Saint Ulric of Augsburg
Also known as
- Ulric of Augusta
- Udalric
- Udalrich
- Udalricus
- Ubric
- Uldaricus
- Ulderic
- Ulrich
Profile
Son of Count Hucpald and Thetbirga; related to the dukes of Alamannia and the imperial family of the Ottos. He was a sickly child. Educated at the monastic school of Saint Gall where he proved to be an excellent student. Chamberlain to his uncle Blessed Adalbero, bishop of Augsburg. Priest. Bishop of Augsburg on 28 December 923.
Built churches, worked with the sick in hospital, endlessly visited his parishes, set a good example for his priests, brought relics from Rome – and his good work paid off in the form of improved moral and social conditions for both the clergy and laity.
When the Magyars plundered Germany, they besieged Augsburg. Due to Ulric’s courage, his leadership, and his ability to organize the resistance, Augsburg held until Emperor Otto arrived. On 10 August 955, a battle was fought in the Lechfeld, and the invaders finally defeated. Some legends say that Ulrich fought in the battle, but that was impossible.
After 48 years as bishop, an ill and exhausted Ulric resigned his seat, and handed the diocese to his nephew, a move which had the blessing of the emperor, but which the Synod of Ingelheim ruled un-canonical. They charged and tried the aging bishop for nepotism; Ulrich apologized, did penance, and was forgiven, the message of which reached him on his death bed.
A letter circulated for a while that indicated Ulric did not support priestly celibacy, seeing it as an unnecessary burden. However, this was later proven a forgery, and certainly Ulric had enforced the discipline on himself and his clergy.
Ulric was the first Saint canonized by a Pope, which led to the formal process which continues today. Legend has it that pregnant women who drank from his chalice had easy deliveries, and thus his patronage of them, and for easy births. The touch of his pastoral cross was used to heal people bitten by rabid dogs.
Born
- 890 at Kyburg, Zurich, Switzerland
- 4 July 973 at Augsburg, Germany of natural causes
- buried in the Church of Saint Afra
- earth from his grave is reported to repel rodents, and over the centuries, much has been carried away for that purpose
- 3 February 993 by Pope John XV
- against birth complications
- against dizziness
- against faintness
- against fever
- against frenzy
- against mice
- against moles
- against vertigo
- –
- happy death
- pregnant women
- –
- farmers
- weavers
- –
- Augsburg, Germany, city of
- Augsburg, Germany, diocese of
- Creazzo, Italy
- Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Ovasta, Ovaro, Italy
- Paderborn, Germany, archdiocese of
- bishop holding a fish
- at dinner with Saint Wolfgang
- rewarding a messenger with a goose leg, which turns into a fish on Friday morning
- giving a fish to a beggar
- giving a garment to a beggar
- with Saint Afra
- riding through a river on horseback as his companion sinks
- with a cross given him by an angel
MLA Citation
- “Saint Ulric of Augsburg“. CatholicSaints.Info. 17 January 2024. Web. 24 April 2024. <>