Irmengard, Bl.

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IRMENGARD, BL.

Abbess; b. Munich, Germany, c. 832; d. Chiemsee, July 16, 866. She was the granddaughter of Louis I the Pious, and the daughter of Louis the German and Hemma. Her father appointed her as abbess first of the Benedictine convent of Buchau and later of the royal Abbey of Chiemsee in Upper Bavaria. In the practice of the monastic life, Irmengard was a model of virtue and an example of penance. Her life was devoted to the care of the women under her tutelage. She was buried in the monastery church at Chiemsee. In 1004, Gerhard of Seeon wrote her epitaph (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Poetae 5:327). Her cult was confirmed in 1928.

Feast: July 16 or 17.

Bibliography: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 21 (1929) 2426. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints 3:119. r. bauerreiss, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 195765) 5:758. r. gazeau, Catholicisme 6:100.

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