Conrad of Constance (german: Konrad von Konstanz; la, Conradus, Curtius; 900 26 November 975) was a German

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and saint.

Life

Conrad was a member of the powerful Welf family, son of Count Heinrich of Altdorf. After an education at the cathedral school in Constance, he became provost of

Constance Cathedral Konstanz Minster or Konstanz Cathedral (german: Konstanzer Münster) is a historical building in Konstanz, southern Germany, the proto-cathedral of the former Roman Catholic diocese of Konstanz (dissolved in 1821). History The first mention o ...

and in 934 was made Bishop of Constance. It is counted as one of his achievements that he avoided becoming enmeshed in the politics of the day and reserved his energies for his episcopal duties. He was nevertheless close to Emperor Otto I, whom he accompanied to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 962. Conrad made three pilgrimages to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

as well as a number to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He founded a number of churches on the episcopal estates and the hospital at

Kreuzlingen Kreuzlingen is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in north-eastern Switzerland. It is the seat of the district and is the second-largest city of the canton, after Frauenfeld, with a population of about 22,000 ...

, named after a portion of the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

which Conrad brought back from

and presented to it.

Veneration

His remembrance as a role model for courage was entirely due to the efforts of Bishop Ulrich I of Dillingen, Bishop of Constance (1111–1127). The ''Vita'' of Conrad was written in about 1120 by Udalschalk, a monk of

St. Ulrich's and St. Afra's Abbey, Augsburg St. Ulrich's and St. Afra's Abbey, Augsburg (german: Kloster Sankt Ulrich und Afra Augsburg) is a former Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint Ulrich and Saint Afra in the south of the old city in Augsburg, Bavaria. From the late 16th century ...

, of which he later became abbot (1124 or 1127 to c. 1150 or 1151). Its late date doubtless accounts for its lack of content, notwithstanding which, Conrad was canonised at the First Lateran Council in 1123.

Iconography

Saint Conrad is sometimes represented as a bishop holding a chalice with a

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...

in it or over it. This refers to a story that once when he was celebrating mass a spider fell into the chalice. Spiders were believed at that time to be deadly poisonous, but Conrad nevertheless drank the Blood of Christ, which had been transubstantiated from wine, with the spider in it, as a token of faith. See Cultural depictions of spiders

Sources

*
St. Patrick's Church: Conrad of Constance

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad of Constance German Roman Catholic saints Roman Catholic bishops of Constance 10th-century German bishops 900s births 975 deaths 10th-century Christian saints Elder House of Welf

Life

Veneration

Iconography

See also

Sources

External links