c. 670 – c. 730
A Frankish hermit consecrated bishop and sent to preach in Bavaria, settling at Freising (c. 730)
Our Father among the Saints Corbinian, Bishop and Missionary to Bavaria
Corbinian was a Frankish hermit-turned-missionary who became the first bishop serving in the region of Freising in Bavaria, venerated in the Orthodox Church as a pre-schism Western saint of the undivided Church. Born around 670 at Châtres in Neustria (present-day Seine-et-Marne, France) as Waldegiso, he was renamed Corbinian by his mother Corbiniana. After spending approximately fourteen years as a hermit near Chartres under the patronage of a church dedicated to Saint Germain, he undertook two pilgrimages to Rome, where Pope Gregory II commissioned him for missionary work among the Bavarians.
Arriving in Bavaria around 724, Corbinian established a monastic school at Freising and became the de facto bishop of that region, though without a fixed see in the modern sense. His outspoken opposition to the marriage of Duke Grimoald of Bavaria to his deceased brother's widow brought him into serious conflict with the duke and his consort Biltrude, resulting in a period of exile. Following Grimoald's death in 725, Corbinian returned to his mission and continued his work until his death on September 8, around 730, at Freising. His relics were translated to Freising Cathedral in 769. His brother Erembert became the first formally designated Bishop of Freising in 738. Corbinian is venerated as a patron of Freising and of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
Corbinian was born around 670 in Châtres, a village in Neustria in what is now the Seine-et-Marne department of France. His birth name was Waldegiso; his mother Corbiniana gave him the name Corbinian by which he became known to history. He spent approximately fourteen years in solitary life near Chartres, dwelling at a church dedicated to Saint Germain. This period of ascetic formation shaped his later ministry as an itinerant bishop-missionary.
After his hermit years, Corbinian undertook pilgrimages to Rome. During one of these visits, Pope Gregory II (pontificate 715–731) commissioned him to preach the Christian faith among the Bavarians. Arriving in Bavaria around 724, he established a monastic community and school at Freising, which later developed into Weihenstephan Abbey. He served as bishop for the Freising region, exercising pastoral and missionary oversight without a formally organized see.
His relations with the ruling duke were turbulent. Corbinian publicly rebuked Duke Grimoald of Bavaria for marrying Biltrude, the widow of his deceased brother — a union the Church regarded as prohibited — and as a result was driven into exile. Grimoald's death in 725 ended this period, and Corbinian returned to continue his ministry at Freising until his death.
Hagiographic tradition associates Corbinian with an episode during one of his journeys to Rome: a bear killed his pack horse, and Corbinian commanded the bear to carry his baggage in the horse's place, releasing the animal at the journey's end. This story became Corbinian's iconic hagiographic attribute and was adopted as a symbol for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, appearing on its coat of arms.
Corbinian died around September 8, 730, at Freising. His relics were translated to Freising Cathedral in 769. His brother Erembert succeeded as the first formally titled Bishop of Freising in 738. Corbinian is venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox Church (as a pre-schism Western saint of the undivided Church) and the Roman Catholic Church. He is the patron of Freising and of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, whose episcopal coat of arms displays the bear of his legend.