View source for Willehad

{{short description|8th-century Bishop of Bremen}}
{{For|the Frankish ruler of Burgundy|Willibad}}
{{Expand German|topic=bio|Willehad|date=October 2015}}

{{Infobox saint
|name=Willehad
|birth_date=c. 735
|death_date= 8 November 789
|feast_day=8 November, 13 July (ordination)
|venerated_in= [[Roman Catholic Church]]<br>[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
|image=Bischof Willehad 1.jpg
|imagesize=200px
|caption=Willehad of Bremen, from a [[woodcut]] of the [[Late Middle Ages]]
|birth_place=[[Northumbria]], [[England]]
|death_place=Blexen upon Weser, [[Germany]]
|titles=Missionary, Pilgrim and Bishop of Bremen
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=[[bishop]] overturning [[idolatry|idol]]s 
|patronage=[[Saxony]]
|major_shrine=[[Echternach]], [[Luxembourg]]
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
}}

'''Willehad''' or '''Willihad''' ({{langx|la|Willehadus/Willihadus}}); {{circa}} 745 AD {{ndash}} 8 November 789) was a Christian missionary and the [[Archdiocese of Bremen|Bishop of Bremen]] from 787 AD.

==Life==
Willehad was born in [[Northumbria]] and probably received his education at [[St Peter's School, York|York]] under [[Ecgbert (bishop)|Ecgbert]]. He was a friend of [[Alcuin]].<ref>[https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803122533783?p=emailAWZ/avaaXdHIE&d=/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803122533783 Farmer, David. "Willehad", '' The Oxford Dictionary of Saints'', 5th ed., OUP, 2011] {{ISBN|9780199596607}}</ref> He was ordained, and about the year 766, he went to [[Frisia]],<ref name=mershman/> preaching at [[Dokkum]] and in [[Overijssel]],<ref name=butler>[http://www.bartleby.com/210/11/082.html Butler, Alban. ''the Lives of the Saints'', Vol. XI, 1866]</ref> to continue the missionary work of [[Boniface]] who had been martyred by the Frisians in 754. At an assembly in [[Paderborn]] in 777, [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]] was divided into missionary zones. The zone between the [[Weser river|Weser]] and the [[Elbe river|Elbe]], called ''Wigmodia'', was given to Willehad.{{sfn|McKitterick|1983|p=61}}

From 780 Willehad preached in the region of the lower [[Weser River]] on commission from [[Charlemagne]]. He barely escaped with his life when the Frisians wanted to kill him and he returned to the area around [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]]. Once again he and his fellow missionaries barely escaped with their lives when the local pagans wanted to kill them for destroying some temples.<ref name=butler/> Finally, in 780, [[Charlemagne]] sent him to evangelize the Saxons.  He preached to them for two years but, in 782, the Saxons under [[Widukind]], rebelled against Charlemagne and Willehad was forced to flee to Frisia. A number of his assistants and friends were killed. He took the opportunity to travel to Rome where he reported to Pope [[Adrian I]] on his work.<ref name=butler/>

Upon his return from Rome, Willehad retired for a time to the monastery of [[Echternach]], in present-day [[Luxembourg]].  He spent two years there working in the scriptorium, and reassembling his missionary team.

After Charlemagne's conquest of the Saxons, Willehad preached in the region around the lower Elbe and the lower Weser. In 787 Willehad was consecrated bishop, and that part of Saxony and Friesland near the mouth of the Weser was assigned to him for his diocese. He chose as his see the city of Bremen, which is mentioned for the first time in documents of 782, and built a cathedral there. Praised for its beauty by Anschar, it was dedicated in 789.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02756a.htm Lins, Joseph. "Bremen." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 19 May 2013]</ref> He also built a small church at Blexen.

Willehad died in Blexen upon Weser, today a part of [[Nordenham]]. He is buried in the [[Bremen Cathedral|city's cathedral]], which he consecrated shortly before his death on 8 November 789.<ref name=mershman>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15628a.htm Mershman, Francis. "St. Willehad." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 19 May 2013]</ref> [[Anschar]] compiled a life of Willehad, and the preface which he wrote was considered a masterpiece for that age.<ref name=campbell>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01544c.htm Campbell, Thomas. "St. Anschar." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 19 May 2013]</ref> In 860, a sick girl from Wege ([[Weyhe]]) traveled to his grave. There, she was reportedly cured by a miracle. This was the first time the small village was mentioned in any historical documents.

==See also==
* [[Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/November 8|Saint Willehad, patron saint archive]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last=McKitterick |first=Rosamond |authorlink=Rosamond McKitterick |title=The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751–987 |publisher=Longman |location=London |year=1983}}

==External links==
*{{PASE|93255|Willehad 1}}
*{{Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=St. Willehad}}
*[https://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc02/htm/iv.v.ccciv.htm Bishopric of Bremen]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|||745 in Northumbria|8 November|789 in Blexen upon Weser}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-new|diocese|reason=}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Archbishops of Bremen|Bishop of Bremen]]|years=787–789}}
{{s-vac|rows=1|next=[[Willerich]]<br>805–838}}
{{s-end}}

{{Portalbar|Saints}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willehad Of Bremen}}
[[Category: People educated at St Peter's School, York]]

[[Category:789 deaths]]
[[Category:Northumbrian saints]]
[[Category:Christian missionaries in Germany]]
[[Category:Bishops of Bremen]]
[[Category:8th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Medieval German saints]]
[[Category:740s births]]
[[Category:8th-century Frankish bishops]]