July 15 - St. Henry II, Emperor

"Henry the Exuberant"

Henry was born in 972, the oldest of a family of four children. His father was Henry the Quarrelsome, Duke of Bavaria.  His mother was Gisella, daughter of Conrad, King of Burgundy.

Henry's father had rebelled against two previous emperors and spent a lot of time in exile, so as a child Henry was educated in the Christian faith by St. Wolfgang, the Bishop of Regensburg.  Later he was educated at the Hildesheim Cathedral.  Henry was an intelligent and devout student and for a period of time, he was considered for the priesthood. He became well acquainted with ecclesiastical interests at an early age.

St. Wolfgang's lessons in piety and charity left a lasting mark on Henry's soul, but it was ultimately in the political realm, not the Church, that he would exercise these virtues.  When his father died in 995, Henry succeeded him as Duke of Bavaria. Seven years later, his cousin Otto III, the Holy Roman Emperor, died in Rome.  Despite strong opposition from other candidates, Henry was able to secure his own election and was crowned King of Germany.

With all his learning and piety, Henry was an eminently sober man, endowed with sound, practical common sense. This prudence was combined with energy and conscientiousness.

Throughout his reign he sought to strengthen the German monarchy and to help reform and reorganize the Church.  He did use his influence with the Church to expand his own political power, but he was also responsible for establishing the Holy Roman Empire, along with its Christian civilization, across most of Europe at the time. He promoted the institutions of the Church to make them more useful supports of his royal power -- Henry relied on the aid of the Church against lay powers which had become quite formidable.

As king, Henry encouraged the German bishops to reform the practices of the Church in accordance with Canon Law. He built a cathedral, established monasteries, arranged for the care of the poor, and supported religious reforms.  Henry was a great patron of the churches and monasteries, donating much of his wealth to them and making contributions for the relief of the poor.  

Although he was sick and suffering from a fever, he traversed the empire in order to maintain peace.  At all times he used his powers to adjust troubles.  He formed an alliance with St. Stephen, the first King of Hungary and his brother-in-law (he had married Henry's sister, Giselle).  Their friendly relationship ensured that the western borders of Hungary experienced a period of peace in the first decades of the 11th century.

He was married to a woman who was also later canonized, St. Cunigunde of Luxembourg, but the two had no children.  Some accounts say that the couple took vows of virginity and never consummated their marriage.  However, this explanation of their childlessness is not universally accepted.

Henry was particularly active in promoting Benedictine monasticism following a miraculous cure from illness at the Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino.  He became an oblate of the Benedictine Order and today is venerated within the Order as the patron saint of all oblates.

"The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgement: the law of his God is in his heart." - Psalm 36

"Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish: and that hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor treasures.  Who is he, and we will praise him? for he hath done wonderful things in his life." - Sir 31:8-9

O God, Who on this day took St. Henry, thy Confessor, to the everlasting kingdom from the throne of an earthly empire; we humbly beseech thee, that as thou enabled him, protected by the abundance of thy grace, to overcome the temptations of the world, so grant that we, in emulation of him, may shun the allurements of this world and come to thee with pure hearts.