Saint of the Day – 3 August – St Benno of Einsiedeln (Died 940) Bishop

Saint of the Day – 3 August – St Benno of Einsiedeln (Died 940) Bishop of Metz, Hermit, Monk, Co-founder of the renowned Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland. Born in the late 9th Century in Swabia (part of modern Germany) and died on 3 August 940 in Einsiedeln, Switzerland of natural causes. Also known as – Benno of Metz.

Born in the late 9th Century in the Swabian region of Germany, Benno was a member of the Duke of Swabia’s noble family. But Benno chose rather the service of the Lord and he became a hermit in Einsiedeln and is, together with his kinsman, St Eberhard, the founder of the Monastery there.

After Ordination to the Priesthood, he served as a Canon at Strasbourg in France. In 906, he retired to the former hermitage of St Meinrad, on Mount Etzel near Lake Zurich in Switzerland. There Benno rebuilt Meinrad’s Chapel, restored the miraculous Statue of Our Lady of Einsiedeln to a place of honour and soon attracted a group of disciples.

In 927, Benno was named Bishop of Metz in France, by King Henry I of Germany, in opposition to the locally elected candidate. Bishop Benno was attacked and blinded by the disgruntled opposition of his Diocese and in 929 he resigned his office and returned to his hermitage at Einsiedeln. He was joined by his kinsman St Eberhard in 934 and the Benedictine Monastery was soon established.

Benno lived his remaining years as a Monk in peace at the Monastery until his death on 3 August in the year 940, his Feast day. Benno’s Relics are kept at Einsiedeln Abbey.