his travels and monasticism to guests from all across Europe.
St. Willibald, whose feast day is on July 7, is the patron saint of the German diocese of Eichstatt.
Other Saints of the Day
Saint Felix of Nantes
Saint Medran & Odran
Saint Apollonius
Saint Maolruain
Saint Ethelburga