Saint Cunigunde of Luxembourg
Saint Cunigunde of Luxembourg (born c. 975 AD in Luxembourg; died March 3, 1040 AD in Kaufungen, Hesse, Germany) was the Holy Roman Empress as the wife of Emperor Saint Henry II. Together with her husband, she is regarded as a model of Christian marital holiness — medieval tradition holds they lived in perpetual virginity, though this may be pious legend. After Henry's death she became a Benedictine nun at the convent she had founded at Kaufungen. She was canonized in 1200. Her feast day is March 3.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Cunigunde of Luxembourg
| Saint Cunigunde of Luxembourg | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | March 03 |
| Profession | Empress; Benedictine nun; foundress of Kaufungen Convent; co-patron of Bamberg |
| Rel. Affiliation | Order of Saint Benedict (after Henry's death) |
| Patronage | Luxembourg; Poland; Lithuania; Bamberg; Cracow; German queens and empresses |
| Attributes | Imperial crown; red-hot ploughshares (the trial by fire); Benedictine habit (in widowhood) |
| Birthplace | Luxembourg |
| Death Place | Kaufungen, Hesse, Germany |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes; holy death as a Benedictine nun |
| Primary Shrine | Bamberg Cathedral, Bamberg, Bavaria — she and her husband Emperor Henry II are buried here in a magnificent double tomb; a major pilgrimage site |
| Liturgical Class | Optional Memorial |
| Historic Class | March 3 |
Biography
Cunigunde was the daughter of Siegfried I, Count of Luxembourg, and Hedwig of Nordgau. She married Henry, Duke of Bavaria (later Emperor Henry II) around 998 AD. Henry was also later canonized; together they are a canonized royal couple — rare in Church history.
Henry II and Cunigunde were deeply religious and were patrons of the Church on a vast scale. Their most lasting joint work was the foundation of the new Diocese of Bamberg (1007), for which they built an ambitious new cathedral and endowed lavishly. Henry intended Bamberg as a center of missionary activity toward the Slavic peoples to the east.
A famous medieval legend — probably pious invention — holds that Cunigunde and Henry made a vow of perpetual virginity and lived as brother and sister throughout their marriage. Whatever the historical reality, this legend reflects the Church's veneration of them as models of holy and Christ-centered marriage. The legend of the trial by fire (walking over red-hot ploughshares to prove her virginity against false accusations) is a hagiographic motif found in several medieval queens' lives.
Henry died in 1024. Cunigunde distributed her possessions to the poor and in 1025 entered the Benedictine convent at Kaufungen (in Hesse) which she herself had founded. She lived there as an ordinary nun for fifteen years, performing humble duties in the kitchen and garden, until her death on March 3, 1040.
Pope Innocent III canonized her in 1200. Her feast day is March 3.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Luxembourg
Death location: Kaufungen, Hesse, Germany
Notable location: The city she and Henry II co-founded as a new imperial diocese and cathedral center; both are buried in Bamberg Cathedral (Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany)
Notable location: The Benedictine convent she founded where she retired as a nun after Henry's death; where she died (Kaufungen, Hesse, Germany)
Notable location: Her birthplace; she was a daughter of the Count of Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
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Shrines
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Known shrines
- Bamberg Cathedral, Bamberg, Bavaria — the double tomb of Henry II and Cunigunde by sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider (completed 1513); one of the great monuments of German late Gothic sculpture.
- Kaufungen Convent, Hesse — the site of her final years and death.
Feast day
March 3
Veneration
Saint Cunigunde is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church with a feast day on March 3 (Optional Memorial). She is the patron of Luxembourg, Poland, and Lithuania.
Prayers
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