Saint of the Day – 4 June – Blessed Werner von Ellerbach (Died 1126) Abbot.

Saint of the Day – 4 June – Blessed Werner von Ellerbach (Died 1126) Abbot. Died on 2 April, 2 May or 4 June (records vary) 1126 at Wiblingen Abbey near Ulm, Germany of natural causes. Also known as – Werner of Wiblingen, Varnerio.

Werner was a Benedictine Monk of the Black Forest Abbey of St Blaise, who lived between the 11th and 12th centuries.

He was sent as the first Abbot to Wiblingen, near Ulm, after the foundation of the Benedictine Monastery there in 1093 by Hartmann of Swabia, Count of Kirchberg and his brother, Otto. The Abbey was consecrated in 1099 and the Counts donated to it a piece of the Holy Cross which they had obtained by participating in the first Crusade. The Abbey then became a magnet for pilgrims to Wiblingen to venerate the Holy Cross Relic. Under Werner’s administration it also became renowned for learning and its magnificent Library.

According to the list of Abbots, Werner probably died on 2 April 1126, while according to a manuscript by St Blaisen he died on 2 May. According to another author, Blessed Werner died on 4 June, the date on which he is celebrated and remembered in the Monastery.

In the ancient Church of the Monastery the tomb of Blessed Werner was located in front of the Altar of the Holy Cross and the funeral slab was raised and placed on some columns.

Between 20 and 21 March 1782, the remains of Blessed Werner were enshrined with a bronze plaque. Some relics of Blessed Werner were donated to St Blaise Abbey.

Until the Thirty Years’ War, Wernerbrote loaves were blessed every year in the Wiblingen Monastery and distributed to protect against disease.