Saint of the Day – 15 June – Saint Isfrid of Ratzeburg O.Praem (c 1115-1204)

Saint of the Day – 15 June – Saint Isfrid of Ratzeburg O.Praem (c 1115-1204) Bishop of Ratzeburg, Confessor, Spiritual advisor, Missionary, Mediator and Peacemaker, a renowned Administrator and gentle corrector of his flock, whom he protected against political abuses, Defender of the Pope and the Holy See. Istfrid also built and restored Churches and Monasteries and established many new Parishes. Born in c.1125 in Germany and died on 15 June 1204 at Ratzeburg, Holstein, Germany of natural causes, aged 89. Additional Memorial – 17 February in the Diocese of Osnabrück, Germany and the Archdiocese of Hamburg, Germany. Also known as – Isfried, Isfrido.

Isfrid was born around 1115 in Germany. Nothing is known about his early years. He entered the Order of the Premonstratensians, which is also called the Norbertines, after its founder, St Norbert of Xanten (1080-1134), or White Canons, after the colour of their habit.

Istfrid became a Canon in the Monastery in Cappenberg near Selm in Westphalia. In 1159 he was elected the first Prior of the Monastery of Jerichow near Berlin. There he built a magnificent Romanesque Church.

At the request of Henrik Löwe, Duke of Saxony, the Norbertines of Magdeburg had turned their attention to the conversion of the pagan Vendors, a common name for the Slavic tribes on the Elbe and the Baltic Sea. Saint Evermod was elected by Henrik Löwe, as the first Bishop of the restored Diocese of Ratzeburg in northern Germany. Upon the death of St Evermod, Istfrid was proposed as his successor. But strife over this election led to a two-year sedis vacancy. But the battle was ended through Henrik Löwe’s intervention and in 1180, Isfrid was finally elected, as the second Bishop of Ratzeburg. The medieval chronicle describes him as sanctus sancti successor – a saint who succeeds a saint.

Isfrid completed the construction of the Cathedral, which was begun by Evermod. He was known for his organisational skills and created many Parishes. He also worked tirelessly for the German colonisation of the land of the Vendians. Against himself, he tended to be strict in his penance but against the rebellious, he was a gentle judge and tried to convince them and win them over through his preaching. In 1190 he visited the Monastery of Floreffe in present-day Belgium, which had been destroyed by fire. According to Arnold of Lübeck, he succeeded in recalling all the Canons who had been scattered in all directions over the past year and a half. He restored the Monastery and Consecrated seven Altars in one day. The same year, he also Consecrated the Romanesque Church in Postel, a daughter house of Floreffe.

Isfrid was the Confessor and friend of Duke Henrik Löwe, a pious layman who enthusiastically supported Isfrid in his project to continue the missionary work of the invaders that Evermod had started. But Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (1152-90; Emperor from 1155) wrongly took from Henrik his possessions and gave them to Bernhard of Anhalt. In the battle between the imperial party stauferne and the papal party, Isfrid took the side of the defeated Henrik Löwe, as he had once sworn allegiance to him, despite all threats and protests.

Isfrid also defended the rights of his people against the intrigues of Emperor Fredrik and his vassal, Bernhard of Anhalt. Bernhard punished anyone who disliked the Emperor’s policy towards the Pope or who sympathised with Duke Henrik. Isfrid bore these persecutions with dignity and patience until Henrik was finally reconciled with the Emperor, who returned to him the duchy. Isfrid remained Duke Henrik’s Confessor and spiritual guide and when Henrik was dying in 1195, Isfrid went to him to hear his Confession, give him absolution and the last Sacraments before he died on 6 August 1195. In the old annals of Stederburg, Isfrid is called, “a man who excelled in Christian wisdom, humility and strength.”

In 1195, the Canons at the Chapter in Schwerin, which was composed of both Saxons and Wends, could not agree on the election of a Bishop. Isfrid was asked by the Pope to mediate and judge between the candidates and the choice fell on Brunward, one of the first converts to receive the Episcopal honour.

Isfrid died on 15 June 1204 in Ratzeburg, aged 89 and was buried in the choir in his Cathedral, next to his predecessor St Evermod. His reputation for holiness spread rapidly and miracles continued to occur after his death. Pope Benedict XIII (1724-1730), confirmed his cult on 26 March and 12 April 1728, along with a number of other Premonstratensians.

His memorial day is the day of his death, 15 June. In the Diocese of Osnabrück he is commemorated on 17 February with two other Bishops of Ratzeburg, Saints Evermod (1154-1178) and Ludolf (1236-1250), both of whom, were PremonstratensianS. Because Ratzeburg in the state of Schleswig-Holstein is today located in the newly established Catholic Diocese of Hamburg (1995), the three holy Bishops were transferred from the calendar of the Diocese of Osnabrück to the calendar of the Archdiocese of Hamburg. He is depicted as a Bishop, with the water that turned into wine and with the blind man for whom he prayed that his sight be restored, which God approved.