Saint Willibald

Willibald (Latin: Willibaldus; c. 700 – c.787) was an 8th-century bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. Information about his life is largely drawn from the Hodoeporicon of Willibald, a text written in the 8th century by Huneberc, an Anglo-Saxon nun from Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm who knew Willibald and his brother personally. The text of the Hodoeporicon ("Itinerary") was dictated to Huneberc by Willibald shortly before he died. Willibald's father was Richard the Pilgrim, and his mother Wuna of Wessex. His brother was Winibald and his sister was Walburga. Willibald was well-travelled and the first known Englishman to visit the Holy Land. His shrine is at the Eichstätt Cathedral in Germany, where his body and relics from his journeys are preserved. His feast day is 7 July. Willibald was born in Wessex on 21 October around the year 700. His mother, Wuna of Wessex, was reportedly a sister of Boniface. His father, Richard the Pilgrim, was a chieftain of Wessex. At the age of three, Willibald suffered from a violent illness. His parents prayed to God, vowing to commit Willibald to a monastic life if he was to be spared. Willibald survived and at the age of five entered the Benedictine monastery at Waldheim and was educated by Abbot Egwald. At the monastery he became accustomed to the Irish and Anglo-Saxon monastic ideal of peregrinatio religiosa, or pious rootlessness. In 721 Willibald set out on a pilgrimage to Rome with his father and brother. After departing by ship the group arrived in Rouen, France visiting shrines and spending much of their time in prayer. Eventually they arrived in Lucca, a city in northern Italy. It was here that Willibald's father became gravely ill and died. After burying their father Willibald and Winibald continued on their journey, travelling through Italy until they reached Rome. Here they visited the Lateran Basilica and St. Peter's.