Wolfgang of Regensburg

Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg was born around 934, descended from the Swabian Counts of Pfullingen in what is now southern Germany. Educated at the monastic school of Reichenau, he became a gifted teacher and reformer, serving the Church at Würzburg and Trier before entering the Benedictine life at Einsiedeln in Switzerland. Ordained a priest by Saint Ulrich of Augsburg, Wolfgang was soon sent as a missionary to the Magyars, sharing the Gospel on the empire’s eastern frontier. Appointed Bishop of Regensburg at Christmas in 972, he proved a wise shepherd and a courageous renewer of monastic discipline. He reformed St. Emmeram’s Abbey, strengthened convent life, supported the Benedictine reforms of his day, and humbly accepted the reshaping of his diocese to help establish the Diocese of Prague. Among his students was the future Emperor Saint Henry II. Late in life he sought solitude as a hermit near what became Wolfgangsee, yet returned to serve his flock. He died in 994 at Pupping and was honored for miracles at his tomb. He is patron of woodcutters and of the parish of Mittelberg in Niederösterreich. His feast day is October 31.