HENRY OF ZWIEFALTEN, BL.

Benedictine monk; b. c. 1200; d. Ochsenhausen, Nov. 4, 1262. His family resided on Mt. Zwiefalten, Germany. As a young man he was a respected knight. From 1238 on he was prior in Ochsenhausen Priory, a dependency of the abbey of sankt blasien. He is mentioned in the abbey records between 1238 and 1243 and for the last time on Nov. 4, 1262. Henry's chief concern was the expansion of the monastery library; he also managed to mobilize large endowments for the decoration of the church. He was distinguished by great sanctity and miraculous powers. Among other things, he is reported to have miraculously quenched a fire, restored sight to a blind woman, and healed a lame boy. His cult cannot be clearly established for the early period. His vita witnesses to his reputation for sanctity. He is usually designated "blessed," and his memory is held in high esteem.

Feast: Nov. 4.

Bibliography: j. e. stadler and f. j. heim, Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, 5 v. (Augsburg 1858–82) v.2. Die Kunstund Altertums-Denkmale im Königreich Württemberg: Donaukreis (Esslingen 1914), see Ochsenhausen. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheueux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes, ed. by The Benedictines of Paris, 12 v. (Paris 1935–56) 11:152–153. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige, 4 v. (Metten 1933–38) 3:259.

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