Swidger

Saint Swidger (also Suitger ; † November 19, 1011 ) was Bishop of Munster from 993 until his death .

Life

His year of birth is unknown. His name means something like "strong as a spear." He came from a Saxon noble family . It was the family circle of the Counts of Morsleben-Hornburg. The family circle was probably the same from which his predecessor Dodo came. The later Bishop of Bamberg Suitger, who called himself Pope Clement II , also belonged to the family . Suitger was his uncle and probably also the eponymous godfather of the future Pope.

Suitger was a cathedral canon in Halberstadt . He was educated there too. Possibly he also held prebenden in Magdeburg and Münster .

Otto III. appointed him bishop of Munster. In addition to Suitger's pious disposition, the family closeness to the Ottonians also played a role. He probably took office in 993. The good relations with the emperor continued. In 997 Otto III. a blood relic of St. Paul to the bishop for the cathedral in Münster . As in Aachen and Halberstadt , he also donated a royal priest.

The relationship between Swidger and the cathedral chapter was problematic . The division of the foundation's assets between the bishop and the cathedral chapter was particularly controversial. This process had been in flux for a long time. There are legendary reports according to which Swidger had to answer for a farm day in Worms . It is documented that the bishop was on a trip to the West Franconian Empire in Worms in 994 and that the emperor was also nearby. The legend is adorned with miracle stories. Doves are said to have accompanied the bishop to testify to the emperor that he was innocent.

A record of Swidger's activity in the Reich Service for Otto III. does not exist. He seems to have been more active in church politics. In 995 he took part in a synod in Mouzon . The fact that Swidger was one of the few bishops from the East Franconian Empire to take part is likely to have something to do with his proximity to the imperial family. In 1005 he took part in a synod in Dortmund , at which the participants, in addition to numerous bishops, King Heinrich II and his wife Kunigunde, concluded a fraternity to commemorate each other's deaths. Swidger was also present at the Synod of Frankfurt in 1007, when the Bamberg diocese was founded.

The bishop suffered from a serious illness. After enduring this with great patience, he died on November 19, 1011. The remains of Swidger were probably buried in the previous building of St. Paul's Cathedral. He was the last bishop to be buried there. After the final demolition in the 14th century, his bones were probably transferred to the so-called Old Cathedral.

The worship of Swidger associated with miraculous accounts began as early as the Middle Ages. There is a reliquary that probably dates from the end of the 13th century and also contains the remains of the bishop. Apart from Liudger , the chronicles do not show a Münster bishop about whom more legends are reported. But he was neither part of the regional popular piety nor was he considered a saint. Only in the baroque period at the time of Christoph Bernhard von Galen did a stronger interest in Swidger arise again. In 1652 miracles are said to have happened at his grave and a vita of the bishop was written. His canonization is said to have been requested during this time. Swidger's feast day is November 19th.

literature

• Wilhelm Kohl: The diocese of Münster. The Diocese 3. Berlin, New York, 2003 pp. 71–81 (Germania Sacra NF 7.3)
• Ekkart Sauser :  Swidger. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 17, Bautz, Herzberg 2000, ISBN 3-88309-080-8 , Sp. 1346.

predecessor	Office	successor
Dodo	Bishop of Munster 993-1011	Dietrich I.