Saint of the Day – 15 December – Saint Adalbero (c958- 1005) Bishop of Verdun and Metz, France, Reformer, founder of Churches and Monasteries, Apostle of those in need, he led an ascetic and devout life. Born in c958 in Upper Lorraine in France and died in Metz on 14 December 1005 of natural causes. Also known as – Adalbéron, also: of Upper Lorraine, Adalbero of Verdun.
Adalbero son of Duke Frederick I of Upper Lorraine and Beatrice, a sister of the Frankish King Hugh Capet, was educated in the Benedictine Monastery in Gorze near Metz. In 984 he became the Bishop of Verdun as Adalbero I and, in the same year, the Bishop of Metz . He was praised for his friendly nature, his ascetic lifestyle and his generosity. In Metz and Lorraine, he promoted the reforms of Cluny in the Monasteries and in Metz, he founded the Abbey of Saint-Symphorien.
When a plague struck the city of Metz, he turned his bishop’s palace into a hospital and also cared for victims of the plague himself.
In 999, Adalbero was given the Castle – on the site of the present Palace – in Saarbrücken and with it the rule over the City and its surroundings by Emperor Otto III. In the jubilee year 1000, he made a pilgrimage to Rome . After his return, he fell ill with gout and, at the end of his life, he gave his money to Churches and to the poor.
AnaStpaul 